Interim measures act as significant procedural safeguards in ensuring the efficacy of the arbitration process. They serve to protect the rights of parties from the inception of the dispute till the execution of the final award. In India, interim measures may be granted in three stages i.e. before the commencement of arbitration proceedings, during the pendency of arbitration proceedings and after the passing of the arbitral award, but before its enforcement.[1]
The right to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard are considered as twin ingredients of natural justice, unless specifically excluded by legislation. There are certain laws in India that warrant strict compliance with this requirement. The courts in India have also examined this requirement and its consequences, while keeping in mind the extent to which this requirement is needed to be met with.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a circular in April this year (Circular), reducing timelines for REIT listings from 12 working days to six working days from the date of public issue closure. While this is a welcome move from the perspective of public investors and is yet another step towards ensuring parity between REIT and listco regimes, this could prove challenging for REITs and their advisors, given the intricacies of the REIT regulatory framework.
Continue Reading Reduction in REIT Listing Timelines – A Sprint to the Finish Line?
A robust asset management industry along with a well-developed regulatory ecosystem is pivotal to the growth of capital markets, which are in turn critical to a developing economy such as India. The Government of India is taking considerable efforts for ‘onshoring the offshore’ financial services activities to enable India to compete with some of the more established jurisdictions in the world such as Singapore, Mauritius and Hong Kong.
With increased incidences of trade wars between business rivals through commercial advertising in print and electronic media, there is an apparent need to identify the threshold at which the publication of a certain advertisement becomes defamatory or disparaging to another’s product. The Apex Court has declared that the publication of commercial advertisements forms a part of ‘commercial speech’ protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.[1]
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published the latest of the payments vision documents titled ‘Payments Vision 2025’ with a view to build on the recent success in the digital payments space in India and the successful implementation of Payments Vision 2021. We will discuss the key developments in payments which the RBI envisages till 2025.
The RBI in its Payments Vision 2025 has set out a core theme on its vision on payments. The theme is E-payments for everyone, everywhere, everytime (4 Es). The vision set forth by the RBI in Payments Solution 2025 is to provide every user with six attributes with respect to E-payments. These are Safe, Secure, Fast, Convenient, Accessible and Affordable E-payment options. The RBI has published Payments Vision 2025 across five anchor goalposts of Integrity, Inclusion, Innovation, Institutionalisation and Internationalisation, with specific directions for each of the goalposts. Continue Reading FIG PAPER (NO. 14) – RBI’s Vision for Payment Systems till 2025
Over the past couple of months, India Inc. has seen a spurt in employee downsizing, loosely termed as layoff. The impact is felt more prominently in the start-up sector where, in the face of reduced funding, there has been a significant cutback in the number of employees. The downsizing is done in a bid to save costs associated with employee expenses and to increase business profits. Continue Reading Legal Framework and Mitigating Risks Associated with Employee Downsizing in India
The number of voluntarily delistings seen in the last 1 (one) year has surpassed the number of delistings attempted earlier in a single year. Promoters are choosing to voluntarily delist their companies from the stock exchanges for various reasons including stock market price not being reflective of true value of the company’s stock, having full control over operations (without being required to go for any public vote for critical transactions), restructuring of their group entities, greater flexibility and reducing costs related to numerous regulatory compliances.
Even the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced various amendments (mostly for tightening of procedure) under the new SEBI (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2021 (2021 Delisting Regulations). The 2021 Delisting Regulations replaced the old SEBI (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009 (2009 Delisting Regulations). However, the key elements of a delisting process i.e. requirement of super majority of minority shareholder being in favour of the delisting proposal and the bidding process through the reserve book build (RBB) mechanism remain the same even under the new 2021 Delisting Regulations. Continue Reading Analysis of recently attempted Voluntary Delistings
In the recent years, there is an interpretational query in scenarios wherein the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner has originally accorded conversion under Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 (“KLR Act”) for a land use now inconsistent with the zoning of the land as earmarked under the Revised Master Plan 2015 (“RMP 2015”). Given the scenario, should the landowner now obtain a change of purpose order as mandated under Section 97 of the KLR Act in relation to the usage of such lands for purposes other than for the purpose for which permission was accorded in terms of Section 95 of the KLR Act? Continue Reading Consent Requirements for Land Conversion and Intended Usage – Regime in Karnataka
SEBI’s amendments to the regulatory architecture for related party transactions (“RPTs”) under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“LODR”) came into force from April 1, 2022[1] (“RPT Regulations”), bringing about a paradigm shift in the RPT approval and disclosure requirements applicable to listed companies in India.[2]
Continue Reading RPT Regulations – Some Suggestions for SEBI’s consideration