Q.As per Section 2(68) of the Companies Act, 2013, what is the maximum number of members a private company can have (excluding present and past employee-members)?

The Companies Act, 2013 classifies companies chiefly by membership size and by ownership. A Private Company (Section 2(68)) has 2 to 200 members, restricts share transfer, and cannot invite the public to subscribe; a Public Company (Section 2(71)) is any company that is not private, needs at least 7 members with no upper cap, and may raise capital from the public via a prospectus. A One Person Company (Section 2(62)/3(1)(c)) — a category introduced for the first time by the 2013 Act — has exactly one member, who must name a nominee. A Government Company (Section 2(45)) is one in which the Central and/or State Government(s) hold not less than 51% of the paid-up share capital, whatever its private/public structure. A Holding Company (Section 2(46)) controls a Subsidiary Company (Section 2(87)) either by controlling the composition of its Board or by holding more than half its voting power. A Foreign Company (Section 2(42)) is incorporated outside India but has a place of business and conducts business activity within India.