Most India entries fail not on FEMA, but on the licence that surfaced three months after launch. We map every regulator your activity touches, sequence the approvals, build the file and walk the inspection \u2014 so revenue starts on day one, not month twelve.
RBI · NBFC · PA/PG
NBFC (Section 45-IA, NOF ₹ 2 cr.), PA/PG under PSS Act, account aggregator, fintech and prepaid instrument licences.
SEBI · AIF · PMS · IA
AIF Cat I / II / III, Portfolio Manager, Investment Adviser, Research Analyst, Stock Broker and Custodian registrations.
MeitY · IT Rules 2021
Intermediary classification, SSMI duties (CCO / Nodal / Grievance Officer), traceability, monthly compliance report.
IRDAI · CDSCO
IRDAI registration for insurers / intermediaries and CDSCO licence for medical devices / pharma under Drugs and Cosmetics Act and MDR 2017.
BIS · DGFT · DGCA
BIS mandatory certification under QCOs, DGFT IEC and authorisations, DGCA aviation / drone licensing and PESO.
DoT · TRAI · STPI
Unified Licence, OSP / Other Service Provider compliance, M2M / IoT registration, STPI / SEZ unit approvals.
List every activity, then list every regulator it touches. Output: a regulator-by-activity matrix on one page.
Pre-incorporation approvals first, post-incorporation second, pre-revenue third. The sequence saves three months.
Promoter declarations, fit-and-proper, capital adequacy, IT architecture, premises and personnel — each licence has a defined file.
Field inspection or virtual inspection by the regulator. We pre-walk and rehearse before the regulator visit.
Many regulators issue in-principle approval first and operating licence after capital infusion or readiness. The window matters.
Returns, audit, board reporting and amendments to the licence — the licence is not the end of the file, it is the start.
Regulator mapping is read from the activity, not the entity. The same Indian company can be answerable to the Reserve Bank of India (for any financial activity), SEBI (for capital market or investment manager activity), the Ministry of Electronics and IT (for intermediary and significant social media duties), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (for insurance distribution), the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (for medical devices and pharma) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (for mandatory product certification). The first deliverable is a sector-by-sector regulator map with sequencing.
Section 45-IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 prohibits a company from commencing or carrying on the business of a non-banking financial institution without prior registration with the RBI and minimum Net Owned Funds of ₹ 2 crore. The RBI Master Direction on NBFC — Scale Based Regulation prescribes capital, governance, fit-and-proper and exposure norms. The realistic registration timeline, depending on the layer (Base / Middle / Upper / Top), is 6–12 months and the file must be defensible end to end.
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 separate Intermediaries from Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMI, > 50 lakh users threshold under the Government notification). SSMIs must appoint a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Contact Person and a Resident Grievance Officer, publish a monthly compliance report, enable traceability where required and meet the takedown SLA in the Rules. The architecture is more than a policy page on the website.
A foreign insurer or distributor needs registration under the Insurance Act, 1938 read with the IRDAI (Registration of Indian Insurance Companies) Regulations — the FDI cap has been progressively liberalised, with a Government proposal to allow 100% subject to conditions. For medical devices, the CDSCO under the Medical Devices Rules, 2017 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 issues the manufacturing / import licence, with risk-class A / B / C / D determining the file depth. Each one is a multi-month sequence with field inspection.
Yes — these are the licensing layers most often missed in entry planning. BIS mandatory certification under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 applies to a growing list of products under Quality Control Orders. DGFT issues IEC and any restricted-item authorisation. DoT/TRAI govern any telecom-touching activity. DGCA governs aviation and drone use. PESO governs explosives, petroleum and gas products. We list them in the entry diagnostic so that nothing surfaces three months after launch.
Investment route, sectoral caps, PN 3 and the FEMA reporting that runs in parallel to licensing.
Transfer pricing, treaty, GST cross-border, SEP, POEM and Pillar Two readiness.
Day-2 contracts, employment, IP, DPDPA privacy and dispute architecture.
The licence that surfaces three months after launch costs you the quarter. We surface them all in week one.