| Regulatory Governance

The process of economic liberalization in India has evolved over the past three and a half decades, marking a significant transformation in the modality of governance from a state-led, interventionist framework to a regulatory paradigm. A defining institutional feature of this transition in India’s pursuit of a market economy is the proliferation of regulatory agencies established since the 1990s.

This core course critically examines the normative justifications underlying the establishment of regulatory agencies in India through an empirical analysis of developments over the past three decades. The course is structured around three key thematic registers. First, it situates the emergence of regulatory institutions within the broader historical, political, and economic contexts that shaped their transplantation and diffusion in India. Second, it engages with the principal theoretical frameworks explaining the rise of regulatory governance and evaluates their explanatory relevance in the Indian context. Third, it interrogates the institutional and procedural transformations accompanying the transition from an administrative to a regulatory state, with particular attention to the tribunalization of justice.

This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the promises and challenges associated with regulatory governance across diverse sectors of the Indian economy. It examines the range of regulatory tools, instruments, and strategies employed by regulators in the exercise of their mandates, as well as the modalities through which regulatees seek to maximize their strategic advantages within market environments.

A central inquiry guiding the course concerns the extent to which regulatory agencies in India can be considered genuinely “independent” in both their institutional design and practical implementation. Equally significant is the examination of mechanisms for regulatory monitoring and enforcement within a state characterized by limited administrative capacity. The course further explores the growing reliance on automated and algorithmic technologies in regulatory processes, contrasting these developments with the traditional bureaucratic model of rule enforcement. The course concludes by critically evaluating the current state of regulatory governance in contemporary India and identifying potential pathways for reform aimed at achieving regulatory effectiveness and institutional excellence.

This course is designed to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of the governance and functioning of regulatory agencies in India. It seeks to develop both conceptual and applied understanding of regulatory governance by enabling students to engage critically with institutional design, policy instruments, and sectoral dynamics. Through focused sectoral assignments, students will cultivate the ability to apply the regulatory toolkit to analyze, evaluate, and propose policy interventions within specific domains such as telecommunications, energy, finance, infrastructure, or data governance.