Category: India Legal Market
India’s Economic Growth Scores Highest in World Bank Report
India’s economic growth Score prospects received a major boost from the World Bank and the Government of India reports. The Government also simplified the reporting of foreign investment by Indian entities. The Government’s increasing focus on intellectual property rights and its awareness resulted in the creation […]
India Attracts Largest E-Commerce Deal
India’s potential for high growth in retail came to the forefront with the acquisition of its biggest homegrown online retail company. The high economic growth prospects were reaffirmed by the IMF. There will be a new system for monitoring foreign investment in listed entities. The current […]
India receives high economic growth forecasts
The global discussions around India’s economic growth continue to gather focus as we enter into the fifth and final fiscal year for the current Government. There was a mixed response from various international agencies, which we have captured below. Asian Development Bank. Asian Development Bank (ADB) […]
India virtually closes the door to the entry of foreign law firms
The much awaited verdict of the Supreme Court of India was pronounced recently which virtually closed the door for the entry of foreign law firms. The Government has drafted an updated defence policy which seeks to increase foreign direct investment in the sector. India and Canada […]
Global Corruption Index Dampens India’s Governance
The Central Government’s financial budget was announced wherein some foreign investment-related policies were mentioned. There were changes proposed for foreign portfolio investors. The Indian Prime Minister declared India to be one of the most open economies in the world. However, the dampener was India’s downward movement […]
Asia Law Firm Management Congress set for Mumbai, April 12, 2018
The second annual Asia Law Firm Management Congress (ALFMC) will take place on April 12, 2018, at The St. Regis Hotel in Mumbai, India. Following up on a successful inaugural event last year where over 70 lawyers and management professionals from law firms across the region gathered to […]
Sweeping Changes to India’s FDI Policy
2018 began with a bang for foreign investors as India made multi-fold changes to its FDI Policy. The IMF also forecast India would become the fastest-growing economy in 2018 and 2019. The Bar Council of India denounced the changes suggested by the Law Commission of India. […]
India’s Indigenous Progress
As 2017 draws to a close, the Indian Government’s initiatives on ‘Make in India’ seems to have made significant progress in one industry. The labour law reforms undertaken by the Government in the last three years have been summarized recently in the Parliament. A Harvard Law […]
India’s All-round Improvement & Crowning Glory
There were landmark achievements by India this month. The most prominent being the phenomenal jump in its World Bank Ease of Doing Business Rankings. India’s credit rating improved. Internally, the GST rates of a large number of items were rationalized. Further, there was progress on the […]
Will India Move Up in the World Bank Rankings?
The Government of India continues to take steps to improve ease of doing business in India. Various reports have been published by the media recently reflecting an expected improvement in the World Bank’s ranking for India, due to be published shortly. There are other areas and […]
India: FDI Policy Boosts Start-ups
India’s consolidated foreign direct investment policy was finally issued recently. The real estate sector is attracting significant foreign investment. Following up on last month’s activities, there was a further development relating to entry of foreign law firms in India. And a very important decision relating to […]
Indian legal startup Lawyered.in: Helping people find lawyers in Asia’s 3rd largest economy
As the world’s sixth largest economy and Asia’s third largest economy, India represents a significant opportunity for any legal services sector entrepreneur. In Asia Law Portal’s continuing coverage of the Asia-Pacific region’s NewLaw and legal startup economy, here’s our recent interview with Raghav Shekhar, Co-founder and […]
Indian Prime Minister Pushes For Entry of Foreign Law Firms
The activities relating to entry of foreign law firms in India gathered pace this month as the Government actively took initiatives. The biggest impetus to keep the momentum going was the Prime Minister’s views and directives to enable the Government machinery to expedite. Some major changes […]
Chief Justice of India Inclined Toward Entry of Foreign Law Firms
India’s fast track regime for FDI approvals has become a reality now with the publication of the standard operating procedures in this regard. An additional condition has been proposed in Mauritius which will add to the compliance for companies routing their FDI into India through the […]
India: Fast Tracking FDI approvals
India is moving towards a fast track regime for FDI approvals. The Government has initiated the process for creating standard operating procedures in this regard. FDI, being a critical factor, has contributed to improving India’s balance of payment. The growing importance of India can be gauged […]
Modi’s Third Anniversary Achievement – India Retains Top FDI Recipient Rank
India was able to retain its top position in greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) by beating China and the United States for the second year in a row. The Government’s continuous efforts to improve the FDI climate in the last year have achieved desired outcomes. As […]
India’s Law Commission Frames Rules to Recognise Foreign Lawyers
The Supreme Court has expressed its concern over unsatisfactory regulatory mechanism governing the advocates and observed in a case that there was an urgent need to review the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961. The Law Commission of India, a body which looks into legal reforms, […]
Legal services disruption in India: Risks and opportunities
For those lawyers and legal services sector professionals about to gather in Mumbai for IDEX Legal’s Asia Law Firm Management Congress (ALFMC) April 20th – thoughts of legal market liberalization and change hastened by technology are taking center-stage. But what do these things mean? And what […]
Facilitating cross-border trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific: An interview with Babita Ambekar
Babita Ambekar is Head of Duane Morris & Selvam’s India and Japan Practice Groups. She advises multinationals on transactions involving India, Indian companies on their global expansion, in Singapore and abroad. She regularly advises Japanese companies on regional and international matters and is actively involved in the […]
First ever Asia Law Firm Management Congress to take place in Mumbai, April 20, 2017
The first ever Asia Law Firm Management Congress (ALFMC) will take place in Mumbai, April 20, 2017. Presented by ThomsonReuters and curated by IDEX Legal. The St Regis Hotel will be the conference venue. As LegallyIndia has detailed — the event will bring together lawyers from leading […]
India Beats Demonitisation to Remain Fastest Growing Economy
India remains the fastest growing economy notwithstanding the predicted contraction due to demonitisation last November. This fact was also recognized in the recent elections in five states, where BJP was a winner in four states. The party at the centre, BJP was able to secure the […]
India Sixth Great Power in 2017
While the Indian economy seemed to have recovered from the demonitisation drive, the year began on a promising note with India making it to the sixth position in a global list of top eight great powers in 2017. Although political parties are gearing up for upcoming […]
India becomes World’s Fifth Largest Economy
India beat all forecasts to become the world’s fifth-largest economy way ahead of the 2020 prediction. The growth of the economy is led by Government initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and surging foreign direct investment. Fifth Largest Economy – India was finally able to overpower its […]
India: Government Withdraws Currency to Choke Parallel Economy
In a bold move, India’s Prime Minister demonetized certain currency notes earlier this month. This announcement sent shockwaves throughout the country and took everyone by surprise. However, despite the numerous hardships most citizens seem to be favouring the move in anticipation of long-term gains for the […]
Bar Council of India Stalls Entry of Foreign Lawyers
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has managed to throw a spanner into the Government’s steps to allow entry of foreign law firms. The Government continues its efforts to attract foreign investment with new and innovative initiatives and strategies. Entry of Foreign Lawyers. The Bar Council […]
India Accelerates on Global Competitiveness
For the second year in a row, India jumped 16 places on the Global Competitiveness Report giving a boost to the Government’s initiatives to improve the business environment and make India a preferred global business destination. India is also working on the weaknesses identified and the […]
Legal startup legistify seeks to make the law accessible in India
India’s legal market represents an enormous opportunity for legal startup entrepreneurs. With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 1.877 trillion USD (2013), it ranks as “the seventh-largest economy in the world measured by nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity.” As in other economies in […]
Uniform Tax Rate To Finally Become Reality in India
The Indian Parliament approved the long-pending Goods and Services Tax Bill earlier this month, paving the way for a uniform tax regime. There were more tax reforms when the India-Cyprus Double Tax Avoidance Treaty was amended. The Government also kept its promise to implement a proposal […]
Monsoon Cheers For India Foreign Investment and Lawyers
The Government’s focus continues on improving various aspects of India’s overall outlook to foreign investors. This month there appeared to be an increased focus on social development and various treaties were signed or made operational. Bar Council of India shared the draft rules for entry of […]
FDI Gifts for Silver Jubilee of India’s Economic Liberalization
Manmohan Singh, the then Union Finance Minister, changed India’s economy in 1991, ending 44 years of a virtually closed economy. This marked India’s economic liberalization. Looking back now, it appears to be a pioneering milestone which has firmly placed India on the global map. The Central […]
Bold Action Marks Modi’s Second Anniversary
The Central Government led by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi completed 2 years in office this month. While a lot of initiatives have been implemented and there is a feel-good factor, some strong steps need to be taken to propel India to the top league for […]
India Declared A Top Destination for FDI
The Government’s efforts to make India a top destination for foreign investment received yet another boost when one of the world’s leading observers of global FDI gave it the top honours. The Government continued to open up more avenues for foreign investment. There are some fresh […]
Residency Status for Foreign Investors and Further Liberalisation of FDI in India
India’s commitment to foreign investment was further fortified in the annual finance budget of the Government of India. The slew of announcements made by the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley in the Lower House of the Parliament of India is expected to be instrumental in making […]
India Forges Ahead with Double FDI Inflows & Make in India Week
The first two months of 2016 have seen some significant developments for India’s foreign investment scenario. It received a boost from a global report declaring a huge jump in foreign investment inflows. Going with the positive flow, the Government organized the ‘Make in India Week’ to […]
Switchover to India’s Overhauled External Borrowing Regulations
The new year began with a big bang for start-ups in India. The Government of India announced a new strategy to support start-ups. A detailed action plan in this regard has been prepared by it. The Government has taken various measures to improve the ease of […]
Indian Arbitration Becomes Regulated …Finally!
The Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (Act) was enacted to overhaul the then archaic Arbitration Act, of 1940. It was a well-enacted law in those days of early arbitration when court proceedings had not only become lengthy and tiresome, but also expensive for the clients. However, […]
Sweeping Changes to India’s FDI Policy
Liberalisation of India’s economy has always been on the cards in Modi Government’s agenda from the start. However, it chose the time of heavy electoral losses in the state of Bihar to announce the goodies for foreign investors. The sweeping changes to the FDI policy were […]
India Tops Global FDI Chart, Attracts Largest Investment & Boosts ‘Make In India’
India’s capability as a top foreign investment destination hit a new high as it emerged as the leader in FDI for Greenfield investment. Two high-profile deals were also signed to stamp India’s prominence in this space. India Top Global FDI Destination For Greenfield Investments. India is […]
India: First-Ever States’ Scorecard of Business Reforms Ushers Competitive Federalism
The results of the first ever survey of Indian States on the implementation of ease of doing business is out and has thrown up interesting results. A long needed clarification on facility sharing by foreign group companies brings in the desired relief. The Government recalled its […]
India Foreign Investment Hits and Tax Reform Misses
The Government of India has complied with its announcements made in the annual union finance budget to set up composite caps for foreign investment. However there was a setback to its tax reforms when the GST Bill could not be passed. Composite Caps for Foreign Investment. The Government […]
India Gears Up to Roll Out the Red Carpet for Foreign Law Firms
The Government of India has made up its mind to allow foreign law firms to practice in India. It has virtually crushed all opposition for years altogether in a matter of months. There have been several media reports in India late last month quoting the then […]
India Addresses Implementation Issues In New Company Law
The Government of India has woken up to India’s poor ranking on the Doing Business Report and is taking active steps to get into the roots of the problem. A few more measures were announced in this regard, the most significant of them, being the long […]
With Focus on Ease of Doing Business in India, Modi Government Ushers in its First Anniversary
The Narendra Modi led Government, which completes its first anniversary this month, continued its focus on simplifying procedures for ease of doing business in India. The annual updation to the consolidated foreign direct investment policy was published this month. The controversial MAT levy is being relooked […]
India: Retrospective Tax on Foreign Investment a Step Backward
In the past month the Indian Government took action towards facilitating foreign investment as was promised in the annual Union budget. However, all the beneficial steps were overshadowed by the controversial levy of Minimum Alternate Tax on capital gains by Foreign Institutional Investors. There were welcome […]
India’s Regulatory Reforms: Commitment to Foreign Investment
The ‘Make In India’ campaign is going full throttle with the Government initiating key changes to its foreign direct investment policy. The finance budget providing further fillip with a slew of regulatory reforms. Further, there is fresh hope for the entry of foreign law firms. Regulatory […]
Will India’s new government liberalize the country’s legal market?
Legal news in Asia and the markets across the Asia-Pacific region have been liberalized in recent years. Liberalization of the Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korean and Indian legal markets are all at various stages of development. India, arguably, is the least liberal among them. Member […]
India to lift restrictions on law firm websites
“The Bar Council of India has responded to widespread demands by announcing it is to lift restrictions on law firm websites”, according to a recent report by Melissa Lesh in The Global Legal Post. As Lesh outlined: “The bar is planning to amend the regulation dealing with law […]
India’s legal industry growing rapidly
India’s legal services industry is growing at a rate of approximately 40% per year, according to a report by Daisy Khanna, of KPO Consultants, a New Delhi-based consulting company which provides business solutions exclusively to the Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) industry. While driven in large part […]