India: Finance and Banking

On July 27, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) issued four draft amendment directio ns pertaining to Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (“NBFCs”) and All India Finan cial Institutions (“AIFIs”), proposing changes to the respective Securitisation Transactions Directions, 2025 governing each category of regulated entity.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Scale Based Regulation (“SBR”) framework has fundamentally changed the way India regulates its largest non-banking financial companies (“NBFCs”). What began in 2021 as a framework built around size, complexity, interconnectedness, and systemic importance has evolved into a substantially more predictable regime following the RBI’s June 2026 amendments.

The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a new classification system for Non-Banking Financial Companies, fundamentally changing registration requirements based on public funding access, customer interface, and asset size thresholds. These regulatory changes create distinct compliance pathways for different NBFC categories while introducing new rules for group entities and overseas investments.

SEBI's new framework for ESG debt securities establishes comprehensive disclosure requirements, third-party verification standards, and alignment with international principles for green bonds, social bonds, sustainability bonds, and sustainability-linked bonds. How will these regulatory requirements reshape India's sustainable finance market and address concerns about greenwashing while mobilizing capital for climate and social development goals?

A May 2026 ruling has clarified that corporate guarantees backed by security qualify as 'financial debt' under Section 5(8) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This article analyses the legal reasoning, its implications for resolution applicants, financial creditors, and corporate groups, and the broader impact on insolvency restructuring and credit markets in India.

On 10 August 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a consultation paper titled “Review of provisions related to ISIN for Debt Securities” (Consultation Paper), proposing the following key changes.

Stamp duty is one of the oldest forms of fiscal legislation in India, yet it remains one of the most frequently underestimated sources of risk in corporate and commercial transactions. Parties tend to focus on the substantive commercial terms, tax implications, and regulatory approvals, relegating stamp duty analysis to the execution stage.

The 2026 IBC amendments have fundamentally altered the dynamics of personal guarantor insolvency proceedings by eliminating automatic interim stays. What was once a powerful tool for promoters to halt recovery actions through a simple filing now requires substantive judicial scrutiny, shifting the balance of power back toward creditors and forcing lenders to reassess their enforcement strategies across multiple forums.

SEBI has restored the open market buy-back route through stock exchanges effective August 1, 2026, after suspending it in April 2025. The amendment introduces significant changes including a fixed 66-working-day execution window, ISIN-level freeze on promoter shareholding, mandatory minimum public shareholding compliance, and makes merchant banker appointment discretionary while reallocating their functions among company officers and auditors.

A May 2026 ruling has clarified that corporate guarantees backed by security qualify as 'financial debt' under Section 5(8) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This article analyses the legal reasoning, its implications for resolution applicants, financial creditors, and corporate groups, and the broader impact on insolvency restructuring and credit markets in India.

Airline insolvency presents a particularly difficult problem for insolvency law because the assets most critical to keeping the airline operational may not belong to the airline at all. Aircraft are frequently held under operating leases. When an airline enters insolvency, therefore, the resolution professional (“RP”) may be required to preserve the corporate debtor as a going concern while the aircraft lessor seeks to enforce its contractual and international-law rights to recover possession of its aircraft.

The Change in Law clause is a cornerstone of competitively bid power projects in India. It protects parties against unforeseen legislative and regulatory changes that alter the economic assumptions on which bids are submitted. The central objective is restitution: restoring the affected party to the same economic position as if the change had never occurred. Yet, in practice, Change in Law compensation under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) is often determined and paid years after the expenditure has been incurred.