In partnership with one of India’s leading law firm, Amarchand Mangaldas and Suresh A. Shroff & Co., the Foundation has put together a Legal Handbook focusing on legal compliances specifically targeted at start-ups and hybrid social entrepreneurial ventures.

This handbook includes topics that a startup social enterprise is likely to encounter. The objective is to introduce the founders to these issues so that legal compliances can be adhered to and professional help sought to overcome legal blocks. In collating the Handbook, the Foundation conducted interviews with leading social entrepreneurs and support organizations and these issues were selected based on the experiences and insights shared by the interviewees.

We hope this Legal Handbook would help prepare budding social entrepreneurs in navigating the legal maze and prove a useful resource as they look to tackle some of our societys most intractable problems.

Using the handbook

The Handbook has eleven chapters, each of which deals with a different aspect of starting up and running a social enterprise. Therefore, it is intended serve as a reference tool for specific issues, with the intention of providing quick access to the most appropriate chapters. All chapters begin with a brief description of the issues areas addressed in the chapter. The legal information in each chapter has been provided in an easy to use question and answer format which enables the user to go directly to the issue they are seeking information on.

We would like to hear back from you regarding this Handbook. Please send us your feedback, comments and suggestions to info@khemkafoundation.org

With Gratitude

The Khemka Foundation would like to acknowledge with the deepest of appreciation, the efforts of Amarchand Mangaldas and Suresh A. Shroff & Co., and in particular their offices in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, who volunteered their time to compile the handbook. We acknowledge the leadership of Aarti Madhusudhan from Governance Counts, who authored the chapter on ‘Good corporate governance practices’. Our sincerest thanks to all the social entrepreneurs and support organizations that shared their experiences, challenges and wisdom with us.

This legal handbook is the direct outcome of the Legal Consultancy Clinic held at the Khemka Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. We are grateful to Pankaj Jain of Impact Law Ventures and Karthik Mahalingam of Omidyar Network who invested their time and were instrumental in shaping this handbook.

We thank the team of Fondazione Fem Onlus, this handbook would not have been possible without their active support and that of Cariplo Foundation and the Vismara Foundation.

Disclaimer

All information, as to the summaries of Indian legal matters, within this legal handbook has been provided on a good faith basis, and care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information provided herein. While we will endeavor to update the legal handbook for significant legislative changes as and when they happen, please keep in mind that information in the legal handbook may not be as of the date hereof and may not reflect the current position under law. This legal handbook is being provided to you solely as guidance material and accordingly, the contents herein shall not be construed as an alternative to specific legal advice. You should consult with your professional advisors, including lawyers, chartered accountants, company secretaries or other consultants, prior to making any decision or taking any action on the basis of the information set forth herein. You agree that neither us, nor any of our partners, shall be held responsible for any loss incurred as a result of the information provided in the said legal handbook.