The first article in this issue of Corporate Amicus covers Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which has been recently promulgated in order to prevent corporates from being forced into insolvency/liquidation, due to unprecedented situations arising out of COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlighting the participation of corporate India in supplementing the efforts of the government, the first article in this issue of Corporate Amicus discusses at length an important recent amendment in the Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’) provisions. According to the changes, Section 135(6) of the Companies Act, 2013 now enables corporates to transfer unspent amounts concerning an ‘on-going project’ to a separate account designated as an ‘unspent CSR account’.

The first article in this issue of Corporate Amicus discusses various changes in the framework of the contract labour, which will come into effect when the Code of Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2020 (‘Code’) will come into force.

The article in this issue of Corporate Amicus raises many issues which may arise if the definition of ‘wages’ as envisaged in the Wage Code, 2019 is implemented. It traces the history of the changes as recommended in the report of the National Commission on Labour submitted in 2002, report of the Working Group on ‘Labour Laws & Other Regulations’, Code on Wages Bill, 2017 and the report of the Standing Committee on Labour (2018-19).

While social media has been playing a vital role in connecting people and building relations without any boundaries, its misuse by miscreants to spread fake news and for other illegal means, has also increased.

Today, startups are identified as vital engines for economic growth and job genesis. With the support of the government and due to the colossal commercial potential for startups, India has moved up to the third position on the global list in respect of number of startups.

The introduction of Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020 is the second attempt to decriminalize various offences, the first one being the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019. The article in this issue of Corporate Amicus discusses at length the various amendments made by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020 related to the Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’) mandate, and their implications.

Finance Act, 2019 has introduced various amendments to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. Further, with an intent to bring uniformity in rates of stamp duty on both issuance and transfer of securities, whether in physical or dematerialized mode, the Central Government also introduced the Indian Stamp (Collection of Stamp-Duty through Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations and Depositories) Rules, 2019.

The first article in this issue of Corporate Amicus elaborately discusses a recent circular issued by SEBI that will be applicable for a scheme of merger, demerger, amalgamation or arrangement filed with the stock exchanges after 17 November 2020.

The article in this issue of Corporate Amicus elaborately discusses the recent amendments in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (‘FCRA’) by the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 which has come into effect from 29-09-2020.