Important Changes To India's Corporate Social Responsibility Regime

In April 2014, the Indian government introduced a detailed corporate social responsibility ("CSR") regime as a part of the then newly introduced Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act"). As per Section 135 of the Act, CSR obligations apply to all companies, who, in the preceding financial year have a: net worth of at least INR5 billion (approx. US$69 million);turnover of at least INR10 billion (approx. US$138 million); ornet profit of at least INR50 million (approx. US$689,000). All such ...

A Wholesome IPR Scheme For Start-Ups And Small Enterprise

We all have often heard that startups and small enterprises are the very life blood of the country's economy and they are also the key contributors to a country's innovation and technology index. To aid innovation and technology, the Government of India has come up with an all-inclusive patent scheme specially for start-ups and small enterprises. We shall highlight a few key points that might be beneficial to start-ups and small enterprises and can help them to safeguard their innovations...

Copyright Framework: The Panacea For The Non-Personal Data Governance

In September 2019, an Expert Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) to deliberate on issues related to Non-Personal Data ("NPD"). The committee released two reports, one in May 2020 and thereafter a revised report in December 2020, relating to the creation of a governance framework for NPD. The task assigned to the Committee was to study various issues relating to NPD and to make specific suggestions for consideration of the Central...

The WhatsApp Privacy Policy Dilemma

It is no doubt that with the rapid growth of technology and internet-based communication globally, it is vital to keep safeguarded the personal information and data of individuals and to have robust laws in place to regulate the collection and use of such personal information and data by entities. It was with this view that the European Union's (EU) General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") was enacted, which sets forth the guidelines for the collection and processing of personal...

Bank Guarantees – Legality Of Timelines For 'Assertion Of Claim' And 'Enforcement Of Claim'

As we are aware, Bank Guarantees ("BG/BGs") are independent contracts that vest the beneficiary therein with a right to make a claim against the bank to pay for the loss suffered due to the default committed by a borrower. This arrangement is put into motion when a borrower's default under his contract with the beneficiary occurs within the lifetime of the BG i.e. the Validity Period ("Validity Period") and the beneficiary makes a written demand invoking the BG either within the Validity...

Budget 2021- Key Legal Changes

Following changes has been made in Tax and Corporate Laws vide Budget-2021 [Finance Bill, 2021]. Changes in GST Law: Vide Finance Bill 2021 following changes are been made in the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; (i) Interpretation of word "Person" under Section 7 of the CGST Act: It adds that the person and its members or constituents shall be deemed to be two separate persons and the supply of activities or transactions inter se shall be deemed to take place from one such...

"Nothing To Lose," Say Lawyers Attempting Pre-Litigation Mediation

As the post-pandemic era dawns, CAMP Mediation is observing 2021 as the year of #CALM (Celebrating Advocates & Lawyers in Mediation). Often unaware and uncertain of their role in private mediation, lawyers and advocates, who haven't first-hand experienced the benefits of pre-litigation mediation could be missing out on opportunities to #settlesmart for their clients. Via a series of articles, the author aims to highlight the developing trends of private commercial mediation in India,...

Scope Of Judicial Review In Tender Matters

Singhania and Partners successfully represented the National Highways Authority of India ("NHAI") in the matter of Track and Towers Infratech P Ltd. vs. NHAI before Delhi High Court. The Petitioner had challenged the result of Technical evaluation disqualifying the Petitioner on the ground that decision of NHAI was arbitrary, unfair and discriminatory. FACTS: Brief factual matrix of the case is that the bidders were required to meet the dual eligibility criteria prescribed in the Request...

E-Voting: It Is Time To Press For Internet Voting In Elections

Living in the age of artificial intelligence, automation, and instant communications, it is a natural progression to increasingly implement technology in the democratic processes. India, one of the largest democracies in the world, has already illustrated how efficient and equitable elections can be carried out with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). India is among the ten countries in Asia and South America that uses EVMs in elections, as do big democracies such as Brazil and the...

Power Of Arbitral Tribunal To Order Interim Measures

A fundamental principle of granting interim relief is to lower the risk of injustice. In this regard, it is profitable to refer to the observation made by Lord Hoffman in Films Rover International Ltd. v. Cannon Film Sales Ltd.1:"The question of substance is whether the granting of the injunction would carry that higher risk of injustice which is normally associated with the grant of a mandatory injunction. The second point is that in cases in which there can be no dispute about the use of...

Investigative Powers Of The SFIO: Understanding The Nuances Involved

On 14th September 2020, the investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigations Office ('SFIO') into the affairs of Karvy Stock Broking Limited was stayed vide an interim order of the Telangana High Court, where the division bench observed that various documents were missing from the record and that the procedure under section 206 of the Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act") was not followed.[i] This order was passed in an appeal filed by the company against an order of the Single Judge of the...

Supreme Court Of India Clarifies 'What Is Arbitrable' Under Indian Law And Provides Guidance To Forums In Addressing The Question

In the recent spate of amendments to the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (the "Arbitration Act"), one issue remained overlooked – whether a particular dispute can be referred to arbitration or whether such dispute is exclusively reserved for adjudication by a court. A likely reason for this is the absence of an express provision in the Arbitration Act. Section 2(3) of the Arbitration Act provides that "certain disputes may not be submitted to arbitration". Further, Sections...