India: Corporate/Commercial Law

India is perhaps one of the first countries in the world to make a robust and mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) initiative which requires the corporations to contribute a portion of their earnings...

Indian trust law was conceived in a very different economic era. Public charitable trusts were traditionally viewed as custodians of philanthropic intent and were institutions established to preserve charitable objects, administer donations and safeguard public beneficiaries.

SEBI has issued a circular deferring penal consequences for listed entities that fail to meet minimum public shareholding norms during periods of external economic disruption. This regulatory relief measure allows companies additional time to achieve compliance under more favorable market conditions while maintaining the long-term integrity of public shareholding requirements.

This article examines the emergence of "competitive denial M&A" a revolutionary acquisition strategy exemplified by Anthropic’s $300 million acquisition of Stainless in May 2026, where the target company was purchased primarily to deny competitors access to shared infrastructure rather than to achieve traditional synergies.

The Competition Commission of India has issued significant rulings on anti-competitive practices in the transportation and pharmaceutical sectors, while simultaneously approving major corporate restructurings. These decisions address freight rate fixing by transport associations, the closure of proceedings against pharmaceutical industry bodies, and the formation of strategic joint ventures in commodity trading and plastic packaging.

The 1997 Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, valued at $13.3 billion, cleared antitrust review but created governance vulnerabilities that contributed to the 737 MAX crisis decades later. How did a transaction focused solely on competition concerns overlook the critical integration of safety cultures and risk management systems? This analysis examines the legal and governance lessons from a merger where regulatory clearance proved insufficient to address the most consequential risks in safety-critical industri

India's new Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 2026 replaces the 1952 framework under the Code on Social Security, 2020. While core obligations remain largely unchanged, the scheme introduces digital compliance mechanisms, a revised penalty structure, and amnesty provisions. How should private employers navigate this transition and what compliance actions are now required?

Foreign owned or controlled companies in India occupy a unique regulatory position—treated as both resident and non-resident depending on the context. When these companies attempt to fulfill their corporate social responsibility obligations by funding Indian non-profits, a complex question emerges: does their contribution constitute 'foreign contribution' under India's Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, potentially restricting which organizations can receive their CSR funds?

The Dentons Link Legal White Collar Crime & Investigations Newsletter examines recent enforcement actions, judicial developments, and regulatory updates shaping India's white collar crime landscape. This edition covers major cases involving the Enforcement Directorate and CBI, landmark Supreme Court rulings on PMLA procedures, and significant international enforcement developments including the Adani Group matter and UK's first DPA in five years.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) through the circular HO/19/34/11(2)2026-AFD-POD1/I/13764/2026 dated 16 June 2026 (Circular) has issued guidelines for AIFs seeking ‘Inoperative Fund’ status. The Circular follows SEBI’s consultation paper dated 5 February 2026 titled ‘Flexibility to Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in Winding up the Scheme / Surrendering the Registration’, which proposed granting AIFs / VCFs greater flexibility to retain liquidation proceeds beyond the expiry of their permissible tenure in specified circumstances.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”), through its revised Standard Operating Procedure (“SOP”) dated 4 May 2026 for processing Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) proposals, has introduced what appears at first glance to be a procedural reform.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), vide its circular dated April 8, 2026, has operationalised the mechanism for lock-in of pledged shares under the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 (“ICDR Regulations”), as part of its ease of doing business initiatives.