Latest news with #IndusLaw
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Business Standard
01-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Singapore leads as India's largest FDI source for seventh straight year
Singapore continued to be India's largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the last seven years, as the country received the highest inflows of about $15 billion in 2024-25. The overseas inflow grew 13 per cent to $50 billion in the last fiscal. The total FDI, which includes equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital, grew by 14 per cent to $81.04 billion during the last financial year. It is the highest in the last three years. FDI from Singapore in 2024-25 increased to $14.94 billion from $11.77 billion in 2023-24, according to the latest government data. Singapore accounted for around 19 per cent of total inflows in 202425. Since 2018-19, Singapore has been the largest source of such investments in India. In 2017-18, India attracted the maximum FDI from Mauritius. In the last fiscal, the country received USD 8.34 billion in foreign inflows from Mauritius. During 2024-25, Mauritius was followed by the US (USD 5.45 billion), the Netherlands (USD 4.62 billion), the UAE (USD 3.12 billion), Japan (USD 2.47 billion), Cyprus (USD 1.2 billion), the UK (USD 795 million), Germany (USD 469 million), and Cayman Islands (USD 371 million). According to experts, Singapore's position as a global financial hub, combined with strong bilateral ties and its role as a gateway for global private equity and venture capital, makes it a natural conduit for investments into India. Rumki Majumdar, Economist, Deloitte India, said despite turmoil in the capital markets and uncertainties around trade, India has managed to attract huge investments, which are stable and long-term. "Given that Asia is the second largest region to receive foreign capital inflows, a large part of the funds come from Singapore. There are quite a few reasons for that. One, being a low-tax jurisdiction and with a robust legal framework, Singapore is considered the strategic financial gateway to Asia," she said. Double Tax Avoidance Agreement between the two nations helps all Singapore-based organisations to invest in India and reduce the total tax burden on income earned from India, Majumdar added. Lokesh Shah, Partner, IndusLaw, said the India-Singapore tax treaty was one of the major drivers of FDI. "Singapore's continued dominance in India FDI now relies more on genuine business and regulatory advantages, Singapore's sophisticated financial market, its status as a regional hub, and political and economic stability," Shah said. Rudra Kumar Pandey, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said that while Singapore will continue to be a significant and active investor in India, the landscape is gradually evolving. "Singapore's rising FDI into India is anchored in its role as a global financial hub, home to a large number of international private equity and venture capital funds," Pandey said. These investors see India as a high-growth destination, particularly in sectors like financial services, banking, insurance, business process outsourcing, logistics, computer software and hardware, trading, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals and use Singapore as a key base to manage and deploy capital across Asia, he added. Foreign investments are crucial for India to overhaul its infrastructure like ports, airports and highways to push growth. FDI also helps improve the country's balance of payments situation and strengthen the rupee's value against other global currencies, especially the US dollar.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
IndusLaw joins hands with CMS as foreign law firms eye India post sector liberalisation
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Full-service domestic law firm Induslaw has entered into a strategic partnership with global legal powerhouse CMS , enhancing its international footprint while enabling the latter to gain a toehold in the once-restricted Indian legal market The development comes weeks after the Bar Council of India (BCI) allowed the entry of foreign lawyers and law firms to operate in the country in a regulated and reciprocal law firm group CMS has over 6,800 lawyers in 45 countries and works on a Swiss Verein model. With 60 partners and more than 400 lawyers, IndusLaw has a presence across six Swiss Verein model is a legal structure used primarily by professional service firms, especially global law firms, accounting firms, and consulting firms to operate under a common brand while maintaining financial, legal, and operational independence of member entities.'With India's economy being increasingly integrated into the global economic system, the need for agile, forward-thinking legal advisers capable of bridging local and international jurisdictions has never been more critical,' said Duncan Weston, executive partner at CMS. 'With INDUSLAW now a CMS member firm, we can offer clients a coordinated, full-service legal platform in India, one of the fastest-growing and most strategically important markets in the world.''Joining CMS not only aligns with our strategic goals but enhances the value that we offer to our clients as well as our fee earners,' said IndusLaw's founding partners in a joint statement. 'This reflects our shared vision to offer effective and world-class legal solutions with global perspectives. We look forward to driving growth, innovation and collaboration across borders.'The firm's founding partners include Avimukt Dar, Gaurav Dani, Kartik Ganapathy and Suneeth is the second domestic law firm to enter into such a formal agreement with an international network. In 2022, Dentons, the world's largest global law firm in terms of the number of lawyers and offices had announced its formal combination with Link Legal for the Indian RSGI, an advisory and intelligence agency for the legal profession, estimates the size of the Indian corporate legal services market at $2.8 billion in 2024 and predicts it to expand rapidly to keep pace with a growing economy and increasingly complex demands of Indian and international Sengupta, Executive Director of RSGI, said, there are a lot of smaller, mid-tier Indian law firms with stand-out corporate partners looking to tie up or form the base for a foreign law firm. Likewise, foreign law firms are on the hunt for entrepreneurial Indian talent, preferably dual-qualified to start their on-the-ground Indian presence.'But firms are also wary of both haziness in the rules, the mismatch in fees and profits and cultural differences. This said, Indian law firms have modernised so rapidly in the past five years, as you can see on our new Resight India platform, that they are more of a match for their foreign counterparts,' said Sengupta. 'Equally, given the potential of the Indian economy, if the founders of an Indian law firm have the energy, there are big wins to be had by going it alone as well,' she further Lukose, chief executive of Vahura, a legal executive search and consulting firm, said Indian and International firms are actively responding to the regulatory intent to open up the Indian legal sector.'Tie-ups of a similar nature are in the works between global firms and Indian firms. International firms are also seeking clarification with the BCI on the registration process, while exploring collaboration options with firms in India,' adds Lukose.
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Business Standard
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Bank executive pays compensation for quitting too soon: SC says it's fair
What's the cost of walking away from a job too soon? It was Rs 2 lakh for one officer of Vijaya Bank and the Supreme Court has ruled that's a fair cost to pay. Early exit The court, in a recent decision that could have bearing on how organisations frame employment contracts, upheld the legality of a bond signed by Prashant B Narnaware, who quit Vijaya Bank prematurely. Narnaware had agreed to serve the bank for five years or pay damages. When he resigned after just 18 months, the bank sought compensation, triggering a legal battle that went all the way to the top court. Not a restraint, but retention Employers get a boost Debjani Aich, partner at legal firm IndusLaw, said the judgment reinforces a nuanced legal principle: 'Restrictive covenants during employment are not restraints of trade. They're a means to protect the employer's operational interests, especially where hiring and onboarding involve significant investment.' While the case involved a public-sector bank, the precedent will echo in private sector boardrooms. 'Employers may now design bonds not just around training costs, but broader damages reflecting the disruption from early exits, especially at mid and senior levels,' Aich said. Lock-in clauses in the modern workplace Pooja Ramchandani, partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., said the verdict comes in the backdrop of a changing employment landscape. 'In today's fast-evolving job market, with its high demand for specialised skills, retention tools like lock-in clauses are becoming increasingly important,' she noted. Ramchandani, however, cautioned that such clauses can be a double-edged sword. 'While they can reduce attrition and recover costs, they also limit employee mobility. The key is proportionality, the employer must justify that the clause is fair and serves a legitimate business interest.'
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Business Standard
16-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Don't have Form 16? Here's expert advice on how to file tax returns
As the July 31 deadline to file Income Tax return (ITR) approaches, some salaried employees face a challenge: what to do if they haven't got their Form 16? Form 16 simplifies the process of filing returns but it is possible to do that if you have other relevant documents. What is form 16? According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), 'Form 16 is a certificate issued by an employer to its salaried employee, providing details of the total salary paid and the tax deducted at source (TDS) on the employee's behalf during the financial year.' It is generated after the employer files quarterly TDS returns and is matched with the employee's PAN-based tax credit details in Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement (AIS). What to do without Form 16 'Form 16 is derived based on the quarterly filings done by the employer, reconciled with the information in Form 26AS and the AIS. Hence, it is ideal that salaried individuals file tax returns only after receiving Form 16,' said Aarti Raote, partner at IndusLaw. But if the document is delayed or not issued, Raote advises individuals to use the following: Monthly salary slips of a financial year Year-end tax computation from the employer (if available) Forms 26AS and AIS from the income tax portal Details of any exemptions or perquisites received How to calculate income and tax liability Using the above documents, the taxpayer should: Add up the annual salary and taxable allowances Deduct eligible exemptions (HRA, standard deduction, etc.) Reconcile salary credits with bank account statements Calculate total taxable income and tax due How to verify TDS without Form 16 Form 26AS and AIS, available at Income Tax's portal, can help verify whether the employer has deposited TDS correctly. These statements are PAN-linked and reflect all tax credits and income reported. Avoid these mistakes One of the biggest risks when filing without Form 16 is under-reporting income. 'Without Form 16, the calculation of taxes is very difficult as individuals may miss some income or perquisites provided by the employer,' says Raote. To avoid errors: Match salary figures with bank deposits Cross-check TDS entries in Form 26AS and AIS Double-check exemptions and deductions claimed By being methodical and verifying all sources of income and tax credits, individuals can file their returns without Form 16.
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Business Standard
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Pre-IPO startups urge Sebi to allow Esops for founders post-listing
Pre-IPO startups, where founder holdings have been significantly diluted, are urging the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to allow greater flexibility in issuing Employee Stock Options (Esops) to founders—including those granted post-listing. Currently, Sebi regulations prohibit Esop issuance to promoters. However, in a recent proposal, the regulator suggested allowing founders (classified as promoters or part of the promoter group) to retain or exercise Esop benefits granted up to one year before filing draft IPO papers. Legal experts highlight that multiple funding rounds often dilute founder stakes to minimal levels, making Esops a critical tool to retain their alignment with the company's growth. Kaushik Mukherjee, partner at IndusLaw, said, 'While permitting pre-IPO Esops for founders is a positive step, post-listing incentives should also be considered. Founders drive the business, and their continued motivation benefits shareholders and the company alike.' A stock market fintech startup planning an IPO recently petitioned Sebi for relaxation on post-listing Esop issuance to founders, sources said. The appeal gains even more relevance for startups that have 'reverse flipped' to India from jurisdictions such as the US, where Esop norms are more lenient. However, experts doubt Sebi will ease restrictions further. Archana Tewary, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, explained, 'Post-listing, share value is market-driven, and founder incentives must align with broader corporate governance standards. Differentiating startup founders from other listed company promoters raises parity concerns.' Akshat Khetan, founder of AU Corporate Advisory and Legal Services, added that Sebi prioritises uniformity and investor protection. 'Promoter status entails responsibilities beyond stakeholding—it's tied to the company's long-term growth, not just current ownership,' he said. The debate follows a recent case where a fintech founder had to forfeit Esops worth over Rs 1,800 crore due to regulatory constraints. While startups argue for founder-friendly Esop policies, Sebi's stance remains anchored in safeguarding investor interests, say legal experts.
