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Proposed US immigration changes, including ending the H-1B grace period and imposing new fees, are pressuring Indian IT firms. These changes may lead to increased local hiring in the US and offshore expansion, potentially causing a “reverse brain drain” that could benefit India’s economy. Sajai Singh, Partner, JSA, said that potential rollbacks or tighter enforcement surrounding post-employment grace periods increase employee anxiety and reduce worker mobility, as visa holders grow hesitant to switch employers due to heightened legal and deportation risks. This means multinational and IT-reliant corporations are increasingly diversifying their footprints by shifting or expanding operations into talent-dense hubs including India, which could work in the country’s favour. Read more

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Tribunals Reform Bill, 2026, which proposes a new body to oversee India’s sectoral quasi-judicial forums. Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, and the lower house also passed it the same day. “The bill is a major step towards addressing the gaps in the appointment process and it will likely help in filing the vacancies swiftly. There is also a need to professionalize the Tribunals by creating a specialist cadre rather than the staffing with retired or soon to retire Judges and bureaucrats. Hopefully, we will see some progress towards that,” said Amar Gupta, joint managing partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. Read more

The Lok Sabha approved a bill altering tax rules for REIT and InvIT SPVs, enabling concessional tax rates and MAT credit use while preserving dividend exemptions for unitholders. The bill, pending further approvals, introduces a 25% surcharge for SPVs but aims to enhance tax efficiency and attract long-term capital. Kumarmanglam Vijay, Partner and Head of Direct Tax at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said the Bill preserves the REIT/InvIT dividend exemption for unitholders even when the underlying SPV moves to the concessional corporate tax regime. Read more

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The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed by Lok Sabha, introduces tax reforms to boost foreign investment and electronics manufacturing. It simplifies tax rules for offshore funds, extends exemptions for electronics and data centres, and amends digital payment regulations. The Bill also extends tax benefits for the rough diamond trade until 2041. Kumarmanglam Vijay, Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors termed the Bill as “pro-investment” that improves the tax certainty, especially for offshore funds and specified sectors. Read more

The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 has been passed by the Lok Sabha, replacing the earlier ordinance and amending the Income-tax Act, 2025, Finance Act, 2026, and Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. The Bill aims to attract foreign investment, promote electronics manufacturing, and simplify tax rules. It extends tax exemptions for certain foreign investors and provides dividend tax relief for eligible REIT and InvIT investors. It also empowers the government to permit Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on specified digital payment modes, including UPI, if notified in the future. Kumarmanglam Vijay, Partner and Head of Direct Tax at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said the Bill is a pro-investment measure that improves tax certainty, particularly for offshore funds and specified sectors. He said the proposed rationalisation of conditions for foreign fund managers, along with sector-specific exemptions for electronics manufacturing, data centres and rough diamonds, provides greater clarity for taxpayers. Read more

The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 seeks to overhaul key tax rules to simplify India’s tax framework, provide greater tax certainty, attract foreign investment, and support manufacturing and digital infrastructure. The Bill replaces the earlier Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 and proposes easier tax-exemption norms for offshore investment funds, extended incentives for electronics manufacturing, streamlined taxation of business trusts, and changes to digital payments laws. The government says the reforms aim to improve ease of doing business, boost investment, and strengthen India’s global competitiveness. Tax expert Kumarmanglam Vijay, partner at JSA, said, “materially the Bill is pro-investment and meaningfully improves the tax certainty, especially for offshore funds and specified sectors. It proposes to rationalise the conditions under which a fund manager can operate from India without the fund being treated as having a business connection in India. The number of conditions has been reduced from thirteen to essentially five core conditions (non-residence, treaty/notified-jurisdiction residence, the 5% resident-participation cap, no control/management of an Indian business, and no business connection other than through the fund manager).” Read more

The government is considering a proposal that could allow Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on certain UPI transactions, but UPI payments will remain free for consumers. The proposal mainly targets large merchants, while small merchants are expected to continue enjoying zero MDR. Discussions include charging around 0.3–0.5% MDR on higher-value transactions or merchants above a turnover threshold. The proposal is not yet final; it only creates a legal framework for future charges aimed at making the digital payments ecosystem financially sustainable. According to Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner at JSA, a national, full-service law firm in India, removing the current statutory restriction would give the government the flexibility to prescribe MDR for UPI transactions in the future. Read more

India’s current insurance and legal frameworks struggle to address AI-driven fraud risks like deepfakes and voice cloning. Experts call for AI-specific policies and clearer regulatory guidance. Insurers are encouraged to focus on actual losses and internal controls rather than identifying perpetrators. The legal framework is evolving, but significant gaps persist. “Existing policies offer partial coverage, but noticeable gaps remain because legacy products were designed for traditional risk profiles,” said Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. According to Chowdhury, conventional cyber insurance primarily addresses network breaches and ransomware attacks, whereas deepfakes exploit human behaviour rather than technical vulnerabilities. As a result, social engineering cover under existing policies often carries low sub-limits that may not adequately compensate for large corporate frauds. “Insurers must shift underwriting focus from who created the deepfake to what it caused, and whether the policyholder’s own controls held up,” Chowdhury said. He noted that expecting police to identify an offshore cybercriminal before settling a claim is increasingly unrealistic. Instead, insurers should determine whether a covered financial loss actually occurred, such as an unauthorised wire transfer or business interruption, while examining whether companies followed independent verification processes. Read more

The potential reintroduction of MDR on UPI transactions may lead users to switch to credit cards for high-value payments. A proposed amendment to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act could enable future MDR charges, sparking debate amid UPI’s growing transaction volumes and associated costs. According to Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner at JSA, removing the statutory restriction would give the government the flexibility to prescribe MDR on UPI transactions at a later stage, if it chooses. Even if Parliament passes the amendment, separate notifications would still be required to specify whether charges will apply, the payment modes covered, the types of transactions and the applicable MDR rates. Read more

India’s AI data centre growth is hindered by electricity transmission and digital connectivity issues. While generation capacity is sufficient, strategic upgrades in grid infrastructure and fibre networks are essential. Developers are encouraged to invest in transmission, and dispersing data centres can help balance resource demands across regions.  Archana Tewary, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said future AI infrastructure should be planned around access to power, resources and skilled talent rather than continuing to cluster in established data centre markets. Read more

India’s AI growth depends on enhancing power transmission, fibre connectivity, and strategic data center placement. While electricity generation is sufficient, reliable transmission and digital infrastructure are critical. Distributing data centers can balance resource demand, and increased transparency in resource usage can improve understanding of AI’s environmental impact. Archana Tewary, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, said future AI infrastructure should be planned around access to power, resources and skilled talent rather than continuing to cluster in established data center markets. “It is very important to site your AI and data centers in a dispersed manner. You need to have your data centres in places where power is accessible, resources are accessible, and you have adequate talent,” she said. Read more

At the exclusive “Boardroom Connect Roundtable, Pune Edition,” hosted by JSA Advocates & Solicitors in association with ETLegalWorld and ET CFO, participants discussed the policy reforms, legal frameworks, trade incentives, workforce transformation and supply-chain strategies needed to make Indian manufacturing more competitive, resilient and globally connected. They also explored how Pune and Maharashtra can drive India’s next phase of advanced, technology-led manufacturing growth. Calling Pune the “Detroit of the East” and the “Silicon Valley of Maharashtra,” Venkatesh Raman said the city’s industrial identity is undergoing a structural shift. “Pune contributes close to 20 per cent of India’s automobile production and hosts almost every major OEM in the country. But manufacturing itself is changing. EVs, electronics, semiconductors, AI-led engineering and GCCs are now becoming part of the ecosystem,” Raman said. Manish Mishra said Pune’s traditional engineering capabilities are now converging with digital technologies such as AI, IoT and automation. “The city already had a strong engineering backbone. What is happening now is the integration of software, automation and intelligent systems into manufacturing. That combination uniquely positions Pune for the next phase of industrial growth,” Mishra remarked. Ashish Suman said FTAs could strengthen supply-chain competitiveness and reduce component costs for manufacturers. “Lower costs across the supplier ecosystem can eventually improve competitiveness for Indian manufacturing,” he explained. Read more