On 21 March 2024, the telecom authorities in India announced major developments in the machine-to-machine (M2M) space. Particularly, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued an amendment to the existing instructions on M2M connections relaxing the highly criticized restrictive features of M2M connections (Guidelines).
The regulatory landscape for betting and gambling in India varies across states, with some imposing an outright ban while others adopting a regulated approach. The widespread proliferation of online betting and gambling platform related advertisements, which are often endorsed by celebrities and influencers across various media channels, and more recently through digital media, has profoundly impacted consumer access to such platforms, leading to an increase in their use.
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court held that distributors of pre-paid recharge vouchers were not ‘agents’ of the telecom companies. Consequently, the telecom companies were not obligated to deduct tax on the discount provided to the distributors. The ruling settles an issue on which various High Courts expressed divergent views in the past. The Court delivered its judgment in a batch of tax appeals, with the lead case being that of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
A five-judge Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) in High Court Bar Assn. v. State of U.P., 2024 SCC OnLine SC 207 ruled that there cannot be an automatic vacation of stay orders granted by a lower court or High Court in civil and criminal cases after six months. The Constitution Bench presided by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud did not agree with the view expressed by a three Judge bench in Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency (P) Ltd. v.
On 7 March 2024, the Government of Karnataka notified the Karnataka Motor Transport and Other Allied Workers’ Social Security and Welfare Act, 2024 (Act) in the state gazette, pursuant to the Governor’s assent to the same on 6 March 2024.
India and the Governments of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation (EFTA) recently signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which is set to substantially reduce tariffs on trade of goods and also give zero duty access to major portion of India’s exports to the EFTA states.
On 23 February 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued recommendations on ‘Introduction of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) Service in Indian Telecommunication Network’ (CNAP Recommendations) pursuant to stakeholder comments received in response to its consultation paper on this matter.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reportedly issued an advisory on 1 March 2024 (Advisory) to “intermediaries” and “platforms” hosting artificial Intelligence (AI) including generative AI based models.
Education is a fundamental aspect of society, and ensuring the integrity of educational services is crucial. Misleading advertisements by educational service providers not only harm consumers, but also undermine the credibility and sanctity of the education sector as a whole.
The inaugural listing of a non-profit organisation (NPO) on the social stock exchange (SSE) has set the ball rolling for social enterprises (SE) to raise funds on the SSE. Over 30 NPOs have been registered on the SSE. The experience and learning will help to liberalise the framework and provide impetus to SEs and investors alike to foster impact investing.
