India has recognised the significant contribution that the business sector can have in making India’s economy sustainable and inclusive. India’s 2020 Voluntary National Review, presented at the recently concluded UN High Level Political Forum, acknowledges India’s track record of policy initiatives to nudge businesses on responsible business conduct, including growing the financial inclusion of women and further institutionalizing partnerships. According to India’s Key Messages during its VNR, “India is one of the fastest growing emerging market economies with a young population and burgeoning innovation and business ecosystem. . . India strives to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025, and pursue an inclusive and sustainable growth trajectory by stimulating manufacturing, building infrastructure, spurring investments, fostering technological innovation, and boosting entrepreneurship.” Frameworks such as the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct and Business Responsibility Reporting have created a conducive policy environment for change. However, policy frameworks alone do not necessarily translate into impact on ground without adequate implementation mechanisms.

With ten years remaining to achieve the SDGs and in support of the Decade of Action on Agenda 2030, this session will be the inaugural phase of this Policy CoLAB series, aimed at:

• Unpacking existing and expected challenges in the implementation of these policy frameworks.
• Convene experts representing diverse backgrounds and experiences from private sector, central government, state government, regulators, investors, civil society, lawyers, policy experts, etc.
• Take a holistic view of the entire system to help predict, unpack, and define problems that need to be addressed through collaboration and collective action, and provide direction towards solutions.