Author: Soumya Jha Introduction Cross-border financial consumer disputes (CBFCD) have become structurally complex as they unfold across overlapping domestic, regional, and international legal orders, each asserting regulatory authority without hierarchical resolution. Drawing on Martti Koskenniemi (2007) and Gunther Teubner (1997), this literature review treats legal fragmentation not as a background context but as a causal mechanism producing normative indeterminacy rather than coordinated governance. Using narrative analyses, it traces three evolutionary phases,including post-2008 paternalistic redress, fintech-driven contractualisation (2013–2018), and the current geo-financial sovereignty phase. It argues that CBFCD have shifted from domestic mis-selling adjudication to sovereignty-inflected exclusions through extraterritorial enforcement, often preventing consumer remedy. Each phase is anchored to a concrete dispute, so that the doctrinal shifts are traced to their effects on the consumer rather than treated as abstract regime change. Further, it identifies five literature gaps whose convergence at the intersection of fintech governance, Global South regulatory capacity, and algorithmic accountability remains unaddressed in existing literature. Keywords: Legal Fragmentation, Cross Border Financial Consumer Disputes, Financial Governance, Fintech Regulation, Sanctions, Extraterritoriality, and Global South.

Authors: Ananya Kukreja, Isa Mathew, Jay Kalra Abstract This paper examines and compares the soft power strategies of the United States of America and China in the twenty-first century while focusing on the role of digital platforms, algorithms and influencer culture as instruments of soft power projection. Using Joseph Nye’s framework of soft power as the primary lens, the study conducts a qualitative comparative analysis of China’s statedriven model, characterised by centralised content control and platform governance, and the market-led model in the United States of America, which operates through decentralised privatesector actors and influencer economies. The paper focuses on this comparison prominently within the geopolitical context of the South Asian region, where both nations constantly compete for cultural and political influence. Keywords: Soft power; United States of America; China; Joseph Nye; TikTok; ByteDance; Influencer marketing; Algorithms; Digital diplomacy; Platform governance

Author: Areej Mehdi, Megha Priya, Ananya Prasad Abstract Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 does something quietly contradictory. It forces qualifying companies to redirect profit toward public welfare, and in the same clause leaves those profits free to stay under corporate control. This paper argues that the contradiction was not missed by the drafters, it was left in place. Rule 4(1)(a) of the CSR Rules expressly allows a company to route its mandatory two percent spend to a Section 8 foundation that it has itself created and staffed, and the 2021 Amendment, which rewrote nearly every other compliance detail in the regime, left that permission exactly where it was. That is not an oversight. It is a decision, and this paper sets out to prove it rather than simply assert it. Applying a governance overlap mapping protocol to five NSE-listed conglomerates for FY 2024-25, the paper finds fund concentration of 90-100% across all five, and four of the five implementing foundations without a single independent trustee. Three things follow. Theoretically, the paper extends the tunneling framework into the public welfare domain and proposes welfare tunneling as its own analytical category. Doctrinally, it names captive philanthropy as a legal concept and separates out inverted circular ownership as a structurally distinct variant. And as remedies, it argues for treating captive CSR transfers as deemed related party transactions under Section 188, for mandating independent trustee quotas on recipient foundation boards, and for a public governance overlap register run by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Keywords: Captive philanthropy, welfare tunneling, mandatory CSR, Section 135 Companies Act 2013, related party transactions, inverted circular ownership, governance overlap, Section 8 foundations, corporate social responsibility India, family conglomerates

Authors: Khushi, Sejal Sachdeva, Riya Pananilath Abstract India is a net importer of crude oil and gold, and therefore the Indian Rupee (INR) is very sensitive to changes in global commodity prices. India imports nearly 85 per cent of its crude oil and over 90 per cent of its gold, both priced in US dollars. As these commodities become more expensive, India’s import bill rises, demand for dollars increases, current account deficit increases and the Rupee depreciate. The present paper examines the impact of international crude oil prices and gold prices on the USD/INR exchange rate during the period January 2020 to March 2026 based on monthly data. The study period includes several major global disruptions, all of which have been associated with significant volatility in commodity and currency markets. The results are expected to provide a basic understanding of the influence of these two commodities on the changes in exchange rate in India and implications for monetary policy, trade strategy and financial market risk management.

Authors: Christoph Munasinghe, Yuvraj Singh, Sakshi Rajpurohit, Shivangi Gupta, Riya Bothra Abstract This paper examines how the recent US-Iran conflict af ects regional stability and crisis escalation dynamics in the Taiwan Strait. Rather than treating the conflict as a direct cause of escalation in East Asia, the study uses it as a contextual stress test for US credibility, restraint, and escalation management under conditions of strategic rivalry. Drawing on deterrence theory and security dilemma logic, the paper argues that external crises can shape Taiwan Strait stability by altering Chinese perceptions of American resolve, military overextension, and willingness to absorb escalation costs. The central mechanism is therefore perceptual and signaling-based: US military action against Iran may be interpreted by Beijing either as evidence of credible deterrent capacity or as a sign of strategic distraction and vulnerability. Through a process-tracing approach focused on of icial statements, crisis episodes, military activity, and grey-zone coercion, the paper analyzes whether the US-Iran conflict increased the likelihood, speed, or intensity of US-China crisis interactions. It finds that escalation spillover is more likely to occur through calibrated pressure, alliance signaling, and arms-racing dynamics than through immediate military confrontation. The paper contributes to security studies by linking external crisis behavior to deterrence stability in the Taiwan Strait. Keywords: Deterrence – Signaling – External Crisis – Avoidable Confrontation – Security – Opportunism – Stability

Authors: Ananya Shetty & Srushti Shisodiya | Students, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune Abstract The free expression of political opinion is considered foundational to demo cratic socities; it is commonly reflected through observable behaviour such as voting, protesting,campaigning and public discussion. However, young citizens increasingly choose to stay silent in public spaces including family conversations, friendships, university campuses and digital platforms. This phenomenon of political self censorship which represents a significant yet under-examined challenge to democratic participation. This study examines the socio-political and psychological, institutional and structural forces. Drawing on the spiral of silence theory and socio-psychological frameworks of self censorship this paper adopts a mixed method approach, combining a systematic literature review with a questionnaire based survey. This study investigates how fear of isolation, conflict, judgement, online backlash shapes political silence among young citizens. While also exploring how gender, political identity, ideological minority status shape whose voices are expressed or suppressed in democratic spaces. Particular attention is given to the role of the digital environment where polarization, echo chamber and online toxicity may encourage selective expression or silence. While self censorship can function as a strategy of self protection it also limits civic engagement, reduces viewpoint diversity and weakens democracy. By examining the cause of political silence, the research seeks to understand how self censorship shapes democratic participation amongyoung citizens.

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