India: Constitutional & Administrative Law

The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (Second Amendment) Act, 2026 (L. A. BILL No. XXVIII OF 2026) represents a significant reform in the regulation of government land transactions in Maharashtra. Introduced in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on 24th March 2026, it focuses primarily on amending Section 37A of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, a provision that governs the sale, transfer, redevelopment, use of additional Floor Space Index (“FSI”), transfer of Transferable Development Rights (“TDR”), and change in use of government land.

On 9 April 2026, the Karnataka Government published Karnataka Act No. 24 of 2026 the Karnataka Government Educational Institution’s Lands (Protection and Regularisation) Act, 2026 in the Official Gazette.

The Union Cabinet has approved a significant relaxation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms for investments from countries sharing land borders with India, marking a potential shift from the stringent framework introduced under Press Note 3 (2020 Series). This policy change aims to balance national security considerations with investment facilitation and economic engagement, potentially improving investor sentiment while maintaining regulatory oversight for strategic interests.

Modern democracies face an escalating paradox: laws are multiplying, yet justice is receding; regulation is expanding, yet enforcement is weakening. For every social, economic, or political malaise, the default response has become enactment of new law. This assumption—that legislation is always the solution—is a fallacy.

The Indian aluminium sector has witnessed a significant regulatory transformation with the issuance of the Aluminium and Aluminium Alloy Products (Quality Control) Order, 2026, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

The Code on Social Security, 2020 ("SS Code") and the Draft Social Security Code (Central) Rules, 2025 ("Draft SS Rules") bring gig and platform workers...

In a significant step towards end-to-end digitisation of land and revenue administration, the Government of Karnataka has formally operationalised...

‘The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996’, (‘the A&C Act’), is the fundamental law for arbitration in India, which remains in conflict with other statutory provisions providing dispute resolution Mechanism. One such intersection is with the ‘Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006’ (‘the MSMED Act’).

Late last year, the Indian government released a draft of the proposed Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (the "Draft Amendment Bill").