A Decade of the UNGPs in India: Progressive Policy Shifts, Contested Implementation

• Published in: Business and human rights journal 2021-06, Vol.6 (2), p.279-292
• Main Authors: SRINIVASAN, Vasanthi, VENKATACHALAM, Parvathy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alliances; Business; Civil society; Developing countries; Displaced persons; Economic growth; Environmental law; Human rights; Implementation; International business enterprises; Judicial power; LDCs; National guidelines; Principles; Progressivism; Scholarly Articles – Special Issue on “BHR Landscape after 10 years of the UNGPs: An Assessment”; Social exclusion; Social responsibility; Spheres of influence; Stakeholders; Sustainable development; Sustainable Development Goals; Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• ISSN: 2057-0198; 2057-0201; 2057-0201
• DOI: 10.1017/bhj.2021.22

The decade of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) coincides with India’s National Voluntary Guidelines on businesses’ social, environmental, and economic responsibilities (NVGs) and the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) – an updated version of the NVGs. Human rights are one of the core principles in both guidelines and they draw upon the ‘Protect–Respect–Remedy’ framework of the UNGPs. The NVGs and NGRBC go beyond the UNGPs by requiring organizations not only to respect human rights, but also to promote them in their spheres of influence. Several factors, however, derailed the implementation of this progressive policy shift. This article explores the challenges in implementation and calls for the multiple actors involved to work together and shape a collaborative action plan for effective implementation of the NGRBC in the next decade. The authors reiterate the need for alternative lenses to frame the responsible business agenda within developing countries through positive obligations.