Web Analytics


Our publications:
Our publications
Home Search

Search results: reserve bank of India

ADB

A legal legacy

The man who has steadied the legal tiller of the good ship ADB is leaving after seven years. He talks to John Church about the bank’s activities in India, its plans for governance reform...
arbitration

Pressing issue

As the government pushes through with the International arbitration act, Experts believe ‘under-regulation’ is key to making India a global dispute resolution hub. M Rochan reports The government aims to put India on the global...
Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

Is government’s plan to ban cryptocurrency warranted?

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
An inter-ministerial committee (IMC) chaired by Subhash Garg (former secretary of department of economic affairs), which examined issues related to virtual currencies recently, recommended a complete ban on cryptocurrency. The IMC, also submitted a...
Lagna Panda, Chandhiok & Mahajan

RBI’s localization mandate: Cure without a problem?

By Lagna Panda, Chandhiok & Mahajan
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), recently, issued clarifications to its 6 April 2018 directive on localization of payment data. The directive mandated payment system operators (PSO) to store their entire data relating to...

Sandbox helps businesses and regulators innovate

By Archana Tewary and Arjun David Alexander, J. Sagar Associates
A regulatory sandbox is an enabling interface or infrastructure constructed by a regulator, to conduct live tests on new financial innovations and technology, in which, the regulator may permit certain regulatory relaxations for testing....
Abhishek Tripathi and Anura Gupta, Sarthak Advocates & Solicitors

Ideas for government to reform ailing power sector

By Abhishek Tripathi and Anura Gupta, Sarthak Advocates & Solicitors
The Narendra Modi government’s ambition to make India a US$5 trillion economy by the financial year 2024-25 will require many pieces to come together and the revival of the power sector will be central...
sandbox

Enter sandbox

Dear Editor, In an article on the regulatory sandbox proposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia gave a comprehensive overview on the guidelines. While she raised concerns such as restrictive eligibility...
Fintech startups

Making sense of regulatory sandbox for Fintech startups

By Nivedita Nivargi and Vishnu Kale, Samvad Partners
Over the past few years India has seen rapid development in the financial technology sector and it has the second highest number of Fintech startups in the world. According to certain estimates, India’s Fintech...
SEBI

SEBI limits exemption from open offer on debt conversion

By Ambarish and Mihir Roy, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) no longer considers entities that are not scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) or all India financial institutions (AIFIs) as “lenders” for exemption from a mandatory open offer...
top foreign law firm india 2019

Leaders of the pack

Top India-focused Law Firms 2007 Top India-focused Law Firms 2008 Top India-focused Law Firms 2009 Top India-focused Law Firms 2010 Top India-focused Law Firms 2011 Top India-focused Law Firms 2012 Top India-focused Law Firms 2013 Top India-focused Law Firms 2014 Top India-focused...
resolution

RBI issues new framework for stressed asset resolution

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a revised framework for resolution of stressed assets after the Supreme Court struck down its 12 February 2018 circular. The Framework for Resolution of Stressed Accounts (FRESA)...
RBI

RBI’s vision 2021 puts focus on customer experience

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Akshita Agrawal, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
The digital payments ecosystem has made substantial progress over the last few years. The country has witnessed a shift from paper to electronic payment methods with the introduction of innovative payment products such as...
resolution

Views on RBI’s new stressed asset resolution framework

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The Supreme Court, in Dharani Sugars and Chemicals Ltd v Union of India, quashed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) directions of 12 February 2018 on resolution of stressed assets on certain grounds such...
modi government

Wish list

As the Modi government comes back to power, Lawyers tell Gautam Kagalwala about their expectations for the new term The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the elections resolutely...
India Business Law Journal

Historic mandate

Challenges abound as India’s new government takes charge Applause for the efficient running of the recent elections has been loud and long. With 900 million potential voters, 12 million polling workers and a million polling...
fintech regulations

Regulations as speed bumps

Dear Editor, The evolution of FinTech is changing the world of finance rapidly. Peer to peer (P2P) lending, a part of the alternate credit bandwagon, takes advantage of the various limitations of traditional banks and...
regulatory sandbox

Closer look at Reserve Bank’s proposed regulatory sandbox

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), last month, released a draft of the “Enabling Framework for Regulatory Sandbox”. A sandbox is a framework that allows regulation to evolve and keep pace with innovation in...
Bankruptcy

Courts play prudent role in IBC’s logical evolution

By Karthik Somasundram and Shreya Gupta, Bharucha & Partners
The bankruptcy process in India before the enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (code), was fragmented with the rights of creditors and debtors decided by different judicial forums with sometimes conflicting decisions...
labour laws

SC weighs in on interplay of labour laws and IBC

By Abhishek Dutta and Vineet Shrivastava, Aureus Law Partners
India as a welfare state has enacted various labour laws in order to ensure the protection and promotion of the social and economic status of workers and the elimination of their exploitation. Under the Indian...
Election results

Election results brighten prospects for M&A in 2019

By Iqbal Khan, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Even with all the euphoria around India’s elections results, the country’s key economic indicators remain depressed. If the economists are right, one of Asia’s largest economies seems to be losing its glitter and sheen....
debt funding

New ECB rules open doors to debt funding for startups

By Aparna Ravi and Samyuktha Damojipurapu, Samvad Partners
Indian companies looking to raise debt overseas have typically had to do so through external commercial borrowings (ECB). ECB can take the form of loans, foreign currency convertible or exchangeable bonds, fixed or floating...
Reserve Bank of India

RBI market abuse directions: A mature development

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
In June 2018, in what might have been considered a period of relative stability (given the events that transpired thereafter), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its statement on developmental and regulatory policies,...
india advertising laws

Running in circles

Preeti Balwani evaluates the country's labyrinthine advertising laws and their impact on the industry Advertisements are at the heart of commercial speech, which the Supreme Court has held is a part of freedom of speech...
Grounded Jet Airways

Grounded

Did the reluctance of Jet Airways’ creditors to pursue bankruptcy proceedings point to turbulence in the insolvency regime? Rebecca Abraham reports Editor’s note: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai bench admitted the insolvency petition...
bankrupt-bankrupcy

Much ado about nothing?

Dear Editor, Recently, the Supreme Court struck down a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular. The February 2018 circular was intended to overhaul the earlier restructuring frameworks and to mandate banks and financial institutions to...

Parliament in numbers

Continuing our regular coverage of India’s parliamentary sessions, Mandira Kala assesses the performance of the Lok Sabha in the past five years compared with the two previous terms The 2019 budget session of India's parliament...
RBI-Investor

RBI scraps single-company bond limit for foreign investors

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released circulars on 15 June 2018 reviewing the requirements for investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in debt securities....
Bhumika-Batra-and-Sachita-Shetty-Crawford-Bayley-&-Co

Courts clarify put options are not forward contracts

By Bhumika Batra and Sachita Shetty, Crawford Bayley & Co
Joint ventures are established with the objective of creating value by combining different types of assets. Once partners agree on their respective contributions, they decide on the contractual terms, which include exercising control, both...
Shweta-Bharti-Hammurabi-&-Solomon

Commercial implications of RBI circular strike-down

By Shweta Bharti, Hammurabi & Solomon
The Supreme Court recently struck down the Reserve Bank of India Circular dated 12 February 2018 (RBI circular), which directed banks to mandatorily initiate corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) for defaulting companies with loan...
Devyani-Dhawan-Jyotika-Bajaj-SNG-Partners

Ordinance puts depositors ahead of secured creditors

By Devyani Dhawan and Jyotika Bajaj, SNG & Partners
The last three decades have seen an unprecedented rise in dubious deposit-taking schemes run by unscrupulous operators in various parts of India such as the Saradha Realty scam, the MPS Greenery scheme and the...
Sawant-Singh-and-Aditya-Bhargava,-Phoenix-Legal

Voluntary retention route: A halfway measure?

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The government and the financial sector regulators, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of Indian (SEBI), have considered various measures to ease debt investment rules for foreign portfolio...
Sandip-Bhagat-Raya-Hazarika-S&R-Associates

Empowering shareholders on executive compensation

By Sandip Bhagat and Raya Hazarika, S&R Associates
Recent shareholder activism and regulatory action have focused attention on the issue of executive compensation in India. The Companies Act, 2013 (act), restricts the total managerial remuneration payable by a public company to its directors...
DIPP unveils revised FDI policy

Harmonization of NBFC categories

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification on 15 February 2019 merging asset finance companies, loan companies, and investment companies into a new category called non-banking finance company - investment and credit...
market-investment-fail-capital-law-business

RBI issues directions on market manipulation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in order to regulate the markets for financial instruments, has issued the Reserve Bank of India (Prevention of Market Abuse) Directions, 2019 (directions), on 15 March 2019. The...
Manoj Kumar, Hammurabi & Solomon

External borrowing policy: A commercial perspective

By Manoj Kumar, Hammurabi & Solomon
A new external commercial borrowing (ECB) policy was notified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently, bringing in sweeping changes to the ECB framework. Some key features of the new ECB policy are: The...
Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal

Revised ECB regulations: Old wine in new bottle

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) statement on developmental and regulatory policies for December proposed “rationalizing” the external commercial borrowing (ECB) framework “with a view to improving the ease of doing business”. While the...

New ECB policy opens doors for foreign capital inflows

By Devashree Limaye and Medha Unadkat, SNG & Partners
To improve the ease of doing business, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with Government of India, notified a new framework for external commercial borrowings (ECB) on 16 January 2019. The new...
Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

Aadhaar: The way forward for fintech companies

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Fintech has caused significant disruption in the financial services industry. Aadhaar (a unique identity number-based on biometric data) was, probably, the single largest factor that contributed to the exponential growth in fintech products in...
Legal-frontier-India

Legal frontiers

Leading law firms shed light on the cutting-edge practice areas that are receiving the attention of India’s top legal minds Internet platform liability Bankruptcy & insolvency Data privacy Taxation  INTERNET PLATFORM LIABILITY  Intermediary liability in India...
Green-Climate-Fund-India-UN

NABARD signs US$100m pact with UN fund

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a state-owned finance development institution, has signed a US$100 million financing deal with Green Climate Fund (GCF) to promote rooftop solar power projects across the country. GCF, a fund established...
GRUH-FINANCE-TO-MERGE-WITH-BANDHAN-BANK

Gruh Finance to merge with Bandhan Bank

Bandhan Bank announced the merger of low-cost housing finance company Gruh Finance into the Kolkata-based lender. The merger will help Bandhan Bank achieve product and geographic diversification while improving penetration in its core customer...
Deals of the year 2018 | India Business Law Journal

Deals of the Year 2018

Deals of the year 2022 Deals of the year 2021 Deals of the year 2020 Deals of the year 2019 Deals of the year 2017 Deals of the year 2016 Deals of the year 2015 Deals of...
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

In sickness & health

Rajiv Choubey explores the evolution of law surrounding insolvency and bankruptcy, and how regulations designed to protect sick companies had been misused until the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was enacted Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 The...
india-legal-developments-2018

2018: The year that was

Aman Abbas and Anant Ghuge review the major legal issues and policy developments that made headlines in India’s mainstream media The pages, websites and studios of  the mainstream media were buzzing with  matters before India’s...
Sawant-Singh-and-Aditya-Bhargava-Phoenix-Legal - 副本

Jury out on partial credit enhancements for NBFCs

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
To reduce the burden on banks for financing infrastructure projects, and to promote the use of the corporate bond market for this purpose, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to provide partial...
Avinash-Kumar-Khard-HSA-Advocates - 副本

Rescue financing: Helping hand for entities in distress

By Avinash Kumar Khard, HSA Advocates
Super priority lending (also known as rescue financing) has been recognized in many jurisdictions. In India, it has now been expressly covered, to some extent, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). It...
Anish-Mashruwala-and-Soumitra-Majumdar-J.-Sagar-Associates - 副本

Infrastructure companies: Are we really hedged?

By Anish Mashruwala and Soumitra Majumdar, J. Sagar Associates
As part of its efforts to ease regulated foreign currency loans in general, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently liberalized its External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) policy to bolster medium-term debt investments in the...

CBDT issues final notification on securities tax exemption

The Finance Act, 2018, withdrew an exemption under section 10(38) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (ITA), on long-term capital gains (LTCG) arising from the transfer of listed equity shares or units of an...
India's #MeToo movement | India Business Law Journal

A call to arms

India’s #MeToo movement has reignited a countrywide discussion about sexual harassment in the workplace. Several companies have set up mechanisms to tackle this issue, but many still lack the legal knowledge, sensitivity and training...

Aadhar and private firms: State of play of section 57

By Arun Prabhu, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (Aadhaar act), and the related regulations create an extensive framework regulating requesting entities and their usage of Aadhaar information. In sharp...

Sigh of relief for bankers on international insolvencies

By Soumyajit Mitra, SNG & Partners
The banking and finance sector was struggling due to the lack of a clear framework in India with regards to cross-border insolvency despite the recent Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. In order to address...

Proposed FPI rule changes: A welcome development

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The regulatory environment for investment in corporate debt by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) has been turbulent with sweeping changes introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2018, followed by other changes...
yes bank

Reserve Bank of India liberalizes ECB policy

On 19 September 2018, the Reserve Bank of India liberalized certain aspects of the external commercial borrowings (ECB) policy through A P (DIR Series) Circular No. 9 of 2018. The circular amended the 2016...

Playing catch-up with technology

Laws should ensure the well-being of customers by protecting them, and not Limit their access to financial services, writes Shivli Katyayan When Greek philosopher Heraclitus (535-475 BC) said “nothing is permanent but change”, little did...

Forex rules hinder foreign participation in debt unwind

By Apurva Jayant and Amritha Kumar, L&L Partners
“It is said that the world is in a state of bankruptcy, that the world owes the world more than the world can pay.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson.) Whether or not universally true, this quotation...

Analysis: High court powers down stressed sector

By Abhishek Dutta and Astha Srivastava, Aureus Law Partners
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular on 12 February 2018 under sections 35AA and 35AB (Provisions) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, on the identification and resolution of stressed assets. In case...

Share swaps: Taking the cashless route in M&A

By Ashwini Vittalachar and Gauri Khanna, Samvad Partners
Acquisitions, especially by mid to late stage companies having significant venture capital or private equity investments, have recently increased. These acquisitions have usually been of two types: (a) acquisitions across the value chain, and...

Financial services firms hit by minimum capitalization

By Shinoj Koshy, L&L Partners
A press release from the Ministry of Finance dated 16 April has modified the 2017 foreign direct investment (FDI) policy by reintroducing the concept of minimum capitalization norms for the financial services sector. The...

Issuance of repo directions welcome but barely noticed

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The government has often voiced its desire to shift Indian borrowers to the capital markets from banks that are reeling from the burden of non-performing assets. Not only are capital markets better placed to...
Parliament--The-monsoon-session

Parliament: the monsoon session

Continuing our regular coverage of India’s parliamentary sessions, Mandira Kala and Roopal Suhag assess key commercial bills that were debated and passed during the recent session The monsoon session of parliament in 2018 marked the...
India-Draft-data-protection-law-unveiled

Draft data protection law unveiled

The Committee of Experts entrusted with creating a data protection framework for India released India’s long-awaited draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, on 27 July. The draft bill proposes a comprehensive data protection framework...

Mega-sale of ailing players is looming: Any financers?

By Aashit Shah and Utsav Johri, J. Sagar Associates
Recognizing that infrastructure is the bone marrow of any economy, the Indian government has budgeted approximately US$90 billion towards the infrastructure sector for the fiscal year 2018-19. This sector, however, has some of the...
India's legal industry

The state of India’s legal market

Undercutting of legal fees is set to continue, as opposing forces of fragmentation and consolidation battle to shape the legal industry in India. Gautam Kagalwala reports To coincide with the publication of the 2018-19...
Sawant-Singh-and-Aditya-Bhargava,-Phoenix-Legal

Bond investment guidelines a relief for foreign investors

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Circulars on corporate bond investments by foreign portfolio investor (FPIs), issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 27 April and 1 May, disconcerted the financial services sector, particularly the provisions restricting investment...

Ease of doing business: Uneasy reporting of FDI

By Vaibhav Kakkar and Snigdhaneel Satpathy, L&L Partners
The past couple of years have seen substantial reforms to further liberalize foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in India, in a bid to attract more foreign investment. While some sectors continue to have restrictions...
India Business Law Journal

The fightback begins

The banking system needs to be fit for purpose Now that the rot within the banking system has been sighted, and efforts at correcting it have begun, albeit with some concerns about their success, the...
Akhil-Prasad,-Boeing-Why-fear-virtual-currency

Why fear virtual currencies?

Virtual currencies are similar to many disruptive innovations that we have incorporated into our lives, writes Akhil Prasad at Boeing The recent decision by the Supreme Court not to pass an injunction against the Reserve...

Bhushan Steel IBC’s first big win

The legal team advising Tata Steel in its acquisition of Bhushan Steel faced significant challenges while carrying out a limited due diligence on the target. “The due diligence process was very complex, as the information...

Issuance of FAQs clarifies GST on financial services

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Along with sweeping changes in federal and state taxation, the goods and services tax (GST) introduced in 2017 also impacted how business was done, particularly in the financial services sector. With the intent of...

Cryptocurrency circular: Unintended consequences?

By Arun Prabhu, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Cryptocurrencies use cryptographic functions rather than central banks or ledgers to validate transactions and are an increasingly important part of the global financial landscape. The absence of central regulation or records enables transactions in...

Sound insolvency resolution key to infrastructure growth

By Divyanshu Pandey and Arpita Garg, J. Sagar Associates
Infrastructure developers in India have traditionally placed significant reliance on bank financing for infrastructure development. However, because of aggressive bidding, delayed payments causing strain on cash flows and lack of a secondary market for...
insolvency-code-india-challenges

Full steam ahead

Banks are beginning to see the light at the end of the lending tunnel, but the challenges facing investors are still daunting. Rebecca Abraham reports As the clean-up of the balance sheets of lenders continues,...

Ministry’s move mystifies financial services sector

By Devyani Dhawan and Mohit Yadav, SNG & Partners
India’s financial services sector has attracted significant interest, both from lawmakers and foreign investors. Liberalization of the sector can be traced back to the early 1990s. Before October 2016, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the...

Foreign portfolio investors: New bond rules a surprise

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The foreign portfolio investor (FPI) framework introduced in 2014 was welcomed as a prime example of regulatory streamlining. However, the framework has presented challenges, particularly for investments in Indian corporate debt. Until recently, corporate...

Toll, operate and transfer: Highways deal a good start

By Anjan Dasgupta, HSA Advocates
A consortium led by Macquarie, an Australia-based capital fund manager, has bagged the tolling, operation and maintenance rights for a bundle of nine stretches of national highway, all completed and in operation, on a...
CBDT-issues-draft-for-securities-tax-exemption

CBDT issues draft for securities tax exemption

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a draft notification specifying transactions that would not be subject to a securities transaction tax (STT) during acquisition to obtain a beneficial tax rate. The Finance Act,...

Sale as a going concern: Alternative in liquidation?

By Ashu Kansal and Manmayi Sharma, Dhir & Dhir Associates
The need for interpretation and amendment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), has arisen repeatedly since its enactment. A recent instance can be seen in the matter of Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd. As...
Bitcoin law

RBI prohibits dealing in virtual currencies

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification on 6 April that prohibits all entities regulated by it, from dealing in virtual currencies (VCs) or providing services for facilitating any person or entity...
India-foreign-investment

Due diligence instructions for foreign investors in India

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued instructions in relation to carrying out necessary due diligence and reporting for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) through a circular dated 21 March. The circular was...
Sawant-Singh-and-Aditya-Bhargava,-Phoenix-Legal

Framework harmonized for resolution of stressed assets

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offers an array of mechanisms for dealing with stressed assets. At last count, these included corporate debt restructuring, strategic debt restructuring, the scheme for sustainable structuring of stressed...

Revised restructuring norms: Impact on project loans

By Avinash Kumar Khard, HSA Advocates
On 12 February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a revised framework on resolution of stressed assets. The revised framework replaces most of the RBI’s previous guidelines on stressed assets, and tries to...
video

Commercial implications of steps to prevent bank fraud

By Manoj Kumar, Hammurabi & Solomon
In one of a slew of steps to prevent bank fraud in India, the government has proposed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018, to deal with the menace of fugitive economic offenders who have...

Regulation of outsourcing finally extended to NBFCs

By Shruti Rajan and Rutu Gandhi, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Outsourcing has become increasingly complex. The world over, laws and regulatory frameworks have been put in place to permit execution and management to take place outside, while ensuring that the key risks and responsibilities...

Locked out!

The Supreme Court has dealt a blow to moves to liberalize India’s legal market. What now for foreign law firms? Rebecca Abraham reports The Supreme Court has declined an opportunity to allow foreign law firms to...

Parliament: The winter session

Continuing our regular coverage of India’s parliamentary sessions, Mandira Kala and Gayatri Mann assess key commercial bills that were debated and passed during the recent session Last year witnessed the introduction and passage of key...

RBI raises ceiling for derivatives

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular on 26 February permitting persons resident in India and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations,...

FPI limit for interest rate futures

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allocated a separate limit of ₹50 billion (US$768 million) to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) for long positions in interest rate futures (IRFs) through a circular...

AZB, JSA advise on Alibaba’s acquisition in Zomato

Food delivery app Zomato has received an investment of US$200 million from Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group (Ant). Info Edge (India), which operates the job website Naukri and a key investor...

Restrictions on refinancing eased for select borrowers

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
In a move that few noticed, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its statement on developmental and regulatory policies of December announced that overseas branches of Indian banks would soon be permitted to...
top Indian top law firms

Indian Law Firm Awards 2017

Indian Law Firm Awards 2023 Indian Law Firm Awards 2022 Indian Law Firm Awards 2021 Indian Law Firm Awards 2020 Indian Law Firm Awards 2019 Indian Law Firm Awards 2018 Indian Law Firm Awards 2016 Indian Law Firm Awards 2015 Indian Law...
india's deals of the year 2017

Deals of the Year 2017

Deals of the year 2022 Deals of the year 2021 Deals of the year 2020 Deals of the year 2019 Deals of the year 2018 Deals of the year 2016 Deals of the year 2015 Deals of...
India in 2018

India in 2018

In-house counsel foretell the key issues and developments that will shape the country’s business and legal environment in the year ahead  DIBYOJYOTI MAINAK  India’s ‘start-up boom’ has seen a considerable decline over the last year especially...

President promulgates amendment to insolvency and bankruptcy law

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, dated 23 November 2017, was promulgated by President RN Kovind to amend the provisions relating to the insolvency resolution process contained in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy...
A feature image of an article about FEMA Case Laws | India Foreign Exchange Laws Case Study & Analysis on vantageasia.com

Laws in conflict

Bharat Vasani explores the legislative gap between the arbitration act and foreign exchange regulations by examining key judgments on enforcement applications India is one of the few countries that still has exchange controls and does...

Resolution regime needed for financial sector entities

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Following the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, which applies to individuals and non-financial entities, the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017, aims to provide a resolution regime for financial sector entities. The bill...

Insolvency ordinance: A boon or a bane?

By Amit Ronald Charan and Satish Anand Sharma, SNG & Partners
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2017, is based on an ordinance promulgated by the president on 23 November. It is intended to improve the credibility of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP)...
A photo of Vikrant Kumar and Naren BS from Luthra and Luthra Partners on an article about share swaps

Clearer policy needed on cross-border share swaps

By Vikrant Kumar and Naren BS, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
One of the less discussed aspects of liberalization under the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy is in relation to share swaps. Apart from traditional means of cash payment for acquiring capital instruments, the extant...

Rule change urged to allow insolvency proceedings halt

By Deepak Biswas and Sneha Jaisingh, Bharucha & Partners
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, primarily aims to achieve reorganization and insolvency resolution in a time-bound manner for maximizing the value of assets of insolvents. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the adjudicating...

Draft directions a boost for electronic trading platforms

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 12 October released a draft framework for authorization of platforms for electronic trading of regulated financial instruments. In a statement on 4 October advising financial sector entities...

Circular on anomaly shows goals of code take priority

By Sachin Gupta, Dhir & Dhir Associates
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), implements a “creditor-in-possession” regime that vests decision making powers of the insolvent company with a “committee of creditors” (CoC), astutely recognizing that financial creditors will be better...
Feature Image of an article about TISPRO regulations and Foreign Exchange Management by RBI

RBI implements new foreign exchange regulations

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 7 November issued the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2017 (TISPRO Regulations). The new TISPRO regulations supersede...
Spice money

RBI provides new directions for prepaid payment instruments

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the master directions on Issuance and Operation of Prepaid Payment Instruments on 11 October so as to review existing regulations in this respect and issue comprehensive directions,...

RBI issues guidance for peer to peer lenders

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued Non-Banking Financial Company – Peer to Peer Lending Platform (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2017, on 4 October. By way of these master directions, the RBI has brought peer...

MCA restricts subsidiaries to two layers

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs through Notification No. GSR. 1176 (E) dated 20 September, enacted the Companies (Restriction on Number of Layers) Rules, 2017. The rules prescribe that a company cannot have more than...
Business Law Journal, letter to the editor

Virtual currencies – A regulatory conundrum

Dear Editor, I would like to highlight that the legal status of cryptocurrencies or virtual currencies (VCs) such as bitcoins continues to be debated as it remains unrecognized in India. Unlike the traditional form of...

Will easier M&A for stressed companies cause any stress?

By Yogesh Chande, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
With a view to facilitate turnaround of listed companies in distress and for the benefit of their shareholders and lenders, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 14 August approved amendments to...

Corporate bond investment limits: Changes make sense

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
On 20 July, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and investors in rupee denominated bonds (RDBs) got an unwelcome surprise in the form of a circular from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that...

FDI Policy, 2017: Decoding ambiguities

By Dipti Lavya Swain and Srabanee Ghosh, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
One of the prime targets in policy making has always been attracting greater foreign investment into India. Accordingly, the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy has been frequently amended, as and when required. On...

Know your customer and Aadhaar: The way forward

By Shruti Rajan and Rohan Banerjee, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
The necessity of financial institutions undertaking “know your customer” (KYC) checks on clients participating in the financial markets has been well established across the globe. The purposes of such KYC checks include preventing illicit...

Tri-party repo directions: A boost for corporate bonds

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
In the recent past, the corporate bond market has had a dream run due to the quinella of the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) promoting borrowing by Indian companies through the...

Stressed project loans: Will banks have to take a haircut?

By Anjan Dasgupta and Malav K Virani, HSA Advocates
Disclosures by bankers in recent months have highlighted a huge divergence between the quantum of stressed project loans as assessed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and by the banking sector. This divergence...

New cross-border regime: Analysis and observations

By Divi Dutta and Anant Gupta, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
In April this year, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) brought into force section 234 of the Companies Act, 2013, which permits cross-border mergers. Simultaneously, the MCA in consultation with the Reserve Bank of...

Processing of FDI proposals: What will the new era hold?

By Kanchan Sinha and Sanya Parmar, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
The government of India, through a notification dated 5 June, approved the proposal for phasing out of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Pursuant to the proposal, the task of granting approval for foreign...
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: Two sides of the coin. Column by Alok Dhir, Dhir & Dhir Associates

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: Two sides of the coin

By Alok Dhir, Dhir & Dhir Associates
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), is a watershed in the history of India’s banking credit culture. Replacing a plethora of legislation it provides for a single-window, time-bound process designed to revive a...
Indian parliament: The monsoon session

Parliament: The monsoon session

In the first of our planned regular coverage of India's parliamentary sessions, Mandira Kala provides a roundup of important commercial bills that were debated and passed during the recent session, and an assessment of...

Payback time?

The evolution of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is being closely watched by companies, creditors and the government for the part they hope it will play in alleviating the country’s stressed assets problem. Gautam...
India Business Law Journal

Moving forward

Time to return to the drawing board As concern mounts over the health of the Indian economy there is a growing realization of the enormity of the task at hand. As has been widely reported,...

DIPP issues consolidated FDI policy

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) issued the Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment Policy Circular of 2017, effective from 28 August. The consolidated foreign direct investment (FDI) policy has made certain general changes...
India Business Law Journal

Open sesame

The arrival of foreign firms is now a matter of ‘when’, but are we overthinking our concerns? All eyes are on the Indian government, which has now only to name the moment when international lawyers...
A work in progress infrastructure sector cover story

A work in progress

Regulatory and contract enforcement challenges continue to cast a shadow on the infrastructure sector, writes Rebecca Abraham The Indian government’s proposed spending on infrastructure hit a record high in February, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley...

Follow us on WhatsApp for latest updates

Follow now