Banking & Finance

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure has moved from a voluntary practice to a regulatory mandate in India. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) Core framework to standardize and strengthen ESG reporting by India's largest listed companies. This framework represents a significant shift in corporate accountability, requiring top-tier listed companies to respond to 140 struc

The Reserve Bank of India's Commercial Banks Credit Facilities Amendment Directions, 2026, effective April 1, 2026, introduce a dedicated regulatory framework governing bank lending to capital market intermediaries. The category of capital market intermediaries covered includes stock brokers, clearing members, custodians, and market makers. Until now, bank lending to these entities was governed by general credit exposure norms without a specific framework tailored to the natu

The Reserve Bank of India's Non-Banking Financial Companies Amendment Directions, 2026, effective April 1, 2026, introduce a new classification called the Unregistered Type I NBFC. This category is designed to carve out a class of financial entities that have historically been required to register with the RBI under the NBFC framework but whose activities are sufficiently limited in risk profile to justify an exemption from registration requirements. The amendment is part of

In late March 2026, the Reserve Bank of India directed all banks operating in India to ensure that their net open position in the onshore deliverable foreign exchange market does not exceed $100 million at the end of each business day, with a compliance deadline of April 10, 2026. The direction marks the first time since 2011 that the RBI has explicitly set a hard ceiling on how much currency risk a bank can carry in the onshore market. The move has triggered significant mark

From April 1, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India has made two-factor authentication mandatory for all digital payment transactions in India. The directive covers UPI payments, debit and credit card transactions, and mobile wallet operations. The change represents one of the most significant overhauls to India's digital payment security framework in recent years, and it carries compliance obligations for every bank, payment aggregator, fintech company, and merchant that processes

In Gayatri Balasamy v. M/S ISG Novasoft Technologies Limited, decided on 30 April 2025, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India resolved a longstanding controversy: whether a court hearing a challenge under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 can modify an arbitral award, or whether its jurisdiction is limited to setting the award aside in whole or in part. By a 4:1 majority, the Bench held that courts possess a limited power to modi

The Reserve Bank of India introduced significant amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Manner of Receipt and Payment) Regulations, 2016, effective from April 2026, streamlining export-import documentation and compliance requirements for businesses engaged in international trade. These amendments replace the earlier system of multiple separate export declaration forms with a unified Export Declaration Form (EDF), significantly reducing administrative burden while enha

The Reserve Bank of India released a draft of the Commercial Banks Responsible Business Conduct Second Amendment Directions 2026, introducing the most comprehensive borrower protections in India's debt recovery regime. These directions address a longstanding pain point for Indian borrowers: aggressive, harassment-laden collection practices by recovery agents. The new rules require lenders to disclose recovery agent identities and contact details on demand, prohibit collection

In December 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India approved a comprehensive overhaul of mutual fund regulations, replacing the 1996 framework that had governed the industry for nearly three decades. These new regulations represent a watershed moment for India's asset management industry, introducing stricter transparency requirements, restructured fee arrangements, and enhanced investor protections. Understanding these changes is essential for asset management compa

The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the Certificates of Registration of 35 Non-Banking Financial Companies for non-compliance with regulatory requirements, effective from January 2026. The affected entities are no longer permitted to carry on the business of a non-banking financial institution. This enforcement action is part of the RBI's ongoing effort to rationalise the NBFC sector, remove non-functional or non-compliant entities from the register, and ensure that only

The Reserve Bank of India has issued revised draft guidelines on the Liquidity Coverage Ratio for scheduled commercial banks, proposing significant changes to the run-off factors applied to different categories of deposits and funding. The LCR is one of the two key liquidity standards introduced under the Basel III framework and requires banks to hold a sufficient stock of unencumbered high-quality liquid assets to cover net cash outflows over a 30-day stress period. The prop

The Securities and Exchange Board of India's Stock Brokers Regulations 2026 represents a comprehensive overhaul of broker regulatory requirements, reflecting market evolution and investor protection priorities. These regulations consolidate earlier frameworks, introduce new technology standards, establish enhanced capital requirements, and mandate strengthened customer protection mechanisms. The new framework applies to all entities engaging in stock broking activities, inclu

SEBI's Simplified Web Application for Global Acquisition of Trading Foreign Investment platform (SWAGAT-FI) represents a transformative initiative to streamline and simplify the registration and onboarding process for foreign institutional investors in Indian securities markets. This unified platform consolidates regulatory requirements, documentation, and approval workflows previously scattered across multiple regulatory touchpoints. The framework aims to enhance India's com

The SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011, commonly known as the Takeover Code, is the primary regulation governing acquisitions of shares in listed companies in India. For any company or individual planning to acquire a significant stake in an Indian listed entity, understanding when an open offer obligation is triggered and how the pricing and process works is fundamental to deal structuring. The Takeover Code was amended in December 2025

The Reserve Bank of India issued the Reserve Bank of India (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025, which came into effect on 8 May 2025, consolidating and updating the RBI's regulatory framework for digital lending in India. These Directions replace and expand upon the 2022 Guidelines on Digital Lending, creating a comprehensive, unified code for all Regulated Entities (REs) — including banks, NBFCs, and microfinance institutions — that engage in lending through digital channels