Author : Alok Raj , Pursuing BA.LL.B From Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. Co-Author: Nalla Vatsalya, MA Gender studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi. Co-Author: Milli Dhillon, MA Political Science, Lovely Professional University,Jalandhar. Abstract Although India is a democratic nation, it has almost 48% women as voters, but the electoral numbers show a paradoxical situation that women are vastly underrepresented as candidates and elected representatives. Using the data of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), this paper critically examines electoral participation of women in India as a voter and as a political actor. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections marked an historic achievement in terms of female participation (65.78%) to the extent that it slightly outpaced the overall voter turnout (65.55%) by the male voters, but women had a mere 13.63% of parliamentary seats and 9.56% of candidates. Using the lenses of intersectionality (Crenshaw) and capability approach (Sen), the paper highlights five research gaps – the absence of intersectional analysis, high socio-economic development is weak evidence of representation, blocked panchayat pipeline, entrenched partyinternal gatekeeping, and near absence of data on the participation of the third genders. The country’s comparative score of 143 out of 183 countries, far lower than the IPU average of 26.9%, places India in the bottom half of the rankings, and a new Policy Recommendations section features six evidence-based policy reforms. The paper contends that increased voter participation, as such, is not likely to narrow the gender gap in India’s democracy unless there are changes in the structure of parties and legislation. Keywords: Women’s Electoral Participation, Political Representation , Intersectionality, Gender Gap , Lok Sabha Elections , Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

Authors: Abhay Gupta, Danshri Ghatole, Harshita Malviya, Mili Aggarwal, Shikha Maurya, and Vedika Sharma Abstract Water scarcity has been a major issue in India for past few decades, presenting serious environmental and socio-economic challenges including ongoing droughts, lowering groundwater levels, and unequal access to clean water where the economically weaker and marginalized communities, actually bear the brunt of these shortages. The implications go beyond just people; water depletion also poses risks to ecosystems, biodiversity, agricultural output, and overall environmental health. Meanwhile, India is diving into digital transformation with programs like Digital India and the India AI Mission and the recent AI Summit, aiming to make the country a frontrunner in Artificial Intelligence (AI). But while these technological initiatives focus on growth and innovation, there is active ignorance from officials on water usage by AI infrastructure, especially when it comes to data centers that depend on water-heavy cooling systems, power generation, and semiconductor production. This paper delves into water usage of AI data centers and examines if current environmental laws are enough to handle the heavy water needs of AI infrastructure. The paper also adapts the qualitative thematic review of existing literature along with doctrinal legal analysis, utilizing academic studies, policy papers, environmental reports, and legal texts. The focus is on water consumption in AI data centers, India’s growing data center scene, current environmental regulations, and how other countries are managing sustainable AI practices. Through this paper the researchers speculate that, even though India has constitutional rights, environmental laws, and water management systems in place for protecting the environment, these are not created to tackle the unique issues brought on by AI technologies. There are still some big gaps in regulations when it comes to water-use transparency, sustainability benchmarks, and specific environmental oversight for AI. The paper concludes by suggesting that India needs to enhance and update its legal and regulatory framework to make sure that as tech advances quickly, it doesn’t compromise water security, environmental health, or social fairness. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI Data Centres, Water Consumption, Water Scarcity, Environmental Regulation, Sustainable Development.

Author: Divi Shrotriya Abstract In the modern globalized market, increasing movement of cultural symbols, motifs, designs, and practices across borders has revived interest in the ongoing discussion about the protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs). This paper explores the conceptual gap between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and how this gap fits within the larger context of IP law. It examines the scope of existing IP instruments, such as copyright, trademark, geographical indications, industrial designs, and the doctrines of unfair competition in protecting the interests of source communities and assesses the need for sui generis protection regimes specific to the collective, intergenerational, and sacred nature of TCEs. In the context of an Indian illustration on the Geographical Indications of Banarasi silk sarees, Kanchipuram silk sarees and Madhubani paintings, the paper advocates the use of IP as providing partial and partial protection, but is in a structurally weak position to protect the communal authorship and perpetual temporality of traditional knowledge. The paper then reflects upon the potential benefits and drawbacks of IP protection and suggests a multi-layered, community-based strategy that integrates traditional IP mechanisms with new sui generis legislative instruments and benefit-sharing mechanisms. Keywords: Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs); Intellectual Property Rights; Fashion law; Cultural Appropriation; Cultural Appreciation; Sui generis Protection; Cultural misappropriation; Traditional Knowledge; Community rights.

Authors : Suhani Dhapa, Manek Vinodan, Devika Sejwal Abstract India and China have both witnessed the rise of mass civil service aspiration despite profound differences in their political systems. This exploratory research compares India’s Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination and China’s National Civil Service Examination (Guokao) to examine the socioeconomic and political forces sustaining the appeal of state employment. Drawing on qualitative data analysed through narrative and thematic methods, the study explores how labour-market uncertainty, aspirations for social mobility, state legitimacy, and familial expectations shape examination cultures in both countries. The findings demonstrates significant convergences across divergent institutional contexts. In India and China alike, civil service preparation functions as a response to economic insecurity and a socially legitimate pathway to status and mobility. However, these examination systems also generate prolonged periods of youth underemployment, delay key life transitions, and remove large numbers of educated young adults from productive economic activity. Ultimately, the study asks whether the rise of mass civil service aspiration signals the strength of the state, the weakness of the market, or a deeper reconfiguration of the relationship between the two. Keywords: UPSC, Guokao, India, China, socioeconomics, civil services, youth aspirations

Authors: Stuti Rangappa , Tarini Aleti Abstract India made education a fundamental right in 2009 through the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act. Sixteen years later, millions of children in rural government schools cannot read, calculate or even hold the state accountable for either failure. The Act promised them quality education. What it delivered was only enrollment. Arguments presented in this paper address the gap between promises and reality as not simply a failure of governance but of legislation. Through a doctrinal socio-legal methodology drawing on ASER Reports (2014–2024) and UDISE+ Annual Reports (2020–2024), it identifies three structural loopholes in the Act: a compliance framework that exempts the very schools it should govern most strictly, a complete silence on what children must actually learn and an enforcement mechanism that places the burden of accountability on those least equipped to bear it.

Authors: Manisha Guruprasad, Pearl Dua, Narayani Sree S Abstract This paper analyses India’s evolving foreign policy through the lens of Russian oil trade, despite geopolitical demand, post the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. The study explores India’s transitioning foreign policy from the era of non-alignment to multi-alignment, and how this has helped India gain both economic and political leverage during challenging times, like the one examined in this paper. India’s decision for Russian oil import was in line with its own strategic autonomy and national interest, and this assertion exemplifies India’s strong foreign policy. India’s firm stance of maintaining its national energy security through its tactful statesmanship diplomacy, has made India a crucial player in the multipolar global order, whilst being a strong voice of the Global South. India has actively carved the path for the multipolar global order and a stronger Global South representation. The combination of sophisticated diplomacy, active multi-alignment approach, and assertion of India’s strategic autonomy has helped India to rise to be a prominent global power in the emerging multipolar order. Keywords: Multi-alignment, Strategic autonomy, Energy security, Russian oil, National interest; Multipolarism, Hedging theory, Global South

AUTHORS: PRISCILLA AKOSAH, ZIKRA ARSHAD ABSTRACT Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is the most extensive reservoir of terrestrial carbon but one of the least utilized mechanisms for mitigating climate change. This research presents a thematic literature review covering 23 scholarly articles written from 2021 to 2026 on four different themes concerning SOC: its role in the carbon cycle, the influence of land use and type of ecosystem on the amount of SOC stock, the efficiency of land management in increasing SOC stock, and the obstacles currently inhibiting its application to mitigate climate change and in the carbon market. The thematic review identifies that soil organic carbon is being depleted faster than it can be replenished, due to deforestation, improper agriculture, and warming global temperatures. Although techniques such as no-till agriculture, agroforestry, cover cropping, and biochar have shown potential for increasing SOC levels, they exhibit large variations when applied to different areas and settings. Important shortcomings can be found in the monitoring of SOC, its longevity, as well as our knowledge regarding sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America’s soils. In conclusion, this review suggests that there should be an effort to include SOC as a crucial element within the scope of global climate policy, as opposed to being a secondary choice. Keywords: soil organic carbon, climate change mitigation, land use, carbon sequestration, land management, thematic review

Authors: Eldin Joshy, Vishakha Singh, M Sai Saranya, Staicy Susan Thomas, Deepika Boora, Shriya Agnihotri, Kalika Kumari, Shourya Bahl Abstract This study analyses the structural paradox in India’s job market, where high macroeconomic growth and youth moving towards higher education coexist with the problem of unemployment and underemployment among educated youth. Based on secondary macro-level data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Reports (2017-18 to 2023-24) and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) sectoral projections, the study employs a descriptive and comparative trend-analysis framework using the Usual Status (ps+ss) approach. The findings reveal a quantitative expansion in labour supply, with aggregate graduate Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPR) rising from 60% to 66.20%, heavily driven by a 13.1% increase in rural female participation. At the same time, aggregate graduate unemployment declined to 13% by 2023-24. However, a deeper qualitative mismatch persists: labour market absorption is structurally skewed toward informality, with rural graduate self-employment rising to 64.7% while secure, regular salaried employment stagnates at 12.7%. Further, a significant sectoral divergence exists between capital-intensive, high-Gross Value Added (GVA) industries and low-productivity, high-employment multiplier sectors. Ultimately, the paper highlights a lack of coordination between the theoretical results of formal higher education and the advanced technical, digital, and personal competencies demanded by India’s fastest-growing sectors. Keywords: Educated Unemployment, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Skill Mismatch, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Employment Quality

Authors: Matthew AGBA, Prachi Gautam, Nidhi Susan Sunu, Shriya Ajit Patil, Ashwani Pradeep Kumar Tiwari, Pukhrambam Elizabeth Devi, Mulamba Adrian Felix Abstract The research primarily focuses on the impact of digitalisation and financial development on self-employment. To conduct the study moderate multiple regression analysis is conducted and the data was collected from the World Bank’s Open Data and other publicly available macroeconomic databases resulting in 300 observations covering 15 developing countries over the period 2005-2024. This study examines how digitalization and digital financial inclusion are associated with self-employment,specifically analyzing how regional digital infrastructure and institutional framework influence occupational choice. It fills a research gap by treating unemployment as not just a control variable but as a key catalyst which promotes self-employment. The result of analysis shows that digitalisation alone has an important direct effect on self-employment, but it depends on shift labour dynamics, whereas domestic financial development has negatively affected self-employment, as it leads to formal wage employment. Keywords: Digitalization, Financial Inclusion, Labour Dynamics, Self-Employment and Formal Wage Employment.

Authors: Nayna Sharma and Fayis TN Abstract Objective: this paper discusses MNCs financial risk management strategies for dealing with a fluctuating world economy and how these strategies differentiate across various sectors and geographies. Methodology: A PRISMA systematic review framework is employed where academic literature, industry reports, and case studies published between 2015-2025 are extracted from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Both qualitative and quantitative findings derived from the literature review are integrated using thematic analysis of traditional risk-management approaches and sophisticated tech-based tools. Results: The paper validates three major hypotheses: 1. MNC risk management depends on institutional and sector-specific contexts (H1). 2. Higher market volatility leads firms to use increasingly sophisticated derivative instruments and structured hedging vehicles (H2). 3. Industries like manufacturing, energy, and banking employ much more advanced risk structures than service-sector oriented businesses (H3). Additionally, there appears to be a geographical divide: firms located in developed markets tend to utilize standardized ERM systems and developed derivative markets whereas their counterparts in emerging economies resort to operational agility, localized sourcing and geographically diversified business activities in an attempt to buffer against inherent structural and political risks. Conclusion: There is a growing trend of shifting from siloed financial hedging towards centralized and integrated Enterprise Risk Management systems. Although new emerging technologies like AI and algorithmic modeling were seen to be put to use for optimal risk prediction, there exist unprecedented challenges such as regulatory, model based and system risks. Hence, no single strategy is seen/used as universally effective; long-term financial corporate sustainability is developed from the combination of financial derivatives, operational flexibility and timely regulatory compliance. Keywords: Financial risk management, Multinational corporations, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Hedging strategies, Sectoral volatility, Geographic diversification.