[Nikhil Purohit is a IV year student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and its responses such as the imposition of lockdowns have created significant financial disruption in economies globally. A recent interesting example could be seen in the crude oil prices touching negative territory for the first time. In order to ease the...
India’s FDI Policy Distances Itself from Neighbours: Can China bring an MFN Claim?
[Smriti Kalra is a IV year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] On 17 April 2020, the Indian government issued a press note which makes foreign direct investment (FDI) from “an entity of a country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country ”...
Revised FDI Policy for Neighbouring Countries
[Divya Rau is a fourth year law student in Jindal Global Law School] The Department for Promotion of Industry and International Trade (DPIIT) released Press Note 3 (2020 series) on 17 April 2020. The Press Note alters para 3.1.1 of the Consolidated FDI Policy, 2017. The Press Note provides that any non-resident entity in a country sharing a land border with India can invest in India only by...
Bombay High Court on the Period of Moratorium During Lockdown: Opening the Floodgates?
[Vaibhav Parikh is a banking and finance lawyer] Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several states, cities and countries have declared lockdowns for various durations and of varying degrees. Mindful of these exigencies, the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) has, by a press release dated 27 March 2020, said that there is to be a moratorium with regard to repayments and classifications as non-performing...
Court Refuses to Restrain Encashment of Letter of Credit Due to COVID-19 Lockdown
[Mani Gupta and Shelja Pradhan are lawyers at Sarthak Advocates & Solicitors, New Delhi] In Standard Retail Private Limited v. G.S. Global Corp (8 April 2020), the High Court of Bombay has pronounced possibly one of the first orders interpreting the impact of force majeure clauses on parties’ contractual obligation due to COVID-19. In this case, the petitioners (who were steel importers) had...
Contractual Relief under the Disaster Management Act, 2005?
[Bhavin Gada is a Partner at Economic Laws Practice, Advocates and Solicitors (“ELP”), and Manendra Singh is a Senior Associate at ELP] The Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA) was enacted by the Parliament of India to provide for the effective management of disasters and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. DMA, in a nutshell, empowers the Central Government, State Governments...
Covid-19: Return of the MAC
[Sridutt Mishra is a 4th year student and Apoorva Upadhyay a 3rd year student, both at the National Law University Odisha] The fear over the spread of Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy, with initial estimates suggesting an even worse impact than the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the Great Depression. Central banks and securities regulators across countries such as India, the...
MCA Allows EGMs to be Conducted Virtually
[Aditi Nagpal is a 4th year BALLB student at Jindal Global Law School] The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) released a clarification through its General Circular 14/2020 dated 8 April 2020 which allows for extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) of companies to be conducted virtually. The Circular provides a welcome relief in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and follows naturally in line...
Covid-19 Crisis: Analyzing the Reforms to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Laws
[Karan Sahi is a corporate lawyer and company secretary by profession, and Pranay Bhattacharya is a 3rd year BA LLB (Hons.) student at the Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad] The changing market dynamics from the coronavirus (“Covid-19”) has impacted almost every sector. The pandemic has not only caused global business disruption by halting the international trade, it has also...
Can Covid-19 be Classified as a Valid Force Majeure Event?
[Anirudh Agrawal and Rishabh Sharma are 4th year BA.LL.B. (Hons.) students at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] Since the widespread reporting of cases of the coronavirus, Covid-19, around the world, several countries have imposed travel bans, citizens have been quarantined and the infected persons have been isolated, all with a view to stop the proliferation of the virus. Amidst such an...
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