The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA) has amended Nidhi Rules, 2014. The new rules have made it mandatory for Nidhi companies to get a declaration from the central government. This step is taken to protect the interest of the public in general.
Earlier, Nidhi companies didn’t require the central government’s declaration to function. They only needed to fulfil the criteria set under sub-rule (1) of rule 5 of Nidhi Rules viz., minimum membership of 200, Net Owned Fund (NoF) of Rs 10 lakh, NOF to deposit ratio of 1:20 and keeping 10 per cent unencumbered deposits in scheduled commercial banks or post offices within one year of commencement of Nidhi Rules, 2014.