Treelife Resources

When an Indian startup sets up a wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, incorporates a Delaware holding company, or invests in a foreign entity as part of a global expansion, it has made an Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. The moment the first outbound…

The flip structure is one of the most consequential decisions an Indian founder can make before a funding round, and one of the least understood. When a US-based investor asks you to flip, they are not just asking you to incorporate a Delaware entity. They are asking you to permanently…

When a funding round closes in India, three documents sit at the centre of it: the Share Subscription Agreement (SSA), the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA), and the Shareholders’ Agreement (SHA). Each one does a different job, each one carries a different set of risks, and in almost every round, at…

Setting up a Delaware C Corporation is often the first structural decision an Indian founder faces when chasing US venture capital or scaling into American markets. The Delaware piece is, in practice, the simpler half. The India side of the transaction is where most of the compliance risk sits: the…

When SEBI introduced the Stewardship Code in December 2019, it marked a deliberate shift in how institutional investors, particularly Alternative Investment Funds, were expected to behave as shareholders. No longer was it enough for an AIF to simply collect investor capital, deploy it, and report returns. Stewardship demanded something harder:…

When an Indian startup sets up a wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, incorporates a Delaware holding company, or invests in a foreign entity as part of a global expansion, it has made an Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. The moment the first outbound…

The flip structure is one of the most consequential decisions an Indian founder can make before a funding round, and one of the least understood. When a US-based investor asks you to flip, they are not just asking you to incorporate a Delaware entity. They are asking you to permanently…

When a funding round closes in India, three documents sit at the centre of it: the Share Subscription Agreement (SSA), the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA), and the Shareholders’ Agreement (SHA). Each one does a different job, each one carries a different set of risks, and in almost every round, at…

India is in the middle of a generational wealth transition that has no historical precedent in scale or speed. An estimated US$1.5 trillion is expected to change hands across Indian family businesses over the next decade, driven by a wave of business listings, mergers, PE-led exits, and promoter monetisation events…

Winding up a wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) in India involves more steps than winding up an ordinary domestic company. The reason is the foreign dimension: alongside the Companies Act 2013 exit route, the parent company triggers a set of Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) reporting obligations, DTAA-governed withholding tax…

SEBI issued its updated Master Circular for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) on 03 June 2026, consolidating every circular, clarification, and regulatory change issued under the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 up to 31 May 2026. The document runs 153 pages across 25 chapters and supersedes the previous Master Circular…

The Reserve Bank of India held its benchmark repo rate steady at 5.25% at the June 2026 Monetary Policy Committee meeting, unanimously, under Governor Sanjay Malhotra. This is the third meeting in a row that the rate has stayed put, following a run of 150 basis point cuts between February…

India’s Cabinet approved an amendment to Press Note 3 (PN3) of 2020 in March 2026, and it is generating significant attention across the investment and startup community. Headlines have rushed to label it a sweeping FDI liberalisation. The reality is considerably more targeted. This report breaks down exactly what changed,…

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently announced a major overhaul to the regulatory framework for Angel Funds under the Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) Regulations, 2012. This new framework, introduced in 2025, aims to enhance transparency, improve operational clarity, and encourage investor participation. In this article, we’ll explore…

In a significant move to invigorate India’s startup ecosystem, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), during its board meeting on June 19, 2025, approved substantial changes to the Angel Fund Framework. These revisions are designed to unlock more capital for early-stage companies while simultaneously ensuring enhanced investor suitability…