India: Financial Services

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.

The Maharashtra Stamp (Fourth Amendment) Act, 2026 introduces a new dedicated stamp duty framework for financial and bank guarantees in Schedule I of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958. This amendment establishes differentiated duty rates based on guarantee value and type, addressing long-standing ambiguities in how such instruments were previously taxed under generic security bond provisions. The reform has significant implications for banks, NBFCs, and entities dealing with government contracts, though quest

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its recent informal guidance dated 20 July 2026 (Informal Guidance), has clarified that Regulation 62A of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, as amended (LODR Regulations), applies to outstanding unlisted non-convertible debentures, which was are transferred to a debt listed entity pursuant to any corporate restructuring or business transfer.

If your company is required to spend on Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) under the Companies Act, 2013 (“Act”), a new and structured route is now available, effective from May 27, 2026. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) has amended the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014 (“CSR Rules”) to permit companies to direct a portion of their CSR budget through the Social Stock Exchange (“SSE”) via Zero Coupon Zero Principal (“ZCZP”) instruments. This update is of direct relevance to compliance teams, CSR committees, company secretaries, and in-house counsel.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has introduced significant changes to the regulatory framework governing buy-backs of securities. Through the SEBI (Buy-Back of Securities) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, notified on 6 July 2026, SEBI has revised the framework for buy-backs, including the re-introduction of the open-market buy-back route through stock exchanges.

In a significant move to deepen foreign participation in India’s sovereign debt market, the Government of India promulgated the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 on 5 June 20261, introducing a comprehensive tax exemption for eligible foreign investors investing in Government securities. Effective retrospectively from 1 April 2026, the Ordinance exempts specified income arising from Government securities from withholding tax and long-term capital gains tax, thereby addressing one of the principal tax-related barriers to foreign investment in Indian debt markets.

The intersection of structured finance and insolvency law continues to generate significant judicial discourse, particularly on the question of when a financial creditor ceases to be a mere lender and becomes a related party of the corporate debtor. A recent ruling by the National Company Law Tribunal, New Delhi Bench, in Rishi Gupta and Anr. v. IDBI Trusteeship Services Ltd. and Ors. offers important clarity on this issue.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has, on August 4, 2026, issued a Consultation Paper proposing a regulatory framework for issuance of Depository Receipts against units of Real Estate Investment Trusts and Publicly Listed Infrastructure Investment Trusts.