India Business Law Journal – September 2026

GIFT for the nation

How India’s financial services centre is shaping participation in global markets

India’s growing integration with global capital markets is reshaping not only the country’s financial architecture but also the regulatory frameworks that support cross-border business.

As GIFT City seeks to establish itself as a credible international financial centre, established offshore jurisdictions are

deepening their engagement with India. At the same time, policymakers and practitioners are grappling with how investment protection and professional services should evolve with the country’s expanding international ambitions.

In Unwrapping GIFT City, the evolution of this centre is particularly significant. However, building a genuinely international financial centre requires more than tax incentives and regulatory alignment; it requires deep liquidity, institutional confidence, specialised expertise and efficient mechanisms for resolving disputes.

GIFT City’s growth has attracted banks, fund managers, aviation financiers, fintech businesses and professional advisers, with more than USD100 billion in banking assets reportedly channelled through the international financial services centre.

GIFT City faces practical challenges including fragmented approvals, lengthy licensing and detailed know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. Tax incentives are attractive but are not sufficient on their own to secure investment.

The next phase will depend on deeper liquidity, broader global participation, specialised talent, stronger governance and faster dispute resolution, with long-term success hinging on building institutional depth and facilitating two-way global capital flows.

Other international financial centres are also looking to deepen their engagement with India.

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is stepping up efforts to deepen financial services ties with India, with Premier Natalio Wheatley and Financial Services Minister Lorna Smith making the first official visit by a BVI premier to India. In BVI woos India, Wheatley spoke to India Business Law Journal regarding the visit.

The delegation visited Delhi, GIFT City, Mumbai and Bengaluru, meeting government and regulatory officials, financial institutions, businesses, law associations and chambers.

The BVI is seeking to raise awareness of its business companies and investment funds among Indian businesses, positioning the jurisdiction as a “super connector” for companies pursuing internationalisation, joint ventures, capital raising and foreign investment.

With India’s economy growing rapidly, Wheatley described the country as a key market for the BVI’s international financial services strategy, and a potential long-term strategic partner.

As India’s engagement with international capital and investment structures develops, its own investment framework is also undergoing scrutiny. As India revises its model bilateral investment treaty (BIT), arbitration expert Mikhail Behl argues that investor protection must be aligned with the country’s evolving climate obligations.

In Climate-proofing India’s next model BIT, he warns that a treaty designed primarily around investor-friendly protections could create conflicts with future environmental regulation, drawing lessons from Europe’s experience with the Energy Charter Treaty, where fossil fuel claims and disputes over renewable energy subsidies contributed to widespread withdrawals.

Behl proposes six drafting measures including an express requirement to interpret investment protections alongside climate obligations, an operative right to regulate, a calibrated climate carve-out, clearer limits on legitimate expectations, a joint interpretive committee, and a shorter five-year sunset clause.

He also advocates limiting most-favoured nation provisions and aligning investment protections with India’s trade agreements to reduce conflicting obligations.

India’s law firms face growing demands for sophisticated finance, technology and operational management, while regulations restrict non-lawyer ownership and external investment.

Ashwini Kavadimatti, general counsel at Healthcare Global Enterprises, explores whether a management services organisation (MSO) could bridge this gap in Re-engineering law firm mechanics.

Under the model, lawyers retain ownership and control of the legal practice, while a separately owned MSO provides non-legal services such as technology, finance and administration, potentially funded by private equity.

The Supreme Court’s Bar Council of India v AK Balaji judgment may support this separation, although questions remain over management fees, foreign investment, and the risk of investors exerting indirect control over legal decisions.

Finally, this issue features the annual rollout of IBLJ Law Firm Listings 2026-2027, with in-depth profiles of about 100 law firms of all sizes across the country, accessible in print and on the website.

The online edition offers additional features including around-the-clock access to update listings as needed and to showcase information in multiple languages.