# Black Dot Public Policy Advisors

> Black Dot Public Policy Advisors is a policy advocacy firm in India, founded in 2020 by Mandar Kagade (Founder-Principal), predominantly focused on financial services. It acts as a bridge between the fintech industry, the regulators and government stakeholders, and has advised scaled start-ups and financial incumbents operating out of India on both business-as-usual and moon-shot public policy engagements.

Contact: mandar@blackdotpubpol.com

## What Black Dot does

Financial policy lives somewhere between law and business. Black Dot works across three lines, and the common thread is understanding both the legal frame and the business sitting inside it:

1. Policy design: helping write the policy itself, e.g. the legal framework for Digital Banks in India (NITI Aayog, Knowledge Partner, 2022) and an Indian legal and regulatory framework for digital assets (Ripple, 2020).
2. Regulatory response: working out what matters in a consultation, draft circular, committee paper or government query, then writing the argument, often in the client's name.
3. Government relations: preparing clients for meetings with the people writing the policy, with the facts, the evidence, the argument and the ask.

## The paper trail

- Digital Banking — NITI Aayog: A legal framework for licensing and regulating Digital Banks in India. Final report published July 2022. Discussion paper published November 2021. Report: https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-07/DigitalBanking07202022_compressed.pdf
- Digital Assets — Ripple: An Indian legal and regulatory framework for digital assets. Parts of the AML framework later appeared in changes under PMLA. Ripple policy framework published 18 June 2020. Report: https://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ripple-Perspective-The-Path-Forward-For-Digital-Asset-Adoption-In-India-June2020-21.pdf
- AI + Finance — RBI FREE-AI Committee: We argued for a regulatory safe harbour. The Committee later recommended a graded-liability approach. Black Dot testified on 12 February 2025. Committee report published August 2025. Report: https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/PublicationReport/Pdfs/FREEAIR130820250A24FF2D4578453F824C72ED9F5D5851.PDF
- Digital Assets × UPI — Market Access: Made the case for restoring UPI access for compliant digital-asset exchanges. Position paper entered public debate in May 2023.
- The COINS Act — Hashed Emergent: Co-created a rights-first model law for crypto regulation in India. Publicly released 21 July 2025. Report: https://x.com/HashedEM/status/1947273553470194058

## Reports

- FREE-AI Committee Report (Reserve Bank of India, 2025). Black Dot testified before the Committee on 12 February 2025. https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/PublicationReport/Pdfs/FREEAIR130820250A24FF2D4578453F824C72ED9F5D5851.PDF
- Report on Digital Bank Licensing & Regulation (NITI Aayog, 2022). Black Dot was Knowledge Partner. https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2022-07/DigitalBanking07202022_compressed.pdf
- The Path Forward For Digital Assets Adoption In India (Ripple, 2020). With Sagar Sarbhai. Co-authored policy white paper. https://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ripple-Perspective-The-Path-Forward-For-Digital-Asset-Adoption-In-India-June2020-21.pdf

## Pages

- [Home](https://blackdotpubpol.com/): firm overview
- [Our Right to Win](https://blackdotpubpol.com/our-right-to-win/): what Black Dot does and the paper trail
- [About the Founder](https://blackdotpubpol.com/mandar-kagade/): Mandar Kagade, Founder-Principal
- [Founder's Corner](https://blackdotpubpol.com/founders-corner/): people who have inspired the founder (Karna, Arjuna, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Bajirao I, John D. Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, Elon Musk)
- [Bylines](https://blackdotpubpol.com/bylines/): op-eds, quotes and reports

## Founder

Mandar Kagade founded Black Dot in 2020 after more than a decade working at the intersection of law, finance and public policy design.

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandar-kagade-4a171333/
- X: https://x.com/MandarKagade