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.

The webinar “Investing in India – Public M&A” hosted by Khaitan & Co, has been designed to enhance the understanding of key issues relevant to existing and prospective foreign investors doing business in India. The session focuses on public mergers and acquisitions (M&A), specifically the processes involved in acquiring, merging with, or taking a controlling stake in an Indian listed company.

Compulsory convertible debenture (“CCDs”) occupies a unique and increasingly contentious space in corporate law and allied fields of practice. These instruments are structured to start as debentures as was fundamentally contemplated under in the language of Section 71 of the Companies Act 2013 (“Companies Act”) which treats Debentures as ‘debt’.

The Reserve Bank of India has amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Cross Border Merger) Regulations, 2018, introducing the term 'Competent Authority' to replace references to the National Company Law Tribunal. This change addresses a critical ambiguity regarding whether cross-border mergers approved through the fast-track route by the Regional Director qualify for deemed RBI approval. The amendment now clarifies that such mergers, when compliant with the prescribed regulatory framework, will benefit fro

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.

India's telecommunications sector undergoes a fundamental regulatory transformation as the Department of Telecommunications replaces the decades-old unified license framework with a streamlined authorisation-based system. The new regime introduces separate rule frameworks for principal, miscellaneous, and captive telecommunication services while establishing a digital single-window platform for regulatory interactions. Existing license holders now face critical decisions about migrating to the new authorisa

The webinar “Investing in India – Public M&A” hosted by Khaitan & Co, has been designed to enhance the understanding of key issues relevant to existing and prospective foreign investors doing business in India. The session focuses on public mergers and acquisitions (M&A), specifically the processes involved in acquiring, merging with, or taking a controlling stake in an Indian listed company.

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.