The Indian competition law regime has undergone substantial changes over the past few years and is constantly evolving both in terms of regulations as well as the Competition Commission of India’s decisional practice. This note covers key developments in the Indian competition law over the past year.
Compounding of offences is a mechanism under Section 441 of the Companies Act, 2013 that enables parties to resolve regulatory non-compliance by paying a certain amount and reflects a legislative intent to provide an alternative to investigation or adjudication for technical or procedural non-compliances while preserving the deterrent function of penal provisions.
This note examines the legal framework and principles governing compounding, clarifies certain misconceptions surrounding compounding and notes certain areas of improvement.
The Government notified the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026 (“FEMA NDI Amendment Rules”) on May 2, 2026 to operationalize its earlier decision to amend the Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment Policy of 2020 with respect to the insurance sector. The FEMA NDI Amendment Rules complement the changes proposed under amendments previously made to insurance laws and foreign investment rules related to Indian insurance companies.
This note explores key changes introduced pursuant to the FEMA NDI Amendment Rules and discusses potential effects on the M&A market in the Indian insurance sector – such as the possibility of greater management and operational control by foreign investors andthe extension of the liberalized regime to insurance intermediaries driving inbound foreign investment into technology-led insurance infrastructure and ‘embedded’ insurance ecosystems.
The rise of ‘agentic’ AI marks a significant juncture in the evolution of digital technologies. Unlike earlier generations of AI, agentic systems exhibit a degree of operational independence that approximates human behavior, including other defining features – such as the ability to interface with and act upon external ecosystems, as well as to participate in complex environments comprising other such agents.
The primary regulatory concern stemming from widespread deployment arises from the enhanced decision-making authority of such systems while determining how objectives are achieved. As a result of such autonomy, foundational assumptions concerning control, causation, and responsibility may prove inadequate.
The question of liability presents further difficulty. Established doctrines in tort, contract, and criminal law rely on foreseeability, intent, and proximate causation. However, agentic AI may disrupt such foundations, giving rise to a responsibility gap, where no single actor exercises sufficient control to justify full legal attribution.
For companies, risk mitigation may need to be internally driven, especially in the absence of comprehensive regulation. This may begin with use-case classification and risk-tiering, ensuring that high-impact deployments receive enhanced scrutiny. Enterprise-level AI governance frameworks – incorporating legal, technical, and business perspectives – may also be necessary, along with continuous oversight through auditing and monitoring.
Keywords: (feel free to let me know if you have any other suggestions. The keywords given by me are not researched, they are just phrases I think may be relevant.)
Twenty-four years after the Second National Commission on Labour (2002) recommended simplification of central labour laws and 7 years after the Government of India took the first step towards effecting such simplification when the President’s assent was given to the Code on Wages, 2019, the Government of India brought into force on 21 November 2025 the four comprehensive labour codes, which consolidates India’s erstwhile fragmented labour law regime into: (i) the Code on Wages, 2019; (ii) the Code on Social Security, 2020; (iii) the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; and (iv) the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (collectively, the “Labour Codes”).
This note explains the key changes introduced by the Labour Codes to the labour law regime in India and also highlights the areas that remain unchanged pursuant to this overhaul in the labour law regime in India.
India’s Union Budget 2026-27 has introduced targeted tax incentives for the data centre industry, including a tax holiday until 2047 and a safe harbor regime with a 15% margin for domestic data centre service providers. These reforms are expected to significantly influence how foreign companies procure data centre services in India and how domestic data centre service providers structure their ownership and contractual arrangements. This note explores the impact of these tax reforms on existing data centre business models, contracting structures, and investment considerations for both domestic and foreign stakeholders.
The M&A market in India is characterized by frequent media leaks with such leaks carrying significant real-world consequences for the parties involved, ranging from disrupted negotiations to accelerated timelines and increased deal premiums.
Against this backdrop, this note examines a recent decision delivered by the Supreme Court of India in December 2025 upholding a penalty imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India on Reliance Industries Limited for failing to make timely disclosures following media reports of a possible investment by Facebook Inc. The authors assess the judicial interpretation of disclosure obligations under India’s insider trading framework. The authors further highlight the interplay between two key regulatory regimes governing market disclosures – the PIT Regulations and the LODR.
The Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) has made significant changes to the external commercial borrowings (“ECB”) regulations through the issuance of the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (“Amended Regulations”) on February 16, 2026, which amend the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) Regulations, 2018 (“PrincipalRegulation”).
The Amended Regulations have made substantial changes to the eligible borrowers, recognized lenders, applicable end uses, minimum average maturity requirements and pricing norms as well as to other key issues. Collectively, these changes liberalize the entire ECB framework, making it more business– friendly for Indian entities and providing an opportunity to a wider pool of overseas creditors to approach Indian borrowers in a regulated manner. This note analyzes the key changes under the Amended Regulations.
The Reserve Bank of India has introduced amendment directions to the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Credit Facilities) Directions, 2025 and the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Concentration Risk Management) Directions, 2025 (“Amendment Directions”), to permit banks to extend credit facilities for equity acquisitions in India. This note examines the regulatory framework under the Amendment Directions and explores the key parameters governing acquisition financing by Indian banks.
This annual roundup of the “Namaste Korea” newsletter provides an overview of key Indian legal and business developments in 2025 relevant to South Korean businesses and other organizations with India-related interests.
The newsletter includes recent legislative developments in India – including on data protection, labour and employment, insurance, and online gaming.
The newsletter also includes sector-specific updates, including in the aerospace and defence, tourism, healthcare, retail, gaming, media and entertainment, manufacturing, electronics, technology, and automotive sectors.
S&R Associates is pleased to announce the opening of its office in Bengaluru:
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