INDIA: An Introduction to Private Wealth Law
India, now the most populous country in the world, continues to also be one of its fastest growing economies. With a stable political and economic ecosystem and a bullish public market, overall optimism remains high although tempered by headwinds such as geopolitical issues, American tariffs and environmental challenges.
Wealth Creation
Through the public market
2025 has been a busy year for the Indian capital markets, with nearly 100 companies having listed on the stock exchanges, raising approximately USD17.85 billion (source: Economic Times). Initial public offering (IPO) activity has spanned across sectors, with companies led by families as well as first-time entrepreneurs making public offerings.
For investors, IPOs have consistently provided attractive exit options positioning India as a leading destination for returns on investments. For founders and promoters, IPOs offer significant wealth creation opportunities, transforming family businesses into multi-generational, professionalised wealth platforms. This extraordinary market activity stands in stark contrast to dormant primary markets in many developed jurisdictions amid global economic volatility.
Increased IPO activity has also led to enhanced focus on pre-IPO trust structuring for the promoters to consolidate their shareholdings and create wealth management structures prior to large earn-outs. For private wealth advisors, the IPO pipeline expands opportunities around pre- and post-listing legal structuring to optimise efficiency, manage regulatory compliance and address family governance considerations for clients.
Beyond traditional financial hubs
One of the more significant structural shifts in India’s private wealth landscape is the emergence of wealth centres beyond the traditional metropolitan centres of Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai. Wealth creation is accelerating in second and third tier cities including Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, Vadodara, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Lucknow. This promises to have profound implications for wealth structuring and advisory in the country.
Structural drivers for regional wealth creation include industrial and regional entrepreneurship, agriculture-linked prosperity, real estate monetisation, and maturing SME ecosystems in new urban centres. The improved infrastructure, enhanced connectivity and increased awareness have contributed to a situation in which wealthy Indians based in these non-traditional wealth centres look beyond the traditional means of investing capital and seek sophisticated asset classes for their portfolios. Sales of luxury goods and real estate have also increased exponentially in these centres.
Wealth Deployment
Family offices
Traditionally, Indian families relied on their family businesses as the primary source of wealth creation. However, trends indicate that Indian families are now diversifying by either setting up single family offices or participating in multi-family offices to professionally create, manage and transfer their wealth across generations. While generally investing across asset classes, many family offices are also inclined towards in investing in start-ups as venture capital or private equity.
Family offices remain unregulated in India although some family offices are structured as alternative investment funds (AIFs) or non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), which are regulated. With the growing influence of family offices as investors, there has been discourse calling on the regulators to devise a legal framework but there is no conclusive development on this front yet.
Reports indicate that there has been a six-fold increase in family offices in India in the past seven years. This has also led to concern that the priority of the next generation of family business scions is changing from active business to seeking passive income, which might be detrimental to the long-term success of the Indian economy, which is heavily dependent on the success of family businesses.
Philanthropy trends
As wealth creation in India increases, so does interest in philanthropy. That said, India’s philanthropic landscape is evolving beyond traditional charitable giving, in favour of sophisticated impact investing and ESG-integrated wealth management.
Market surveys indicate ultra-high net worth families are elevating philanthropy and impact considerations, taking into account factors beyond traditional financial returns. The private wealth injection into philanthropic activities is projected to see 10–12% annual growth (source: Bain & Company and Dasra’s India Philanthropy Report 2025). A significant portion of this is expected to be focused on areas such as gender equality, diversity, inclusion and climate initiatives – influenced by the evolving ethos of next-generation entrepreneurs.
Regulatory Developments
Uniform Civil Code
The landscape of personal laws in India is not unified, with different laws applicable depending primarily on the religion of the individual, although there has been a vocal call to unify and codify the legal framework for many decades. India’s Constitution, adopted in 1950, urged the state to “endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India” as a Directive Principle of State Policy.
Although a nation-wide unification is yet to be seen, Uttarakhand became the first state in India to introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in 2024. In the future, other states of India may also seek to introduce a UCC within their territorial jurisdiction, which will change the entire landscape of personal laws in India.
GIFT City
India’s first international financial services centre, the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), was inaugurated more than a decade ago and remains a key part of the current government’s vision on finance and technology.
The highly anticipated family investment fund regime in GIFT City continues to remain uncertain, with the Reserve Bank of India being concerned about the capital outflows both from a foreign exchange control and monetary standpoint.
Indian family offices have been exploring Category III Alternative Investment Funds in GIFT City as a means of setting up offshore structures under the regulatory framework, where they are required to be genuine, third-party, pooled vehicles rather than single-family investment substitutes, with an economic rationale and investment strategy.
Taxation
The Income-tax Act, 2025 has been passed by the Indian Parliament and is due to become effective from 1 April 2026. The new legislation replaces the current 1961 Act whilst preserving core tax principles and instead focusing on linguistic clarity, structural reorganisation and procedural streamlining. While the substantive tax policy remains largely unchanged, this legislative overhaul represents the most significant recodification of Indian tax law in over six decades.
As it stands, Indian tax residents are taxed on their global income, and non-residents are liable to pay income tax only on India-sourced income (any income that is received or deemed to be received in India or has accrued or arisen or is deemed to accrue or arise in India). India also has an intermediate category of persons resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) who are taxed on their India-sourced income and such foreign income that is derived from a business controlled, or a profession set up, in India.
Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin whose total income (excluding foreign source income), exceeds INR1.5 million during the relevant financial year are regarded as tax resident in India if they spend 120 days or more in India instead of the period of 182 days applicable to others.
While personal tax slabs were revised earlier this year, the high net worth individuals falling in the highest income tax slab continue to be taxed at 30% on both dividend and rental income (excluding applicable surcharge and cesses). In 2024, the capital gains regime was significantly revised, with the stated aim of rationalisation and simplification.
There is no estate duty, inheritance tax or wealth tax levied in India. Although there have been informal discussions on reintroducing estate duty, there is no official proposal currently under consideration.