As we enter the last quarter of 2024, the fintech landscape in India is witnessing significant transformations, driven by a blend of regulatory advancements and innovative market strategies. Financial regulators such as the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and IFSCA...

SEBI’s proposed data sharing policy aims to decentralise data sharing by empowering Market Infrastructure Institutions to manage their own data frameworks. It introduces a ‘two-basket’ approach separating shareable from sensitive data, aligns w...

“In the rapidly evolving fintech landscape, regulatory bodies and industry players keep playing complementary roles in actively shaping the future of digital finance, with key focus being on cybersecurity and maintaining the integrity of digital tr...

The month of June 2024 saw a flurry of regulatory activity aimed at fostering innovation, while ensuring robust governance and compliance frameworks. The RBI, the IRDAI and the IFSCA, all made a splash with some major developments aimed at reforming,...

As AI continues to impact countries worldwide, the European Union set a groundbreaking precedent with the enactment of the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act, 2024. Effective from August 1, 2024, this landmark legislation introduces a robust ...

The Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) issued draft circulars on regulation of payment aggregators – physical point of sale and draft amendments for the PA-PG Guidelines. These draft circulars mark a significant shift in the payment aggregation regi...

As the Indian fintech landscape continues to evolve rapidly, April 2024 was no exception as it sparked an exciting kick off to the financial year. The month was inundated with a host of power moves from the RBI and the SEBI, re-emphasising their comm...

In a world where algorithms can compose symphonies, write novels, and paint masterpieces that challenge human imagination, the rise of generative artificial intelligence is nothing short of a digital renaissance. With this exponential growth of Gener...

January 2024 has witnessed significant changes in the regulatory landscape in India, which may have a nuanced impact on the fintech sector in the country. Particularly, the regulatory action taken against Paytm as well as the ongoing measures being t...

October and November 2023 were not just any other months for the fintech space. From the introduction of new regulations for NBFCs to bringing in some interesting amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the financial regulators seemed t...

India is set to overhaul its data privacy regime with the coming into force of the new Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. The new Act introduces a number of key concepts and modifications which may have significant implications for various s...

September 2023 was another notable month for the fintech sector. With the successful completion of the Global Fintech Festival, 2023, the month was also a testament to the significant impact which India left on the leaders across the globe at the G20...

The months of July and August have witnessed significant changes in the regulatory landscape in India, which may have a nuanced impact on the fintech sector in the country. Particularly, the notification of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2...

While India has taken a big step towards upholding digital privacy with the recent enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the new law will impact businesses in multiple not so obvious but significant ways. Through this article, ...

As we stand on the cusp of a new era in data protection, it is our privilege to present to you an invaluable resource: an elaborately crafted FAQ document shedding light on all frequently asked questions on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2...

Our latest edition of the fintech newsletter addresses the most important developments in June 2023 in the fintech space. This edition highlights key regulatory changes that are significant for both regulated as well as unregulated entities in the fi...

On August 3, 2023, the Union Cabinet introduced the 'Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023'. This Bill marks a crucial stride in safeguarding personal data within India. The Bill empowers individuals with greater control over their personal dat...

Fintech’s potential to transform the delivery of financial services continues to take more meaningful strides as India is embracing global breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning (“ML”) technology. At present, t...

MSMEs are a significant contributor to India’s economy, not only in terms of GDP but also in terms of generating employment and socio-economic growth. MSMEs will lose out in a big way if they are not able to meet the fast-changing pace of technolog...

Nearly a decade after the digital lending space first saw default loss guarantee arrangements, they seem to have received regulatory blessing from the Reserve Bank of India, with the issuance of the Default Loss Guarantee Guidelines, on June 8, 2023 ...

The Reserve Bank of India had amended the Master Direction on Know Your Customer dated February 25, 2016, thereby introducing key changes such as enhanced due diligence for non-face to face customer onboarding. This article has consolidated the key c...

The start of the new financial year witnessed a brisk pace of regulatory activity, with the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India being particularly active. The first quarter has also seen a respectable inflow of investment...

he virtual digital asset (VDA) sector, primarily encompassing cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies, has gained significant popularity among investors and technology enthusiasts over the years. In fact, in India itself, an estimated number of 115...

Digital Business in India: A Q&A Guide

The crypto assets sector has been on the watch list of both investors and lawmakers in recent years due to the increased adoption across the world. India has an estimated 25 to 30 million crypto investors, and the numbers are likely to significantly ...

The insurance sector in India is not the same as it was a decade ago. Getting an insura back then required one to engage with multiple insurance agents, manually compare policies, then sign up for a policy & the policy gets delivered to your address ...

With the financial year ending in March 2023, there was a flurry of activity by financial services regulators. In particular, the Government of India has expressed its interest in the crypto ecosystem by expanding the Prevention of Money Laundering A...

The continuous advancements in the fintech sector in the recent past has led to some key developments in this space, which has influenced the landscape of financial services in India. In this issue of the fintech newsletter, INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar Su...

Change is the only constant. We live in a fast-paced society with limited time, as a result everyone’s a big fan of a wrap. We at INDUSLAW through this piece are attempting to do the same with all things data, thus calling this THE DATA WRAP! INDUS...

The fintech industry continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, driven by advances in technology, changing consumer preferences, and regulatory developments. We at INDUSLAW have been closely monitoring these developments, and in this newsletter, I...

In view of the surge of advertisements on the internet, the Department of Consumer Affairs on January 20, 2023, released a Guide titled ‘Endorsements Know-hows! - for celebrities, influencers and virtual influencers on social media platforms’. Th...

The final quarter of the year 2022 witnessed several regulatory movements which have the potential of bringing about a sea of change in the fintech sector and provides an optimistic outlook to what lies ahead in 2023. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Suneet...

The manifold expansion of the digital space in terms of presence and activities of users, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in paradigm shifts in the existing regulatory regime in India which was prompted by the Reserve Bank of Indi...

The second quarter of the year 2022 has witnessed the announcement of several key initiatives and regulatory changes by the RBI; some of which have been hailed and welcomed by the industry while others that have not been received as well as the regul...

On April 21, 2022, the Reserve Bank of India issued the Master Direction – Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022. The Master Direction gives a comprehensive set of instructions, especially to card issuers, on matters ...

Introduced with the objective of providing a cost effective means of verification and authentication of the identity of an individual, Aadhaar cards are now one of the most frequently used and accepted identity and address proof documents. With strin...

With the final quarter of the financial year 2021-2022 coming to a close, we note that the Indian fintech sector has witnessed strong growth amounting to a market size of United States Dollars 31 billion. The Reserve Bank of India is cognizant of thi...

The Supreme Court of India on February 18, 2022 upheld the principles of natural justice, by holding that all information, which is relevant for any proceedings against an accused, must be disclosed prior to the adjudication, in order to enable the a...

The Indian fintech sector provides an optimistic outlook for the upcoming year of 2022. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Suneeth Katarki, Namita Viswanath, Shreya Suri, Raghav Muthanna, Aditya Girish Chandra, and Abhijit Chakrabarti, discuss the key develop...

The Indian fintech sector has continued to grow and attract investments. In line with the policy objective of consumer protection and to make digital payment systems more secure and convenient for consumers, the RBI has introduced some important chan...

The Government of India has recently launched 'e-RUPI', a new digital payment solution built on the UPI system. INDUSLAW's Namita Viswanath, Shreya Suri, Shobhika Upadhyay, Maygha Viswanat, and Shantanu Mukul provide an overview of the key features o...

The Indian fintech space remains one of the fastest growing sectors, with companies evolving new business models to digitise more aspects of banking and financial services and expand their offerings into overseas markets. INDUSLAW discusses key devel...

The Fintech sector in India has continued to grow despite the Covid-19 pandemic and is now one of the largest fintech markets worldwide. INDUSLAW discusses key developments in the Indian fintech space from January 01, 2021, to March 31, 2021.

The RBI has made public certain clarifications with respect to the Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Namita Viswanath, Shreya Suri, Anantha Desikan S and Shantanu Mukul discuss.

In response to the mass dissemination of fake news and offensive/ unregulated content online, the Indian Government has issued a Digital Media Ethics Code for intermediaries, social media companies and OTT Platforms. INDUSLAW’s Avimukt Dar, Suneeth...

The Indian fintech market has continued to grow and evolve, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating digitization amongst consumers, micro, small and medium enterprises (“MSMEs”), banks, and other financial institutions, including in rural and rem...

INDUSLAW is a multi-specialty Indian law firm with 49 partners and over 180 lawyers across four offices in Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. We advise foreign and domestic clients on matters of Indian law in relation to their transactions, dis...

The New OSP Guidelines have been issued by the DoT with the objective of devising a framework to accommodate the constant innovations in technology and for setting up a platform for OSPs to operate in the most cost-efficient manner with simplified co...

Despite the recent economic slowdown in India with the extended lock-down, the fintech industry has continued to attract investments, with Covid-19 having fast-tracked adoption of digital solutions by consumers, banks, and insurance companies. The In...

The Reserve Bank of India issued a Press Release on August 18, 2020, placing on its website a 'framework for authorization of pan-India umbrella entity for retail payments'. The Framework is a welcome move by the RBI towards setting up an alternative...

Legislative protections and immunities granted to e-commerce marketplaces over the years have significantly contributed to the continued growth and development of digital platforms for communication, trade and commerce. However, over the years, the r...

The economic disruptions owing to the current pandemic, have impacted funding globally, with venture-backed investments in India falling drastically between March and June 2020, as compared to the same period last year.Although, given the increased...

The Reserve Bank of India recently issued a notification to reiterate and ensure compliance of the Fair Practices Code and outsourcing guidelines for financial services, in letter and spirit, by banks and non–banking financial companies (NBFCs) pro...

Despite the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian fin-tech sector has done exceedingly well this past quarter, with uninterrupted innovation and investments in the space. Fin-tech enterprises bundling their services with banks sh...

COVID-19 has brought the world to its knees. Countries are at different stages of transmission of the pandemic, trying their best to cope with their growing economic and social impact. Governments world-over are eager for the economy to re...

The RBI has decided to comprehensively regulate the activities of payment aggregators and provide baseline technology-related recommendations to payment gateways. The substantive Guidelines come into effect from April 1, 2020. Avimukt Dar, Namita Vis...

In its financial stability report dated December 27, 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (the 'RBI') proposed the New Umbrella Entity (the 'NUE') for retail payment systems, to offer alternative digital retail payment systems to the consumers, in a space...

The fin-tech sector in India has been witnessing increased attention and growth on account of digital inclusion, technological innovations, and interest from second-time entrepreneurs like Kunal Shah (FreeCharge and Cred) and Ashish Kashyap (GoIbibo ...

The fin-tech sector has rapidly expanded out of the back-end technology used by large financial institutions, to cover all emerging technological innovations having a bearing on financial services. The fin-tech industry has been witnessing a contin...

The Competition Commission of India recently looked into an alleged cartelization by sister concerns in a tender floated by a state owned enterprise, after receiving information from the Central Vigilance Commission. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Shreya Su...

The Competition Commission of India recently rejected allegations of antitrust law violations against the cab aggregators, Ola and Uber, relating to price fixing, resale price maintenance and cartelisation. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Shreya Suri, Parumi...

The Supreme Court of India, in its recent order, has set aside the orders passed by the Competition Commission of India and the former Competition Appellate Tribunal, which had found suppliers of LPG cylinders liable for bid rigging under the Competi...

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal recently set aside the Competition Commission of India's earlier order which had held Hyundai Motor India Limited liable for indulging in anti-competitive practices in violation of the Competition Act, 2002...

On August 21, 2018, the Competition Commission of India (the "Commission") approved the acquisition of Century Textiles and Industries Limited ("Century") by UltraTech Cement Limited ("UltraTech"). Through this combination, UltraTech has proposed to ...

The Competition Commission of India (the 'Commission') finally announced its much-awaited verdict earlier this week, approving Walmart's USD 16 billion acquisition of Indian e-commerce major, Flipkart. Walmart Inc. ('Walmart') is an American multin...

In an order dated November 29, 2017 (the 'Order'), the Competition Commission of India (the 'Commission') found the Board of Control for Cricket (the 'BCCI') guilty of abusing its dominant position in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(c...

In a recent order dated October 5, 2017 (the 'Order'), the Competition Commission of India (the 'CCI') found Grasim Industries Limited ('GIL'), Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) Limited ('ABCIL') and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited ('GACL') in co...

The Competition Commission of India (the 'CCI'), through its order dated June 14, 2017, has imposed a penalty of INR 870 million (Indian Rupees Eighty-Seven Crores) (approximately USD 13.4 million) on Hyundai Motor India Limited ('HMIL') for indulgin...

The Competition Commission of India (the "CCI"), in the matter of Biocon Limited ("Biocon"), Mylan Pharmaceuticals ("Mylan"), F. Hoffman La-Roche AG, Genetech Inc and Roche Products (India) Private Limited (collectively the "Roche Group") (the "CCI O...

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (the "MCA") has clarified the scope of the de-minimis exemptions, which exempt certain enterprises from the applicability of section 5 of the Competition Act, 2002 (the "Act"), by issuing notification numbers. S.O. 9...

The Lok Sabha on March 22, 2017, passed the Finance Bill, 2017 (the "Finance Bill"), introducing several key amendments to different laws relating to issues not previously presented in the Union Budget for this financial year.