Public Policy & Government Affairs
Introduction
By the time a rule is notified, most of what a business could have said about it is no longer worth saying. The period in which a regulatory position is genuinely open — a consultation paper, a draft bill, a committee examining a sector — is short, and it is when the technical detail that determines whether a rule is workable actually gets settled. Our Public Policy & Government Affairs practice advises clients on anticipating regulatory change, assessing what a proposal would mean for their operations, and engaging with policymakers and regulators through the formal processes available for doing so. We work across telecommunications, space, digital platforms and technology, media, fintech, and gaming. Our base in New Delhi keeps us close to the ministries, regulators, and parliamentary processes where these questions are decided.
Our Experience
Our advice begins with impact rather than advocacy. When a consultation paper, draft rule, or bill is published, we analyse what it would require in practice — what a client would have to build, disclose, retain, or stop doing, on what timeline and at what cost — and distinguish the provisions worth engaging on from those that are settled. That assessment is what makes a submission credible: regulators respond to specific, evidenced accounts of operational consequence far better than to statements of position.
We prepare and file responses to consultation papers and pre-legislative comments, and we draft position papers, technical annexures, and comparative analyses of how a similar question has been approached in other jurisdictions. We assist clients and industry bodies with submissions to parliamentary standing committees and expert committees, and we contribute inputs where ministries and regulators invite them during the drafting of legislation and subordinate rules. Where a proposed activity does not fit an existing framework, we advise on sandbox and pilot applications and on approaching a regulator for clarification of its position.
We work extensively with industry associations and coalitions, including on the drafting of self-regulatory codes and industry standards, and our lawyers are frequently seconded to association secretariats and policy committees. This gives us direct exposure to how positions are formed within an industry, where members diverge, and what a regulator is actually likely to accept — and it means we can advise a client realistically on whether a collective route or an individual one is more likely to serve it. Our work also extends to international and standards-setting forums where the domestic position is influenced by decisions taken elsewhere, which matters particularly in spectrum and space.
Because we act in transactions, regulatory matters, and disputes for the same sectors, our policy advice is grounded in how rules operate once they are in force — which obligations are complied with easily, which are ambiguous in practice, and which have produced enforcement. That evidence is frequently the most persuasive material in a submission.
Select Mandates
Advised government and industry bodies in drafting and refining policy frameworks, including amendments to the Copyright Act, Telemedicine Guidelines, and standards for e-diagnostics and telehealth.
Advised on policy issues in the healthcare sector, with specific focus on telehealth and informational privacy, as a member of the Regulatory Committee of the Telemedicine Society of India.
Prepared representations outlining stakeholder concerns on the new authorisation regime under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, including spectrum management and migration from the Unified License, and recommended compliance pathways and regulatory safeguards.
Supported a broadcaster commence operations in India, through compliance support, licensing approval and advocacy efforts with the Ministry of Broadcasting in India.