Foresight 2023 - Legal and Regulatory Trends Redefining Corporate India

2022 was a year of resilience, one that saw the world acclimatising to the new normal and moving forward. Even in the face of extraordinary challenges over the past couple of years, the collective commitment to progress, development, and innovation remains unshaken. One of the most remarkable examples here is the collaborative success of scientists across the globe to place the James Webb Space Telescope around 1.5 million kilometers away from the earth, where it is capturing images of some of the earliest galaxies of the universe.

It is this spirit of resilience and commitment to progress that continues to shape the India growth story. Whether it is a bold new policy for foreign investments into the country’s promising space sector or ambitious laws to cover dynamic new areas such as metaverse, blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – India is taking notable steps to usher in the next era of advancements, scale investment activity and provide a springboard to the economy.

In “Foresight 2023”, the third edition in our Foresight series, our experts have compiled a legal and regulatory playbook of some of the most important themes that will play out in 2023.

Several sectors are looking ahead to green shoots and clear skies around the corner despite concerns of a slowdown seeping through into 2023. The insurance sector is prepared to see a flurry of activity after relaxation in foreign direct investment (FDI) rules and may see more licenses being granted to insurers. Public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are looking up with recent regulatory moves supporting large and complex deals. Sustainability is a key focus, and the renewable energy space can see a tremendous boost as a result of several government initiatives especially on green hydrogen. Production linked incentive (PLI) schemes are expected to be rolled out to produce green hydrogen and manufacture electrolyzers, providing a significant opportunity to the industry.

New and revamped regulations in data privacy, information technology (IT), cybersecurity, insolvency & bankruptcy, transfer pricing etc. are also anticipated, and will provide much needed clarity to encourage ease of doing business in India. Active oversight and enforcement action from regulatory watchdogs will continue in 2023 as well. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has already introduced several measures in a bid to enhance regulatory compliance and improve disclosures; while the Competition Commission of India (CCI) may further crack down on companies to minimise anti-competitive practices by imposing heavy penalties.

• Rabindra Jhunjhunwala

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