Corporate Law

In April 2024, the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") issued the Draft Circular for the Regulation of Payment Aggregators ("Draft Circular"), in keeping with their pivotal role in the ever-evolving financial services industry. The Draft Circular is slated to update the extant Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways, as issued by the RBI on March 31, 2021 ("Guidelines"). ......

On 24 January 2024, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Ministry of Finance have notified the Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024 ("Overseas Listing Rules") and, vide the FEMA (Non-debt Instruments) Amendment Rules, 2024 ("NDI Rules 2024") (jointly the "January 2024 Notifications"), amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 ("NDI Rules") respectively. ......

On April 16, 2024, the Ministry of Finance, through the Department of Economic Affairs, notified the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2024 (the "Amendment"), prescribing new entry routes for foreign investment in activities under the space sector. ......

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ("FSSAI") is a statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 ("FSS Act"). It operates under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The FSSAI is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety and standards of food products to ensure their quality and hygiene. ......

The legal landscape surrounding corporate disputes in India underwent a significant transformation with the enactment of the Companies Act, 2013 ("Act"). Section 430 of the Act delineates the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Company Law Tribunal ("NCLT") and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ("NCLAT"), prohibiting civil courts from adjudicating matters falling within the purview of these tribunals. ......

On March 22, 2024, a 3 (three) judge bench of the Supreme Court passed an order reiterating the importance of freedom of speech and expression, granted by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, in relation to articles published by media platforms. ...

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs set up the Committee on Digital Competition Law ("Committee") on February 6, 2023 in order to evaluate the need for an ex-ante regulatory mechanism for digital markets in India, reviewing the current provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 ("Competition Act"), assessing whether they are sufficient to deal with challenges that have emerged from the digital economy, and evaluating whether a separate legislation to regulate digital markets is needed. ......

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ("MeitY"), on March 1, 2024, issued an advisory for all intermediaries under the Information Technology Act, 2000 ("IT Act") and Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ("IT Rules"). ......

On February 2, 2024, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ("MCA") issued a notification to establish a Central Processing Centre ("Centre") with territorial jurisdiction throughout India in IMT Manesar, Gurgaon. This notification came in force on February 6, 2024 and was issued pursuant to Section 396 of the Companies Act, 2013 ("Act"), which empowers the Central Government to notify offices for the purposes of registration of companies under the Act. ......