The UK and the US have been pushing India to open up the sector to foreign firms
Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher (Photo: shanmugamiasacademy.blogspot.in)
New Delhi: The government has started discussions with the Bar Council of India and other stake holders to open up legal services sector to foreigners in a calibrated manner, commerce secretary Rajeev Kher said on Monday.
“We have taken a note on legal services to Committee of Secretaries (CoS). The CoS will talk about it shortly,” Mr Kher told reporters here. The discussions, he said, are also going on with the Society for Indian Law Firms (SILF), a representative body of corporate law firms.
He added that they are broadly converging on the idea that there is a need to open up the sector in a calibrated manner. “There is a need to bring in certain amount of competition in the sector. But the area of litigation will not be opened up,” said the secretary, who is retiring on Tuesday. An industry expert said the issue to open areas such as advisory, consultation and drafting of agreements for foreigners in domestic legal services sector is under discussion but these are sensitive matters and may take a long time to implement. The UK and the US have been pushing India to open up the sector to foreign firms.
( Source : PTI )
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