Government, Regulatory and Public Procurement

India is a closely regulated economy, and businesses across sectors must engage with a wide range of regulators and government bodies. As policy and regulation continue to evolve, the ability to interpret rules accurately, engage constructively with authorities and align compliance with commercial objectives has become central to how organisations operate and grow. We work across sectors including e-commerce, travel and hospitality, technology, financial services and fintech, and insurance. 

Our Government, Regulatory and Public Procurement practice advises and represents clients across sectors on matters before regulators and government bodies, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). We respond to regulatory actions and controversies under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, RBI Master Directions, SEBI circulars, The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) norms and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

We support technology companies, financial institutions, intermediaries and funds, global conglomerates entering or expanding in India, start-ups and promoters across regulated sectors.

Our services include:

Regulatory advisory and interpretation

• Advising on overall regulatory frameworks across sectors. 
• Advisory and assistance in public procurement approval matters and export controls
• Obtaining business and transaction related approvals and authorisations from regulatory bodies, including any restructuring required due to changes in law.

Foreign exchange and foreign investment

• Advising on foreign exchange and foreign investment laws, including FEMA and India's foreign direct investment regime and overseas investment regulations including assistance in availing Government approval in restricted sectors.
• Structuring inbound and outbound investments, and advising on sectoral caps, entry routes, pricing guidelines and downstream investments, with attendant reporting and regulatory compliance.
• Advising on external commercial borrowings (ECBs), overseas investments, round-tripping considerations and foreign exchange controls.

Policy, representation and advocacy

• Advising on sector-specific legal reforms and policy making.
• Making stakeholder representations before government and regulatory authorities on existing and proposed legislation across the regulated sectors. including in relation to IT and data security laws, payment and financial-technology laws, and laws regulating the consumer internet sector.[KG1] 
• Providing industry impact analyses across sectors, and advising on environmental, health and safety regulation. 

Financial services and fintech

We have a dedicated fintech team whose members have worked closely with investors, promoters and regulators in the technology, financial services and fintech space, particularly on regulatory reviews and business and product structuring. The team works across regulatory, technology, commercial and disputes functions, and our advice is frequently used to shape board-level decisions, regulatory submissions and investor presentations.

• Advising stockbrokers, intermediaries and funds on SEBI regulations and fund structuring, including geographic location.
• Advising global clients on regulated and unregulated financial offerings in India, and on entry and expansion of their financial offerings.
• Bringing strength in data governance, data localisation, cross-border structuring and fintech infrastructure integrations, including the regulatory aspects of cloud adoption, KYC frameworks and Aadhaar usage.
• Advising and representing clients in obtaining payment licenses from the RBI.
• Assisting and advising regulated clients on matters relating to change of control approvals.

GIFT City and the IFSC

• Advising intermediaries and funds on establishing and expanding in the International Financial Services Centre at GIFT City.
• Advising on entity structuring, the nature of licences and approvals required and facilitating the same, entering the regulatory sandbox, engaging with the IFSCA and obtaining regulatory waivers where necessary.

Defence and aerospace

• Advising on the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), defence procurement policies, industrial licensing, foreign investment and offset requirements.
• Advising on export controls, SCOMET regulations, sanctions compliance and cross-border transfer of controlled technologies.
• Conducting regulatory due diligence for transactions involving defence and security-sensitive businesses.

Public procurement and government contracts

• We advise clients throughout the lifecycle of public procurement processes and government contracts across sectors.
• Advising on participation in government tenders issued by ministries, public sector undertakings, statutory authorities and other public bodies.
• Advising on procurement regulations, localisation requirements, Make in India policies and public procurement compliance.
• Representing clients in bid challenges, procurement disputes, blacklisting proceedings and contract administration matters.

Environmental and sustainability

• We advise clients on environmental laws and regulatory requirements applicable to industrial, infrastructure and commercial operations.
• Advising on environmental laws, regulatory approvals and ongoing compliance requirements.
• Assisting in obtaining environmental clearances, pollution control consents, waste management authorisations and other statutory approvals.
• Advising on ESG governance, sustainability obligations, extended producer responsibility (EPR) and circular economy regulations.

Infrastructure and regulated industries

• We advise clients operating in regulated sectors on project development, licensing, regulatory approvals and sector-specific compliance.
• Advising on statutory licences, permits and approvals required for establishing and operating businesses in regulated sectors.
• Representing clients before ministries, regulators and statutory authorities in relation to approvals, compliance and enforcement proceedings.