BTG Advaya

BTG Advaya (BTGA) is pleased to announce a landmark win before the Supreme Court of India in a matter relating to free speech. BTGA represented one of the appellants, a journalist, who amongst other journalists, faced criminal defamation proceedings for publishing article on the authenticity of artworks in an auction.   BTGA’s team comprised Aishwarya Kaushiq and Lokesh Aidasani. The arguments were led by Senior Advocate, Arundhati Katju. You may access the judgement on this link: https://lnkd.in/gf2ygBNm

Vikram Jeet Singh (Partner & Head of Technology, Media, and Communications, BTG Advaya,) will speak at the 4th edition of Alpine Privacy Days, from March 2 to 4, 2025, in Zuoz, Switzerland. He will be speaking about AI and Privacy Governance in India in the panel discussion “Global Panel on AI & Privacy Governance.” Alpine Privacy Days is an exclusive conference that brings together leading privacy professionals, legal experts, and academics to discuss crucial topics such as data privacy, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and international data transfers. Read more about the event here: https://lnkd.in/dC3hPrCA

Celebrity children and relatives frequently face false, defamatory, or misleading information published about them, which can cause serious harm to their reputation, mental health, and personal privacy. The Information Technology Act, 2000, empowers authorities to block access to such harmful content, while the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code (2021) require social media platforms to remove defamatory or misleading content within a specified timeframe. Aishwarya Kaushiq is quoted in an article titled “Aaradhya Bachchan case: Legal experts on how to check misleading online content about children”, published in Livemint. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/dREZJY74

In a significant relief for private companies, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide its notification dated February 12, 2025, has extended the deadline for mandatory dematerialization (Demat) of securities from September 30, 2024, to June 30, 2025. As a result, it is now possible to issue or transfer securities of private limited companies in physical form up to June 30, 2025, instead of the earlier deadline of September 30, 2024. Read the full update here: https://lnkd.in/dch9de4D

BTG Advaya is looking to hire Associates in the Corporate Commercial practice area. The position is based in Mumbai, and candidates with 2+ years of PQE are encouraged to apply. If interested, please apply here: https://lnkd.in/dfW2xPqD

After a year and a half of anticipation, the much-awaited draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (“Rules”) have finally been released for public comments. With the publication of these Rules, the clock has started to tick for businesses to ensure that they are on track with their compliance obligations before the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDPA”) is notified.     This prompts an important question: Are Indian companies prepared for the implementation of the DPDPA? Here are a few key questions Indian businesses should consider to determine if they are ‘DPDPA-ready’. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/dXthrjeU Vikram Jeet Singh | Rhea Sethi

Our Managing Partner, Prashant Mara, will be moderating a panel discussion on India’s Defence Indigenisation Plans – The Role of the Private Sector in the Supply Chain at AeroIndia 2025. The session is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Hall F, USA Pavilion Meeting Point, Booth #F5.7A, Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru. Panelists include Air Vice Marshal Kandengalam Nelliseri Santosh (Retd) (Commandant, Software Development Institute, Indian Air Force), Guru Biswal (CEO, Aerospace Division, Bharat Forge), Dr. Grigorios Koutsogiannis (Regional Business Development Director, L3Harris Technologies – IMS Segment), and Dr. Vivek Lall (Chief Executive, General Atomics, Global Corporation). The discussion will focus on India's push for self-reliance in defense technology and how private industry and foreign suppliers can play a pivotal role in strengthening the aerospace sector. Aerospace Industries Association | BTG Advaya

Full and Final (“F&F”) settlement is a crucial step in formalising the closure of an employer-employee relationship in India as this process includes a list of statutory obligations that an organisation must fulfil. Managing F&F settlements requires careful consideration of both central and state specific legislations. Several organisation have standard processes in place to handle F&F settlements, however, most of them do not meet the legal requirement leading to complicated employee transitions.     Through this article, Arjun Paleri and Harinie S aim to highlight the importance of statutory requirements related to F&F settlements in India through a recent judicial precedent Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/d3AyRb3n

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released the Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 on January 3, 2025. One of the most significant areas of focus is age-gating, which will reshape how children engage with the digital world in India. Vikram Jeet Singh and Arushi Mukherji analyze four key aspects of age-gating outlined in the Draft Rules. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/dJyX7hyv

On January 6, 2025, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Environment Protection (End-of-Life Vehicles) Rules, 2025 (“Rules”). These Rules inter alia aim to promote the recycling of vehicles nearing the end of their lifecycle. In this article, Suruchi Kotoky addresses five key questions for Producers under the Rules. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/dWAbn3rt