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The Draft Advocates (Amendment) Bill 2025, which was circulated last week for public feedback, has left the legal industry a house divided. While most companies are supporting the Bill, law firms — particularly the family-owned ones — have expressed serious concerns.

The draft has been flagged by the Bar Council of India (BCI) for its “draconian provisions.” In a letter to the ministry, BCI has said the very concept of autonomy and independence of the Bar is attempted to be demolished. Apart from entry of foreign legal firms and lawyers, BCI also has objections to provisions that would give the government more control over the Council, including the introduction of up to three government nominees on the BCI.

However, senior advocate DP Singh welcomed the reforms proposed in the Bill. The entry of foreign law firms with the suggested regulations and limitations should be welcome as India which is aspiring for a leadership role in the world should be open to such changes, he said.

Expressing similar sentiments Pankaj Agarwal, advocate, Supreme Court of India and arbitrator & mediator, said “interesting changes have been made in certain definitions, including that of legal practitioners”, which proposes to include corporate lawyers, in-house counsels, and those engaged in legal work in private and public organisations, statutory bodies, and foreign law firms”.

Interestingly, professionally run law firms are also in favour of the Draft Amendment. Harry Chawla, managing partner of Luthra & Luthra, said it is a progressive step towards transforming the landscape of practice of law in India. “That the Advocate Act, 1961 requires changes to align the legal profession and legal education with global best practices is beyond debate. Several measures are commendable.”

Allaying apprehensions over the proposal to permit entry of foreign law firms, Chawla said there has been considerable advancement in the development of expertise and experience of Indian lawyers in the last few decades. Entry of foreign law firms would be a great advantage to cater to clients and provide seamless service to clients across multiple jurisdictions.

“As far as in-house counsels are concerned this is keeping with their longstanding demand to be permitted to argue in courts. This is a welcome development and will lead to diversity in the Bar and bring down legal costs. In the long run, the movement from firms to corporates and vice versa will become smoother and more common place,” Chawla added.

Concurring with this,  Mohit Saraf, managing partner at Saraf and Partners told FE, “ the proposed amendments provide a clearer and potentially more transparent pathway for foreign law firms to establish offices in India, subject to compliance with the new regulatory framework and adherence to reciprocity conditions”.

Foreign law firms, he said, would have to navigate the dual oversight of the central government and the BCI, ensuring adherence to Indian regulations, professional standards, and any additional requirements set forth in the forthcoming rules. However, the real test would be the quality of these rules as foreign law firms and foreign lawyers would be nervous in subjecting themselves to ‘excessive’ regulatory regime”.

On the proposal to empower the central government to establish rules for the entry of foreign law firms and lawyers, a responsibility previously held by the BCI, Saraf was hopeful that the shift “would probably lead to a more uniform and streamlined process for foreign entities seeking to establish a presence in India.  The second significant addition is foreign law firms, whose entry into  the Indian market is something that has been resisted by the bar for years. The Draft Amendment has staved off this challenge in one fell swoop by empowering the central government to make rules in this regard.”

Hemant Batra, head and senior legal consultant, new ventures and growth with tier 1 law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas also felt “the proposed amendments aim to enhance the legal profession and legal education by aligning them with global best practices.

Jayesh H, co-founder of mid-sized firm Juris Cor,p said,  “The proposed amendments can be a game changer for in-house counsels and their career movements. Even now, in-house counsels do not get treated as lawyers and this will change post these amendments.” Elaborating further he added, “this would mean there can be greater two-way movement between law firms and corporates especially from in-house to private practice which currently is largely restricted to post-retirement arrangements.

What is to be seen is whether in-house counsels will get to be on par with private practice in all respects. That would include the right to appear on behalf of their employer before various forums including high courts and the Supreme Court of India. Hopefully, the old concept of lawyers being first an officer of the court and then an advocate for their client will not derail this.”

However, he expressed apprehensions over the stranglehold the government would acquire if the Bill was to be passed. Regarding the proposal about registration of law firms, Jayesh said, “It is not clear whether this will result in their being regulated also and whether the State Bar Council will provide any kind of services to them. Or is it merely a way to legitimize collection of registration fees which in the past have been sought to be collected every time a lawyer joins or leaves a firm. One hopes that this is not the precursor to the Bar Council deciding which Indian law firm can tie up with a foreign law firm. Hopefully, the Government’s stated intention of Ease of Doing Business will prevent such a license raj being created,” he quipped.

Chawla of Luthra & Luthra also struck a cautionary note. Under the Draft Amendment, the Bar Council of India is empowered to make rules to recognise and regulate law firms regardless of their size or presence. “While it may appear beneficial, the same may delay, if not impede the growth of law firms, especially those that break away from larger more influential firms. In addition to the above, this would appear superfluous considering that individual lawyers are regulated by the Bar Council of India,“ he said.

Sonia Gandhi health: Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi has been admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the national capital, news agency PTI reported quoting sources. The sources said that the Congress leader is doing fine and is likely to be discharged on Friday.

Although the exact time of admission remains unclear, a source indicated that she was admitted on Thursday morning. She is currently under the observation of a team of doctors, the source added.

Sonia Gandhi turned 78 in December 2024

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who turned 78 in December last year, made her last major public appearance during the Budget session of Parliament on February 13, when she was seen in the Rajya Sabha.

On February 10, Sonia Gandhi urged the government to conduct the population census at the earliest, stating that around 14 crore people are being deprived of benefits under the Food Security Law.  

In her maiden Zero Hour intervention in the Rajya Sabha, she highlighted that beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are still being identified based on the 2011 Census, rather than updated population figures.  

Calling the NFSA, introduced by the UPA government in September 2013, a landmark initiative, she emphasized its role in ensuring food and nutritional security for India’s 140 crore population.

(With PTI inputs)

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Playing XI:

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

More on Bangladesh’s squad

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

More on India’s squad

The government has launched another digital crackdown, instructing the removal of 119 Chinese apps from the Google Play Store. These apps are associated with developers from China and Hong Kong, with many of them being video and voice chat platforms. All of these apps were available in India’s Google Play Store. A recent report highlighted concerns that these apps posed a threat to India’s national security and sovereignty. This isn’t the first time; India initiated a digital ban back in 2020, restricting hundreds of Chinese apps, including popular ones like TikTok and Shareit.

Digital strike on Chinese apps 

In this latest digital operation, a report from MoneyControl notes that the banned Chinese apps are cataloged in the Lumen database, which is managed by Harvard University in the United States. On June 20, 2020, India had already banned over 100 Chinese apps. The trend of banning more apps continued in 2021 and 2022 as part of ongoing digital efforts.

The central government invoked IT Act 69A to enforce this ban on Chinese apps. Interestingly, some of the apps on the banned list are developed by companies from Singapore, the US, the UK, and Australia. As per the report, the Indian government has halted the public access to these apps, and while 15 out of the 119 have been removed from the Google Play Store, several others remain accessible.

These apps were banned

Among the apps that have been banned, three have been specifically mentioned: ChillChat, a video chat and gaming platform developed by the Mangostore team based in Singapore, which has over a million downloads; ChangApp, a popular Chinese app with millions of downloads; and finally, HoneyCam, a photo filter app created by an Australian company.

ALSO READ: iPhone 16e launch: Apple discontinues sale of three popular iPhone models in India

US President Donald Trump has set in motion his plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on imports and has asserted that Washington will not spare India from reciprocal tariffs. The move is expected to further deepen the global trade war. But how much impact US’s reciprocal tariffs will have in India? Before talking about it, let’s understand some common terms.

What are reciprocal and retaliatory tariffs?

Normally, both can be used synonymously. They are imposed by countries to match hikes in duties or high tariffs by trading partners. For example, when in 2018, the US imposed higher duties on certain steel and aluminium products, India retaliated by raising tariffs on 29 US products, recovering equivalent revenue.

Why do countries impose tariffs?

These tariffs are imposed to make imported goods expensive and in turn, promote domestic manufacturing and job creation. It also protects domestic players from cheaper imports.

Why US President Donald Trump is talking about imposing reciprocal tariffs?

The United States is facing huge trade imbalances with countries, especially with China. With India, the US has a trade deficit of USD 35.31 billion in goods in 2023-24. To bridge this gap, the US President is imposing these duties.

How will impact reciprocal tariffs impact India? 

According to S&P Global Ratings, India will be less impacted by the proposed US reciprocal tariff as the country’s economy is mainly driven by domestic demand, and has substantial services exports, which is not going to be targeted by the Trump Administration.

S&P Global Ratings, Economist Asia-Pacific, Vishrut Rana said the reciprocal tariff will hurt countries like Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan more as they have high trade surplus with the US.

The Indian economy has two mitigating factors — greater reliance on domestic economy and larger services trade with the US, which is not likely to be tariffed.

However, textiles and to some extent chemicals are most at risk of higher tariffs.

“If we were to reimagine that scenario for the first Trump administration to unfold again, I think overall, the impact on India should be quite minimal,” Phua added.

Earlier in 2018 under the Presidency of Donald Trump, Washington had imposed an additional 25 per cent import duty on steel products and 10 per cent on certain aluminium products. In retaliation, India in June 2019, imposed additional customs duties on 28 American products.

More than five years after the initial tariffs were imposed, on July 3, 2023, the US removed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from India.

 
With PTI inputs

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US President Donald Trump has launched a fierce attack on the Biden administration over its USD 21 million allocation to India for “voter turnout”, as he seemed to be suggesting that the funds were aimed at “trying to get somebody else elected.” Trump’s remarks follow after Elon Musk-led the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) disclosed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided a fund of $21 million to boost “voter turnout” in India.

While addressing a summit in Miami, the US President said, “Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian Government. This is a total breakthrough.” 

Trump further pointed out India’s strong economic position and high tariffs on US goods, stating, “They got a lot of money. They’re one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us. We can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high.”

Trump also questioned the necessity of spending millions on voter turnout in a foreign country, adding, “I have a lot of respect for India. I have a lot of respect for the prime minister. He just left, as you know, two days ago. But we’re giving USD 21 million for voter turnout. It’s voter turnout in India. What about, like, voter turnout here? Oh, we’ve done that, I guess. We did USD 500 million, didn’t we? It’s called the lockboxes.”

The ODI rivalry between India and Bangladesh resumes today as the two teams will face each other in the second match of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy. The match is set to take place in Dubai, the venue for all India matches in this showpiece event. Notably, it is also hosting a 50-over international game for the first time since March 2024 and has been averse to big teams featuring in ODIs here.

Moreover, India and Bangladesh are locking horns in Dubai after six years. The stakes were higher the last time they played here as well. It was the Asia Cup final in 2018 when the two teams played each other in Dubai and India emerged victorious by just three wickets in the last-ball thriller.

Rohit Sharma was the stand-in captain then with regular skipper Virat Kohli opting to rest in the Asia Cup entirely. After opting to bowl first, India were stunned as Litton Das played an exceptional innings. He opened the innings with Mehidy Hasan Miraz adding 120 runs for the first wicket in 20.5 overs. Kedar Jadhav provided the much-needed breakthrough for India and that triggered a massive collapse.

The middle-order collapsed for Bangladesh with players like Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah accumulating only 13 runs together as Bangladesh slipped to 151/5 after being 120/0 at one stage. However, Litton was going strong at the other end and also notched up a brilliant century. However, he was also dismissed for 121 runs in the 41st over by Kuldeep Yadav when Bangladesh’s hopes of posting a big total were dashed.

Das was stumped by MS Dhoni and it was a controversial decision from the third umpire with many claiming the benefit of doubt should’ve gone to the batter as there was no conclusive evidence proving that the batter’s leg was in the air. Bangladesh were bundled out for just 222 runs in the 49th over of the innings even as Kuldeep finished with three wickets for 45 runs.

In response, India also stuttered with the pitch playing its tricks. They lacked partnerships right through and the wickets kept falling at regular intervals. It went down to the wire in the end as Bangladesh kept pegging away the wickets at crucial junctures. But India just had enough in their tank to seal the win thanks to an injured Kedar Jadhav who came out to bat injured in the penultimate over before eventually scoring a winning run through leg bye. 

With the pitch expected to be on the drier side today as well, we might witness a thriller as Bangladesh, six years later, still possess a potent spin bowling line-up while India also have taken five spinners to Dubai.