Event Archives - Page 6 of 45 - National Law School of India University

Centre for Labour Studies & Nazdeek | Conference on Labour Laws and Welfare of Tea Workers in India

The Centre for Labour Studies (CLS) at NLSIU is organising a two-day conference at its campus, in collaboration with Nazdeek. This Conference is aimed at bringing together diverse stakeholders to chart a path forward for realisation of decent working conditions for workers in tea plantations across India.

Concept Note

The tea industry is one of the most significant employers in South Asia, particularly in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. According to a report of the Labour Bureau of Government of India, 5,40,840 workers were engaged in tea plantations in India in 2019. According to another estimate, the tea industry provides direct employment to over 1 million people while subsistence of another 10 million people is connected to the tea industry. Yet, despite its economic importance, tea plantation workers often face exploitative working conditions, inadequate wages, poor housing, and limited access to healthcare and education. Many of these issues stem from weak enforcement and inadequate reform of existing labour laws. Given the transnational nature of the tea supply chain, and the similarity in the challenges faced by tea workers across South Asian countries, it is vital to conduct a region-wide analysis of labour laws governing tea plantation workers. The ‘Conference on Labour Laws & Welfare of Tea Workers in India’ hopes to be the first phase of a longer engagement in conducting this region-wide analysis.

The conference will assess existing legal frameworks and their implementation on a pan-Indian level, while identifying gaps and opportunities for strengthening worker rights through legislative reforms and advocacy efforts. This assessment will be undertaken within the context of an examination of the structure of the tea value chain. The design of this conference will be in the form of panel-based substantive discussions which will foreground interventions, questions and points of discussion in the manner of a collaborative consultation. This consultation will be between leading trade unions, civil society organisations (CSOs), legal and financial policy experts, legal academicians, and labour advocates to discuss findings and devise an actionable roadmap.

This format will allow for different stakeholders to find a common platform to generate a synergy of ideas and form a concrete plan of action to implement the aforementioned legislative reforms, as well as imagine and cultivate new areas of intervention. The aim of the conference is to establish a working group involving these various stakeholders who will be tasked with the conception of a regionally coordinated action plan for advancing legislative reforms and advocating for improved working conditions in the tea industry in India. In the future, the hope is that this blueprint can result in future collaborations across South Asia.

For queries, please write to

About Centre for Labour Studies, NLSIU

The Centre for Labour Studies (CLS) is an autonomous Centre at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU). It has been set up as a multidisciplinary Centre to be able to address various issues that define regulation and governance in employment relations. It seeks to primarily engage with five issues: labour law and regulation; trade unions and collective bargaining; labour law governance, with focus on the Karnataka Labour Department; understanding employment relations and structure of industry in select sectors of informal and formal employment; precarious work and forced labour.

About Nazdeek

Nazdeek supports local organisations addressing socio-economic challenges through trust-based funding and technical support. Their partners include organisations and experts focusing on building women’s leadership in urban informal settlements, tea plantations, and the textile and garments sector. In over a decade of partnerships, they have facilitated and strengthened more than eight grassroots organisations, positively impacting at least a million of the most marginalised groups.

At present, Nazdeek’s grantees are implementing the legal empowerment model (LEM) in the states of Delhi, West Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu.

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Book Talk | ‘Being Hindu, Being Indian: Lala Lajpat Rai’s Ideas of Nationhood’ by Dr. Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav

Dr. Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav, Assistant Professor, Social Science, NLSIU spoke about her book ‘Being Hindu, Being Indian’ at the Indian Heritage Academy (IHA), Koramangala, Bengaluru, on September 24, 2025.

The talk, hosted by IHA in collaboration with Azim Premji University, was followed by a moderated Q&A session with the author.

About the Book

The book contests the dominant interpretation of Lala Lajpat Rai’s nationalism as the precursor of Savarkarite Hindutva and highlights the internally differentiated nature of ‘Hindu nationalism’. It brings to light the pluralist Indian nationalism Rai once articulated, and shows that, as a Hindu Mahasabha leader in the mid-1920s, Rai organised a Hindu politics in the service of a secular Indian nation-state, a position fraught with internal tension.

Committed to making history accessible without compromising on disciplinary rigour, Bhargav’s book is based on her doctoral research and was published by Penguin Random House India in February 2024. It also covers the themes of religion, majoritarianism, secularism and caste. (Source: IHA)

About the Author

Dr. Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav is a historian of modern South Asia. She is interested in nationalism and secularism, and religious and political thought, in general. She was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Multiple Secularities Research Group, University of Leipzig, Germany, and ICAS: M.P., New Delhi, India. Vanya has also taught modern South Asian history to undergraduates at Oxford.

Vanya’s research has been published in leading peer-reviewed academic journals, such as the Journal of Asian Studies, Global Intellectual History, Studies in Indian Politics and Religions. Being Hindu, Being Indian: Lala Lajpat Rai’s Ideas of Nationhood is her first book. (Source: APU)

Her detailed profile can be accessed here.

Faculty Development Workshop Series | Teaching Criminal Law: Curriculum, Syllabus & Pedagogy | By NLSIU & NUS

The National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (NLSIU) introduces the Faculty Development Workshop Series.

The first workshop in this series, focussing on Criminal Law, will be held on November 15 & 16, 2025. Titled ‘Teaching Criminal Law – Curriculum, Syllabus and Pedagogy,’ this inaugural workshop is being organised in collaboration with the Centre for Asian Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (NUS).

The two-day immersive and interactive workshop will focus on teaching methodology, pedagogy, and classroom instruction techniques from leading academics of criminal law across Asia.

Aim of the Workshop

To enable academics to gain exposure to criminal law pedagogy from distinguished international experts in the field and to understand different methods and approaches to teaching criminal law.
To provide academics from across Indian universities and law institutes an opportunity to share and reflect on their own teaching methodologies and to receive feedback and suggestions from the expert panel and from each other.
To discuss a suggested syllabus to teach substantive criminal law and introduce a forthcoming textbook on Criminal Law in India (authored by Mrinal Satish, Stanley Yeo, Wing-Cheong Chan, Michael Hor, and Neil Morgan), and the textbook companion project initiated by NLSIU.

Who should Attend?

The workshop will be ideal for early-stage academics and law faculty members with up to seven years of teaching experience. Those with more than seven years of teaching experience are also welcome to attend.

What will you Gain?

A unique opportunity to learn from and interact with distinguished criminal law scholars and academics on approaches to teaching criminal law.
A comprehensive deep dive into the principal domains of substantive criminal law, reflecting the thematic structure of Indian substantive criminal law.
Direct interaction with academic peers and colleagues engaged in teaching criminal law.
A certificate of participation, on completion.

Resource Persons

Mrinal Satish, Professor of Law & Dean (Research), NLSIU
Stanley Yeo, Visiting Professor of Law, NUS
Wing-Cheong Chan, Professor of Law, Singapore Management University
Michael Hor, Professor of Law, University of Hong Kong
Ronnakorn Bunmee, Assistant Professor of Law, Thammasat University, Thailand
Kunal Ambasta, Assistant Professor of Law, NLSIU

Schedule

Click here for the workshop schedule.

How to Apply?

Candidates interested in enrolling into this workshop should submit a formal request for registration through this form. The deadline to apply has been extended to November 1, 2025. Please note, registration is mandatory.
The selection shall primarily be based on the CV, academic and professional background of the candidate, and statement of purpose. During the selection process diversity of backgrounds shall be given due consideration.
Successful applicants will be notified by November 4, 2025, and must complete the full payment to NLSIU by November 7, 2025.

Fee

As there are limited slots for this workshop, enrollment will be based upon selection and subject to full payment of the Workshop Fee of INR 20,000 (all inclusive).

Please note: The workshop fee covers the certificate, reading materials, lunch & tea during the sessions. As this is a non-residential workshop, participants are requested to make their own accommodation and travel arrangements to the NLSIU campus.

Important Notes

Attendees are expected to participate in workshop activities and break out group discussions. There will be no formal assessment, research papers submission or exams.
A certificate of participation will be issued to those who attend and complete the workshop.
There shall be no refund of any fees should the participant cancel the enrollment or fail to attend the workshop.

For academic queries, contact Kunal Ambasta ().
For other queries, please write to .

Workshop on Generative AI and Consumer Law Project: Enhancing Consumer Grievance Redressal Mechanisms

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay), are hosting an online workshop as part of the ‘Generative AI and Consumer Law Project’ investigating how large language models (LLMs) can be used for building public solutions for enhancing the efficiency in India’s consumer grievance redressal system. This event is scheduled for Monday, September 29, 2025, from 5 PM to 7 PM.

About the project

In November 2023, the NLSIU, with support from Meta, announced a research project in the field of generative AI and legal system reforms. The project was executed along with IIT Bombay, in collaboration with the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) as the knowledge partner.

In this project, we use Llama 3.2, Meta’s publicly accessible large language model, to develop and test Grahak Nyay: a citizen-focussed chatbot and Nyay Darpan: a decision-assist tool for Consumer Commissions in Consumer Law. The chatbot’s purpose is to streamline consumer complaint procedures and provide answers to consumer law queries in India. The decision-assist tool, also a part of this research, aims to facilitate the search and summarisation of case laws, offering support to judicial authorities in consumer affairs. As part of this project, earlier in May 2025, NLSIU organised the first edition of NLSIU AI & Law Forum that brought together research scholars, innovative legal tech start-ups, and impactful civil society organisations that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to address legal challenges and contribute to systemic legal reforms.

About the workshop

In this online workshop, NLSIU and IIT Bombay will discuss in detail the ideation and execution of the ‘Generative AI and Consumer Law Project’. This will include:

Conceptualisation and building of Grahak Nyay; technology, knowledge base creation, testing, benchmarking, documentation and demonstration of the chatbot.
Conceptualisation and building of Nyay Darpan; training corpus, strategies, evaluation and documentation and demonstration of the tool and its capabilities.

This workshop seeks to bring together professionals and research scholars in AI and law for a collaborative dialogue. Your invaluable insights will be instrumental in guiding the project’s future direction.

Registration

To register for the workshop, click here.

For queries regarding the workshop, please reach out to

Panel Discussion on ‘Streamlining Dispute Resolution in Defence Procurement: Impact of ADR’ | By HAL Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) Chair in Business Laws, NLSIU

NLSIU’s HAL Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) Chair in Business Laws organised a panel discussion on the theme ‘Streamlining Dispute Resolution in Defence Procurement: Impact of ADR’ on September 11, 2025.

About the Panel

This panel discussion examined the evolving dispute resolution landscape in defence procurement contracts with a focus on the role of arbitration and mediation in defence acquisition disputes. It also explored recent developments, challenges, and best practices in the field.

Panellists:

Mr. Ravi Kiran Vaddiparthi, DGM (Contracts), CO HAL:
Mr. Vidhyadharan M K, Chief General Manager (O) Legal, BEML
Ms. Akanksha Singh, Assistant Manager, Legal, BEML
Dr. Harishankar K. Sathyapalan, Associate Professor, NLSIU

About the Panellists

Mr. Ravi Kiran Vaddiparthi

He is currently working as Deputy General Manager, Contracts at Corporate Office, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru.

Ravi was born and brought up in Visakhapatnam. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (B.Com.) and a Bachelor’s degree in Law (B.L. from Andhra University, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management (IRPM) from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan. He has practiced as an Advocate at the Visakhapatnam Bar Counsel in the fields of civil law, labour law and consumer law, and has handled several litigations of PSU’s, banks, private individuals, including matters related to arbitration, real estate, land acquisition, matrimonial disputes, matters relating commercial contracts (tenders), etc., before tribunals and forums. Due to his keen interest in corporates, he joined ABB, an MNC in Bengaluru in 2004, handling national and international commercial contracts for the Asia-Pacific region. He extended his support in the fields of legal and contract management, handled several construction (highways), power substations, metro projects including DMRCL, Jaipur Metro, BMRCL with 750 DC, Commercial Contracts.

For more than a decade, he has worked at the HAL Corporate Office supporting all types of aircraft projects (fixed and rotary wing) like LCA, LUH, ALH, HTT-40, Do-228, Hawk, Su 30, MIG -29 etc including overhaul, aerospace, procurement of different engines, negotiating and finalising commercial contracts with vendors, OEMs. This included export business of HAL to several countries, consultancy services, non-consultancy services, supply chain issues and more. He has been instrumental in finalising long-term contracts i.e., General Term Agreements, with several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for doing ease of business.

Mr. Vidhyadharan M K

After completing his B.Com., Vidhyadharan pursued Law from Government Law College, Calicut and enrolled with the Bar Council in January 1995 as an Advocate. He started his practice in the Office of the District Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor dealing with cases by and against the government including criminal matters involving State and continued till 2000. Following that, he was appointed as Probationary Law Officer in Canara Bank, through the Banking Service Recruitment Board, and served in that position till 2009. While in Canara Bank, he got opportunity to associate with the formation of Mediation Centre at Nyaya Degula, Double Road, Bengaluru in 2007. He headed the legal section of Canara Bank at its Head Office as Manager (Law). In October 2009, he joined BEML Limited, a defence PSU, and has headed its Corporate Legal Cell since. He has dealt with matters before the Supreme Court of India, High Courts, Civil Courts, Criminal Courts, Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals, CAT, CGITs, Consumer Commissions, etc., across India. He has dealt in ad-hoc/institutional arbitrations including international arbitrations, statutory arbitrations like MSMEDA, Lok Adalats, mediation, conciliations. He has also dealt in matters before the FEMA cum PMLA Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal, Electricity Regulatory Authority and Appellate Authority, CLB, NCLT, NCLAT.