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Businesses, especially SMEs, are going to be hard-pressed when it comes to complying with consent management, data processing restrictions and other provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules within 18 months, according to experts. Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner -JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said the firm had raised concerns regarding this provision during consultations. “This requirement/disclosure will definitely be operationally burdensome to implement – particularly, when dealing with an ongoing breach. This will not create significant company liability, provided companies can demonstrate a bona fide effort to comply,” said Chowdhury. Read more

India’s newly notified Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules have triggered a moment of reckoning for the country’s micro, small and medium businesses- many of whom rely heavily on digital customer acquisition, third-party tech tools, and low-cost data infrastructure. While the law marks a long-awaited shift toward global-grade privacy protections, its operational demands pose the steepest challenge for the smallest players in the ecosystem. JSA Partner Raj Ramachandran says stakeholders “have about 12–18 months to comply… a welcome move,” but for MSMEs with no existing data frameworks, even 18 months will require accelerated execution. Read more

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, was brought into effect on Friday as the ministry of electronics and IT (Meity) notified the rules and set up a four-member board for data protection. For startups, compliance with the Act becomes increasingly important, not just for the sake of running their businesses, but also for ensuring they’re above board when venture capital investors, looking to fund them, conduct their due diligence. “There’s been unnecessary hoarding of data, which startups will now have to re-evaluate, because now the law is very clear,” said Raj Ramachandran, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. Read more

Are the new norms for banks in M&As restrictive? Anish Mashruwala, finance chair and partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, reasons the draft has a clear regulatory lens in signalling the proposed relaxation. Besides the value limit cap, there’s also the fact that Tier-I capital of banks will be at varying levels and that may itself not provide a level playing field as the restriction will not apply equally in terms of value. “Having said that, I understand that even banks having larger Tier-I capital reserves have voiced that the value limit based on the 10 per cent cap is limiting in the current market scenario,” he says. Read more

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) proposed guidelines to revamp the external commercial borrowings (ECB) framework is likely to become a game changer in acquisition financing, believe bankers and analysts. However, banks added that further relaxation, in terms of an increase in acquisition financing limit from the proposed 10% of their Tier-1 capital to anywhere between 20%-40%, will help in funding bigger deals. “Raising this limit is not just a matter of competitiveness, it’s a strategic imperative taking into consideration the risk factors associated with this line of credit,” said Pratish Kumar, Partner at JSA. He added that Indian banks, especially those with overseas subsidiaries and IFSC branches, are now empowered under the draft ECB norms to extend rupee or foreign currency-denominated ECBs. “This means they can directly participate in acquisition financing deals without being constrained by jurisdictional compliance hurdles. A higher cap would allow these offshore arms to deploy capital more meaningfully, supporting Indian borrowers in cross-border M&A and private credit transactions,” he added.  Read more

UK high court recently ruled in favour of the London based artificial intelligence firm Stability Al in a copyright infringement case in which international photo agency Getty Images had claimed the former had copied millions of its images. Getty’s pictures were used to train the Stability AI model, and the ruling is seen as a setback for copyright Owners. Last week also saw online marketplace Amazon filing a case against Perplexity Al in the US for its ‘agentic’ shopper that helps consumers choose the best and cheapest products online. “As more Al-generated content is out, the number of lawsuits will increase. Cases by music labels are already pending in the Indian courts claiming their copyright music content was used for training AL,” said Akshaya Suresh, partner at national law firm JSA. An expert in technology laws, AI, privacy and data protection, Suresh said that the row with Perplexity could affect Prime Video too. “Amazon has said that Perplexity’s AI agent is messing with its algorithms and bypassing its technical safeguards in e-commerce. Nothing stops it from altering recommendations for Prime Video audiences affecting viewership and eventually the economics of the business,” she said. Read more

With the Reserve Bank of India set to close feedback on its draft expected credit loss framework by November 30, banks are seeking more flexibility on the loss-given default assumption of 45% for exposures secured by eligible collateral. Lenders argue that this could overstate the loss potential in certain asset classes. “While the move to ECL is directionally correct and aligns with global practice, some lenders may seek a longer implementation runway beyond 2031, as the RBI has done with earlier transitions such as Basel norms” Pratish Kumar, Partner at JSA said. “Stage-2 provisioning will be a key area of adjustment, particularly for smaller banks and those with higher retail exposures,” he added. Read more

Institutional investments in Mumbai’s real estate market crossed USD 1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2025, making this the fourth consecutive year the city has surpassed the billion-dollar mark, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s India Capital Markets Q3 2025 report. This performance signals Mumbai’s strong recovery and return to pre-pandemic investment levels, reinforcing its position as India’s most attractive gateway market for global and domestic capital. Vivek K Chandy, Joint Managing Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said, “Investment in the real estate sector in the south also remains very strong. Bangalore developers have not just moved to the growing and large cities in the south but have started huge developments in Mumbai and the NCR.” “While the equity markets provided huge returns following the pandemic, over the last year, the bigger returns have probably been from investments in real estate,” Chandy added. Read more

India’s real estate landscape is undergoing a transformation, with second homes emerging as a popular investment choice. What was once considered a luxury is now increasingly viewed as a strategic financial asset. A growing middle-class population with rising disposable income is fuelling demand for second homes. With financial stability and aspirations for wealth creation and lifestyle upgrade, many individuals are planning investing in real estate beyond their primary residence.  Kumarmanglam Vijay, Partner & Head – Direct Tax, JSA Advocates & Solicitors elaborated, “Historically, taxation of deemed rent was a deterrent to owning a second home, as only one property could be treated as self-occupied, while others were deemed let-out (if not let-out) even if they were vacant. Read more

Venkatesh Raman Prasad (JSA Advocates & Solicitors) during the panel discussion highlighted that GCCs must localize contracts, manage multi-jurisdictional compliance, and adopt AI responsibly. Legal frameworks must evolve with AI, IP, and labor laws—governance must be proactive, not reactive, to ensure resilience and trust. Read more

Institutional investments in Mumbai’s real estate market crossed USD 1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2025, making this the fourth consecutive year the city has surpassed the billion-dollar mark, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s India Capital Markets Q3 2025 report. This performance signals Mumbai’s strong recovery and return to pre-pandemic investment levels, reinforcing its position as India’s most attractive gateway market for global and domestic capital. Vivek K Chandy, Joint Managing Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors said, “Investment in the real estate sector in the south also remains very strong. Bangalore developers have not just moved to the growing and large cities in the south but have started huge developments in Mumbai and the NCR.” “While the equity markets provided huge returns following the pandemic, over the last year the bigger returns have probably been from investments in real estate,” Chandy added. Read more

The story also appeared in  publications such as ANI, The Tribune, Lokmat Times, among others.

Mumbai’s institutional investment story in real estate has come full circle, returning to pre-pandemic levels and crossing the $1 billion mark for the fourth year in a row as it hit $1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s India Capital Markets Q3 2025 report. Investment in the real estate sector in the south also remains very strong, says Vivek K. Chandy, Joint Managing Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. “Bangalore developers have not just moved to the growing and large cities in the south, but have started huge developments in Mumbai and the NCR.  While the equity markets provided huge returns following the pandemic, over the last year, the bigger returns have probably been from investments in real estate.” Read more