Dear Members,
Your directors have pleasure in presenting the Twenty Sixth (26th) Board's Report on of the Company along with the audited financial statements for the Financial Year ("FY") ended 31st March, 2024.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
STATE OF COMPANY?S PERFORMANCE:
The Company is in business of infrastructure and engaged in construction of highways, expressways, turnkey projects roads, bridges, tunnels, etc. However, your Company is deploying its resources in the best possible way to increase business volumes and plans to achieve increased turnover in the years to come.
i) Financial Performance – Standalone
The Company achieved total revenue from operations of Rs. 47,021.71 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2024 as against Rs. 60,530.54 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2023. Pro3t before tax stood at Rs. 1,358.43 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2024 as against Rs. 640.73 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2023. During the financial year 2023-24, the Company earned a pro3t after tax including comprehensive income of Rs. 1030.14 Lakhs as compared to Rs. 401.88 Lakhs in the previous year.
ii) Financial Performance – Consolidated
On a consolidated basis, total revenue from operations of Rs. 47,085.43 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2024 as against Rs. 60,611.97 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2023. Pro3t before tax stood at Rs. 1302.48 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2024 as against Rs. 682.03 Lakhs for the year ended 31st March 2023. During the financial year 2023-24, the Company earned a pro3t after tax including comprehensive income of Rs. 974.13 Lakhs as compared to Rs. 432.28 Lakhs in the previous year.
DIVIDEND
With a view to conserve resources for funding future business requirements and expansion plans, your directors think it is prudent not to recommend any dividend for the financial year ended 31st March 2024.
TRANSFER TO RESERVES
Your Directors recommend, transferring of Rs. 1030.14 Lakhs to general reserve for the financial year 2023-24.
MATERIAL CHANGES AND COMMITMENTS
No material changes and commitments have occurred after the closure of the FY 2023-24 till the date of this Report, which would affect the financial position of your Company.
SHARE CAPITAL
During the year under the review the Company has not issued shares with differential rights as to dividend, voting or otherwise, sweat equity shares nor has it grant stock options.
DEPOSITS
The Company has not accepted any deposits during the year which would be covered under Section 73 and 74 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 as amended time to time.
PARTICULARS OF LOANS, GUARANTEES AND INVESTMENTS
The particulars of Loans, Guarantees, Investments and Securities provided covered under the provisions of Section 186 ofthe Act have been disclosed in the Notes to the financial statements forming part of the Annual Report.
PARTICULARS OF CONTRACTS OR ARRANGEMENTS MADE WITH RELATED PARTIES
All contracts or arrangements or transactions with related parties, entered into or Modified during the financial year were at arm?s length basis and in the ordinary course of the Company?s business except for the transactions reported in Form AOC-2. The transactions falling within the de3nition of Related Party Transaction under the provisions of Section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013, requiring disclosures to be made in Form AOC-2 pursuant to Section 134 of the Act read with Rule 8 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is provided in "Annexure – A", forming part of this report.
All contracts or arrangements with related parties were entered into only with prior approval of the Audit Committee, except transactions which quali3ed as Omnibus transactions as permitted under law. Transactions with related parties, as per requirements of Indian Accounting Standard have been disclosed in the accompanying financial statements.
Further in terms of the Section 188 Companies Act 2013 and Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014 and further in terms of Regulation 23 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, The Policy on Related Party Transactions as approved by the Board has been placed on the website of the Company at https://niraj.co.in/wpcontent/uploads/2022/02/POLICY-ON-RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTIONS.pdf.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The brief outline of CSR Policy of the Company and the initiatives undertaken by the Company on CSR activities, along with other details for FY 2023-24 forms part of Annual Report on Corporate Social Responsibility as "Annexure – B" to this Report.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Management Discussion and Analysis Report for the year under review as stipulated under Regulation 34 read with Schedule V of the Listing Regulation is given separately which may be taken as forming a part of the Annual Report.
INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY
The internal financial controls with reference to the Financial Statements commensurate with the size and nature of business of the Company. Further directors have personally over viewed the adequacy of internal controls and also appointed M/s. Sanjay K.Lodha & Associates, Chartered Accountant as the Internal Auditor of the Company to manage the internal controls of the company.
In addition to Internal Audit, the Company has implemented well established internal financial practices, tool for mitigating risk in order to ensure adequate internal financial control commensurate with the size of the Company.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Pursuant to Section 134(3)(n) of the Companies Act, 2013, the company has the Risk Management Plan. The details of risk have been covered in the Management Discussion and Analysis Report forming part of the Annual report.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The Board of Directors has approved a Code of Conduct which is applicable to the Members of the Board and all senior management personnel in the course of day to day business operations of the company. The Company believes in "Zero Tolerance" against bribery, corruption and unethical dealings / behaviors of any form and the Board has laid down the directives to counter such acts. The code laid down by the Board is known as "code of conduct for Board of Directors and Senior Management Personnel". The Code has been posted on the Company?s website https://niraj.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CODE-OF-CONDUCT-FORBOARD-OF-DIRECTORS.pdf The Code lays down the standard procedure of business conduct which is expected to be followed by the Directors and the designated employees in their business dealings and in particular on matters relating to integrity in the work place, in business practices and in dealing with stakeholders. The Code gives guidance through examples on the expected behavior from an employee in a given situation and the reporting structure.
Pursuant to SEBI Regulation, the declaration signed by the Managing Director af3rming the compliance of code of conduct by the directors and senior management personnel for the year under review is annexed to and forms part of the Corporate Governance Report.
WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY/ VIGIL MECHANISM
Pursuant to Section 177(9) and (10) of The Companies Act, 2013 and Regulation 22 of the Listing Regulations, the Company has formulated Whistle Blower Policy for vigil mechanism of Directors and employees to report to the management about the unethical behavior, fraud or violation of Company?s code of conduct.
The mechanism provides for adequate safeguards against victimization of employees and Directors who use such mechanism and makes provision for direct access to the Chairman of the Audit Committee in exceptional cases. None of the personnel of the Company have been denied access to the Audit Committee. The Whistle Blower Policy is displayed on the Company?s website at https://niraj.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/NIRAJ-CEMENT-STRUCTURALS-LIMITED_POSHA.pdf
DISCLOSURE UNDER THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE (PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013
The Company has adopted a policy on prevention, prohibition and Redressal of Sexual harassment at workplace and has duly constituted an Internal Complaints Committee in line with the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the Rules thereunder. No case of child labour, forced labour, involuntary labour, sexual harassment and discriminatory employment was reported during the FY 2023-24. The Company has a policy on sexual harassment under which employees can register their complaints against sexual harassment. The policy ensures a free and fair enquiry with clear timelines.
SUBSIDIARIES AND ASSOCIATES
As on 31st March 2024, M/s. Niraj Consulting Group Limited and M/s. Niraj Build India Limited are subsidiaries of your Company.
Performance of Subsidiaries and Associates
The performance of the subsidiaries of the Company is summarized in Form AOC-1 attached to the Financial Statements of the Company in pursuance of Section 129 of the Companies Act, 2013 and forms part of this Annual Report as "Annexure C".
The Policy for determining material subsidiaries as approved by the Board is uploaded on the Company?s website and can beaccessed at the Web-link: https://niraj.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Policy-for-determining-Material-Subsidiary.pdf.
Consolidated Financial Statements
Pursuant to Section 129(3) of the Companies Act, 2013, the Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with Indian Accounting Standards and as per Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015 which forms part of the Annual Report.
DIRECTORS AND KEY MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL
The Board of your Company is duly constituted with a proper balance of Executive, Non-Executive and Independent Directors. Pursuant to Section 149 (1) and 161 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 8 (5) (iii) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, the details relating to directors and key managerial personnel who were appointed or have resigned are reported as under:
Changes in Board Composition during FY 2023-24 and up to the date of this report is furnished below:
- During the period under review, Mr. Gurpur Ramdas Kamath (DIN: 02234255) retired from the board of the Company w.e.f. 31st March, 2024, after completion of second and 3nal term of Independent Director. The Board places on record its appreciation for the valuable guidance and assistance received from him during his tenure as director with the Company.
- During the period under review, Mr. Vishram Pandurang Rudre was re-appointed as a Managing Director of the Company for a further period of 3ve years w.e.f. 13th February, 2024 to 12th February, 2029.
- During the period under review, Mr. Sudhakar Balu Tandale was re-appointed as a Whole time Director of the Company for a further period of 3ve years w.e.f. 13th February, 2024 to 12th February, 2029.
Director Liable to Retire by rotation
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013, Mr. Sudhakar BaluTandale (DIN: 09083084), Whole-time Director, is liable to retire by rotation at the ensuing Annual General Meeting of the Company and being eligible has offered himself for reappointment. Necessary resolution for his re-appointment is included in the notice of AGM for seeking approval of Members. The Directors recommend his re-appointment for your approval. A brief resume and particulars relating to him is given separately as annexure to the AGM notice..
Key Managerial Personnel:
There is no changes in the KMP occurred during the Financial Year 2023-24.
DECLARATION BY INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS
The Company has received necessary declaration from each independent director under Section 149(7) of the Companies Act, 2013, that he/she meets the criteria of independence laid down in Section 149(6) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with rules framed thereunder and SEBI (LODR) Regulation.
In the opinion of the Board, the independent directors are, individually, person of integrity and possess relevant expertise and experience.
In terms of regulation 25(8) of the Listing Regulations, they have con3rmed that they are not aware of any circumstances or situation which exist or may be reasonably anticipated that could impair or impact their ability to discharge their duties. Based on the declarations received from the independent directors, the Board has con3rmed that they meet the criteria of independence as mentioned under regulation 16(1)(b) of the Listing Regulations and that they are independent of the management.
COMMITTEES OF BOARD, MEETINGS OF THE BOARD AND BOARD COMMITTEES
The details of the number of Board and Committee meetings of your Company held during the financial year, indicating the number of meetings attended by each Director is set out in the Corporate Governance Report. The Composition of various committees of the Board of Directors is provided in the Corporate Governance Report.
BOARD?S EVALUATION
Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, the Board of Directors has carried out annual performance evaluation of its own performance, the Directors individually as well as the evaluation of the working of its Committees. The manner in which the evaluation has been carried out has been explained in the Corporate Governance Report pursuant to Regulation 34 read with Schedule V of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 which forms part of this report.
TRAINING IMPARTED TO THE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS
In compliance with the requirements of Listing Regulations, the Company has put in place a frame work for Directors? Familiarization Program me to familiarize them with their roles, rights and responsibilities as Directors, the working of the Company, nature of the industry in which the Company operates, business model etc.
INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROLS
The Company has in place adequate internal financial controls with reference to financial statements and during the year, no reportable material weaknesses in the design or operation were observed.
AUDIT COMMITTEE
The details pertaining to composition of Audit Committee are included in the Corporate Governance Report, which forms part of this report. All the recommendations made by the Audit Committee were accepted by the Board.
COMPANY?S REMUNERATION POLICY
The Board has, on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and pursuant to Listing Regulations and Section 178 of the Companies Act, 2013, framed a policy for selection and appointment of Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and 3xing their remuneration, which is available on the Company?s website at https://niraj.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/nomination-and-remuneration-policy.pdf
DIRECTORS? RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
To the best of their knowledge and belief, your Directors con3rm that:
I. in the preparation of the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31st March, 2024, the applicable accounting standards have been followed along with proper explanation relating to material departures, if any;
ii. they have selected such accounting policies and applied consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company as at 31st March, 2024 and of the pro3t of the Company for the year ended on that date;
iii. they have taken proper and suf3cient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act, for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
iv. they have prepared the annual financial statements on a going concern basis;
v. they have laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the company and that such internal financial controls are adequate and were operating effectively.
vi. They have devised proper systems to ensure compliance with the provisions of all applicable laws and that such systems were adequate and operating effectively.
SECRETARIAL STANDARDS
The Directors state that applicable Secretarial Standards, i.e. SS-1 relating to ‘Meetings of the Board of Directors? and SS-2, relating to ‘General Meetings?, have been duly followed by the Company.
SIGNIFICANT AND MATERIAL ORDERS PASSED BY THE REGULATORS OR COURTS
There were no signi3cant and material orders passed by the Regulators/Courts which would impact the going concern status of the Company and its future operations.
AUDITORS AND AUDITOR?S REPORT
Statutory Auditors
The shareholders of the Company in their 25th Annual General Meeting held on 26th September, 2023, have re-appointed M/s Chaturvedi Sohan& Co, Chartered Accountants (Firm Registration No. 118424W) as the Statutory Auditors of the Company for second term for a period of Four years to hold of3ce from the conclusion of the Twenty Fifth (25th) Annual General Meeting till the conclusion of Twenty Ninth (29th) Annual General Meeting of the Company.
M/s Chaturvedi Sohan& Co, Chartered Accountants have audited the standalone and consolidated financial statements ("Financial Statements") of the Company for the Financial Year under review. The Auditors have issued an unModified opinion on the financial statements, for the financial year ended 31st March 2024. The Auditors? Reports on the financial statements of the Company forms part of this Annual Report. The observations of Statutory Auditors in their Report read with relevant Notes to Accounts are self-explanatory and therefore, do not require further explanation.
Secretarial Auditor
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014, the Company had appointed M/s. AJP & Associates, Company Secretary in practice, Secretarial Auditor to undertake the Secretarial Audit of the Company for the Financial Year ended 31st March, 2024.
The Secretarial Audit Report in Form MR-3 is included as "Annexure-D" and forms an integral part of this Report. The Secretarial Audit Report does not contain any Qualifications, reservations, adverse remarks or disclaimer. During the year under review, the Secretarial Auditor had not reported any fraud under Section 143(12) of the Act and therefore no details are required to be disclosed under Section 134 (3)(ca) of the Act.
Cost Auditor:
The Company has maintained cost accounts and records as speci3ed by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of Section 148 of the Act. M/s. P.K. Verma & Co., Cost Accountants (Registration No. 000511) have carried out the cost audit during the financial year 2023-24. The report does not contain any Qualification, reservation or adverse remark.
The Board has re-appointed M/s. P.K. Verma & Co., Cost Accountants (Registration No. 000511), as Cost Auditors of the Company for conducting the audit of cost records for the financial year 2023-24 under Section 148 of the Act read with the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014. The remuneration proposed to be paid to the Cost Auditor is subject to rati3cation by the members of the Company at the ensuing Annual General Meeting.
Internal Auditors
In accordance with the provisions of Section 138 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Board of Directors had appointed M/s. Sanjay K. Lodha & Associates, Chartered Accountant as Internal Auditor to conduct Internal Audit of the Company. The observations and suggestions of the Internal Auditors were reviewed, and necessary corrective/ preventive actions were taken in consultation with the Audit Committee.
Reporting of frauds by Auditors
There have been no instances of fraud reported by the Auditors under Section 143 (12) of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Rules framed thereunder either to the Company or to the Central Government.
ENERGY CONSERVATION, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO
During the year under review there was no foreign exchange earnings and outgo. Since the Company does not have any manufacturing facility, the other particulars required to be provided in terms of Section 134(3)(m) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 8 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 are not applicable.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
As required by SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, reports on the Corporate Governance and Management Discussion and Analysis form part of the Annual Report. A Certi3cate from a Practicing Company Secretary on the compliance with the provisions of Corporate Governance is annexed to the Corporate Governance Report.
ANNUAL RETURN
Pursuant to sections 92(3) and 134(3)(a) of the Act read with Rule 12 of Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 (as substituted by the Companies (Management and Administration) Amendment Rules, 2021 dated 05th March, 2021), a copy of the annual return is made available on the website of the Company at https://niraj.co.in/annual-return/
PARTICULARS OF EMPLOYEES
Details of remuneration as required under Section 197(12) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 5(1) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014 is annexed as "Annexure-E".
GENERAL
Your Directors state that no disclosure or reporting is required in respect of the following items as there were no transactions on these items during the year under review:
1. Changes in nature of business.
2. Issue of shares (including sweat equity shares) to employees of the Company under any scheme.
Material changes and commitments affecting the financial position of the Company between end of the financial year and the date of this report.
PERSONNEL
The relation between the employee?s and the management of your Company continue to be cordial.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Your Directors take this opportunity to thanks the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Public Works Dept of various State Governments, Central Government for their support and guidance and also thank Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE Limited (BSE),National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE), Depositories, Regulators, Financial Institutions and Banks, Stakeholders, Suppliers, Contractors, Vendors and business partners/associates for their consistent support/encouragement to the Company. The Company also looks forward to their support in future. Also, your Directors would also like to thank the Members for reposing their con3dence and faith in the Company and its Management.