Home Menu
icon-menu-close.svg

Faculty & Research

Faculty & Research

Research Productive

Show result

Clear
Search Query :
Area :
Search Query :
2778 items in total found

Working Papers | 2026

Strengthening India’s Bullion Export Policy - A Descriptive Study

Bhavy Gupta and Sundaravalli Narayanaswami

India is the world’s second-largest gold consumer, yet its bullion export contribution remains negligible due to fragmented regulations, a lack of London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accreditation, and distorted duty structures. This study examines the operational dynamics of the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) at GIFT City, India’s domestic refining capacity, and benchmark frameworks from Switzerland, Japan, and Dubai. Using policy analysis, trade data, and institutional reviews, the paper identifies under-utilized refining capacity and the absence of globally recognized certification as primary export barriers. Findings indicate that rationalizing duty structures, operationalizing domestic accreditation under the IFSCA Good Delivery Guidelines, and deepening IIBX integration with domestic refineries and export channels are critical to unlocking competitiveness. The study proposes a coordinated policy framework that aligns sovereign certification standards with enhanced refining utilization and diversified sourcing, providing a strategic roadmap to position India as a credible global bullion hub by 2030.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Fractional Ownership of Art in India: Case for a Bespoke Framework

M P Ram Mohan and Rishabh Kumarpal Mehta

India’s art market is increasingly gaining traction. Yet the regulatory framework governing trading in artwork and access to art markets remains underdeveloped. The Supreme Court of India’s decision in Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art v. SEBI established that pooled investment in artworks can constitute a Collective Investment Scheme (“CIS”). However, the CIS regime has had limited success in making art accessible as an asset class to a broader investor base. This paper examines the resulting gap. Against the backdrop of commercialisation of art, the paper first examines the prevalent business models used for fractional ownership before analysing Indian securities regulation, tax law, property law, art and cultural laws. The paper argues that the present fragmented regime is inadequate for a functional fractional ownership platform in art. It draws on India’s real estate and bullion regulations while drawing comparisons from the United States, South Korea, and the European Union. The paper proposes a ‘Small and Medium Art Investment Trust’ (“SM AIT”) framework built around single-artwork special purpose vehicles, regulated investment managers, exchange-listed units, independent authentication and valuation, securities-grade disclosure, business-trust taxation, and compliance with art laws. The framework seeks to convert art from a legally recognised investment concept into a regulated and scalable investment product.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Global Value Chains and Decarbonization: A Firm-Level Threshold Evidence from India

Poornima Varma, Sunghun Lim, Drishti Sharma

Do global value chains (GVCs) make firms cleaner, and under what conditions? Leveraging rich firm-level data from India in the period of 2010–2024, this study investigates the impact of GVC participation on firms’ environmental performance. To address dynamics and heterogeneous responses, we estimate dynamic panel threshold regressions with firm growth as the regime variable. We find that GVC participation raises energy and carbon intensity for low-growth firms but reduces both—and increases renewable energy use—for high-growth firms. Channel decomposition shows that forward participation delivers the clearest efficiency and decarbonization gains in the high-growth regime, while backward participation improves energy efficiency at high growth yet exhibits mixed carbon effects; in the low-growth regime, forward linkages raise intensity whereas backward linkages are comparatively less harmful or even carbon-reducing. This paper underscores the capacity-dependence of trade integration’s environmental impact and shows that policy can shift the relevant margin through finance, R&D, and compliance infrastructure.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Movie Directors as Leaders – A Study in Creative Vision, Passion and Influence

Bharathan Kandaswamy, Neharika Vohra, Sukruti Phatak

This paper examines leadership through the lens of movie directors and argues that filmmaking offers a rich model for management in complex, high-pressure environments. Drawing on examples from Indian and global cinema, it shows how directors function as “first among equals,” combining artistic vision with collaboration, discipline, and decisive action. The paper highlights five core leadership lessons: collaborative authority, leading by example, building high-performance teams, adaptive innovation, and managing principal artists. It demonstrates how effective directors create trust, psychological safety, and constructive feedback cultures while balancing creative freedom with operational control. The paper also shows how strong directors prepare thoroughly, respond resourcefully to constraints, and turn crises into opportunities through flexibility and clear judgment. In dealing with stars and diverse technical teams, they resolve ego conflicts through transparency, role clarity, and respect for contribution. Ultimately, the paper suggests that movie directors embody a distinctive form of leadership that blends strategy, execution, emotional intelligence, and resilience. These lessons are highly relevant for managers and future professionals seeking to lead creatively, adapt to uncertainty, and deliver results while preserving vision and teamwork.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Spiritual Leadership: One More Leadership Style? Should We Care? Absolutely!

Reema Nayyar, Neharika Vohra, Rupashree Baral

Most leaders search for ways to improve how employees grow and perform as a team and, in turn, improve organizational performance.  Advice on how to lead well—heroically and successfully—is a dime a dozen. The current context, variously defined as brittle, anxious, uncertain, nonlinear, and incomprehensible, makes people anxious and fearful, which, in turn, prevents them from flowing. Amid the chaos and unprecedented change, the need for leaders to engage with their people is greater than ever.  We believe that one conceptualization of leadership formed over the last 25 years, spiritual leadership (SL), can serve as an anchor to help leaders make headway in the current context.  However, SL is also a concept that is poorly understood and often rejected before its usefulness is evaluated.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

One Person Companies in India: A Decadal Assessment 2014-2024

Megha Tiwari and M P Ram Mohan

One Person Company (OPC) was introduced in India under the Companies Act, 2013, and registrations began in 2014 with the first official data release in 2015. An OPC is defined as a company that has a single shareholder. By design, OPCs are meant to offer sole proprietors the benefits of a corporate structure, including a separate legal identity, limited liability, the ability to convert into other types of companies, along with minimal administrative burdens and compliance requirements. OPCs, have been in existence for over a decade, and amendments to the law are now being contemplated. This study outlines the legal framework governing OPCs and undertakes an empirical analysis of key performance parameters over the ten-year period from 2014 to 2024.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Clauses

M P Ram Mohan, Siddhartha Shukla, Tom Lyle and Prem Vinod Parwani

This note provides an overview of non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, contrasting Indian law with key principles and considerations under English law. It examines the doctrinal framework under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, on the restraint of trade. It shows how there are differing thresholds of enforceability of non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, depending on whether they appear in employment or commercial contexts. It then compares India’s doctrinal framework with other common law jurisdictions, with a particular focus on the English common law “reasonableness” framework that governs the enforceability of non-compete and non-solicitation clauses in the UK. The article concludes by demonstrating litigation and enforceability challenges of these types of clauses, along with suggestions for practitioners to strategically address them.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Trade-Dress Law in India

M P Ram Mohan, Pratishtha Agarwal

The increased emphasis on visual presentation and brand experience has elevated trade-dress from a peripheral concern to a central feature of trademark protection. Indian trade-dress protection is currently spread across multiple intellectual property legal regime with special emphasis through the passing-off law under the trademarks Act 1999. Despite commercial importance of trade-dress law, and without explicit statutory definition of what constitutes trade-dress, its protection is shaped almost entirely through a patchwork of judicial interpretation across the Supreme Court and the High Courts. The present study undertakes a mapping and comparative analysis of trade-dress jurisprudence across the Supreme Court of India and four major High Courts; Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. The analysis reveals a fragmented landscape highlighting divergent judicial approaches to distinctiveness, consumer perception, functionality and evidentiary thresholds, The present study further identifies persistent doctrinal tensions from the conflation of trade-dress with copyright and design law in the Indian context. The authors argue for a more disciplined and coherent framework for trade-dress protection in India.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Credit Reallocation and Exporting: Evaluating the IBC Reforms in India

Padmabati Nayak

This paper studies whether strengthening creditor rights improves the allocation of capital toward productive exporting firms. I examine India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) of 2016, which introduced a time-bound insolvency resolution framework and strengthened creditor control. Using firm-level data from CMIE Prowess and a difference-in-differences design, I test whether the reform relaxed financing constraints for firms with high marginal returns to capital (MRPK). I find that following the IBC, high-MRPK exporting firms experience a significant increase in export intensity, investment, and long-term domestic borrowing relative to other firms. In contrast, foreign borrowing remains unchanged, suggesting that the reform primarily improved access to domestic credit markets. The findings imply that

stronger insolvency institutions can improve allocative efficiency by channeling capital toward productive but financially constrained firms. More broadly, the paper highlights the  role of creditor rights in shaping export performance and resource allocation in emerging economies.

View File
Read More

Working Papers | 2026

Creditor Rights, State-Owned Banks, and Investment Efficiency: Evidence from SARFAESI Act

Vishal Vaibhav

I examine whether firms borrowing exclusively from government-owned banks respond differently to SARFAESI Act and how it affects the investment efficiency. I find that firms borrowing exclusively from government-owned banks experience a significant increase in investment inefficiency following the reform. I also find the increase in inefficiency is concentrated among firms with high levels of tangible assets, suggesting that collateral enforcement is the primary mechanism driving the results.

View File
Read More
IIMA