Previous editions of the Regulatory Watch
A month-by-month record of the developments we have tracked. The current edition stays on the home page.
Three shifts redrawing the Indian compliance map this year
Employment, data protection and artificial intelligence have each crossed a regulatory inflection point. The deadlines below are not theoretical, they are calendar events with board-level consequences.
The Four Labour Codes Are Now in Force
In force from 21 November 2025, the four Labour Codes consolidate 29 central labour statutes. A single statutory wage definition resets provident fund, gratuity and CTC structuring, and fixed-term employees now earn gratuity after one year rather than five.
The DPDP Rules, 2025 Are Now Law
Notified on 13 November 2025, the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules operationalise India's privacy regime through a phased roll-out. Substantive Data Fiduciary duties, consent notices, breach response and principal rights become enforceable from 13 May 2027.
India's AI Governance Guidelines Land
MeitY released the India AI Governance Guidelines on 5 November 2025, seven guiding sutras, a graded-liability model and a developer and deployer split, built on existing law rather than a new statute. The compliance question has shifted from whether to how you can prove it.