1104 | Impact, Innovation and Investment

This Elective course is offered to students of the BA LLB (III, IV & V Year), LLM and MPP (II Year) programme.

How does this course relate to the programme curriculum: Does it develop on a prior course in the programme or is it a foundational or standalone course?

Social institutions have shaped economic outcomes and so, it is to be expected that firms should consider the social impact of business activity as an economic outcome of societal interests. Sustainable development, as a flexible and rapidly evolving concept, needs at its core, sustained and inclusive economic growth. Promoting sustainable development also requires consideration of environmental, social and governance issues.

In this course, the social dimension of enterprises – government, private and public, is examined in relation to their impact on the community and the environment. The readings engage with national and international policies on ethical, transparent and accountable models of governance of enterprises. It unpacks the social economy as a distinct sector which is strongly interrelated to social entrepreneurship, innovation and responsible governance of the marketplace.

A key focus area is the analysis of development through social investment. This has potential for long term sustainable value creation for the community. In India, the discussion on socially responsible investment has so far largely been driven by investors and policy makers only. The world over, many different approaches have been used to achieve sustainability through responsible investment practices. Sustainability drives innovative structuring of commercial entities. The course examines these structures, reviews the conditions under which organisations which promote responsible investment can remain sustainable in the long run and the regulatory, governance and legal challenges they face in India, from early-stage through scale, which could impede them from incorporating sustainability in their decision making.

This course makes no assumption about the student’s prior knowledge of the law or public policy. It supplements other courses – both foundational and standalone that students have already studied, such as the law, policy and development core course that the B.A., LL.B. students cover, corporate governance course for the LL.M. students and the Development and Law course for MPP students. It is open for students of the fourth and fifth year of B.A, LL.B. (Hons.) programme, the LL.M. and MPP programmes.

Describe how you have approached the course. What have you included/excluded and why? Choice of materials: primary or secondary readings / case law;

The course is anchored around the concepts of inclusive growth and sustainability, which have evolved over the years and are continuously shaped by contemporaneous events What are these concepts and how are they significant to each one of us? This course answers these conceptual questions.

To keep up with the rapidly evolving subject of sustainable development, the course uses primary and secondary materials including seminal articles, government and civil society reports and research studies on the subject. The theoretical discussions are rooted in real world scenarios and students will be encouraged to work on relevant case studies which are being discussed at the world’s leading business schools.

Describe your pedagogical method: lectures, Socratic discussion, seminar style discussion, response papers or group work, field work;

The course will consist of 10 weeks of four-hour seminar style discussion sessions. Each session will use pre-assigned instructional readings. Most sessions will also use case studies and videos to supplement the readings. Students will be encouraged to engage in discussions and debates and learn through peer learning. External speakers and practitioners with sector experience may be invited to give practical, everyday instances to explain the concepts. Information on the list of speakers will be released as the course progresses.