The Indian Government officially pulled the plug on real money gaming while at the same time elevating e-sports and recreational games by notifying the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 last month. The new law heralds a new promisin...

The RBI has reportedly issued a directive requiring observers on the boards of NBFCs to be appointed as directors. This significant shift will affect how investors engage with the management of their NBFC portfolio. While the directive aims to ensure...

SEBI’s proposed data sharing policy aims to decentralise data sharing by empowering Market Infrastructure Institutions to manage their own data frameworks. It introduces a ‘two-basket’ approach separating shareable from sensitive data, aligns w...

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, through notification dated September 9, 2024, i.e., shortly after the close of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament, implemented multiple merger control provisions of the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023. T...

While making an investment in the company, investors negotiate significant governance and exit related rights which enable material participation in the IPO process. However, SEBI has been issuing observations to IPO bound companies to refrain from i...

On March 12, 2024, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs released a report prepared by the Committee on Digital Competition Law which recommended an introduction of an ex-ante legislation specifically applicable to large digital enterprises, to supplemen...

As we enter the New Year, the Competition Commission of India, on December 22, 2023, published the draft Competition Commission of India (Determination of Turnover or Income) Regulations, 2023, inviting public comments till January 12, 2024. Notably...

While India has taken a big step towards upholding digital privacy with the recent enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the new law will impact businesses in multiple not so obvious but significant ways. Through this article, ...

On September 5, 2023, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) published the draft Competition Commission of India (Combinations) Regulations, 2023 (Draft Combination Regulations) for public consultation. In furtherance to the Competition (Amendment...

On August 18, 2023, the Competition Commission of India, for the first time set aside a combination it had approved under the green channel route. As such, the Competition Commission of India imposed a total penalty of INR 55 lakhs (approximately USD...

On August 23, 2023, the Competition Commission of India published draft regulations for settlements and commitments inviting public comments till September 13, 2023. Such settlements and commitments will enable the parties to propose structural or be...

Our latest edition of the fintech newsletter addresses the most important developments in June 2023 in the fintech space. This edition highlights key regulatory changes that are significant for both regulated as well as unregulated entities in the fi...

This article is authored by Kaushal Mahan, vice president, Chase India and Avimukt Dar, founding partner at INDUSLAW.

Fintech’s potential to transform the delivery of financial services continues to take more meaningful strides as India is embracing global breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning (“ML”) technology. At present, t...

The Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court by way of separate orders dated June 15, 2023 and June 2, 2023, respectively, have thrown light on the interpretation and scope of an ‘enterprise’ under the Competition Act, 2002. The Supreme Court ...

Nearly a decade after the digital lending space first saw default loss guarantee arrangements, they seem to have received regulatory blessing from the Reserve Bank of India, with the issuance of the Default Loss Guarantee Guidelines, on June 8, 2023 ...

Apple Inc. (Apple) recently opened its first retail store in India in April 2023 at the Reliance World Drive mall. The lease agreement executed by Apple for leasing the premises includes a restrictive covenant prohibiting the brands competing with Ap...

The start of the new financial year witnessed a brisk pace of regulatory activity, with the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India being particularly active. The first quarter has also seen a respectable inflow of investment...

India’s increasingly robust approach towards corporate fraud has helped in a significant level of fraud detection in public as well as private companies. The statutory and investor driven imperative to adhere to high standards of corporate governan...

On April 11, 2023, the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 (“Amendment”) received the assent of the Hon’ble President of India and certain provisions have come into effect on May 18, 2023, after being notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs...

The crypto assets sector has been on the watch list of both investors and lawmakers in recent years due to the increased adoption across the world. India has an estimated 25 to 30 million crypto investors, and the numbers are likely to significantly ...

With the financial year ending in March 2023, there was a flurry of activity by financial services regulators. In particular, the Government of India has expressed its interest in the crypto ecosystem by expanding the Prevention of Money Laundering A...

The continuous advancements in the fintech sector in the recent past has led to some key developments in this space, which has influenced the landscape of financial services in India. In this issue of the fintech newsletter, INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar Su...

India had a chequered history of allowing foreign lawyers to practice in India. The main obstacle is represented under the traditional view that the legal profession is not a commercial activity and should not leaven into a commercial competition. ...

On December 22, 2022, the Standing Committee on Finance (“Committee”) presented its report titled ‘Anti-competitive practices by big tech companies’, before the Lok Sabha. The Committee has identified 10 anti-competitive practices in the digi...

The fintech industry continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, driven by advances in technology, changing consumer preferences, and regulatory developments. We at INDUSLAW have been closely monitoring these developments, and in this newsletter, I...

The year 2022 was a pivotal year for competition law in India as it established that correcting anti-competitive practices in the digital market is a regulatory priority. In line with this objective, not only did the CCI (in line with its global coun...

In view of the surge of advertisements on the internet, the Department of Consumer Affairs on January 20, 2023, released a Guide titled ‘Endorsements Know-hows! - for celebrities, influencers and virtual influencers on social media platforms’. Th...

The final quarter of the year 2022 witnessed several regulatory movements which have the potential of bringing about a sea of change in the fintech sector and provides an optimistic outlook to what lies ahead in 2023. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Suneet...

The Central Government introduced the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (“2023 Bill”) in the Lok Sabha (i.e., lower house of the Parliament) in the first part of the budget session and proposed additional amendments to the Competition (Amendment...

The Standing Committee on Finance (“Committee”) recently tabled its report on the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (“Bill”) before the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament). The Committee, after consultation with various stakeholder...

The manifold expansion of the digital space in terms of presence and activities of users, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in paradigm shifts in the existing regulatory regime in India which was prompted by the Reserve Bank of Indi...

By way of its recent orders, the CCI has dismissed separate allegations of refusal to deal against Britannia and Parle and explicitly recognised selective distribution arrangements as a valid business strategy. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal,...

The Central Government recently introduced the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (“Bill”) amending the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 (“Competition Act”) in the lower house of the Parliament i.e., the Lok Sabha. The Bill introduces ...

In line with the trend of heightened scrutiny of prominent players in the digital sector, the CCI has directed an investigation against BookMyShow for its exclusivity and data gathering practices. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal and Parth Seha...

After almost 2 years of a pandemic induced hiatus, the CCI has recently taken cognizance of gun-jumping and imposed penalties of INR 5 lakhs (approximately USD 6,600) and INR 15 lakhs (approximately USD 19,700) on Adani Green Energy Limited and Tata ...

With the final quarter of the financial year 2021-2022 coming to a close, we note that the Indian fintech sector has witnessed strong growth amounting to a market size of United States Dollars 31 billion. The Reserve Bank of India is cognizant of thi...

The Supreme Court clarified that the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 are wide enough to enable the Competition Commission of India to conduct an inquiry into activities, such as, lottery related services, even if such activities are 'res extr...

The Indian fintech sector provides an optimistic outlook for the upcoming year of 2022. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Suneeth Katarki, Namita Viswanath, Shreya Suri, Raghav Muthanna, Aditya Girish Chandra, and Abhijit Chakrabarti, discuss the key develop...

The Competition Commission of India imposed a penalty of INR 20 lakh on Investcorp by invoking its look back power over incorrect computation of filing threshold in investment management business acquisition. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal, P...

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, through the Department of Consumer Affairs, has notified the Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021 on December 28, 2021 with the aim to increase transparency and consumer acce...

The Competition Commission of India initiated a market study on the pharmaceutical sector in India in October, 2020. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal and Parth Sehan analyse the regulator's finding of the study published recently.

The Indian fintech sector has continued to grow and attract investments. In line with the policy objective of consumer protection and to make digital payment systems more secure and convenient for consumers, the RBI has introduced some important chan...

Our colleagues Avik Biswas, Avimukt Dar, and Arunima Kumar discuss recent shifts in India's anti-bribery and anti-corruption strategy, including the amendments made to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 and new disclosure requirements th...

The CCI has recently penalised a beer cartel based on data provided by some of the cartel members in their leniency applications. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal, Ankush Walia and Parth Sehan provide their insights on the order and take a look...

Competition authorities around the globe are increasingly examining whether transactions in the digital markets have adversely impacted the competitive landscape. Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal and Ankush Walia examined the challenges faced by the CCI i...

The Competition Commission of India has recently penalised Maruti Suzuki for imposing resale price maintenance restrictions on its dealers. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal, Ankush Walia and Parth Sehan take a look at the regulator’s willingn...

The Indian fintech space remains one of the fastest growing sectors, with companies evolving new business models to digitise more aspects of banking and financial services and expand their offerings into overseas markets. INDUSLAW discusses key devel...

India’s competition regulator continues to put Google under its scanner and has now directed an investigation into allegations of abuse of dominance by Google in the smart TV market. Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal and Ankush Walia examine the Competit...

The Fintech sector in India has continued to grow despite the Covid-19 pandemic and is now one of the largest fintech markets worldwide. INDUSLAW discusses key developments in the Indian fintech space from January 01, 2021, to March 31, 2021.

The RBI has made public certain clarifications with respect to the Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Namita Viswanath, Shreya Suri, Anantha Desikan S and Shantanu Mukul discuss.

In response to the mass dissemination of fake news and offensive/ unregulated content online, the Indian Government has issued a Digital Media Ethics Code for intermediaries, social media companies and OTT Platforms. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Suneeth...

In India, the competition law regulator showed nimbleness in its working and in its application of the law in a year which provoked unprecedented economic repercussions. Avimukt Dar, Unnati Agrawal, Ankush Walia and Parumita Pal present a nuanced ove...

The Indian fintech market has continued to grow and evolve, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating digitization amongst consumers, micro, small and medium enterprises (“MSMEs”), banks, and other financial institutions, including in rural and rem...

INDUSLAW is a multi-specialty Indian law firm with 49 partners and over 180 lawyers across four offices in Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. We advise foreign and domestic clients on matters of Indian law in relation to their transactions, dis...

In the backdrop of Britain’s departure from the European Union effective January 2021, INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar and Shantanu Mukul discuss the major issues arising out of Brexit and the future trade relationship between the EU and the UK, which may...

The equity investor landscape has changed significantly in India over the last few decades. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, investors such as the Blackstone Group, APG Asset Management and CapitalLand Group are scouting for commercial assets in Indi...

Despite the recent economic slowdown in India with the extended lock-down, the fintech industry has continued to attract investments, with Covid-19 having fast-tracked adoption of digital solutions by consumers, banks, and insurance companies. The In...

The Reserve Bank of India issued a Press Release on August 18, 2020, placing on its website a 'framework for authorization of pan-India umbrella entity for retail payments'. The Framework is a welcome move by the RBI towards setting up an alternative...

Legislative protections and immunities granted to e-commerce marketplaces over the years have significantly contributed to the continued growth and development of digital platforms for communication, trade and commerce. However, over the years, the r...

The economic disruptions owing to the current pandemic, have impacted funding globally, with venture-backed investments in India falling drastically between March and June 2020, as compared to the same period last year.Although, given the increased...

The RBI has decided to include start-ups for Priority Sector Lending (PSL). This is a strong initiative for ease of capital access and will impact the start-up ecosystem. Avimukt Dar, Nikita Goyal, and Aadhya R Chauhan discuss.

In the wake of growing tensions between India & China, India amended its FDI Policy to restrict investments from neighboring countries. Recently, it also released a press note banning 59 Chinese applications, with reports suggesting that the governme...

The Reserve Bank of India recently issued a notification to reiterate and ensure compliance of the Fair Practices Code and outsourcing guidelines for financial services, in letter and spirit, by banks and non–banking financial companies (NBFCs) pro...

In April of 2019, the Department of Justice of the United States of America released a Guidance Document aimed at highlighting certain key factors for prosecutors to consider while conducting an investigation of a corporation, determining whether to ...

Despite the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian fin-tech sector has done exceedingly well this past quarter, with uninterrupted innovation and investments in the space. Fin-tech enterprises bundling their services with banks sh...

The world is witnessing unprecedented times in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has led to countries across the globe adopting legal, political and economic measures which are equally unprecedented. In one such move, the Indian Government has, o...

In a robust response to industry calls for urgent assistance to start-ups impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Small Industries Development Bank of India has rolled out the COVID-19 Start-up Assistance Scheme. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Nikita Goyal a...

The RBI has decided to comprehensively regulate the activities of payment aggregators and provide baseline technology-related recommendations to payment gateways. The substantive Guidelines come into effect from April 1, 2020. Avimukt Dar, Namita Vis...

In its financial stability report dated December 27, 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (the 'RBI') proposed the New Umbrella Entity (the 'NUE') for retail payment systems, to offer alternative digital retail payment systems to the consumers, in a space...

The fin-tech sector in India has been witnessing increased attention and growth on account of digital inclusion, technological innovations, and interest from second-time entrepreneurs like Kunal Shah (FreeCharge and Cred) and Ashish Kashyap (GoIbibo ...

In furtherance of ease of doing business in India and in order to capture the changes which had been introduced by Press Note 4 of 2019, the Central Government on December 5, 2019, notified the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Amen...

The Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 (the 'Rules'), the Foreign Exchange Management (Debt Instrument) Regulations, 2019 (the 'Debt Regulations'), and the Foreign Exchange Management (Mode of Payment and Reporting of Non-...

The fin-tech sector has rapidly expanded out of the back-end technology used by large financial institutions, to cover all emerging technological innovations having a bearing on financial services. The fin-tech industry has been witnessing a contin...

In March 2019, the Draft National e-Commerce Policy was introduced, which delved into e-commerce issues relating to encompassing data, infrastructure development, e-commerce marketplaces, regulatory issues, stimulating the domestic digital economy, a...

The Competition Commission of India recently looked into an alleged cartelization by sister concerns in a tender floated by a state owned enterprise, after receiving information from the Central Vigilance Commission. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Shreya Su...

The Competition Commission of India recently rejected allegations of antitrust law violations against the cab aggregators, Ola and Uber, relating to price fixing, resale price maintenance and cartelisation. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Shreya Suri, Parumi...

The Supreme Court of India, in its recent order, has set aside the orders passed by the Competition Commission of India and the former Competition Appellate Tribunal, which had found suppliers of LPG cylinders liable for bid rigging under the Competi...

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal recently set aside the Competition Commission of India's earlier order which had held Hyundai Motor India Limited liable for indulging in anti-competitive practices in violation of the Competition Act, 2002...

On August 21, 2018, the Competition Commission of India (the "Commission") approved the acquisition of Century Textiles and Industries Limited ("Century") by UltraTech Cement Limited ("UltraTech"). Through this combination, UltraTech has proposed to ...

The Competition Commission of India (the 'Commission') finally announced its much-awaited verdict earlier this week, approving Walmart's USD 16 billion acquisition of Indian e-commerce major, Flipkart. Walmart Inc. ('Walmart') is an American multin...

M&A in India may trigger merger control and Competition Law issues. Avimukt Dar recently spoke about combinations, thresholds and some of the notification triggers that you need to be aware of and some of the potential exemptions that might apply

In an order dated November 29, 2017 (the 'Order'), the Competition Commission of India (the 'Commission') found the Board of Control for Cricket (the 'BCCI') guilty of abusing its dominant position in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(c...

In a recent order dated October 5, 2017 (the 'Order'), the Competition Commission of India (the 'CCI') found Grasim Industries Limited ('GIL'), Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Limited ('ABCIL') and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited ('GACL') in co...

The Competition Commission of India (the 'CCI'), through its order dated June 14, 2017, has imposed a penalty of INR 870 million (Indian Rupees Eighty-Seven Crores) (approximately USD 13.4 million) on Hyundai Motor India Limited ('HMIL') for indulgin...

The Competition Commission of India (the "CCI"), in the matter of Biocon Limited ("Biocon"), Mylan Pharmaceuticals ("Mylan"), F. Hoffman La-Roche AG, Genetech Inc and Roche Products (India) Private Limited (collectively the "Roche Group") (the "CCI O...

The Supreme Court of India (the "Supreme Court") on May 8, 2017 held that the 'relevant turnover' and not the total turnover should be the basis for determination of penalties under the Competition Act, 2002 (the "Act").

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (the "MCA") has clarified the scope of the de-minimis exemptions, which exempt certain enterprises from the applicability of section 5 of the Competition Act, 2002 (the "Act"), by issuing notification numbers. S.O. 9...

The Lok Sabha on March 22, 2017, passed the Finance Bill, 2017 (the "Finance Bill"), introducing several key amendments to different laws relating to issues not previously presented in the Union Budget for this financial year.

On Tuesday, January 24th 2017, INDUSLAW in collaboration with the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) Delhi hosted an interactive session with Shri. Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog to discuss the current economic and investment climate...

The Supreme Court, in its judgment in IDBI Trusteeship Ltd. V. Hubtown Ltd.[1] on November 15, 2016, has set aside the Bombay High Court’s judgment (summarised below) regarding the validity of structured investments by foreign investors, where...

As India’s Internet businesses mature, a time may come when the anti-trust regulator will have to take a closer look at companies that are changing several industries including travel, retail and advertising. So far, the antitrust regulator Co...

The Reserve Bank of India (the “RBI”) notified an amendment to the FEMA 2000 on April 28 2016 by issuing the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 201...

The Government of India has launched “Startup India” – an initiative to build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and start-ups in the country that could drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employmen...

Historically, regulating insider trading has been the exclusive domain of the Securities Exchange Board of India ("SEBI"). This is in line with the regulatory approach witnessed in most jurisdictions around the world. In consonance with the modern re...

It was circa 1955 when computer was used for the very first time in India and it was circa 1995 that internet services were first launched here. In 2015, one cannot imagine a life without the two. This goes to show how fast we adapt to the advancemen...

The Companies Act 2013 has shaken the way business was conducted in India. The governance ecosystem of the Companies Act, 1956 ("Old Act"), with its laissez faire approach to privately held companies, is now history. The Companies Act, 2013 is driven...

A hotel management agreement defines the relationship between the owner and the operator of a hotel. The relationship between these two parties is driven primarily by contract and not by equity or property, and as such aligning the interest of both p...

The provisions relating to buy-back of securities under the Companies Act, 2013 ("Act of 2013") are an attempt to build upon the experience of the current buy back regime (as introduced in Companies (Amendment) Act, 1999) under the Companies Act, 195...

The recent judgment of the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) in Belaire Owner’s Association vs DLF Limited has created ripples in the real estate sector. The news has come as another dampener for a sector that is already reel...