India

Status

The Indian Government formally announced that it will develop a National Action Plan (NAP) on business a human rights at the Business and Human Rights Forum in Geneva in November 2018.

Process

In February 2019, India published a draft NAP on Business and Human Rights. The draft notes that during the drafting process, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) organised several meetings/multi‐stakeholder consultations with relevant Ministries of the Government of India, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), domain experts, and other relevant stakeholders, including representatives from industry associations where issues pertaining to business and human rights were deliberated upon. These also included regional consultations held in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi. During some of these consultations, the MCA also apprised the participants of the National Action Plan under the UNGPs, and sought active Ministerial participation to develop and finalize India’s National Action Plan.

The draft NAP notes that the preparation of the NAP will require dialogue and engagement with all Ministries and Departments of Government of India, State Governments and relevant stakeholders.

A Working Group has been constituted consisting of representatives from relevant Ministries/Government Departments, NHRC, SEBI, etc. that will inter alia assess and monitor the implementation of the UNGP framework based on review of existing laws and policies.  The Working Group will also conduct multi‐stakeholder discussions at the national and state level including: representatives from business, trade unions and civil society organizations, representatives of marginalized groups, and relevant State Governments.  Based on the study and consultations referred above, the Working Group/Committee will:

• undertake a comprehensive study to assess the implementation of UNGPs in India through a review of India’s legal and policy framework;
• identify key priority areas for the Government for effective implementation of the principles envisaged under the UNGPs and accordingly set objectives;
• prepare time‐bound policy actions to achieve objectives, and
• articulate clear responsibilities of relevant Ministries/Department of the Government of India.

The UNDP India has provided support to the development process of the NAP on Business and Human Rights. It organised several events for stakeholder participation, such as a roundtable conference for the IT sector and several consultations with different stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society (see section ‘Stakeholder participation’ below).

In a 2021 progress report published by the UNDP under the Business and Human Rights in Asia programme, it is stated that UNDP India continued supporting the government’s efforts to finalize the NAP in 2021. Guided by a UNDP BHR in-country specialist, technical experts helped draft different versions of the Indian NAP, which were internally shared with inter-ministerial and advisory committees for comments in September 2021. In October, at the India Sustainability Standards Conference, the Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs announced that the NAP was drafted and would be launched in the following months. However, to date, the NAP has not been published.

Stakeholder Participation

The UNDP India has provided support to the development process, including organising a roundtable conference on the 17^th of December 2019 for the NAP for the IT sector.

In February 2020, the NAP development process moved to the phase of assessments and consultations. Relevant stakeholders were asked by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to contribute to consultations regarding the draft NAP. Stakeholders were asked to submit their comments or inputs to inform the development process and contribute towards preparation of a document that reflects “the vision and aspirations of Indian Businesses that strive to be responsible, sustainable, uphold and respect human rights”.

The 2021 progress report by the UNDP mentioned several developments regarding stakeholder consultations and meetings in 2021. In February 2021, UNDP India conducted a closed-door consultation regarding data protection and privacy with leaders in the private sector, industry associations and civil society actors. This consultation led to proposed inputs for India’s NAP. On the 19th of February, the UNDP submitted its own report on this consultation to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which is not publicly available.

From May to October 2021, a series of meetings took place on the Framework Agreement and Roadmap to the National Action Plan. These meetings were organised by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and brought together 5 representatives of stakeholder groups.

Transparency

Stakeholder submissions to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs regarding input and comments on the draft NAP were not made public.

National Baseline Assessment (NBA)

No National Baseline Assessment (NBA) has been conducted.

Stakeholders views and analysis on the NAP

Indian newspaper, the Delhi Post, features an opinion piece on how the draft NAP on Business and Human Rights is a major step and how its framework can address issues in various sectors steeped in conflict, like land rights in the agricultural sector.

Institute for Human Rights and Business has also published a commentary on India’s draft NAP. The commentary discusses the context of India’s NAP and highlights major issues that the NAP must address in order to be effective. Such issues, according to the commentary, include: access to land and other natural resources; micro, small and medium enterprises; technology sector; etc. The commentary also emphasizes the necessity of effective access to remedy and the need for the NAP to overcome this challenge.

 

Additional resources

Government

• Ministry of Corporate Affairs, ‘Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting’, Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (iica.nic.in)

(Assessment of business and human rights situation in India: analysis of BRR disclosure of top SEBI’ 500 companies for the year 2018-19)

External updates and commentary

UNDP

• UNDP India, Promoting Business and Human Rights for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development, Promoting Business and Human Rights for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development | United Nations Development Programme (undp.org)
• UNDP India, Responsible Business in India, Responsible Business in India | United Nations Development Programme (undp.org) (India’s National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) 2021)
• UNDP & Business and Human Rights Asia (in collaboration with the EU), Progress Report 2021: Business and Human Rights in Asia, pdf (undp.org)

Other stakeholders:

• WBCSD, Business & Human Rights Ambitions and Actions in India: A primer for WBCSD members doing business in India, WBCSD-CII_Business-Human-Rights-in-India_FINAL.pdf
• Mongabay, ‘Indian businesses to consider their human rights impact under proposed plan’, news article (19 March 2020), Indian businesses to consider their human rights impact under proposed plan (mongabay.com)
• Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), India’s Business and Human Rights National Action Plan (14 April 2020), India’s Business & Human Rights National Action Plan | Institute for Human Rights and Business (ihrb.org)
• DownToEarth (author: Pradeep Narayanan), Would cats bell themselves? The wait for the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, Would cats bell themselves? The wait for the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (downtoearth.org.in) news article 31 March 2021