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Litigation funding, often referred to as third party funding (TPF), has become fairly commonplace in jurisdictions such as United Kingdom, the United States and Singapore.

On 7 June 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a new prudential framework for resolution of stressed assets (7 June Circular) which, amongst others, directs banks to take  a preliminary review of borrowers within 30 Days of default. 

The clarification introduced in the manufacturing sector is expected to give the necessary impetus to the ‘Make in India’ drive of the government. 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has gone the whole hog in revamping the FPI regime with the introduction of the Foreign Portfolio Investor Regulations, 2019. This followed relief in the form of rollback of the super-rich tax that had spooked foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

Hong Kong Authorities should consider putting in place an appropriate mechanism that would allow litigation funding and at the same time prevent any abuse of its use; otherwise, Hong Kong could lack ‘sex appeal’ as hub for international commercial disputes. An appropriate conclusion seems to be a quote from a learned practitioner: ‘The future for arbitration practitioners is bright, and the future for third-party funders, especially for third-party funding law firms, is even brighter.

While the Electricity Act does not provide a definition of renewable energy, there are other legislation and policies at both central and state level providing the definition of renewable energy sources. Among these, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Tariff Determination from Renewable Energy Sources) Regulations 2017 define ‘renewable energy’ as grid quality electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

Under the Electricity Act, generation of energy is a delicensed activity. Prior to the construction of a project, certain site-specific approvals may be required (if applicable) such as forest clearance and approvals from defence establishments, the Airports Authority of India and the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Constitution of India specifies the distribution of executive and legislative powers between the Union and States. ‘Electricity’ is listed in the concurrent list under the Constitution of India and the Central/Union Parliament and state legislatures have concurrent powers to enact laws on this subject. Therefore, both the Union and state legislatures can enact laws on ‘electricity’. However, the laws enacted by the Union Parliament will override the laws enacted by state legislature in the event of inconsistency or conflict.

India’s anti-trust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), in August announced a “green channel” to expedite approval of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) that fall into certain categories.

We have been witnessing poor auto sales this year primarily due to the transition from BS-IV to BS-VI but it would not be incorrect to state that the number of vehicles has almost doubled in the last decade and the sector has witnessed a 10% growth rate.