CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Registry of MCA-21, an online facility to register companies, was launched in Chennai on Saturday by Union Minister for Communications and IT, Dayanidhi Maran.

MCA-21, an initiative that is the flagship programme of the Ministry of Company Affairs, facilitiates e-filing and easy online registration of companies at www.mca.gov.in. Chennai is the 18th such centre inaugurated across the country. It is being implemented in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services, with TCS assigned the task of owning, operating and maintaining the system for a period of six years.

With MCA-21, companies can be registered anywhere, at any time, through a secure electronic filing system, accessed through the internet. The number of forms to be filled up has also reduced, with a new set of electronic forms being adapted and online payment has also been made possible. Directors of companies will also be given one permanent Director Index Number (irrespective of the number of companies they serve as directors), which will be used to interface with the systems thenceforth.

While the key advantage is for businesses to register a company and file statutory documents quickly and easily, MCA-21 also provides easy access to public records, Tanmoy Chakraborty, vice president and head, Global Government-Industry Group, TCS, explained. A total of 53 facilitation centres, including one each in Chennai and Coimbatore, have been set up to help the public file documents electronically and a step-by-step guide has also been provided online for first time users.

Prem Chand Gupta, Union Minister for Company Affairs, said changing times and ways of doing business had forced a change in the mindset of the government. MCA-21, comparable to the best in the world, aspired for a speedy service delivery system, to make things easy for the stakeholders.

While constraints in Jammu and Kashmir and Port Blair stalled the inauguration of the project in those centres, MCA-21 will be inaugurated in 19 centres, including one in Kolkatta on Sunday.

Mr. Maran commended MCA-21 as `a pioneering initiative' that can inspire other government agencies, departments and private entities which want to play a role in e-governance. The Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government envisages the promotion of e-governance on a massive scale.

Under this plan, the establishment of data connectivity enjoys top priority and the Government had already approved a scheme for the establishment of State Wide Area Networks at a total outlay of Rs.3,333 crore over a period of five years.

It is also at an advanced stage of formulating a proposal to establish 100,000 common service centres that would extend the reach of electronic services to the village level.

Anurag Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Company Secretaries and R.Vasudevan, regional director, southern region, Registrar of Companies, also spoke.

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