The 1980’s saw the emergence of a new method of returning cash to shareholders in the United States which is known as share buy backs or share repurchases. Over the years many countries followed suit and it became the preferred way to compensate shareholders by companies. In this paper we examine various issues related to share buybacks in India. This includes the reasons for carrying out share repurchases by companies; various methods of share buybacks which are available; exploring the reasons for it to become a favoured way to return cash to shareholders in India like elsewhere in the world particularly the United States; to trace the trends in the methods of buybacks and to carry out a comprehensive literature review. We also examine how the regulatory framework has evolved over a period of time. We specifically look at the requirements of the Companies Act, 2013, SEBI (Buyback of Securities) Regulations, 2018 and the Income Tax Act, 1961 to see whether there are tax arbitrage opportunities. Lastly, we also look the pitfalls of share buy backs.