Articles and Updates

• Abhishek Saxena and Pranav Srivastava and Nikhil Pareek - 08-07-2016

Foreign investment, comprising, amongst others, of foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment, in India is regulated by the (Indian) Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). Additionally, the Government of India, from time to time, notifies its policy on FDI and prescribes the sectoral caps and other conditions for FDI.

• Phoenix Legal - 07-07-2016

The (Indian) Companies Act, 2013 (2013 Act) which replaced the (Indian) Companies Act, 1956 (1956 Act) brought significant changes for private limited companies. Under the 2013 Act, most of the exemptions which were available to private limited companies under the 1956 Act were withdrawn. As a result, private limited companies are subject to a number of additional compliance requirements. Several concerns on these aspects were raised by various stakeholders.

• Abhishek Saxena - 05-07-2016

The Indian legal regime on insolvency and bankruptcy has long been criticised for being cumbersome, long drawn out, outdated, creditor unfriendly and fragmented across multiple pieces of legislation. The Indian Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code), which came into effect on May 28 2016, seeks to address the lacuna in the present regime and provide a consolidated framework for the insolvency of companies, limited and unlimited liability partnerships, and individuals.

• Sawant Singh and Aditya Bhargava - 05-07-2016

In its monetary policy statement for 2014-15 on 1 April 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it would work on a framework for granting licences "on tap" to universal banks, and for granting of differentiated bank licences with the intent to "to expand the variety and efficiency of players in the banking system while maintaining financial stability". This statement had been preceded by a policy paper in August 2013, which recommended reviewing the then prevailing policy of granting licences for establishment of banks on a "stop and go" basis, and instead put in place a continuous authorisation policy.

• Phoenix Legal - 05-07-2016

The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 ("2008 Bill"). The amended 2008 Bill is expected to be placed before the Upper House or Council of States of Parliament as the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2014 ("2014 Bill") and will need to be approved by both houses of Parliament. Thereafter, the 2014 Bill will have to be presented to the President of India for his assent and then be published in the official gazette before it becomes law.