SINGAPORE CONVENTION
WEEK EVENTS
SINGAPORE CONVENTION WEEK EVENTS
India in Focus: BCI Amendments and Managing Deal Risks in India
by Mumbai Center for International Arbitration
27 August 2025, Wednesday
17:00 – 19:00
Clifford Chance
This event will focus on two important themes:
(i) Has the Indian Legal Market Opened Up? Perspectives on the BCI Rules and
(ii) Cross-Border M&A Disputes Involving Indian Parties: Trends, Triggers & Tactics.
The first panel will explore the implications of the Bar Council of India’s new rules on the entry of foreign law firms. Indian and international practitioners, alongside general counsel, will discuss the opportunities, uncertainties, and practical impact of this regulatory shift on cross-border legal work.
The second panel will delve into the growing complexity of M&A disputes involving Indian parties. Key issues include foreign-seated arbitration clauses, post-closing risks, enforcement hurdles under Indian regulations, and the increasing use of emergency arbitration and expert evidence. The panel will also assess the evolving dispute strategies of India-focused funds and the potential role of mediation in this space.
*For registration matters, please send email to
*This event is an in-person event.
Speakers

Aditya JALAN
Partner, AZB & Partners
Aditya Jalan has more than 14 years of experience and specialises in Dispute Resolution. Aditya advises clients on a wide variety of commercial disputes, regulatory investigations, international and domestic arbitrations, and white-collar crime defence. Aditya specialises in infrastructure disputes, power sector and a wide variety of securities and governance related disputes. His clients include banks and other financial institutions, multinationals, manufacturers, and PSUs.

Ashok KUMAR
General Counsel, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India
Ashok Kumar serves as the General Counsel at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, overseeing the Legal, Compliance, and Secretarial functions for a rapidly growing $10 billion steel company. With prior experience as the General Counsel at JSW, Ashok led the litigation and dispute resolution department of a prominent industrial group and has held various legal roles at companies such as ABB and Areva. Ashok possesses expertise in commercial law, contract management, and compliance across multiple sectors including steel, power, and infrastructure.

Audrey NG
Group General Counsel, Citi Bank
Audrey is a Group General Counsel at Citi Bank and she is based out of Singapore.

Gourab BANERJI
Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
A Senior Advocate based in New Delhi, he practices before the Supreme Court of India in constitutional and commercial matters, with particular expertise in arbitration, both domestic and international. He served as Additional Solicitor General of India (2009–2014), representing the Government in significant cases, including the Italian Marines matter, where he successfully argued India’s jurisdiction. He has acted in numerous high-value arbitrations across Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and Amsterdam, and contributed to reforms in India’s arbitration law. He is the Founder and President of the Arbitration Bar of India and joined Essex Court Chambers as an Overseas Associate.

Jamie MCLAREN
Partner, Clifford Chance
Jamie is a Partner in Clifford Chance's Asia Pacific Corporate Practice. He has a focus on private equity, private and public M&A, and joint venture transactions across India and Southeast Asia.
He has advised on transactions across a range of sectors, including digital and other infrastructure, energy transition, TMT, life sciences, healthcare, financial services, real estate and consumer transactions. Jamie has been based in Singapore since 2018.

Kunal VAJANI
Joint Managing Partner, Fox & Mandal
Kunal specialises in litigation and arbitration, handling a broad range of civil, criminal, and corporate matters. He is recognised for advising on pioneering domestic and cross-border investments and restructuring transactions. Kunal has represented private and sovereign clients in high-profile disputes involving anti-corruption, banking, telecom, competition law, constitutional law, corporate crime, taxation, infrastructure, insolvency, IP, energy, real estate, and shareholder issues, among others. His extensive experience spans challenges to government policies, regulatory matters, and complex commercial disputes, making him a sought-after attorney in both domestic and international forums.

Neeti SACHDEVA
Secretary General and Registrar, Mumbai Center for International Arbitration
Neeti is the Secretary General and Registrar of the MCIA. Prior to joining MCIA, Neeti has extensively worked in the field of International Commercial Arbitration, both as a private practitioner representing clients and as an administrator, facilitating the dispute resolution procedure. Neeti’s past professional experience includes working with some of the top Indian and international law firms, besides being a judicial clerk. She is also active in academic circles, having done her Masters in International Commercial Arbitration from Stockholm University and regularly sits as an Arbitrator too. She is also a Board member of CIArb India

Nish SHETTY
Senior Partner, Clifford Chance
Nish is a senior partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice at Clifford Chance in Singapore and is widely recognised as one of the leading arbitration practitioners in Asia. He has advised on many complex cross-jurisdictional disputes for 30 years, including arbitrations across Asia, Europe and the US.
Nish is widely recognised as a leader in the field of dispute resolution in the region and is on the panel of arbitrators of most of the key arbitral institutions in the world. He is the Co-Chair of the Council of Arbitration of the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA).

Rashna MISTRY
General Counsel, Tata Projects
Ms. Rashna Mistry joined Tata Projects as General Counsel wherein she is also a member of the Managing Committee. Based out of Mumbai, she provides leadership and direction to the Legal, Contracts, Company Secretary, Compliance & Ethics functions. Rashna comes with a rich experience of more than 30 years in the Legal function. She has worked extensively in management of litigation, arbitrations, regulatory/government investigations, criminal/ civil actions and cross border matters in various jurisdictions in India and abroad. Prior to this, she had also worked with Standard Chartered Bank for over 25 years and prior to that with American Express Bank.

Ritin RAI
Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Ritin Rai, designated a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India, began his career at Jones Day, Cleveland, before returning to India to practice corporate law. In 2004, he shifted to disputes, training under Ashok H. Desai, former Attorney General for India. His practice covers commercial and regulatory disputes in company, competition, insolvency, and telecommunications law, with appearances before the Supreme Court, High Court of Delhi, tribunals, and arbitral forums. Ritin also acts as counsel, arbitrator (ICC, SIAC, and ad-hoc), and Indian law expert internationally. He teaches commercial disputes at Jindal Global Law School as Adjunct Professor.

Dr. Sanjeev GEMAWAT
Managing Director and Group General Counsel, Essar Group
Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat is the Managing Director & Group General Counsel at Essar Group. With nearly three decades of legal experience across industries such as mining, energy, infrastructure, real estate, manufacturing, and technology, he has previously led legal functions at Vedanta, Dalmia Bharat, DLF, and JCB. Renowned for his expertise in litigation, arbitration, M&A, governance, compliance, and risk management, he has been featured among India’s Top General Counsels by Forbes and Business World and inducted into the Global Hall of Fame. A Doctorate in Insider Trading, he is also a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, and Chartered Secretary (India & UK).