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Deals-in-Brief---September-2021

Deals in brief

Ikigai, JSA assist crypto exchange on fundraise Ikigai Law advised fintech company Primestack, which operates the cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, when it raised INR6.7 billion (USD90 million) in a series C funding. The round was led by...
Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal

Clarity required on framework for new securitisation

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Securitisation of standard assets is an important tool used by banks and financial institutions to increase liquidity in financial markets and to ensure access to loans and financial products for unbanked sections of society....
IBC

Unlocking new pastures for distressed investment in India

By Shardul Shroff and Shreya Prakash, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
In the past half-decade, India has seen a great deal of investment and M&A activity in stressed assets. Large parts of this activity have focused on acquiring distressed companies through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy...
Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia Partner Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

Card-on-file tokenisation introduced by RBI

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Shobhit Shukla, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
On 7 September 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a directive (CoF directive) extending the existing device-based framework for tokenisation to card-on-file tokenisation (CoFT). The CoF directive followed the RBI’s decision in a...
RBI-revises-classifications-of-PPIs

RBI revises classifications of PPIs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 27 August issued master directions on prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) with new classifications and to provide a framework for their authorisation, regulation and supervision. New companies setting up...
Ikigai Law, J Sagar Associates (JSA) assist funding of India’s first crypto exchange unicorn

Ikigai, JSA assist funding of India’s first crypto exchange unicorn

Ikigai Law advised fintech company Primestack, which operates and maintains cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, when it raised INR6.7 billion (USD90 million) in series C funding. The round was led by B Capital Group and included existing...
Antares Legal, AZB & Partners, Khaitan & Co advise on BharatPe fundraise

Antares, AZB, Khaitan advise on BharatPe fundraise

Antares Legal represented lending and digital payments startup Resilient Innovations, which operates as BharatPe, on its recent USD370 million series E equity fundraise led by new investor Tiger Global. AZB & Partners advised Tiger Global,...
India Business Law Journal

Chasing change

Regulating for a slice of tech pie Tax authorities across the globe have been denied access to big tech profits by strategies made possible because of the digitalisation of economies and the flattening of borders....
Corporate and commercial e-interests yield to consumers, Manoj Kumar, Hammurabi & Solomon Partners

Corporate and commercial e-interests yield to consumers

By Manoj Kumar, Hammurabi & Solomon Partners
A new draft of the e-commerce rules was published in June 2021 and feedback is invited. The rules apply to all goods and services purchased or sold over electronic networks, including non-tangible products and...
Rupee reboot

Rupee reboot

With the central bank poised to begin the process of adopting an official digital currency, veteran finance adviser Shivanand Pandit assesses the checks and balances needed to safeguard the process The lawfulness of cryptocurrencies in...
Regulations to implement changes to Factoring Act

Microfinance framework overhaul a welcome move

By Sawant Singh, Aditya Bhargava and Sristi Yadav, Phoenix Legal
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) comprehensive regulatory framework for microfinance prescribes requirements such as the nature of borrowers, maximum disbursement amounts and ceilings on interest rates and other charges. However, this framework applies...
RBI issues advisory for Libor transition

RBI issues advisory for Libor transition

With the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announcing that it will cease to provide the London interbank offered rate (Libor), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued an advisory to the banks on...
The challenges ahead for LIBOR transition, Soumyajit Mitra and Nishtha Arora, SNG & Partners

The challenges ahead for Libor transition

By Soumyajit Mitra and Nishtha Arora, SNG & Partners
The globally accepted, decades-old financial benchmark, the London interbank offered rate (Libor), retires at the end of 2021 for most rates, or by mid-2023 for others. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8...
RBI puts freeze on Mastercard issuances

RBI puts freeze on Mastercard issuances

Mastercard’s failure to comply with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) directive to store payment data in the country has left private sector banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, RBL Bank and Yes Bank,...
SPACs- why PIPE investments play a key role, Lynwood Reinhardt and Brooke Dorris, Reed Smith

SPACs: Why PIPE investments play a key role

By Lynwood Reinhardt and Brooke Dorris, Reed Smith
Lynwood Reinhardt and Brooke Dorris examine the impact of private investment in public equity on de-SPAC transactions The SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, is a resurgent spin on the relatively well-trodden concept of a...
L&L Partners assists restructure of Shapoorji Pallonji debt

L&L Partners assists restructure of Shapoorji Pallonji debt

L&L Partners advised State Bank of India in a one-time restructuring of outstanding loans of about INR200 billion (USD2.69 billion) of Shapoorji Pallonji & Company. Desai & Diwanji advised Shapoorji Pallonji & Company, which...
How blockchain enhances efficiency in trade finance, Devyani Dhawan and Shivendra Shukla, SNG & Partners

How blockchain enhances efficiency in trade finance

By Devyani Dhawan and Shivendra Shukla, SNG & Partners
Some Indian banks have formed the “Indian Banks’ Blockchain Infrastructure Company” (IBBIC), aiming to use blockchain technology for processing letters of credit (LC) in domestic transactions. The IBBIC is a world first in domestic...
When SPACs come knocking, Ashok Lalwani and Mark Bell, Baker McKenzie

When SPACs come knocking

By Ashok Lalwani and Mark Bell, Baker McKenzie
Ashok Lalwani and Mark Bell explore the opportunities and risks associated with Indian companies taking the SPAC route With the accelerated rise of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) in the US and Europe in 2020...
The fragile position of independent directors of banks, Sumit P and Asima Ghosh, HSA Advocates

The fragile position of independent directors of banks

By Sumit P and Asima Ghosh, HSA Advocates
The improvement of corporate governance norms of banks has been on the agenda for many years. However, after egregious irregularities and misconduct at the highest levels were found at some well-known banks and non-banking...
Cryptocurrencies unchained

Cryptocurrencies unchained?

By Anu Tiwari and Anindita Bhowmik, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Rajiv Luthra and Anirudh Gotety, L&L Partners
Since the Supreme Court overturned India's ban on cryptocurrencies, trading volumes have increased exponentially and home-grown crypto startups have blossomed. But the government has yet to establish a regulatory regime, and reports of another...
Trust structures from an FDI perspective, Harish Kumar and Itee Singhal, L&L Partners

Trust structures from an FDI perspective

By Harish Kumar and Itee Singhal, L&L Partners
Trust structures are increasingly gaining popularity for wealth and succession planning in India where most businesses are family driven. Increased global business opportunities have led business families, particularly the younger generations, to migrate and...
Risky share swaps useful to fund cross-border activity, Natasha Mahajan and Vineetha Stephen, Samvad Partners

Risky share swaps useful to fund cross-border activity

By Natasha Mahajan and Vineetha Stephen, Samvad Partners
As the Indian start-up ecosystem matures, there’s a growing trend among companies in cutting-edge industries to access new technologies, recruit the best talent and gain market share and advantage by buying global offshore businesses....
RBI bats for full interoperability for pre-paid instruments, Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Himanshu Malhotra, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

RBI bats for full interoperability for pre-paid instruments

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Himanshu Malhotra, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 May 2021 issued a notification prescribing guidelines for mandatory interoperability for full KYC pre-paid payment instruments (PPIs). The notification is in line with the announcement by...
top indian law firms 2021

Indian Law Firm Awards 2021

Discover our other annual awards Award Vandana Chatlani reports India has faced a terrible year battling the covid-19 pandemic. Companies and law firm offices shut shop. Homes were turned into work spaces, and lawyers relied on...
Troubled MSMEs thrown a lifeline with pre-pack resolutions, Satish Anand Sharma and Anshita Gupta, SNG & Partners 

Troubled MSMEs thrown a lifeline with pre-pack resolutions

By Satish Anand Sharma and Anshita Gupta, SNG & Partners 
The long-awaited Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, (ordinance) has amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (code), with the aim of reviving micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). The ordinance has inserted...
panacea or problem

Panacea or problem?

SPACS have generated tremendous interest in India, but are these re-emerging investment tools really a practical alternative to IPOs and a panacea for reviving capital markets? And just how tightly should they be regulated?...
Refund of unutilised input tax credits now the norm, Raghavan Ramabadran and Krithika Jaganathan, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

Refund of unutilised input tax credits now the norm

By Raghavan Ramabadran and Krithika Jaganathan, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan
The Finance Act, 2021, amended section 16 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (IGST act). This second article examines the amended section 16(3) and section 16(4) by way of which a...
RBI restricts investments in NBFC from FATF non-compliant countries, Anshuman Mozumdar and Anirudh Gotety, L&L Partners

RBI restricts investments in NBFC from FATF non-compliant countries

By Anshuman Mozumdar and Anirudh Gotety, L&L Partners
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification on 12 February 2021 further restricting investments in non-banking financial companies (NBFC) from jurisdictions, which are on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) black list...
Regulations hinder SPACs in India

Regulations hinder SPACs in India

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are considered controversial entities – also known as blank cheque companies – that offer private businesses a fast-track procedure to go public, bypassing the traditional IPO process. It’s an...
Second proviso to IBC not needed

Second proviso to IBC not needed

Recently in Manish Kumar v Union of India, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of all the provisos added to section 7(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016(IBC), via the Insolvency and...
Spiking-the-debt-balloon

Spiking the debt balloon

India plans to set up a so-called bad bank to deflate a post-pandemic rise in non-performing assets and help lenders clean their balance sheets. Will this be the panacea the country’s troubled banking sector...
Changes to directions on money markets are welcome

Changes to directions on money markets are welcome

By Sawant Singh, Aditya Bhargava and Sristi Yadav, Phoenix Legal
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced draft directions in December 2020 on call, notice and term money markets with “the objective of bringing consistency across products in terms of issuers, investors and other...
SBI managing director joins CAM as adviser

SBI managing director joins CAM as adviser

B Sriram has joined Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) as a senior adviser in the financial institutions group of the firm. He has more than 37 years of experience in all areas of banking and finance. Sriram...
Security by design in digital payment controls, Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Vrinda Pareek, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

Security by design in digital payment controls

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Vrinda Pareek, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
In February 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the RBI (Digital Payment Security Controls) Directions, 2021 (master directions). The trigger for these regulations was the exponential growth of digital payments and the...
FDI policy oversees trading on technology platforms, Asim Abbas and Ananya Mishra, L&L Partners

FDI policy oversees trading on technology platforms

By Asim Abbas and Ananya Mishra, L&L Partners
The buying and selling of goods and services on technology platforms has grown exponentially during covid-19. A technology platform connects buyers and sellers and facilitates commercial transactions between them. E-commerce platforms, under the FDI...
International-A-list

International A-List 2021

India Business Law Journal reveals the top 100 foreign lawyers for India-related matters View the A-List The arrival of covid-19 brought about a need for agility among international lawyers – to adapt to a reality...
Will-raising-FDI-cap-attract-foreign-insurers

Insurance in bloom

The foreign ownership cap for the sector is set to be raised to 74%, but prospective investors are waiting for details of yet-to-be announced 'safeguards' before they have a flutter. Freny Patel reports The proposal...
Driver’s seat

Driver’s seat

The pre-pack insolvency resolution process allows corporate debtors to take the wheel and steer their way out of tricky situations, but its success will depend on how certain roadblocks are bypassed. Akaant KM reports Unprecedented times...
Digital lending in India- Move towards regulation, Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Vrinda Pareek, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

Digital lending in India: Move towards regulation

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Vrinda Pareek, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
On 15 January 2021, the Delhi High Court directed the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to respond to a writ petition filed by Dharanidhar Karimojji (petition) seeking the regulation of digital...

Future legal leaders

Future Legal Leaders 2024 Future Legal Leaders 2023 Future Legal Leaders 2022 India Business Law Journal reveals 50 up-and-coming lawyers who are making a name for themselves in the profession Access The List In a year...
India Business Law Journal

Wisdom for a new year

Look very carefully before you leap As the recent furore about WhatsApp’s plans to update its privacy policy suggests, the devil can lie in the detail. Many among WhatsApp’s whopping 1.5 billion users have voted with...
Crypto-crossroads

Crypto crossroads

Much like its value, the regulatory journey of bitcoin has had its ups and downs in India. With the recent jump in value, how will regulators react? Sourish Mohan Mitra reports Trading in bitcoins has...
India law firms- deals of the year 2020video

Deals of the Year

Deals of the year 2022 Deals of the year 2021 Deals of the year 2019 Deals of the year 2018 Deals of the year 2017 Deals of the year 2016 Deals of the year 2015 Deals of...
A new beginning for NCDs and commercial papers, Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal

A new beginning for NCDs and commercial papers

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently introduced draft directions on the issue of commercial papers and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) with a maturity of less than one year. The regulatory framework for these instruments...
RBI’s current account opening rules strengthen credit discipline, Nishtha Arora and Ayushi Parmani, SNG & Partners

RBI’s current account opening rules strengthen credit discipline

By Nishtha Arora and Ayushi Parmani, SNG & Partners
To improve credit discipline among borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular in August 2020 on the opening of current accounts (guidelines). Since May 2004, the RBI has required borrowers to...
States can grow through nurturing neo agriculture, Shantanu Jindel and Vidur Prabhakar, J Sagar Associates

States can grow through nurturing neo agriculture

By Shantanu Jindel and Vidur Prabhakar, J Sagar Associates
Setting up a company depends on how business people view circumstances. Factors such as infrastructure, stamp duty laws, domestic and international connectivity, the policies of state governments, the availability of labour and talent, and...
RBI ending the party for dividends, Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava

RBI ending the party for dividends

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Acting on its deserved reputation for hawk-eyed vigilance, in April 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks to refrain from making dividend payouts for the financial year ending 31 March 2020. This...
Changing regulatory landscape of AIFs, Nivedita Nivargi and Vineetha Stephen

Changing regulatory landscape of AIFs

By Nivedita Nivargi and Vineetha Stephen, Samvad Partners
The regulatory framework governing alternative investment funds (AIF) has recently been amended in important ways, clarifying the regulatory intent of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The first key amendment was the Securities...
Pulling the plug

Pulling the plug

The government's plan to cap foreign investment in digital media aims to control the influence of online news, and curb fake news, but the legislation leaves a lot of questions unanswered despite a clarification...
Reforms flagged for shareholding in private sector banks

Reforms flagged for shareholding in private sector banks

Promoters of private sector banks may be allowed to retain their share-holding up to 26% if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) accepts suggestions of an internal working group (IWG) set up to review existing...
Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia,Himanshu Malhotra, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

UPI transaction caps set for third party app providers

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Himanshu Malhotra, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella body responsible for the operation and management of the united payments interface (UPI), issued a circular dated 5 November 2020 on Guidelines on Volume Cap...
SEBI Phoenix legal

SEBI’s awkward two-step on recent changes

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava,Phoenix Legal
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently introduced a series of changes to protect investors in listed issuance debt securities. The precursor to these changes was a little noticed amendment to the...
Tax kochhar & Co

No tax on foreign companies if no core activity

By Shahid Khan, Kochhar & Co
Double tax avoidance agreements (tax treaties) made with various countries provide that business income of an enterprise which is a tax resident of a foreign country is taxable only if it has or is...
Kunal Arora, Nayanika Majumdar, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan farmers

New agriculture laws: A win-win for businesses, farmers?

By Kunal Arora and Nayanika Majumdar, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan
In September 2020, three controversial agricultural acts became law. They are the Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (Trading Act), the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and...
Sawant-Singh,-Aditya-Bhargava,-Phoenix-Legal credit

Changes to account opening – Help or hindrance?

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
On 6 August 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued directions to banks to regulate instances in which current accounts and cash credit (CC) or overdraft (OD) accounts may be opened. Previously, companies...
Anush Raajan and Swastika Chakravarti, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, Decree holders

Decree holders not financial creditors under IBC

By Anush Raajan and Swastika Chakravarti, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) was conceived as a solution to the growing problem of non-performing assets. Together with the Reserve Bank of India’s framework for the resolution of stressed assets, the...
Dipti-Lavya-Swain,-Shruti-Sundararajan,-HSA-Advocates infrastructure

Infra needs a development finance institution

By Dipti Lavya Swain and Shruti Sundararajan, HSA Advocates
A development finance institution (DFI), also known as a development bank or a development finance company, is one that provides funding for social development projects. Generally established and owned by governments or charitable institutions,...
Harshil-Shubham,-Anjuli-Hora---SNG-&-Partners resolution plan

A resolution framework for covid-19 related stress

By Harshil Shubham and Anjuli Hora, SNG & Partners
The covid-19 pandemic has led to an economic slowdown. This has resulted in substantial financial stress on borrowers with an impact on their ability to generate cash flows. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)...
arbitrators litigation alternative dispute resolution

Evolving doors

A reluctance to opt for litigation during the pandemic has seen new opportunities for arbitrators and other alternative dispute resolution practitioners. Shalvi Mehta assesses what should stay and what should go Covid-19 and the subsequent...
Anush Raajan,Swastika Chakravarti,Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

Guarantors may be vulnerable to pandemic default risks

By Anush Raajan and Swastika Chakravarti, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan
The government recognised the economic impact of covid-19 on businesses by enacting the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The ordinance, among other measures, inserted section 10A into the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,...
Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava,Phoenix Legal, covid resolution

Not so bitter medicine for covid blues

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The covid-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns have resulted in a steep fall in revenue and income for both individual and corporate borrowers. Reflecting its well-earned reputation as a watchful, if perhaps over-eager regulator,...
Amit Ronald Charan, Anshita Kaur,HSA Advocates

Impact of covid-19 on project finance, banking transactions

By Amit Ronald Charan and Anshita Kaur, HSA Advocates
Industry has been struggling to cope with the ongoing economic slowdown despite fiscal, monetary and other support from the government. Reduced availability of capital has impacted several industry sectors, one of which is infrastructure....
Raheja ICICI Lombard

ICICI Lombard acquisition boosts insurer’s market strength

AZB & Partners advised ICICI Lombard General Insurance on its acquisition of the non-life insurance business of Bharti AXA General Insurance through a share swap deal. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) advised Bharti AXA General Insurance...
law firm partner exit retention India business law journal

Greener pastures

What is the best way for a law firm to manage the exit of a star partner? Six senior lawyers share their views with Vandana Chatlani With the global economy firmly in the grip of...
Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava are partners at Phoenix Legal. Sristi Yadav, an associate

Much needed alignment for housing finance companies

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Housing finance companies (HFCs) have traditionally occupied a staid corner of the financial sector, providing loans to homeowners and for the development of the housing industry. As a sector, housing finance has also been...
creditorsvideo

Left without remedy

Creditors are in need of a credible mechanism for the resolution of covid-19-related distress until the suspension of the corporate insolvency resolution process is in place, writes Shardul Shroff Effective from 5 June 2020, section...
Induslaw

IndusLaw hires expert to set up tax practice

Ritesh Kumar Talreja has joined IndusLaw to set up and lead the firm’s direct taxes practice group in Bengaluru. He joins from Ernst & Young, where he was a director at its Bengaluru branch. Talreja...
yes bank

AZB advises struggling Yes Bank on US$2bn FPO

AZB & Partners advised Yes Bank on its ₹150 billion (US$2 billion) further public offering of equity shares that launched on 15 July, while IndusLaw advised the eight bookrunning lead managers on Indian law...
Adani Power

L&L advises sellers of Odisha stake to Adani Power

L&L Partners advised AES India and AES OPGC Holding, both subsidiaries of New York-listed AES Corporation, when the two companies signed agreements for the US$135 million sale of their 49% stake in Odisha Power...
blue star

Blue Star issues maiden unsecured NCDs

Khaitan & Co acted as transaction counsel to air conditioning and refrigeration company Blue Star in relation to their maiden issuance of rated, listed, unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures aggregating to US$46.9 million on a...
regulatory

Awkward regulatory tango over COVID-19 relief

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The COVID-19 pandemic and its dampening effects on economies has compelled governments and regulators to introduce innovative measures, in particular to restore stakeholder confidence in financial markets. Among Indian regulators, the Reserve Bank of...
creditors

COVID-19, IBC suspension and operational creditors

By Shweta Bharti and Sukrit Kapoor,Hammurabi & Solomon
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (ordinance), provides that no application to start a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) in respect of a corporate debtor may be made for any default arising...
moratorium

COVID-19 moratorium package: An RBI safe haven

By Nishtha Arora and Anjuli Hora, SNG & Partners
The relentless and rapid spread of COVID-19 during the last quarter has severely impacted economies the world over, including that of India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has recognized the challenge faced by...
relief

Slowing the free fall

Taking stock of the relief measures deployed by regulators to soften the impact of the lockdown. Gautam Kagalwala reports With the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has been fighting on two fronts. It has introduced a...
cryptos

Supreme Court quashes RBI ban on cryptos

The Supreme Court in a recent judgment set aside the ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), through its circular dated 6 April 2018, which prohibited its regulated entities (i.e., financial institutions...
India

Indian Law Firm Awards 2020

Indian Law Firm Awards 2023 Indian Law Firm Awards 2022 Indian Law Firm Awards 2021 Indian Law Firm Awards 2019 Indian Law Firm Awards 2018 Indian Law Firm Awards 2017 Indian Law Firm Awards 2016 Indian Law Firm Awards 2015 Indian Law...
payment

Online payment players are now under the RBI

By Juhi Mehta and Manali Kakatkar, Samvad Partners
After first raising its intention to bring payment aggregators (PA) and payment gateways (PG) under its regulatory purview in its discussion paper of September 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 17 March...
VC

Virtual currency trade sees challenges with FDI

By Arjun Rajgopal and Akshaya Iyer, L&L Partners
On 4 March 2020, the Supreme Court (court) quashed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) circular of 6 April 2018 prohibiting entities regulated by the RBI from dealing in virtual currencies (VC) or providing...
banking

Cryptocurrencies avoid a KO and win on points

By Karthik Somasundram and Sneha Jaisingh, Bharucha & Partners
After five years of studying the global development of virtual currencies (VC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2018 issued a circular under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BRA), the Reserve Bank...
corporate debtors

Net tightens for promoters of corporate debtors

By Manoj Kumar and Shweta Bharti, Hammurabi & Solomon
2020 has witnessed two legal developments that will impact the recovery strategies of operational creditors in India. The first development is the insertion of section 32A into the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (code),...
M&A

What’s in store for M&As in a post COVID-19 economy

By Raghubir Menon and Aditya Parolia, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
The economy has come to a halt in the current unprecedented situation. Apart from medical and essential service providers, labour and capital have been idle during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, and the world economy seems...
covid

RBI provides COVID-19 relief; others yet to catch up

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
A “black swan event” such as the current COVID-19 crisis is beyond the risk management capabilities of financial institutions as well as regulators such as central banks that oversee them. In such situations, it...
force majeure

COVID-19: Conundrum for borrowers and lenders

By Aniket Sawant and Shreenath Pandeya, SNG & Partners
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption and slowed down the economy. In the finance sector the ability of borrowers to perform their obligations under financing agreements has been severely impacted. In light of...
yes bank

Yes Bank reconstruction scheme ready

The government has approved the reconstruction scheme for Yes Bank with many leading banks participating in the revival effort including the country’s top public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI). As part of the...
demergers

A chaotic situation in cross-border demergers

By Nisha Mallik and Roshni Menon, Samvad Partners
In December 2019, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in the matter of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries held that the Companies Act, 2013 (act), read with the Foreign Exchange Management (Cross Border Merger) Regulations, 2018...
Changes to directions on money markets are welcome

A speedy resolution scheme for Yes Bank

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Other than in the 2008 global financial crisis, bank insolvencies have been rare. The few instances where domestic banks have run into trouble have been dealt with swiftly and without any loss to depositors...
enforcement

Bias towards enforcement of foreign awards

By Karthik Somasundram and Shreya Gupta, Bharucha & Partners
Disputes arose between joint venture partners for the control of Ravin Cables Ltd. Prysmian, the Italian partner, invoked arbitration under the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) rules alleging material breaches by the Indian...
Legal and financial plans

Legal and financial plans beyond COVID-19

By Gautam Khurana, India Law Offices
COVID-19 has presented challenges that nobody could have envisaged three months ago. Each day existing as well as future challenges become larger. We need to fight the current difficulties and keep ourselves safe from...
virtual currency

Supreme Court paves way for virtual currencies

The Supreme Court of India, in Internet and Mobile Association of India v Reserve Bank of India, on 4 March 2020, set aside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular on virtual currencies, dated...
sandbox

The curious case of the privacy sandbox

By Lagna Panda, Chandhiok & Mahajan
In December 2019, the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 (PDP bill), was introduced in parliament and was then referred to a joint parliamentary committee for review. Compared to the 2018 version, the PDP bill...
policy

Interplay of polity, policy on infrastructure development

By Shreshth Sharma and Molshree Bhatnagar, HSA Advocates
Governed by its constitution and derivative laws, a country speaks through its policies. Sound economic and regulatory policy creation coupled with effective implementation encourages investor confidence and forms the fundamental basis of attracting large...
retail

Draft framework for retail payment systems operators

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
In a move that reflects well-reasoned foresight, on 10 February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a draft framework for the establishment of new retail payment systems operators. The stage for this draft...
stamp act

Significant amendments made to Indian Stamp Act

The central government vide a notification extended the date on which amendments made to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, through the Finance Act, 2019, would come into effect on 1 April 2020. Laws pertaining to...
loans

Banking on relaxations for commercial real estate loans

By Devyani Dhawan and Jyotika Bajaj, SNG & Partners
Following the sudden increase of loans to real estate players in the early 2000s and with no effective and orderly risk-management system in place, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2005 required banks...

Lenders assign GSML debt to ARC

Argus Partners advised a Garden Silk Mills (GSML) consortium of lenders, led by Bank of Baroda, on the resolution of its stressed assets and account under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) circular dated...
funding

Funding from international sources for companies

By Gautam Khurana, India Law Offices
India has been a capital-deficient country since independence and raising funds either by means of equity or debt has always been problematic for industry. The question that comes up when a business is planning...
family

Securing the family silver

Spooked by domestic tax and regulatory changes, many wealthy Indians are shifting capital overseas. Vandana Chatlani reports In India, business is personal. An estimated 95% of companies are run by families. Promoters of companies...
deals

Deals of the Year 2019

Deals of the year 2022 Deals of the year 2021 Deals of the year 2020 Deals of the year 2018 Deals of the year 2017 Deals of the year 2016 Deals of the year 2015 Deals of...
stamp

Overhaul of debenture related stamp duties

By Aditya Vikram Dua and Arjit Sahni, SNG & Partners
The Finance Act, 2019 (act), has amended the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (stamp act). The amendments will come into effect on 1 April 2020 and this column summarizes the key amendments to the provisions...
Korean

Perspectives on Korean investment in India

By Rajat Prakash and Siddharth Mahajan, Athena Legal
India has gradually liberalized its norms for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). South Korea has emerged as one of the largest contributors to FDI. More than 500 South Korean companies, including Samsung, LG, Hyundai,...
PSS Act

Revisions to framework for imposing monetary penalties

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
The enactment of the Payments and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act), was a laudable and farsighted move as it not only created a regulatory framework for payment and settlement systems, but also provided...
FDI

India in 2020: Easing restrictions on foreign investment

This article is one of four in an annual Vantage Point series where in-house counsel identify key risks and opportunities in the year ahead Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a major monetary source for India’s economic...
data

Juggling act

The evolution of the personal data protection bill is influenced by the need to protect the interests of businesses, the government and the individual, writes Yukti Sharma India’s journey to a personal data protection law...
insolvency

NBFCs brought under purview of insolvency code

By Anisha Shroff and Sharanya Kundu, Samvad Partners
With the introduction of a codified law on insolvency and bankruptcy processes, restructuring jurisprudence entered a new era. While the new law focused on rehabilitating and restructuring stressed companies, restructuring processes involving financial service...
foreign

Amendments bring clarity for foreign-owned retailers

By Anshuman Mozumdar and Anirudh Gotety, L&L Partners
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released Press Note 4 of 2019 on 18 September 2019 introducing, among other matters, changes to the policy for foreign direct investment (FDI) in...
insolvency

Pecking order

The significance of the insolvency code may be put into question if state governments do not observe the order of priority for creditors over a corporate debtor’s assets, write Arvind Varma and Amita Chohan “The...
data

RBI clarifies data localization norms

On 26 June 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued clarifications on data localization. Two significant clarifications are: (1) where processing of a payment transaction happens overseas, then the payment systems data (including end-to-end...
payments

Retail payments to be first RBI sandbox grouping

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that applications are open from 15 November to 15 December, 2019 for the first cohort of its fintech regulatory sandbox regime. The theme for the first cohort is retail...
exchange

Foreign exchange management rules notified

The Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 (NDI rules), notified by the central government on 17 October 2019, along with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Foreign Exchange Management (Debt Instrument) Regulations, 2019,...
ECB

Tweaks to ECB directions helpful, but clarity needed

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Until recently, proceeds of external commercial borrowings (ECB) were not allowed to be used for working capital or general corporate purposes, or for the repayment of rupee loans, except where an ECB with a...
intermediaries

How much regulation can intermediaries bear?

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Payment gateways (PGs) and payment aggregators (PAs) are payment intermediaries (PIs) that facilitate payments online between a customer and a merchant. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, so far, adopted a light-touch approach...
ECB

IBC to lure foreign funds following ECB reforms

By Sameen Vyas and Vishrut Kansal, L&L Partners
Consistent with the views of the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regards the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), as a credible way of removing obstructions to economic progress represented by non-performing...
sandbox

Innovative play in the sandbox

Regulators in this sphere need to be flexible, writes Sanhita Katyal The triad of financial regulators in India – the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and...
investments

Overseas investments by residents face policy gaps

By Vikrant Kumar, Vasudev Dibbur and Bissheesh Roy, L&L Partners
Investments by resident individuals in shares of foreign entities fall within the framework of either the Master Direction on Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS scheme) or the Master Direction on Direct Investment by Residents in...
Fintech

Changes to expect in fintech with digital KYC

By Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia and Himanshu Malhotra, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Fintech players are now offering the Aadhaar-based know your customer (KYC) authentication services (Aadhaar e-KYC) made available by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to customers quickly and at a fraction of the...
Supreme Court

Equal treatment of all parties to legislation

By Karthik Somasundram and Sneha Jaisingh, Bharucha & Partners
To enhance the attraction of arbitration, the Supreme Court ruled in Pam Developments Pvt Ltd v State of West Bengal that the government, as a party to arbitration, is not entitled to special or...
PPA

Enforcing PPA: Guarding against unilateral change

By Abhishek Tripathi and Anura Gupta, Sarthak Advocates & Solicitors
Private sector participation in power generation has been at the core of power security in the last two decades, with independent power producers (IPP) currently owning 46% of the total installed generation capacity in...

Mandatory benchmark linking a good move

By Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava, Phoenix Legal
Communication of any relaxation in lending rates is one of the cornerstones of the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). One reason for this is that unless the benefit of any...
railway

PPP model for railways – the viable future option?

By Geeta Saha, Mrinal Vashishtha and Shivam Jatadhari, HSA Advocates
Indian Railways, state-owned by the Ministry of Railways, has been the backbone of India’s mass public transportation network for decades. The Indian railway network is among the world’s largest and with constantly increasing and...
Amrapali

SC Amrapali judgment: A warning for lenders

By Soumyajit Mitra and Mohit Yadav, SNG & Partners
The landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in favour of over 42,000 homebuyers in the projects being constructed by the Amrapali group of companies in Noida and Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh was a huge...

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