Mumbai, June 1 (PTI) Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily today said he is hopeful about the New Companies Bill getting passed in the Monsoon session. "Since the Standing Committee of Parliament has concluded its deliberations on the New Companies Bill, I expect it to submit it to the ministry soon and table it in the Monsoon session," Moily told reporters here on the sidelines of a function today. Claiming that the country is a safe destination for investors as fundamentals of the economy are strong, he said, "we are a safe destination for investors, though we will have to see sustained development". However, he admitted that there is an urgent need to address the issues of the manufacturing sector, which is a major contributor to GDP growth. The performance of banks and services sectors has been good, he pointed out. On the fall in GDP growth rate, Moily said: "The GDP growth rate of 5.3 per cent is not at all an alarming situation. We have to take more steps on fiscal reforms as the economic fundamentals are still strong." Blaming the Opposition and coalition compulsions for weakening of the rupee and slowing GDP, Moily said the delay in passage of several key bills has hampered the economic growth. He said major legislative measures like the New Companies Bill, the Direct Taxes Code, Banking Amendment Bill and GST etc are all being "unnecessarily delayed" and that if they are cleared, it would "definitely improve our situation". Commenting on the Reebok fraud case, he said that his ministry has ordered an enquiry through the Registrar of Companies and referred the case to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which is expected to submit its report within the next four months. The culprits would be punished, he said. PTI AP BEN ns DKR
