Policy Beyond Politics Centre for Public Policy Research

In this episode, we explore the need for decriminalisation, simplification, and digitisation in business regulations. We dissect the implications of the Jan Vishwas Act and proposed amendments and delve into the progress of decriminalisation across the nation, identifying states leading the charge in reform efforts. Join us as we unravel the complexities and envision the future of business regulations.

Speaker:

Rishi Agrawal, Co-founder & CEO at Teamlease Regtech.
Rishi is the co-founder & CEO at Teamlease Regtech. Rishi firmly believes in the power of technology to transform the way Compliance is managed in India. Over the last several years, Rishi has helped over 1,000 companies in India digitally transform their Compliance program. In addition, he has been working closely with different central ministries, think tanks, and industry associations to highlight India's regulatory complexity and make a case for rationalisation, simplification, and digitisation. He is also the co-author of the report “Jailed for Doing Business”.

In the 2023 annual Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), India saw an advancement in its ranking, now positioned at 127 out of 146 countries, marking an improvement of eight places compared to the previous year. However, the report emphasised that India’s attainment of only 36.7% parity in economic participation and opportunity underscores the ongoing challenge of addressing gender disparities, particularly concerning women’s access to economic opportunities.

The involvement of women in the workforce serves as a significant gauge of a country’s economic advancement. Recent Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data indicates a positive trend in female labour force participation rates in recent years. Nevertheless, concerns arise regarding the quality of employment opportunities and the persistence of wage disparities.

In this context, Yamini Atmavilas, President of Strategy, Data & Applied Research at The Udaiti Foundation, joins Anu Maria Francis, Senior Associate – Research & Project Management at CPPR, in this podcast and explores the recent trends in India’s female labour force participation.

Key Discussion Points

1) Changes in the methodology or sampling framework in the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) of MoSPI, which replaced the nationwide Employment and Unemployment (E&U) surveys in 2017-18, and the effect of such changes.

2) Changes in the concept of labour in light of the significant change in women’s workforce distribution in recent years, with self-employment increasing by 10 percentage points between 2017-18 and 2021-22.

3) The trend of increasing labour force participation among rural women as compared to urban women.

4) Major policy changes that are required to improve the FLFPR to a 50 percent level.

Generative AI is projected to increase annual global GDP to the amount of trillions if implemented properly, according to analysts. What is India’s stake in this new global phenomenon? In today's podcast, we look at generative AI and LLMs, the issues they pose, the effect they have on Indian society and industry, and how we can look forward to regulating AI while allowing it to grow and provide value to the greatest extent. 

Our guest, Nidhi Singh, is a Programme Officer, with CCG Delhi. She is an expert in AI, privacy, internet governance, and emerging technologies. She is hosted by Varsha Radhakrishnan, a Fellow at the Centre for Public Policy Research. Varsha is an expert in emerging technologies and AI, having industrial expertise in this sector. 


The training data used in AI is heavily open sourced, and based on data from the open internet. This poses problems both in terms of the accuracy of the data as well as privacy, as the data scraped off might not be consented to by parties.


There is a lot of interest in India to build LLMs that are usable for citizens. Language poses an issue, as there may not be a vast tract of trainable data in particular languages.


There is a global north-south divide in the implementation of these technologies, as many new technologies are being created in the global north and implemented in the global south, leading to a large number of problems.


While it is true that policy catches up slower to new technologies, it is important to remember that the problems caused by the implementation and usage of these technologies are fundamental issues of access, equality, and privacy and can be looked at from a constitutional lens.



Key Takeaways:

In this podcast, we will be diving into the topic 'Decriminalisation of business laws in the state of Kerala'. Kerala, with a Gross State Domestic Product of 7.8 lakh crore, has shown promising growth potential. However, it currently ranks 15th in the Ease of Doing Business ranking within the country, indicating room for improvement in terms of business friendliness. Establishing a favorable legal environment is crucial for enhancing the ease of doing business. The presence of numerous laws governing business activities prompts us to question whether these laws facilitate or hinder the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In this podcast, we will be exploring the impact of these laws and their potential to encourage or deter investment in Kerala.Our podcast will be building upon the ongoing CPPR study on the decriminalization of business laws in Kerala. Join us as former IAS Officer T Nandakumar delves into the complexities of the business environment in Kerala and focuses on the decriminalization of business laws.Speaker: T Nandkumar IAS(retd)Adviser to IFPRI and WRI (Washington)Moderator: Anu Anna JoSenior Associate, Research, CPPR

Key Takeaways:

1. In many business laws minor offenses are criminalised. In the modern-day business environment, it is regressive and restrictive. 

2. Decriminalisation does not mean that it removes violations, it means that any violation which is civil in nature should be punished accordingly. 

3. Kerala needs to critically look into what it wants to do with its investments and then make the laws and procedures simple for investors.

4. Kerala's growth will come from the large number of small and medium enterprises which probably can be plugged in to the global market.

5. Laws that have historical baggage can be substantially reduced by repealing them.

To achieve the sustainability goals of the transport sector, it is necessary to promote the use of NMT. In this podcast, Mr Shrinivas Deshmukh, Co-founder & Director, Urban Research Foundation, talks about policy-level and implementation-level challenges in the integration of NMT with the public transport sector. Non-motorised transport systems have been proposed to be seamlessly integrated with public transport networks, serving as last-mile connectors, but the integration poses significant challenges. The development of NMT infrastructure should be closely aligned with pedestrian safety measures, prioritising the creation of an inclusive environment that caters to the needs of differently abled individuals and other vulnerable groups. The predominant components of NMT, encompassing walking, cycling, and rickshaws, represent environmentally friendly modes of transportation that could substantially contribute to reducing carbon footprints and achieving zero emissions. Although cities and states have initiated formulation for policies to promote non-motorised forms of transport, the ground level implementation is still challenging. Street designs have the potential to be the brand style of cities, attracting more people to use street facilities. A real time analysis of the NMT feasibility is required to ensure people switch to NMT, thereby ensuring decarbonisation in the transport sector.The podcast would look into:


The need for incentivising plans for opting for NMT modes of transport.
The need to come up with city-specific street designs to facilitate NMT
Ways to ensure accessible and inclusive planning for NMT Infrastructure
Impact of integration of NMT into the public transport system.
Policy level challenges in implementing NMT in cities

In this episode of Policy Beyond Politics, we delve into the Indian Space Policy and its implications for the booming space relations between India and the US. With India aiming to increase its share of the global space economy to more than 10% by 2030, we explore the recent milestones in the Indian space sector, including the successful launch of India's first private rocket. We also discuss the joint statement between India and the US, which highlights their intention to enhance Indo-US space relations and engage their commercial space sectors. Furthermore, we examine the initiatives and agreements signed between the two countries, such as the iCET agreement and the Space Situational Awareness Arrangement, as well as the plans for collaboration between NASA and ISRO. Tune in to understand the nuances of the Indian Space Policy and how it will support the growth and aspirations of the Indian space sector, particularly the private sector.


In this episode of Policy Beyond Politics,  we have with us Dr. Ranjana Kaul. Ranjana Kaul is a partner at Dua Associates, a leading law firm in New Delhi, India, with specialization in the UN international space law treaty regimes and international air law treaty regimes.