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New India chief for Ashurst
British law firm Ashurst announced in early September it had hired Mureli Neelakantan, formerly of Arnold & Porter, to head up its India practice. Neelakantan is admitted in India and the UK. His practice...
Mphasis backs new Bangalore outsourcing company
Attracted by the booming legal outsourcing industry, Mphasis founder Jerry Rao has invested in the new Bangalore-based JuriMatrix, the Business Standard reported in September. The new legal solutions company is reportedly raising US$12 million...
Global brands fight for rights
Some of the biggest names in international sport, retail, media and manufacturing are fighting small Indian companies in a string of trademark wars.
Among the icons are Wal-Mart, GAP, Kraft Foods, BNP Paribas, Disney, Time...
Law firms cash in on nuclear deal
Law firms have proven costly in the highly controversial negotiations over a civilian nuclear deal between the US and India.
The deal would allow the US to resume sending nuclear fuel and technology for non-military...
Legal frustration
Dear Sir,
While I applaud the step taken by a number of law firms to publish their rates in the September edition of this magazine, I do question whether it will have a significant effect...
Structuring tax efficient private equity investments
A surge of liquidity in Indian markets is giving a new lease of life to budding entrepreneurs and an opportunity for investors to invest in new markets.
In order to allow investors to retain maximum...
Bollywood, Hollywood and and IP: Law or technology?
The Indian film industry is the largest in the world, producing between 900 and 1200 films per year. This number is twice that of Hollywood, and given market demographics, still has not scratched the...
Acquiring an outsourcing business may impact PE
The recent and much discussed judgment pronounced by the Supreme Court of India in the case of DIT v Morgan Stanley & Co (MS Case), purports to have rendered a degree of finality to...
Indian lawyers shape up legal outsourcing market
The Indian legal process outsourcing (LPO) industry with approximately 100 service providers determining the outsourcing vendor space focuses on seven broad segments: legal transcription, document review, litigation support, legal research, intellectual property, contract related...
Clinical trials: The next big avenue for growth
The growth of the pharmaceutical industry is very much dependent on its research and development (R&D) sector.
But it is a fact that the Indian pharmaceutical industry has not traditionally attached much importance and has...
If set up right, BPO units can enjoy tax holidays
Companies engaged in business processing outsourcing (BPO) activities are entitled to various tax holidays under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Units set up by these companies in Free Trade Zones (FTZs), Electronic Hardware Technology Parks...
ECB: Looking back or looking forward?
The Government of India, Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, have been confronted by the challenge of surging capital inflows over the past five years.
Until early 2007...
Private ownership takes off
Priyabrat Tripathy charts the legal and regulatory hurdles that were overcome in the long-awaited privatization of Delhi airport
Many modern airports don’t make the majority of their money from flight-related activities. Retail, hospitality and other...
How safe is your data?
Inadequate privacy laws are putting client information at risk and jeopardizing the future of India’s outsourcing industry Rodney Ryder and Salman Waris explain
Outsourcing IT-enabled services (ITES) to India is an attractive proposition. It allows...
Patently constitutional
NGOs and generic drug makers welcomed a high court ruling against Novartis. “Big Pharma” is not so pleased Alfred Romann reports
In an intellectual property case that made global headlines, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis challenged...
A worrying precedent
The Novartis ruling does not reflect the level of research that goes into new drugs argues pharma lawyer Krishna Sarma
On 6 August 2007, the eagerly-awaited judgment in the Writ Petition filed by Novartis challenging...
Legislative and regulatory update – September 2007
Intellectual property
In a landmark decision on 6 August the Chennai High Court rejected Swiss firm Novartis AG’s challenge of a key provision of the 2005 patent law. Dismissing Novartis’ petition, the bench observed...
LG advises on Patni deal
LG, a London-based law firm, in July advised leading Indian IT service provider Patni Computer Systems on its acquisition of European-based company Logan Orviss International (LOI).
The acquisition adds strength and depth to Patni’s communications...
Preference shares: No longer preferable
The Companies Act, 1956 allows an Indian company to issue either equity or preferential shares. The latter get preferential treatment over equity shares.
Preference shareholders are entitled to a fixed rate of dividend to be...
Beyond outsourcing: Sustainable development
India has long been seen as the towering location for outsourcing, particularly in the area of information technology. Recently, however, cracks have begun to appear. Wage inflation for Indian IT workers has been reported...
Cabotage regulations impact shipping logistics industry
In the Indian logistics sector – comprising of packaging, storage, transport, inventories, administrative and management services of goods – transportation accounts for a quarter of total logistics costs. Maritime transport is a critical infrastructure...
Employees play their own role in corporate mergers
Sections 391 to 394 of the Companies Act, 1956 deal with schemes related to corporate reorganizations. As approval of a majority of a company’s creditors and members is a precondition for obtaining court sanction for...
The next step: Knowledge process outsourcing
Over a period of time, most of the businesses in the western world have come to include certain low priority tasks that are often delegated to third party service providers.
An example of such a...
Contractual anatomy of a wind power project
Gone are the days when wind power projects were done mainly for depreciation benefits. They have now become significant investment opportunities. However, contract documentation continues to be influenced by the early history of this...
Investing in India through a tax haven
A tax haven is a place of shelter from high income taxes and currency controls. Countries offering more advantageous tax regimes are known as tax havens.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...
FCCBs: Popular tools for investors
The bull run witnessed by the Indian stock markets has seen a number of issuers raise funds through Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs).
The term FCCBs has been defined in the FCCB Scheme to mean...
RBI relaxes the rules
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced in August that Indian companies seeking to buy international brands, trademarks and franchises no longer have to seek the bank’s prior approval.
The move should make it easier...
In praise of Columbus, Ohio
Dear Sir,
We were flattered by your mention of our firm in the June edition but would respectfully suggest that Columbus, Ohio is anything but a “nondescript” city.
As reported recently by the Greensboro, North Carolina...
In reply to Lalit Bhasin
Dear Sir,
This is in reference to the Vantage Point article entitled “No Trespassing” written by Mr Lalit Bhasin in the June issue of India Business Law Journal.
I am totally speechless at the comment by...
Morgan Stanley relieved after taxing trial
Multinational companies that outsource services to India sighed with relief in July after the Supreme Court found that Morgan Stanley did not have to pay tax in India for income earned from its business...
Doors will open, the question is how
Dear Friends,
It is a peculiar irony that while India’s lawyers have been instrumental in opening up the country’s economy, they have fiercely resisted any moves to open their own profession to international competition.
The overwhelming...
Taking aim
New money is targeting India from surprising directions
George W Russell investigates
Globalization is just a word. But when it takes the form of surging foreign direct investment (FDI) into India from sources better known...
In pursuit of transparency
Dear Friends,
Corporate and legal professionals are digesting news of the controversial high court judgment against Novartis. The ruling upholds the validity of the Indian Patent Act and prevents the patenting of “incremental innovations”. While...
In reaction to the Novartis ruling
Dear Sir,
I must commend you on the June issue, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I particularly liked Alfred Romann’s article on the Novartis patent issue. It was one of the most balanced pieces that I’ve...
Cyber laws in need of upgrade
India should introduce a single e-commerce bill that covers transactions, computer misuse and fraud
By Sumanjeet Singh
Phishing, a common computer scam, involves a mass e-mail promising a reward in exchange for information. One of the...
Regulating the airwaves
Foreign and domestic broadcasters are less than enthusiastic about a new bill to regulate their industry
By Alfred Romann
Faced with the possibility of complex and expensive restructuring, media houses have been lobbying to stop a...
US proposes rules on outsourcing work
Three bar associations in the United States have proposed new rules to govern the outsourcing of legal work overseas. While initial reports have caused alarm in some circles, one of India’s leading outsourcing groups,...
A legal argument
India’s well-developed legal system and strong rule of law are integral in stimulating and maintaining economic growth, writes Minister of Law HR Bhardwaj
India, the seventh largest country by geographical area and next to only...
Legislative and regulatory update – July/August 2007
Securities
An Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) could be created in the near future after the Union Cabinet approved in May the passing of the AERA Bill, 2007. Under the bill, the authority would review...
India goes shopping
India Inc has embarked on a global shopping spree, but is it equipped to tackle the legal and regulatory hurdles it will face?
Ed Lane reports from New Delhi
Between 2002 and the first half of...
Gearing up for globalization
India Business Law Journal surveys the changes sweeping the Indian legal profession and identifies the best firms for key areas of work
By Alfred Romann
Now is a good time to be a corporate lawyer...
Indian businesses target China
Eleven Indian companies, including the law firm AKS Associates, signed new memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in June that could see them set up offices in China.
The law firm was part of a 35-member delegation...
Isle of Man draws tiger’s eye
A little island in the Irish Sea is becoming a popular tax haven for a growing number of Indian companies taking part in international mergers and acquisitions.
Companies are being drawn to the Isle of...
Customs to take action against IPR violators
In the latest crackdown on intellectual property rights (IPR) violators, the Finance Ministry introduced new regulations that will allow companies to stop the import of products if they can prove the goods violate patents,...
CDI’s animation unit to list in London
A proposed London listing of Compact Disc India (CDI), a 3-D animation outsourcing company is expected to raise US$50 million.
The company will be listed under the name MediaOne Ventures, on the Alternative Investment Market...
Foreign VC funds may wish to register with SEBI
The Indian media are flooded daily with explosive figures earned by venture capital investors. Increasingly, new domestic and offshore funds are being formed with a specific India and industry focus. One avenue open to...
Investing in the post 9/11 US: CFIUS reform
The United States is the largest international investor in the world and the largest destination for foreign investment.
Foreign direct investment in the United States hovered around US$50 billion per year in the early 1990s...
A new era of securitization
The securitization market in India began evolving from the mid-1990s when originators such as ICICI and Citigroup took the lead in developing it at an institutional level.
The issuance of securitization saw exponential growth from...
Development of India’s logistics industry
India is the ninth largest retail market in the world. Although this sector is still dominated by small retail players, recent times have seen large domestic and global firms launch retail projects that are...
Due diligence integral to successful M&A deals
Due diligence is a key element of any merger & acquisition (M&A) transaction.
Not only does comprehensive due diligence help investors better understand the worth of the target company, but it also generates vital information...
Influx of FDI could drive real estate market
In recent years, the government has moved to promote the use of public private sector partnerships in building the country’s infrastructure and liberalize foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate.
FDI up to 100% is...
New trends herald India’s equity boom
The 2006-07 financial year was expected to be a year of unprecedented activity in the Indian equity capital markets following the extraordinary stock market gains of the preceding three years.
The US$6 billion raised through...
ECBs: One step forward, one step back
Financing has two key components – long-term debt and short-term funds. In an ideal world, a person intending to raise debt finance would be able to raise it from any market that meets his...
Long-distance relationships
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 Law Firms 2015
Top India-focused...
View to a kill
As India booms, foreign law firms wait impatiently for a share of the spoils. Prohibited from entering the market, they stalk from afar. How will they pounce when the prey is in range?
By George...
A round-up of legislative and regulatory developments
thForeign institutional investors, mutual funds, and other institutions may be allowed to short sell their stocks under a March proposal by the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Though...
