THEME 1: CORPORATE LAW & GOVERNANCE

1. Reining in Supervoting Shares: A Constitutional Quandary in Indian Startup

Governance

India allows companies to issue shares with differential voting rights (DVRs), giving founders
outsized control, even after dilution of equity. While it enables innovation, it also undermines the
principle of corporate democracy and shareholder protection. The issue gained attention post the
IPOs of companies like Zomato and Paytm, where founder control remained unchecked.

This topic explores a regulatory vacuum where India lacks robust post-IPO accountability for
such supervoting structures. The Companies Act allows DVRs but doesn't prescribe governance
checks to ensure these powers aren't misused. Your paper can explore comparative global
practices and suggest whether constitutional principles like equality and shareholder fairness
must limit such governance models.

2. Greenwashing in ESG Disclosures: Should India Create a SEBI-Controlled ESG

Verification Authority?

As ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) compliance becomes mandatory for India’s top
1000 listed companies, firms are increasingly publishing polished, but unverified ESG reports.
This opens the floodgates to greenwashing, where companies falsely claim environmental/social
responsibility for branding advantages.

India lacks a regulatory mechanism to audit or verify ESG disclosures. Unlike financial
statements, ESG reports are often unaudited, and ESG rating agencies are unregulated. This
paper can explore the urgent need for a SEBI-led or independent ESG verification authority,
drawing from global models like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
It hits a timely and trending nerve in corporate governance.

3. Silent Controllers, No Responsibility: Legal Accountability of Shadow Directors in

Indian Business Groups

The term “shadow director” exists in Indian law but is poorly defined and rarely enforced. In
complex business groups, real decision-making power often rests with non-board individuals-

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senior advisors, family members, or financiers, who escape liability during corporate frauds or
insolvency.

This paper explores the legal vacuum surrounding these invisible controllers. Indian courts
seldom pierce this veil, unlike UK jurisprudence where shadow directors are clearly accountable.
Your paper can argue for definitional clarity and liability standards for shadow directors in light
of growing financial scams involving passive but powerful players.

4. Algorithmic Governance in Boardrooms: Can AI-Based Decision-Making Coexist with

Fiduciary Duties?

Boards increasingly rely on algorithmic decision tools for forecasting, risk modeling, and even
executive hiring. But when such AI-generated decisions cause bias, loss, or discrimination, who
is liable? Directors? Developers? The algorithm?

There is currently no legal standard in India on how fiduciary duties apply to AI-assisted
governance. This paper tackles a cutting-edge problem: whether the reliance on opaque
algorithms compromises due diligence and the “reasonable care” expected of directors. It calls
for a legal framework defining AI-aided responsibility and testing the relevance of traditional
governance duties in a tech-led corporate world.

5. Pre-IPO Corporate Governance in Indian Startups: A Legal Black Hole in SEBI

Oversight

Most Indian startups raise huge funds and reach IPO valuation while remaining governed like
private family firms. Founders dominate boards, independent directors are absent, and critical
internal committees (like audit or risk) are nonexistent until the IPO stage.

There’s no mandatory governance framework for startups preparing for IPO. This legal black
hole becomes dangerous for public investors post-listing, as seen in the chaotic IPO outcomes of
several Indian tech companies. Your paper can explore how SEBI can introduce a phased
corporate governance model for IPO-bound startups, making it timely, useful, and unique.

6. Corporate Political Donations in India: Shareholder Consent or Board Monopoly?

Section 182 of the Companies Act allows political donations up to a capped limit, but no
shareholder consent is needed, not even disclosure of the recipient political parties. The recent

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Supreme Court judgment on electoral bonds exposed how opaque this corporate-political nexus
truly is.

This paper argues for reforming political donation mechanisms through mandatory shareholder
consent and detailed disclosures. There's a glaring gap in shareholder rights here; while boards
can channel company funds into politics, owners of the funds have no say. A bold, governance-
plus-constitutional law hybrid topic.

7. Data Breach Liability of Directors: A Missing Chapter in Indian Cyber Governance

Despite massive corporate data breaches involving companies like HDFC, Air India, and others,
no director has been held accountable. Current law doesn’t recognize cybersecurity governance
as a part of fiduciary duties, even though data protection directly affects stakeholder trust.

This topic explores the urgent need to codify cybersecurity oversight as a core board
responsibility. Globally, directors are being held liable for failing to oversee data risk, yet in
India, directors escape scrutiny unless fraud is proven. A highly relevant governance-tech angle
with policy reform implications.

8. Intersectional Diversity on Boards: Beyond Token Women Directors in Indian Corporate

Law

The mandate to appoint at least one woman director has become symbolic in Indian boardrooms.
Real diversity, in terms of caste, class, tribal representation, disability, and intersectionality
remains missing.

This paper explores whether regulatory frameworks should now shift toward a more substantive
inclusion mandate. It fills the vacuum between formal equality and actual power-sharing, taking
inspiration from DEI mandates in global governance codes. The paper can challenge the limits of
existing law and propose new inclusion metrics.

9. Governance of Family-Owned Public Companies: Phasing Out the 'Promoter' Concept

in Indian Corporate Law

Indian law uniquely recognizes ‘promoters’- a category not found in many developed economies.
Promoters often wield excessive influence over boards, even post-listing, causing conflicts with
minority shareholders.

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This paper questions whether the 'promoter' category has outlived its utility. It explores whether
India should transition to a “controlling shareholder” regime with enhanced duties. As SEBI
moves toward this transition, your paper can provide policy direction on balancing founder
control and market transparency.

10. Whistleblower Mechanisms in India Inc: Are SEBI’s Guidelines Just Toothless
Formalities?

Though SEBI mandates whistleblower policies, most Indian firms treat them as paperwork
exercises. Cases like Infosys, IL&FS, and BharatPe show that whistleblowers are ignored,
threatened, or retaliated against without recourse.

Your paper can investigate why these mechanisms fail in practice. It can propose a model for
independent whistleblower offices or SEBI-controlled redressal platforms. This topic fills the
gap between policy and implementation, making it advocacy-driven and legally sharp.

11. Interlocking Directorates in Indian Corporate Boards: An Antitrust Time Bomb

When the same individuals sit on the boards of competing companies or suppliers in the same
vertical, governance and antitrust concerns arise. India has no clear regulation on this, unlike the
US, which restricts interlocks under the Clayton Act.

This paper explores whether such overlapping directorships compromise confidentiality,

independence, and competition. You can propose a regulatory framework to detect and restrict
interlocks, blending corporate governance with competition law, a rare but powerful combo.

12. Proxy Advisory Firms in India: Are They the New Governance Oligarchs?

Institutional investors heavily rely on proxy advisors to make decisions during AGMs and
EGMs. These advisory firms, however, face no binding conflict-of-interest checks or regulation.

Your paper can explore the disproportionate influence proxy firms have, especially in board
appointments and remuneration votes. Should SEBI regulate them like rating agencies? This
paper fills a clear normative vacuum in the corporate voting ecosystem.

13. Regulating the Role of Nominee Directors in Crisis Management: Lessons from the
IL&FS Collapse

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Nominee directors from government and financial institutions failed to act despite knowing of
impending crises, as seen in IL&FS and DHFL cases. Their dual loyalties often create ambiguity
in duties and responsibilities.

This paper can analyze whether nominee directors need a specialized fiduciary code or reporting
obligations. It fills a critical oversight vacuum in public-private corporate governance.

14. Should India Mandate Audit Committee Certification of ESG Reports? A Governance
Perspective

While financial disclosures require audit committee oversight, ESG disclosures don’t. This leads
to unverifiable ESG claims, especially by large conglomerates.

This paper proposes mandatory ESG oversight by audit committees with external verification
obligations. It brings together two streams, financial audit frameworks and ESG compliance, to
close a governance gap with real-world impact.

15. Compliance Burden or Governance Tool? Rethinking SEBI’s Board Evaluation

Mandate

SEBI requires listed companies to perform annual board evaluations, but these are often done
superficially or outsourced to friendly consultants.

Your paper can argue that board evaluations must be linked to key decisions (like reappointment
or pay), and evaluation reports should be disclosed to shareholders in summary. This would
move governance from performative to substantive.

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 THEME 2: INSOLVENCY & BANKRUPTCY CODE (IBC)

1. Beyond Haircuts: Should the IBC Introduce a Minimum Recovery Threshold for
Financial Creditors?

Cases like Videocon and Jet Airways have shocked the public conscience with recovery rates as
low as 5%. While the Code focuses on resolution over liquidation, the absence of any minimum
recovery benchmark raises questions of fairness and moral hazard.

This paper can explore whether a legally mandated recovery floor (say 25%) should be
introduced to balance commercial wisdom with public accountability. It critiques the blind
deference to CoC decisions and fills a policy vacuum on minimum recovery standards under the
IBC.

2. Cross-Border Insolvency in India: Why Is the Draft UN-CITRAL Model Law Still Not
Enacted?

India proposed a framework based on the UNCITRAL Model Law in 2018, yet it remains
shelved. Meanwhile, Indian firms with overseas assets (like Jet Airways) suffer from prolonged
litigation across jurisdictions.

This topic analyzes India’s delay in adopting cross-border insolvency rules, especially when
global integration is growing. Your paper can evaluate the legal risks, practical hurdles, and
propose adaptations of the Model Law to suit Indian peculiarities, a topic few student papers
explore in depth.

3. Pre-Pack Insolvency for MSMEs: Tool for Rescue or Just a Cosmetic Reform?

The 2021 framework for pre-packaged insolvency was launched for MSMEs but barely used.
Why? Issues like promoter dominance, lack of creditor trust, and procedural confusion have
undermined its implementation.

This paper fills a major research gap: a practical diagnosis of why the pre-pack framework
failed and how to make it viable. It opens scope for reform suggestions like hybrid models,
neutral resolution professionals, and better timelines, highly relevant for economic recovery
post-COVID.

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4. Time Limit vs. Justice: Is the 330-Day IBC Deadline Constitutionally Tenable?

While the IBC aims for swift resolution, the mandatory 330-day limit often clashes with the
complexity of large corporate restructuring. The NCLAT and SC have repeatedly relaxed this
timeline, raising questions about its legal enforceability.

This paper critically analyzes whether the rigid deadline violates Article 14 (right to fair process)
and undermines genuine restructuring efforts. It’s a rare intersection of IBC timelines and
constitutional law, perfect for competitions wanting fresh angles.

5. Insolvency and Public Sector Enterprises: Can Strategic Disinvestment Coexist with the
IBC?

What happens when a PSU defaults? Is the IBC the right tool, or does it clash with disinvestment
goals? Cases like Air India and Hindustan Antibiotics show the friction between market-driven
insolvency and state-driven revival.

This paper can explore whether a separate PSU-focused resolution mechanism is needed, or how
to reconcile IBC with sovereign ownership and national interest. It fills a significant void in
scholarship where insolvency law meets public policy.

6. Silent Partners, Loud Losses: Should Operational Creditors Have Voting Rights in the
CoC?

Operational creditors (like vendors, employees) have almost no say in the Committee of
Creditors (CoC) despite bearing the brunt of insolvency outcomes. They often receive negligible
payouts with zero negotiation power.

This paper challenges the financial-creditor-only model of the CoC and explores global models
where employee or trade creditors have limited voting rights. It questions whether justice can
be served without stakeholder democracy in the resolution process.

7. Resolution Professional Accountability: Are RPs Becoming Unregulated Power Centers?

Resolution Professionals (RPs) hold significant power but face minimal scrutiny or liability.
Cases of biased conduct, conflict of interest, or mismanagement often go unchecked, eroding the
credibility of the IBC process.

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This paper calls for a statutory code of conduct and stricter disciplinary oversight for RPs,
especially in high-value cases. It adds original value by identifying a structural blind spot in the
IBC's implementation architecture.

8. Reverse CIRP in Real Estate: A Workaround or a New Model?

In real estate insolvency, courts created a reverse CIRP model to protect homebuyers, treating
them as financial creditors. But this framework is judicially created, not legislatively sanctioned.

Your paper can analyze whether the reverse CIRP should be codified, modified, or replaced with
a separate real estate insolvency code. It’s a topical issue that blends consumer rights, housing
policy, and insolvency law.

9. IBC and Environmental Liability: Who Cleans Up When a Polluting Company Is

Resolved?

When a company like Videocon or Sterlite enters insolvency, who bears environmental clean-up
costs? The IBC prioritizes financial creditors, leaving regulators and communities unpaid.

This topic explores whether environmental claims should be treated as secured or priority
debts. It opens unexplored debates on how IBC aligns with sustainable development, ESG
norms, and polluter-pays principles.

10. Third-Party Assets in CIRP: Is the Code Overreaching in Attachment and Control?

In several cases, assets of subsidiaries or unrelated parties are seized during insolvency
proceedings of a group company. This raises concerns over the sanctity of corporate separateness
and protection of third-party rights.

This paper examines how far the Code can extend when determining the "control" and
"possession" of assets. It urges for clearer asset boundaries and safeguards against overreach, a
high-end legal theory paper with real-world stakes.

11. Strategic Default vs. Genuine Failure: Can IBC Distinguish Between Business Risk and
Willful Negligence?

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With rising cases of promoters deliberately defaulting only to later re-bid via proxies, the line
between bad luck and bad faith is blurring. The existing IBC filters (like Section 29A) may not
go far enough.

This topic can explore whether India needs a statutory definition and investigative process for
“strategic default”, drawing parallels with global debt frameworks. It dives deep into moral
hazard theory in insolvency.

12. Group Insolvency: Where’s the Framework for Complex Conglomerates?

Large Indian business groups operate via hundreds of interconnected entities. But the IBC still
lacks a formal group insolvency framework, leading to piecemeal resolutions that fail to
maximize value.

Your paper can evaluate the long-pending Insolvency Law Committee Report (2019) on group
insolvency and propose how to legislate it effectively. This fills a structural void in India’s
insolvency ecosystem.

13. Can ESG Non-Compliance Trigger Insolvency? Exploring a New Class of Default

Globally, lenders and investors are factoring ESG risks into loan covenants. Could non-
compliance with sustainability or social impact clauses become a default trigger under Indian
contracts?

This paper opens new ground by proposing ESG-based defaults under IBC, especially for
polluting industries or companies violating human rights norms. It’s a futuristic but highly
researchable legal idea.

14. Digital Lenders and IBC: Are Tech-Finance NBFCs Creating a Regulatory Grey Zone?

App-based NBFCs and digital lenders operate with unique credit structures, but when defaults
happen, traditional insolvency mechanisms fail. Who do they recover from- the platform, the co-
lender, or the borrower?

This topic explores whether India needs an insolvency framework specific to fintech ecosystems
with shared liability models. It’s legally untested, financially complex, and academically
exciting.

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15. Haircut Clauses in Bank Lending Agreements: Should RBI Regulate ‘Pre-Negotiated
Loss’?

Some large lenders now insert contractual clauses accepting pre-agreed losses in case of IBC
resolution. This raises legal questions: is it lawful to waive value-recovery obligations in
advance?

Your paper can assess the validity, ethics, and enforceability of such clauses. It addresses a fresh
grey area in contract law that meets IBC and could suggest RBI or legislative intervention.

THEME 3: PUBLIC POLICY & GOVERNANCE

1. The New Data Fiduciary Regime in India: A Missed Opportunity for Citizen-Centric
Governance?

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 was a long-awaited development, but it took a
techno-managerial approach, prioritizing "compliance" over citizen rights. The idea of a "data
fiduciary" implies a trust-based model, but the Act carves out vast exemptions for government
entities under vague terms like “sovereignty” and “public order.”

This topic questions whether this model protects individuals at all, especially when the state
itself becomes the largest data processor- Aadhaar, CoWIN, ABHA IDs, etc. The absence of an
independent Data Protection Authority and the centralization of power to block platforms also
reflect a shift away from democratic data governance. This gap makes it ripe for a constitutional
and policy analysis.

2. One Nation, One Election: Efficiency or Erosion of Federalism?

Simultaneous elections seem like an administrative breakthrough, cost-effective and time-saving.

But the real cost could be democratic diversity. India’s political landscape is richly federal,
different regions vote based on different concerns. Synchronizing elections risks reducing voter
engagement with state issues and increases the sway of national-level narratives.

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The paper can investigate constitutional provisions (Articles 83, 172) and analyze whether Lok
Sabha and State Assemblies can be forcefully dissolved to create electoral symmetry. It opens an
important policy debate: Should we sacrifice regional political autonomy for bureaucratic ease?

3. Welfare without Dignity? A Critical Review of Conditional Cash Transfers in India

From PM-KISAN to Janani Suraksha Yojana, welfare in India increasingly comes with strings
attached- Aadhaar verification, regular school attendance, bank account operation, etc. While
these promote accountability, they often end up excluding the most marginalized, the
undocumented, the unbanked, the disabled.

The topic dives into how conditionality can reinforce cycles of poverty and create barriers to
access. It raises fundamental constitutional questions: Does welfare become a privilege, not a
right, when conditions outweigh accessibility? A fresh policy analysis is needed to ensure
dignity is embedded into welfare design.

4. Decentralisation in Disaster Governance: Should District Magistrates Continue to Lead

Climate Emergency Response?

India’s disaster management model relies heavily on top-down control, with the District
Magistrate wielding wide powers. But climate disasters, floods, heatwaves, cyclones, are hyper-
local and unpredictable. Should we still rely on a single officer instead of empowering gram
panchayats and city councils?

This paper can propose a shift from DM-led response to community-based climate
governance, analyzing pilot examples like Odisha's cyclone shelters managed by local groups. It
exposes a mismatch between centralized authority and decentralized resilience, a major blind
spot in public policy.

5. India’s Silence on Climate Refugees: Why Public Policy Must Acknowledge Internal
Environmental Displacement

Despite lakhs being displaced yearly due to floods, drought, and sea-level rise, India does not
officially recognize “climate refugees”, internally or externally. This results in no special
policies, no documentation, and no rehabilitation entitlements for them.

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The paper addresses this conceptual and legal void, arguing that without recognition, these
groups are left outside the welfare net — unable to access housing schemes, rations, or
compensation. It calls for a policy rethink rooted in climate justice and human security.

6. The Constitutional Status of NITI Aayog: A Policy Think Tank or a Shadow Cabinet?

NITI Aayog, while influential in shaping national missions like Gati Shakti or Atmanirbhar
Bharat, operates without legislative backing or formal accountability. Unlike the Planning
Commission, it isn’t answerable to Parliament or governed by statutory mandates.

This topic raises governance questions: Can an unelected body override ministries in
policymaking? It invites research into institutional design, suggesting whether India needs to re-
legislate its policy institutions to align with constitutional accountability norms.

7. Digital Literacy as a Fundamental Right: A Necessary Reform for Inclusive Governance

in the AI Age

As services go digital, land records, subsidies, job portals, those without digital skills are locked
out of governance. This creates a digital caste system, where access to rights depends on tech
fluency.

The paper proposes treating digital literacy as a derivative of Article 21 and Article 21A,
making it a constitutional obligation for the state. It can also explore implementation models
through municipal libraries, gram sabha sessions, or school curriculums, giving legal teeth to a
tech equity issue.

8. The Criminalization of Poverty: Should India Decriminalize ‘Offences’ like Begging,

Vagrancy, and Loitering?

Despite constitutional guarantees under Article 21 and the SC’s recognition of the right to live
with dignity, laws like Bombay Prevention of Begging Act still treat poverty as a criminal issue.
Police routinely use these laws to detain and displace homeless individuals.

The paper critiques this criminal-welfare paradox, arguing that punishment has replaced
support. It can recommend legislative repeal and reallocation of funds toward mental health
shelters, addiction care, and public housing, combining human rights law with welfare policy.

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9. Can Public Policy Be Gender-Neutral in a Gender-Inequal Society? Rethinking Equality
in Welfare Design

Many Indian policies are “gender-neutral” on paper, like pensions, loans, or job schemes. But in
practice, this ignores unequal starting points: women often lack documentation, time, or social
freedom to access them.

This paper critiques formal equality in welfare, advocating for affirmative policy architecture
that reflects gendered burdens. It can also assess judicial trends and Niti Aayog documents that
claim to mainstream gender, exposing the distance between vision and implementation.

10. Platform Economy and Policy Capture: Are Food Delivery and Ride-Sharing Apps
Exploiting Regulatory Ambiguity?

Gig economy platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, Uber classify workers as “independent
contractors”, denying them social security, minimum wages, or collective bargaining rights.
India’s Social Security Code attempts to fill this gap, but enforcement is weak and ambiguous.

The paper explores how regulatory inaction enables digital exploitation, especially as the gig
economy expands post-COVID. It can compare with international models (e.g., California’s Prop
22 or UK Supreme Court rulings), offering a strong labour-rights perspective.

11. AI-Driven Public Services and the Death of Bureaucratic Accountability: Who Decides
When the Algorithm Fails?

Governments now use AI for tasks like welfare targeting (MCTS), school drop-out predictions,
or even facial recognition policing. But when these tools err, there’s no clear accountability
chain , who does the citizen sue?

This paper argues for algorithmic accountability legislation, including right to explanation,
data audits, and grievance mechanisms. It’s a niche but growing area intersecting administrative
law, tech ethics, and digital governance.

12. PM CARES vs. National Disaster Relief Fund: Need for Transparent Governance in
Emergency Financing

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PM CARES received enormous donations during COVID-19 but is not audited by CAG, nor
open to RTI. Simultaneously, the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF), a statutory fund, was
barely used.

This paper critiques the parallel governance model, where informal, opaque bodies override
formal financial mechanisms. It advocates for transparent emergency finance, especially in a
post-disaster context, making this highly relevant for administrative and financial law scholars.

13. Social Media and Public Policy: Should Election Commission Regulate Online Political
Advertising?

In the age of digital campaigns, political parties micro-target voters using AI-driven ad tools,
without declaring funding sources or adhering to the Model Code of Conduct.

The paper proposes a legal framework for regulating political advertising on digital
platforms, arguing that current election laws are outdated in a post-internet world. It opens room
for regulatory reform to protect electoral fairness.

14. Cooperative Federalism or Competitive Populism? Analysing Inter-State Freebie Wars

States like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab are locked in a race to announce freebies, sometimes
compromising fiscal sustainability. But who regulates the quality or feasibility of such promises?

The paper can explore the limits of political populism under cooperative federalism, and
whether the CAG or ECI should be empowered to conduct freebie audits. It introduces a novel
financial-constitutional lens to welfare politics.

15. The Urban Poor and Policy Marginalisation: Why India Needs a National Urban
Employment Guarantee Act (NUEGA)

Post-COVID, the urban poor, street vendors, migrant workers, construction labor, were left
without any right-based economic safety net. MGNREGA protects rural workers but no such
scheme exists for cities.

The paper argues for NUEGA as an essential urban inclusion mechanism, offering job security,
local development, and better social protection. It can draw from Kerala’s pilot and international
experiments, building a solid case for legislative innovation.

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THEME 4: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) & INNOVATION
POLICY

1. Is the Indian IP Regime Ready for AI-Generated Inventions? Reassessing Inventorship

under Patent Law

AI systems like DABUS have created inventions, but who owns the IP when there's no human
inventor? Indian law under the Patents Act, 1970 requires "a person" to be the inventor.

This topic probes a critical legal vacuum: AI is progressing faster than IP frameworks. India
hasn't clarified its stance like the UK or US. Should we create a new class of non-human
inventorship or define corporate ownership in such cases? This opens space for reform in
statutory interpretation and policy drafting.

2. Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) and Its Limitations: Is India Really
Protecting Indigenous IP?

India’s TKDL was hailed globally for protecting Ayurvedic and tribal knowledge. But TKDL
mostly prevents foreign patents, it doesn’t provide positive rights or royalties to indigenous
communities.

This paper critiques the passive protectionist approach and proposes an active benefit-sharing
framework. It argues India must shift from defensive documentation to economic empowerment
of communities.

3. Music Sampling, Remixes, and Copyright: Is the Indian Legal Framework Still Stuck in
the CD Era?

Indian pop and indie music now thrive on remixes, reels, mashups, often without attribution or
licensing. But the Copyright Act 1957 doesn’t clearly address derivative works in the age of
digital sampling and social media monetization.

This topic questions the outdated nature of Indian copyright law in the face of new music
industry norms. It also dives into creator rights vs public access in remix culture.

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4. Patents vs Public Health: Should India Reinstate Compulsory Licensing in the Post-
COVID IP Landscape?

India granted one major compulsory license (Nexavar) in 2012, and then backed off due to
pressure. Post-COVID, there’s renewed interest in using CL for life-saving drugs.

This topic questions whether India’s voluntary licensing preference is undermining access. It
demands a re-examination of TRIPS flexibilities, especially when India itself faces increasing
health crises and Big Pharma litigation threats.

5. TikTok Filters, Instagram Avatars, and Digital Faces: Should Indian Law Protect Virtual
Personality as IP?

As AR/VR content booms, users are creating and monetizing “virtual versions” of themselves.
But personality rights (name, image, likeness) aren't formally recognized under Indian IP law.

This topic explores whether digital personality and filters deserve copyright or design
protection, and who owns it: the user, platform, or filter developer? It introduces a new
dimension of IP in the metaverse age.

6. The Geographical Indications Act and the Politics of Cultural Ownership: Why GI Alone
is Not Enough

India has GI tags for products like Banarasi sarees and Darjeeling tea, but most artisans don’t
benefit economically. GI tags are often held by large trader associations, not producers.

The paper argues for post-GI value chain policies, ensuring fair trade, marketing rights, and
international branding support. It highlights the disconnection between legal protection and
actual livelihood upliftment.

7. Who Owns an Influencer's Content? Decoding Copyright Ownership in Sponsored

Digital Collaborations

Influencers generate content that’s both original and brand-sponsored. But in absence of clear IP
contracts, it’s unclear who owns what: the influencer, the platform, or the brand.

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This topic explores the IP implications of creator economy, where copyright ownership is
murky, licensing is implicit, and monetization rules are fuzzy. It’s especially relevant post-
Instagram “boosts,” YouTube monetization, and FTC disclosures.

8. The Indian Copyright Board: Toothless Guardian or Potential Adjudicatory

Powerhouse?

India’s Copyright Board was merged into the IPAB, and then IPAB was scrapped altogether.
Now, copyright disputes go to commercial courts or High Courts, delaying resolution.

This paper critiques the institutional neglect of copyright enforcement, and proposes an
independent digital tribunal model. It fills a crucial vacuum in timely dispute resolution for
digital creators.

9. 3D Printing and IP Theft: Should Indian Patent Law Create a Special Category for
Digital Replicas?

With 3D printers becoming mainstream, IP theft is moving from code to physical objects. Indian
IP laws don’t yet regulate CAD files or object scans.

This paper proposes a legal framework to protect digital blueprints, drawing from EU’s 3D
printing patent debates. It’s a frontier topic for innovation law in India.

10. Fair Use in the AI Age: Does India’s Copyright Exception Framework Work for
Machine Learning?

AI models use thousands of copyrighted texts to train, but India’s fair use doctrine (Section 52)
hasn’t been interpreted for such use.

The paper evaluates whether Indian law allows non-expressive use of copyrighted works for
training datasets, and how to balance innovation with author rights. It opens doors for a judicial
or legislative test for algorithmic fair use.

11. Patent Thickets and Innovation Chilling in Indian Startups: Is India Encouraging or
Discouraging Inventive Culture?

Startups often avoid patenting due to high costs, legal risk, and enforcement fears. They also risk
infringing broad or overlapping patents (patent thickets) held by tech giants.

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This paper assesses whether India's IP regime is actually innovation-friendly. Should India adopt
open-source licensing, patent pools, or low-cost registration schemes? It’s a timely intervention
in startup policy.

12. The NFT Boom and Bust: Are Indian Copyright Laws Capable of Handling Digital
Collectibles?

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) involve the sale of digital art, but many sellers don’t hold IP rights,
and buyers don’t receive copyright either. India has no regulation here.

The paper critiques the false sense of ownership in NFTs and argues for IP amendments to
regulate digital collectibles. It examines who owns tokenized art and what rights transfer with it.

13. Copyright in AI-Generated Scripts, Art and Films: Can the Creative Industry Trust
Indian IP Law?

Creative sectors are now using AI to draft film scripts, music, and ads. But courts in India have
no precedent for deciding copyright in AI-assisted works.

The topic evaluates whether Section 2(d) “authorship” can stretch to collaborative AI work,
and whether the creative industry needs customized licensing models to remain competitive and
secure.

14. Is the Indian Patent Office Overwhelmed? Institutional Capacity and Its Impact on
Innovation Speed

India has only a few hundred patent examiners handling thousands of applications, leading to
delays and rejections. Many innovators withdraw or abandon patents midway.

This paper explores the governance and funding issues within India’s patent office and
proposes digitization, public-private partnerships, and smart review systems to improve IP
timelines.

15. Bollywood and Biopics: Should India Have a Right to Personality Law Like California?

India lacks a standalone Right to Publicity or Personality Rights Act. As biopics explode (e.g.,
MS Dhoni, PM Modi, Gangubai), celebrities are suing or claiming moral rights without any
consistent law.

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This paper proposes a codified right to personality, balancing creative expression and
individual dignity. It’s a goldmine topic that bridges IP law, entertainment law, and media ethics.

THEME 5: INTERNATIONAL TRADE, ECONOMIC LAW &

DEVELOPMENT POLICY

1. From WTO to FTAs: Is India Abandoning Multilateralism in Global Trade Policy?

India has shifted from championing multilateralism through the WTO to actively pursuing
bilateral and regional FTAs, especially after the WTO’s appellate impasse. This strategic pivot
raises questions about whether India is abandoning the collective strength of the Global South in
favor of opportunistic deals. While FTAs offer immediate market access, they lack the uniform
protections and dispute-resolution options of a multilateral system.

Your paper can analyze whether this shift is a short-sighted “free trade hurry” or a pragmatic
response to global deadlock. Pay particular attention to how fragmented economic rules under
FTAs widen compliance burdens for SMEs and dilute India’s ability to forge common
development-friendly norms at the WTO.

2. Digital Trade in Crisis: Should India Support or Resist E-Commerce Rules at the WTO?

India has taken a firm stance against binding WTO rules for e-commerce, citing concerns over
data sovereignty and Big Tech dominance. However, its own domestic regulations around data
localization, digital platforms, and cross-border services remain underdeveloped and
inconsistent. This inconsistency limits India’s ability to negotiate digital trade rights and set
norms for emerging online industries.

You can reevaluate whether India should remain a holdout or proactively shape “digital
sovereignty” norms at the WTO. Compare India’s caution with other developing countries that
have balanced e-commerce openness with data privacy, offering a roadmap for India to redefine
its stance.

3. Carbon Border Tax and Global South: Will EU's CBAM Spark a Green Trade War?

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With the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism coming into effect, India faces rising
carbon tariffs for its exports, especially steel and aluminum. While designed to reduce “carbon
leakage,” CBAM leaves Indian exporters struggling with nascent carbon accounting systems and
little regulatory clarity.

Your paper can pivot on this risk: could CBAM trigger a “green trade war” where developing
countries pay the compliance cost for global net-zero goals? It can advocate for India to lead
Global South harmonization efforts, demanding climate justice and capacity-building before
CBAM adoption.

4. India’s Duty-Free Regime for SEZs: Is It WTO-Compliant Post-DSB Ruling on Export

Subsidies?

In 2019, the WTO ruled that India’s export subsidies (like SEZ benefits and MEIS) violated trade
rules. Despite this, India has been slow to amend the regime, citing economic development
needs. As a result, Indian exporters and manufacturing zones continue to operate in a legal gray
zone.

Your paper could examine whether India can reconcile WTO compliance without fully
dismantling its SEZ model. Perhaps a “targeted carve-out” or phased subsidy reform can
maintain development gains while meeting international obligations, an area little explored in
public commentary.

5. India’s FDI Screening Policy: Strategic Sovereignty or Economic Protectionism?

India’s tightened FDI screening rules, especially for investments from bordering nations aim to
protect national security. However, the criteria are vague and processes opaque, causing
uncertainty among foreign investors. This non-transparent mechanism may discourage deeper
integration into global value chains.

Your research can critique whether the policy is a genuine national-security necessity or a covert
tool of economic protectionism. It can also explore how such screening aligns, or conflicts, with
WTO Investment Facilitation norms and India’s reputation as a business destination.

6. Labour Rights and Trade Deals: Should India Negotiate Social Clauses in Future FTAs?

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Modern FTAs increasingly tie market access to labour standards, covering fair wages, worker
safety, and collective rights. India’s vast informal workforce and weak labour regulation
undermine its export competitiveness in such deals.

Your paper can ask whether India should proactively upgrade domestic labour protections and
negotiate strong yet flexible social clauses into FTAs. This could strengthen export access while
safeguarding worker rights, rather than being caught off-guard by punitive provisions later.

7. Is India Ready for Trade in Environmental Services? Decoding Gaps in India's Green
Export Strategy

Export of environmental services like clean tech, water treatment, and waste management is a
rapidly growing segment globally. Despite India’s abundant technical capacity, it lacks dedicated
training, export facilitation, and classification under the WTO services schema.

Your research can shed light on this “hidden green trade” opportunity. Propose policy
frameworks, such as trade missions, export manuals, private-sector partnerships, and WTO
GATS-defined service sub-categories, to position India as an environmental services exporter.

8. India and Trade Remedy Measures: Are Anti-Dumping Duties Becoming Tools for
Political Retaliation?

India is among the world’s most active users of anti-dumping measures. However, recent cases
targeting Chinese imports raise pressing concerns that these may now serve geopolitical
signaling rather than industrial defense.

Your analysis can assess whether Indian trade remedy investigations are being misused,
presenting economic protection as a national security narrative. This offers an opportunity to
propose procedural reforms, WTO dispute mechanisms, or stricter evidentiary standards to
ensure legitimacy.

9. The Vanishing WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism: Should India Push for a Global
South Arbitration Model?

The WTO’s Appellate Body has been non-functional since 2019, depriving India and other
developing nations of a neutral dispute forum. Alternative interim systems exclude India, leaving
small economies vulnerable to unilateral retaliation.

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Your paper can explore whether India should spearhead a parallel arbitration system, perhaps via
BRICS or a G77 sub-group, offering trade justice with a Global South lens. This would fill a
growing gap in international adjudication.

10. Localisation vs Liberalisation: Are India's New Import Licensing Norms Violating
WTO Principles?

Recent Indian policies mandating import licences for laptops, telecom equipment, and certain IT
hardware clash with WTO rules that favour trade liberalisation. While justified by "national
security" or domestic capability building, these measures deter trade and create compliance
confusion.

Your paper can weigh India’s industrial goals against its obligations, asking if these actions
breach WTO non-discrimination principles. It can also propose legal justifications or carve-outs,
moving beyond short-term industrial fixes to sustainable policy design.

11. Trade and Technology Transfer: Why India’s IPR Policy Undermines Its Global
Bargaining Power

India has advocated for mandatory technology transfer in climate and health trade negotiations.
Yet domestically, its IP policy has not enabled licensing, patent pools, or incentives for shared
innovation partnerships.

Your research can examine whether this contradiction weakens India's trade voice. A coordinated
approach, aligning innovation law with external bargaining, could position India as not just a
demand-maker, but a developmental leader in global trade.

12. India’s Digital Payment Diplomacy: Can UPI Become a Trade Tool in the Global
South?

India’s innovative UPI payments system has begun expanding into partner countries, but there’s
no focused strategy to use this as a digital trade enabler or strategic soft-power asset.

Your paper can map how UPI could be deployed in South–South trade corridors and fintech
diplomacy, reducing dependence on dollar-based systems, lowering remittance fees, and
fostering India-led governance standards for interoperable platforms.

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13. De-Dollarisation and India: Should India Push for a Rupee-Settlement Trade Bloc?

As geopolitical pressures increase on dollar-denominated trade, India initiated a Rupee Trade

Settlement Mechanism. Yet adoption remains limited and voluntary, hampered by foreign bank
cooperation, currency volatility, and regulatory inertia.

This research can explore obstacles and propose structural support, like currency swap lines,
bilateral trade pacts in rupees, and institutional frameworks, to move from pilot projects to a
formal “rupee trade bloc” model.

14. The WTO’s Fisheries Subsidy Agreement: Will It Sink India’s Coastal Livelihoods?

The new WTO agreement banning harmful fishery subsidies threatens diesel support and cold-
chain schemes crucial to India’s small-scale fishers. These groups already have minimal political
representation and social safety nets.

Your paper can critically assess whether the agreement is equitable enough for developing
coastal states. It could propose “just transition” models, time-bound subsidy transition, capacity
building, or compensatory mechanisms that balance ecology and livelihoods.

15. The Future of India's GSP Status: Can India Reclaim Tariff Preferences from US and
EU?

India was removed from the US GSP scheme and faces EU scrutiny on labour and environmental
compliance. These developments impact its competitiveness in middle-income market segments.

Your analysis can evaluate how India can regain GSP or negotiate new preferential arrangements
via statistical compliance (e.g., labour audits, sustainability certifications), institutional reforms,
and proactive trade diplomacy.

THEME 6: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Is the Indian Constitution Becoming a 'Living Text' or a 'Plastic Tool'? A Study of

Transformative Constitutionalism Post-2015

Over the past decade, the Supreme Court has used transformative constitutionalism to expand
rights (LGBTQ+, privacy, environmental rights). However, critics argue it’s becoming too
malleable, allowing judicial overreach and dilution of federalism or separation of powers.

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This paper can explore whether the “living tree doctrine” has gone too far, shifting constitutional
interpretation from principled evolution to politically reactive judgments. A comparative analysis
with South Africa or Colombia can add depth to the question: When does transformative
become transgressive?

2. Algorithmic Justice vs Constitutional Due Process: Is the Indian State Ready for AI-
Driven Governance?

India is increasingly using AI for governance, from facial recognition to predictive policing. But
there is no constitutional or statutory framework to ensure transparency, accountability, or
appeal against algorithmic decisions.

This paper can assess how AI threatens core constitutional guarantees, including natural
justice, privacy, and non-discrimination. It can propose constitutional safeguards, rights-based AI
testing, or even judicial audit mechanisms, something deeply missing in current discourse.

3. Can Preventive Detention Survive the Basic Structure Doctrine in Contemporary India?

Preventive detention laws (like PSA, NSA, UAPA) allow incarceration without trial, sometimes
for months, often used against dissenters. But does this violate basic structure guarantees like
liberty, rule of law, and fair trial?

This paper can argue that preventive detention, though upheld in the past, now contradicts
modern readings of due process. It can explore whether it should be struck down or heavily
pruned in light of evolving constitutional morality.

4. From Representation to Redistribution: Is Indian Federalism Equipped to Handle Post-

2026 Delimitation?

The freeze on delimitation ends in 2026. Redrawing constituencies may grant disproportionate
power to northern states with higher populations, distorting fiscal federalism and
representation equity.

Your paper can analyze whether India's constitutional model can absorb this shock. Should India
adopt US-style bicameral balancing, or a new fiscal federal model to maintain equity between
high-growth, low-fertility states and lagging regions?

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5. Judicial Review in a Post-Truth Democracy: Can the Supreme Court Remain the
Sentinel on the Qui Vive?

As misinformation, media manipulation, and populism rise, the judiciary faces immense
pressure. In politically sensitive matters, delays and ambiguous judgments signal judicial
evasion.

This paper questions whether India needs structural reforms like time-bound review, stronger
PIL filters, or independent judicial appointment to preserve the Court’s role as a constitutional
watchdog in a “post-truth” democracy.

6. Prisoners' Right to Education and Digital Access: Towards a Constitutional Right to

Reformation in India

Despite Article 21 guarantees, most Indian prisoners lack educational access, digital literacy
tools, or online rehabilitation schemes. The NDPS Act, for example, limits parole and
educational furloughs.

This paper can make a strong case for recognizing reformation and rehabilitation as
fundamental rights, not just state policy. It can propose a new “Right to Digital Education in
Prisons” framework, guided by international practices.

7. Disability and Constitutional Equality: Is the Indian Judiciary Ready for Rights-Based
Adjudication Beyond Reservations?

Indian disability jurisprudence remains limited to reservation debates. Constitutional equality

(Articles 14–15) is rarely invoked for structural discrimination, accessibility, or socio-legal
barriers faced by persons with disabilities.

This paper can push for a rights-based equality approach, where dignity, choice, and access
become enforceable rights. It could introduce international precedents (e.g., CRPD) to reshape
how Indian courts interpret disability beyond welfare paradigms.

8. Is the Right to Protest Dead in India? A Constitutional Autopsy Post-Shaheen Bagh and
Farmers’ Movement

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Judgments post-Shaheen Bagh have diluted the freedom of assembly, citing traffic and public
order. Police now routinely deny permissions or delay them, especially for dissenting groups.

Your paper can trace the systemic hollowing out of protest rights, using legal analysis and
protest case studies. It can call for judicially monitored protest zones, fast-track protest
approvals, or constitutional amendments that protect this dying right.

9. Climate Justice and Constitutional Law: Can Article 21 Be Expanded to Recognize the
Right to a Stable Climate?

Article 21 has been read to include clean air and water, but climate stability remains
underdeveloped as a constitutional right. India lacks a justiciable right against climate
inaction, unlike some Latin American countries.

Your paper can explore whether the Constitution should now recognize intergenerational
equity, climate reparations, and carbon budgeting as enforceable rights. This is a futuristic
but deeply important legal frontier.

10. The Invisible Censorship: Are Social Media Bans Violating Constitutional Freedom of
Speech?

Bans on Twitter handles, YouTube channels, or entire apps like TikTok are often done under
opaque laws like the IT Rules or Section 69A of the IT Act. There's little judicial review, no
public hearing, and no standard tests.

This paper can argue that such actions create a silent censorship regime that evades Article 19
protections. It can propose due process reforms, platform-agnostic free speech guidelines, or a
Digital Censorship Review Tribunal.

11. Is Article 32 Losing Its Teeth? The Rise of Judicial Gatekeeping in Fundamental Rights
Enforcement

There is growing concern that the Supreme Court is refusing or delaying urgent Article 32
petitions, especially involving state repression or surveillance, pushing citizens to High Courts
or treating issues as “policy matters.”

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This paper explores how Article 32’s spirit is being undermined by procedural rigidity. Should
India revisit automatic right to remedy or adopt a time-limit for listing rights violations? It can
map trends from 2015 onwards to show this erosion.

12. Gender Neutrality vs Gender Justice: Should the Constitution Recognize Structural
Patriarchy Explicitly?

Gender-neutral laws (like in rape or domestic violence) risk ignoring systemic violence against
women. But India’s Constitution doesn’t explicitly acknowledge patriarchy as a structural
problem, unlike South Africa or Sweden.

This topic can advocate for a “feminist constitutionalism” framework, suggesting a new
constitutional clause or judicial principle recognizing patriarchy as a legal ground for
affirmative state action.

13. National Security vs Federal Autonomy: Should the Centre Be Constitutionally Barred
from Misusing Agencies Like NIA or ED?

The Centre increasingly uses agencies like the NIA and ED to bypass state police and undermine
opposition-led state governments. This raises urgent questions about federal autonomy and
misuse of concurrent powers.

Your paper can analyze whether India needs new constitutional firewalls, e.g., mandatory
judicial sanction or cooperative federal mechanisms before central agencies operate in states
without consent.

14. The Constitutional Right to Mental Health: Can Courts Enforce Psychosocial Care as
Part of Right to Life?

Despite the Mental Healthcare Act and Article 21 interpretations, mental health remains under-
prioritized in constitutional litigation. There is no enforceable right to therapy, trauma care, or
psycho-social rehabilitation.

This paper can argue for a new constitutional jurisprudence around mental well-being,
especially post-pandemic. It can recommend constitutionalizing WHO standards, budget-based
justiciability, and mental health access as a public right.

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15. Should India Introduce a Constitutional Right Against Algorithmic Discrimination?

Automated systems used in welfare delivery, hiring, and criminal prediction can replicate or
amplify bias, especially against marginalized groups. Yet, no legal mechanism exists to
challenge algorithmic discrimination under Article 14 or 15.

This paper can make a futuristic proposal: a constitutional right against algorithmic harm,
supported by audit mandates, explainability rules, and algorithmic accountability
frameworks, inspired by the EU’s AI Act and Canada’s AI charter.

THEME 7: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS & TECHNOLOGY

LAW

1. Is Copyright Becoming a Tool of AI Surveillance? Evaluating Indian Copyright Law in

the Age of Text and Data Mining (TDM)

AI models like ChatGPT and DALL·E rely on mass scraping of text, images, and code for
training. Yet, Indian copyright law does not define or regulate Text and Data Mining (TDM),
nor does it grant exceptions for research or AI learning.

Your paper can highlight this massive regulatory vacuum, where artists may lose control over
their work, and AI developers operate in legal grey areas. Compare India’s silence with the EU’s
TDM exception or the UK’s fair use debates to propose a new AI–copyright balance.

2. Who Owns the Output? Rethinking Authorship and Ownership of AI-Generated Works
in Indian Copyright Law

Under current Indian copyright law, only human authors can own copyright. But what about a
poem written by an AI, or a song generated using a prompt? Who owns that output- the user, the
developer, or no one?

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Your paper can analyze this legal vacuum in India. Should we create a “co-authorship” model for
AI-generated works? Should output be in the public domain? Comparative study with the U.S.
Copyright Office, China, and WIPO discussions will add depth.

3. Biopiracy in the Blockchain Era: Can India Use Technology to Protect Traditional
Knowledge Rights?

India has long battled biopiracy, foreign patents on neem, turmeric, etc. However, its current
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) only records medicinal knowledge and lacks
smart contract integration or global enforceability.

Your research can propose using blockchain for TK protection via tamper-proof timestamps,
access logs, and automatic licensing. This could finally give teeth to India’s long-standing
demand for global recognition of indigenous IP.

4. Facial Recognition and Privacy: Should Biometric Data Be Treated as IP Under Indian
Law?

India’s mass use of facial recognition systems and Aadhaar has raised major privacy concerns.
But what if we argue that one’s biometric data is not just personal, but also intellectual
property, deserving control, licensing, and compensation?

This novel angle explores merging data protection with IP frameworks, offering individuals
ownership rights over their own data patterns, especially in profit-making systems like
targeted ads, health algorithms, or AI training.

5. CRISPR Patents and Bioethics: Is India’s Patent Law Ready for Human Genetic
Editing?

CRISPR has revolutionized gene-editing, but India’s patent system is unclear on whether gene
modifications, especially of human embryos, can be patented. There's also no statutory
framework regulating patent ethics in biotech.

Your paper can assess whether India needs a bioethics authority within its IP framework. It can
also propose ethical exclusions in patent law, similar to how Section 3 of the Patents Act
prohibits “morally offensive” inventions.

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6. Fair Use or Foul Play? The Future of Meme Culture and Copyright in India

Meme creators regularly use copyrighted content under the assumption of “fair use,” but India’s
fair dealing law is vague and outdated, especially for parody, criticism, and internet humor.

This paper can argue that India needs a Digital Fair Use framework, defining transformative
content, social commentary, and meme protection. It can draw from U.S. doctrine, YouTube
disputes, and Indian viral cases.

7. Smart Contracts and IPR Licensing: A Missed Opportunity in Indian Tech Law?

Smart contracts can automate royalty payments, IP licensing, and distribution. But Indian
contract law and copyright statutes don't recognize code-based self-executing licenses, creating
legal enforceability problems.

Your research can push for the recognition of “smart IP licenses” under the Indian Copyright
Act and Contract Act. This would benefit creators, especially in music and NFTs, while reducing
piracy and royalty evasion.

8. AI Bias as a Patentability Challenge: Should India Allow Patents for Discriminatory

Algorithms?

Indian patent law lacks ethical filters for AI inventions that may cause bias or discrimination,
such as recruitment tools or credit rating systems.

This paper can argue for a new “algorithmic impact” test in patentability criteria, beyond
novelty and industrial use. You can build a constitutional link between Article 14 (equality) and
Section 3 of the Patents Act.

9. Deepfakes and Moral Rights: Is Indian IP Law Ready for Synthetic Identity
Manipulation?

Deepfakes can mimic a person’s likeness, voice, or expression, raising moral and privacy issues.
But current Indian IP law doesn’t offer strong personality rights or voice protection, unlike
jurisdictions like California or Germany.

This paper can argue for a new "synthetic likeness" right, a blend of IP and privacy, that
protects against non-consensual use of identity in creative works, satire, or AI-generated media.

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10. Can Startups Protect Business Models Through IP? The Gap Between Patent Law and
Digital Innovation in India

Startups often cannot patent their software-driven business models due to India’s Section 3(k),
which prohibits software per se patents. Yet, their competitive edge lies in code, process, and
interface design.

Your paper can assess whether India needs a new category of “business innovation patents” or
whether trade secrets and design rights should be expanded. A case-based analysis of failed or
pending applications can highlight real-world impact.

11. Copyright in the Cloud: Who Owns User-Generated Content on Platforms like
Instagram and Canva?

Most platforms claim broad licenses over uploaded content. But Indian users are rarely aware of
how these terms interact with their moral rights, derivative rights, or exclusivity under
copyright law.

Your paper can decode the EULAs of popular platforms, map them against Indian copyright
law, and ask whether “clickwrap consent” is enough to divest users of their IPR. You can also
propose a content creators’ code or platform duty charter.

12. Compulsory Licensing Beyond Pharma: Can India Use It to Break Big Tech
Monopolies?

India’s patent law allows compulsory licensing in public interest, but only in pharma. Could
this be expanded to software, AI, or semiconductors, especially when pricing or market access is
unfair?

This radical proposal can explore extending Section 84 and 92 of the Patents Act to essential
digital technologies, with strict safeguards. It could offer a path to tech sovereignty while
avoiding WTO backlash.

13. IPR and the Right to Repair: Can Indian Consumers Challenge Big Tech’s Monopoly
Through Copyright Reform?

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Manufacturers often use copyright, patents, and embedded software to prevent third-party
repairs. This leads to e-waste, inflated prices, and poor accessibility.

This paper can advocate for a Right to Repair Bill with IP exceptions, similar to the U.S. Fair
Repair Act. You can examine how Indian copyright law needs to evolve to protect consumer
autonomy and promote sustainability.

14. Can India Introduce a Sui Generis Law for AI-Created Inventions?

AI can now design circuits, drugs, and machines, yet Indian patent law requires a human
inventor. The DABUS case in the UK, US, and South Africa has started a global debate on AI
inventorship.

Your paper can explore whether India should create a “sui generis” IP system for AI-generated
inventions, with time-bound rights, shared ownership, or open access models. This is a novel and
futuristic area that has barely been explored here.

15. Should India Recognize Data as an Intellectual Property Right? Bridging the Gap
Between Privacy and Ownership

The Personal Data Protection Act focuses on consent, not ownership. Yet, data is a tradable
commodity, raising the question: should individuals have IP-like rights over personal data they
generate?

This paper can argue for a Data Ownership Law in India, modeled on IP rights, granting
individuals exclusive, licensable, and inheritable rights to their own data, especially when
monetized by platforms or used in AI training.

THEME 8: ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & CLIMATE JUSTICE

1. Climate Litigation in India: Can the PIL Regime Fill the Governance Gap?

Judicial activism on environmental issues is surging, from Great Nicobar to Ganga Utsav, yet
climate change PILs remain sporadic. There’s no standard for climate causation or nexus to
public interest, making petitions fragile and scattered.

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Your paper can explore how PILs could evolve into a structured climate accountability tool,
defining standards of proof, causation, and remedies (like carbon budgeting orders). It can also
assess whether courts should develop procedural shortcuts, like presumed liability or ordinance
obligations, to bolster climate justice.

2. E-Waste Regulations and Circular Economy: Is India’s E-Waste Law Devolving into
Paperwork?

India’s E-Waste (Management) Rules require “Extended Producer Responsibility” linked to

collection targets. But enforcement is weak, informal scrappers handle most e-waste, and circular
economy loops never close.

This paper could catalogue why Rule-based compliance fails, uncollected waste leads to toxicity
and health hazards. It explores how Smart WEEE passports, blockchain tracking, and municipal-
private partnerships can transform producers’ obligations into impact-driven environmental
accountability.

3. Biodiversity Beyond Biogeography: Does India’s BDA Framework Protect Climate

Resilience?

India’s Biodiversity Act (2002) and National Biodiversity Strategy focus on species
conservation, not ecosystem functions under climate stress. Critical concepts like “genetic flow
corridors” and “assisted migration” are absent from legal text.

The paper can propose expanding the BDA to prioritize climate-ready biodiversity, including
anticipatory legal tools for translocation, seed banks, and adaptive habitat laws. This is vital as
climate extremes disrupt species assemblage and genetic integrity.

4. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Climate Justice: Is India Supporting

Indigenous Climate Adaptation?

Indigenous communities have managed land-resilience for centuries through TEK. But formal
state environmental policy seldom recognizes, funds, or co-governs these local systems, leading
to climate injustice.

Your research can elucidate how TEK could be legally embedded in environmental policy,
through co-management rules under FRA or national planning. It can also explore joint

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governance platforms to ensure indigenous stewardship is recognized during disaster or
adaptation plans.

5. Carbon Sequestration Credits: Should India Allow Individual Farmers And

Communities To Trade Carbon?

India's voluntary carbon-credit market is dominated by corporate/commercial projects. Farmers

and forest communities are marginalized, though they are key carbon sinks.

The paper can propose a legal mechanism allowing smallholders to trade carbon credits, using
land-tenure maps, domestic registry systems, and pooled aggregation. It may suggest legislative
amendments to the Forest Rights Act or Agri-Export Zones, making climate mitigation inclusive.

6. Climate Displaced Persons: Should India Amend Disaster Law to Recognise

Environmental Refugees?

Current frameworks like the Disaster Management Act focus on relief, not long-term
statelessness. Sea-level rise, glacier melt, and river erosion are increasingly causing internal
migration, yet victims have no legal recognition or rehabilitation rights.

This research can suggest statutory amendments to IMD Act or National Relief Codes to create
climate refugee provisions. Proposals could include interim housing rights, migration
incentives, and cross-state coordination, rooted in national adaptation policy.

7. Water Justice in India: Is Inter-State Water Sharing Stuck in Steroid Politics?

The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act and tribunals often produce delayed, enforceability-
challenged awards, especially in the Cauvery and Krishna cases. Climate variability worsens
these conflicts.

Your paper can investigate whether water-sharing frameworks should include adaptive dynamic
allocations, not rigid quotas. It can propose data-driven, legally binding water-sharing systems
overseen by a National Water Commission with climate sensing and tripartite monitoring.

8. Urban Heat Islands and Environmental Rights: Do City Residents Have a Constitutional
Right to Cool Shade?

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Rapid urbanisation, tree-cutting, and concrete sprawl have exposed marginalized neighborhoods
to extreme heat. Yet there is no environmental distribution model or tree-saffron rights in urban
planning.

This topic can argue for a constitutional right to shade and cooler built environments in
vulnerable zones. It could propose statutory ‘urban canopy schemes’, heat-mitigation audits, and
zoning guidelines to bring environmental health into urban governance.

9. Can India's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System Serve Justice or Justice
Just Favoured Capital?

EIA frameworks continue to be project-centric and short-circuit public consultation. Ganges

Thermal, Char Dham, and Delhi’s DMIC highlight violations of inadequate EIA.

This paper can propose shifting EIA from box-ticking to risk-mapping and distributive impact
assessments, with enforceable social justice norms, local advisory panels, and retrenchment
rights for communities affected by climate-sensitive projects.

10. Plastic Pollution and India’s Waste Policy: Why a Ban Isn’t Enough Without Producer
Accountability?

Single-use plastic bans exist but are poorly enforced. Brighton’s “Plastic Packaging Tax” shows
how shifting liability to producers can cut waste and fund clean-up.

Your paper can propose an eco-modulated liability framework, beyond bans that requires
producers to internalise disposal costs. It may include plastic security deposits, modular
recycling incentives, and co-financing municipal clean-up schemes.

11. Air Quality, Public Health & Constitutional Remedies: Are Indian Courts Doing
Enough?

Air pollution causes region-wide health crises, yet Indian courts uniformly reject carbon lawsuits
due to implementation limits. Clean Air plans emulate policy but lack enforceability.

Your research can explore whether courts should issue clean air writs mandates for pollution
budgeting and deliverable targets, especially in vulnerable clusters (Delhi-NCR, Patna). It could
propose a legal architecture for courts to oversee air quality in constitutional terms.

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12. Climate Risk Disclosure: Should Corporates Be Legally Bound to Report Carbon
Threats?

SEBI’s climate disclosure guidelines are voluntary and limited to ‘mainboard’ firms. SME and
private firms remain exempt, creating gaps in climate transparency.

This paper can advocate for statutorily-mandated climate-risk disclosure across sector, including
financial institutions. It could define a legal threshold for climate risks, liability for misreporting,
and enforcement mechanisms within Company Law.

13. Disaster Finance and Constitutional Equality: Do Affected Citizens Receive Their
Constitutional Due?

After disasters, relief is allocated through arbitrary discretionary budgets, often influenced by
political discretion. This leads to uneven distribution and marginalisation of vulnerable groups.

Your paper can analyze whether disaster finance should become an enforceable entitlement,
akin to a public law right. It can explore legal thresholds for compensation, transparency tools
like post-disaster audits, and Constitutional parity in resource allocation.

14. Green Bonds in India: Are They Just Ceremonial or Truly Environmental?

India's Green Bond market is growing, but there is no enforceable domestic regulation to ensure
proceeds fund environmental projects beyond intention statements.

This paper can propose a regulatory taxonomy for green finance, including mandatory impact
audits, standardized benchmarks, and legal penalties for misallocation. It would align
enforcement with global green bond principles.

15. Climate Migration and Urban Planning: Should India Mandate ‘Climate Resilient
Cities’ by Law?

Urban growth often ignores climate vulnerability. Cities are sprawling in flood-prone zones, and
slum dwellers bear the impact, without adaptation planning.

Your research can propose a Climate-Resilient Cities Act with mandatory climate zoning, risk-
based building codes, affordable relocation provisions, and green infrastructure norms.
This would ensure environmental justice at the urban planning level.

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 THEME 9: PUBLIC POLICY & GOVERNANCE

1. Does India Need a Constitutional Right to Digital Access? Reimagining Article 21 in the
Era of E-Governance

With digitization of public services, from ration cards to court hearings, digital access is no
longer a luxury but a lifeline. Yet, there’s no fundamental right to internet access under Indian
law.

This paper can explore the constitutional vacuum, especially in rural and tribal regions where
digital exclusion leads to denial of rights. It can argue for a new interpretation of Article 21 to
include ‘digital dignity’, while recommending policy safeguards against algorithmic exclusion.

2. Gig Work, No Rights? Rethinking the Policy Architecture for Platform Labour in India

Gig workers power urban economies but have no formal recognition as employees under Indian
labour laws. Government policies remain fragmented, Code on Social Security offers little
enforcement clarity.

This topic invites analysis of India's policy paralysis in defining gig work. The paper can
propose a model framework combining UK-style worker status and India's welfare codes,
examining regulatory innovation like platform taxes or portable benefits.

3. One Nation, Many Databases: Why India Needs a Unified Data Governance Policy

India runs Aadhaar, DigiLocker, Health Stack, and PM Gati Shakti, each collecting massive
personal data. Yet there is no cohesive national policy on how these databases interact, share, or
protect data.

Your research can map the risk of fragmentation, regulatory overlap, and citizen data misuse.
You can recommend a federal data governance framework, balancing state autonomy,
technological standardization, and constitutional privacy.

4. Digital Public Infrastructure or Digital Surveillance? A Policy Audit of India Stack

India Stack (UPI, eKYC, DigiLocker, etc.) has revolutionized governance, but its lack of
legislative backing raises concerns of surveillance and exclusion.

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Your paper can critically examine the power asymmetry between citizen and state in DPI. It
could propose accountability structures, like statutory oversight bodies, open algorithms, and
grievance redressal in Aadhaar-seeded platforms.

5. Are Think Tanks the New Legislators? Examining the Influence of Private Policy Bodies
on Indian Governance

NITI Aayog, ORF, and several private think tanks shape public policy in India, often without
accountability or public consultation.

This topic investigates the shadow space of policymaking, analyzing how private expertise can
bypass democratic scrutiny. It proposes regulatory norms for think tank disclosures,
parliamentary checks, and ethics codes in policy advocacy.

6. Where Are the Tribes in India’s Urban Policy? An Inquiry into Policy Blind Spots in
Smart Cities Mission

Smart Cities and AMRUT schemes cater to urban expansion, but neglect the displaced
urbanizing tribal population. There’s no tribal impact assessment in these missions.

Your paper can uncover this policy blind spot and argue for indigenous rights recognition in
urban policy. It can recommend tribal representation in city planning boards and affirmative
housing access under Forest Rights Act interfaces.

7. India’s Welfare Schemes: Too Many, Too Broken? Designing a Policy Merger for
Delivery Efficiency

India has over 500 central and state welfare schemes, many overlapping, underfunded, or
digitally inaccessible.

This research can explore how policy duplication and administrative overload undermine
welfare goals. It can propose a centralized policy dashboard model with sunset clauses,
consolidated funding, and algorithmic beneficiary mapping, keeping the legal limits in check.

8. Should Climate Resilience Be a Budget Mandate? Introducing a 'Green Clause' in Fiscal

Policy

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Indian budgets rarely integrate climate spending into mainstream fiscal frameworks. This leads
to siloed climate action, heavily reliant on external funding.

Your paper can argue for a mandatory climate-resilience clause in Union and state budgets.
You can explore how Green Budgeting, used in OECD countries, can be adapted with Indian
federalism in mind, balancing environmental justice and fiscal prudence.

9. Is Policy Paralysis the New Judicial Activism? When Courts Start Governing in
Administrative Vacuum

Courts increasingly dictate governance on COVID response, pollution control, and urban
eviction, often due to executive failure.

This topic can critique the rise of judicial policymaking in areas traditionally outside court
competence. It can propose reforms: Parliamentary policy audits, sunset reviews, and legislative
pushbacks to restore separation of powers.

10. Can Algorithmic Policies Be Transparent? The Case for a 'Right to Explanation' in
Automated Governance

From income tax e-assessments to digital lending, Indian governance is becoming algorithm-
driven, with zero transparency in decision logic.

This paper proposes a legal right to explanation, ensuring that citizens understand how AI
decisions are made. It can analyze global frameworks like the EU’s GDPR and suggest
adaptations for India's bureaucratic and digital realities.

11. Digital India, Vanishing Federalism? Mapping the Erosion of State Autonomy in Tech-
Driven Governance

Most digital governance projects, like One Nation One Ration Card, are central schemes, often
imposed on states without proper fiscal federal negotiation.

Your paper can investigate how digitization is centralizing governance. It can argue for a
federal tech charter, ensuring state-specific customization, revenue sharing, and legislative
consent in national platforms.

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12. Are Social Audits Dead? Reimagining Democratic Accountability in Public Policy
Implementation

Social audits were mandated in schemes like MGNREGA, but today they are tokenistic or
absent. Lack of citizen engagement has hollowed out bottom-up accountability.

This paper can propose a statutory framework for independent social audit units, digital
whistleblower channels, and local grievance redress for scheme implementation, especially under
digital delivery models.

13. Where’s the Exit Plan? Policy Withdrawal Frameworks in India’s Regulatory
Landscape

Most Indian policies don’t have sunset clauses, exit strategies, or impact assessments before
continuation. This leads to bloated bureaucracy and overlapping mandates.

This research can call for a Policy Sunset Commission, examining old policies and programs
periodically for relevance, legal overlap, and fiscal sustainability, bringing regulatory hygiene
into policymaking.

14. Is Urban Governance in India a Constitutional Afterthought? Need for a Third Tier
Law Reboot

74th Constitutional Amendment aimed to empower local bodies, but most Indian cities still lack
fiscal and legislative autonomy.

Your paper can analyze the legal failures of urban decentralization. It can propose a new
Urban Governance Code or even a separate constitutional schedule for digital-age cities,
redefining urban rights and responsibilities.

15. New India, Old Bureaucracy: Should Lateral Entry into Civil Services Be Expanded or
Regulated?

Lateral entry into top bureaucracy aims to infuse expertise but lacks transparency in recruitment,
accountability, or political neutrality.

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Your research can dissect the merits and democratic risks of expanding lateral entry. It can
propose a Civil Services (Appointments & Ethics) Bill to ensure checks on conflict of interest,
party favoritism, and sectoral bias in public policymaking.

THEME 10: CRIMINAL JUSTICE & FORENSIC SCIENCE

1. Scientific Evidence, Unscientific Process? Analysing the Legal Framework for Forensic
Chain of Custody under BSA 2023

India’s new Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam emphasizes scientific evidence but lacks detailed
protocols for maintaining the forensic “chain of custody.”

This paper can investigate the risk of evidence tampering, absence of audit trails, and lack of
accountability mechanisms in current police procedures. It can propose statutory rules (like in
UK’s PACE Act) or suggest a centralized forensic registry with real-time chain tracking.

2. Can DNA Alone Convict? Reassessing the Use of DNA Evidence in Light of the Right
Against Self-Incrimination

DNA evidence is increasingly used in Indian courts, but without a dedicated DNA Profiling Act,
issues of consent, sample collection, and Article 20(3) violations persist.

This topic explores whether forensic infallibility is a myth and how reliance on DNA may
obscure procedural flaws. The paper can propose guidelines for judicial scrutiny, safeguards
during collection, and limitations of “cold hit” DNA matches.

3. Reforming Narco, Polygraph and Brain Mapping Tests: Between Constitutional

Morality and Investigative Necessity

Though the Supreme Court restricted these techniques, they continue under “consent”, often
coercively taken, and lack scientific reliability.

Your paper can critique the quasi-voluntary use of mind-reading tests, and examine how they
bypass the right to silence. It can recommend a legal ban or framework based on global ethical
standards and neuroscientific limitations.

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4. Can AI Be a Witness? Legal Challenges in Admitting Algorithmic Forensic Reports as
Evidence

AI is being used to analyse voice samples, facial matches, and crime scene reconstructions. But
Indian evidence law is unclear on how algorithmic reports are authenticated or cross-
examined.

This paper can raise concerns of algorithmic bias, explainability, and machine error, arguing
for a new evidentiary rulebook on machine-generated evidence, like a "digital witness doctrine."

5. Fair Trial in the Age of Deepfakes: Forensic and Legal Tools to Combat Synthetic
Evidence

Deepfakes pose a serious threat to justice, especially in sexual violence, extortion, and political
defamation cases. The BNS has criminalized deepfakes, but forensic tools and court readiness
lag behind.

Your paper can assess how courts can verify, admit, or reject deepfake-based evidence, and
what role forensic science must play. It can also suggest guidelines for digital authenticity tools,
pre-trial verification, and burden of proof.

6. Are Forensic Labs in India Constitutionally Compliant? Analysing the Need for
Independent Forensic Authorities

Forensic labs are often under police or Home Ministry control, raising serious questions about
neutrality and contamination of evidence.

Your paper can argue for an autonomous National Forensic Commission, with legislative
backing, to ensure independence, quality audits, and witness protection. You can also explore
international models like the UK’s Forensic Science Regulator.

7. Do We Need a Victim’s Right to Forensic Review? Bridging the Legal Vacuum in Post-
Forensic Grievance Redress

Victims currently have no legal right to contest faulty forensic reports or request retesting,
leaving them dependent on police decisions.

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This research can propose a legal right to second-opinion forensic analysis, especially in
sexual offences, acid attacks, and custodial deaths. You can draw parallels to the victim's role in
plea bargaining and appeal rights under the BNS.

8. Can Indian Courts Handle Digital Evidence? Evaluating Capacity, Competence, and
Courtroom Readiness

Digital evidence is admissible, but most Indian trial courts lack technical infrastructure, digital
literacy, and admissibility protocols.

This paper can assess judicial training needs, role of e-courts, and risks of digital forgery. It can
recommend standard operating procedures (SOPs) for authenticating metadata, timestamps, and
secure transfer of digital exhibits.

9. Between Confession and Coercion: Legal Safeguards Against Custodial ‘Scientific’ Abuse

BNS introduces provisions for scientific investigation, but doesn't prevent misuse under
custodial pressure, including forced narco-analysis, unrecorded statements, or manipulation of
body samples.

Your topic can explore procedural safeguards that are missing post-BNS, arguing for mandatory
videography, judicial oversight during collection, and appointment of neutral medical
observers.

10. Should India Introduce an Expert Witness Code? Bridging the Vacuum in Forensic
Testimony Standards

Expert witnesses (forensics, medical, tech) often turn hostile or give poor-quality testimony due
to lack of codified norms.

This paper can propose an Expert Witness Code of Conduct, mandatory registration, and court-
vetted accreditation, drawing from jurisdictions like the US Federal Rules of Evidence or
Australia’s expert codes.

11. BNS and False Forensics: Is There a Need for a Crime of ‘Evidence Fabrication by
Experts’?

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While fabricating evidence is punishable, there’s no specific offence for forensic manipulation
by expert witnesses or labs.

This research can explore how experts escape liability even in wrongful convictions. The paper
can propose amendments to the BNS creating criminal penalties and civil liability for
intentional forensic deception.

12. Reforming Medico-Legal Documentation: A Legal Review of Postmortem and Injury

Reports in Criminal Trials

Inaccurate medico-legal reports often derail criminal justice in custodial deaths, sexual assault, or
mob lynchings.

This topic explores how India lacks standardised medico-legal protocols. It can recommend
digitization, QR-coded autopsy logs, and legal guidelines for admissibility and cross-
examination of medical evidence.

13. Speed vs. Justice: Do Fast-Track Courts Undermine Scientific Investigation in Sexual
Violence Cases?

Fast-track courts often prioritize speedy verdicts, but may overlook the forensic complexity
needed in rape trials.

Your paper can argue that the rush to deliver justice undermines evidentiary depth,
particularly in rural or under-resourced settings. It can propose a “forensic preparedness index”
to assess court readiness before assigning fast-track status.

14. Can Crime Scene Videography Replace Witnesses? Legal Validity and Evidentiary
Admissibility in the BNS Era

Videography of crime scenes is now mandated in serious crimes, but the law is silent on how
such videos will be authenticated, challenged, or weighed against eyewitness testimony.

This research can analyze whether such footage can reduce trial delays or lead to overreliance on
digital evidence. It can propose rules on video chain-of-custody, editing permissions, and judicial
guidelines.

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15. Is India Ready for a National Crime Forensics Policy? Need for Standardisation,
Privacy, and Legal Clarity

There is no comprehensive forensic policy or uniform quality control in India, leading to

wrongful arrests, untested backlogs, and poor conviction rates.

Your research can propose a National Forensic Science Policy, balancing technology adoption
with legal privacy safeguards. It can also recommend fiscal reforms, regional lab expansion, and
legal infrastructure for certifying forensic protocols.

THEME 11: HUMAN RIGHTS & SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Is Privacy a Privilege? Reimagining the Right to Privacy for Marginalised Communities

in India

While the Supreme Court recognized privacy as a fundamental right, most frameworks focus on
the middle class, neglecting how surveillance, Aadhaar mandates, and digital tracking
disproportionately affect Dalits, Adivasis, and Trans persons.

This paper can argue for a “contextual privacy” framework, where privacy safeguards are
tailored to protect those structurally vulnerable. It can propose amendments to data laws to
consider caste, class, and gender intersections.

2. Queer in the Cloud: Protecting LGBTQ+ Identities in the Digital Surveillance Age

Despite progress on Section 377 and marriage equality debates, LGBTQ+ persons face constant
online harassment, data leaks, and algorithmic bias on dating apps or social media.

This paper explores the tech-enabled policing of queer existence, calling for stronger
cyberbullying laws, non-binary identity protections in UID systems, and privacy-by-design
mandates for platforms targeting vulnerable users.

3. Stateless but Not Voiceless: Legal Reforms to Protect Stateless Persons and Refugees in
India

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India lacks a formal refugee law, relying on executive discretion to handle stateless communities
like Rohingyas or Sri Lankan Tamils. This leads to legal limbo, detention, and denial of rights.

Your paper can propose a Refugee Protection Bill, inspired by human rights conventions but
tailored to India’s security concerns. You can also explore how constitutional values (like Article
21) can be extended to non-citizens.

4. Climate Change as a Human Rights Violation: A Constitutional Claim Waiting to

Happen

India has not yet recognized environmental degradation as a justiciable human rights violation,
even when it leads to health crises, displacement, and livelihood loss.

Your paper can propose a doctrine of climate justice, drawing from PIL jurisprudence and
international law, arguing that Article 21 includes a right to climate stability. It can push for
judicial or legislative recognition of “climate refugees” within India.

5. Prisoners of the Past: The Need for a Reparation Law for Victims of Historical Injustices

India has no legal mechanism to provide reparations to communities historically harmed by caste
violence, communal pogroms, or forced sterilizations.

This paper can explore the idea of restorative justice at a systemic level, recommending a
Reparation Commission with legal backing, modeled on South Africa or Canada, providing truth
recognition, symbolic and financial compensation, and legislative remedies.

6. Digital Tools, Disappearing Rights? How Facial Recognition Tech Violates the Right to
Protest

States like Delhi and UP have started using facial recognition tools during protests, with no
legal framework or consent mechanism.

Your paper can assess how this chills free speech and assembly under Article 19. It can argue
for a moratorium on such tech until there’s legislation with human rights safeguards like
redressal mechanisms and independent oversight.

7. Are Jails India’s Mental Health Institutions? Bridging the Legal Void in Carceral
Psychiatry

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India’s prisons house thousands of undertrial inmates with mental illnesses, but prison manuals
and the Mental Healthcare Act often conflict or overlap vaguely.

This topic can address the deinstitutionalization of care and criminalization of illness,
proposing a forensic psychiatric framework, dedicated court-liaison psychiatrists, and post-
release rehabilitation under a rights-based model.

8. Invisible Behind Bars: Reimagining Legal Aid for Women Prisoners in India

Women inmates, often accused in dowry, drug, or trafficking cases, face unique challenges
including child custody, sexual abuse, and lack of menstrual access, with no gender-sensitive
legal aid infrastructure.

This paper can propose a Women’s Legal Aid and Advocacy Cell, embedded within jails, with
paralegals trained in women’s rights, trauma, and reproductive justice. It can also recommend
state-level jail legal audit boards.

9. Is Poverty Criminalized in India? Examining Vagrancy, Beggary and Public Nuisance

Laws

Beggary laws criminalize homelessness and joblessness. Despite some reforms (like Bombay HC
striking down parts of the Begging Act), most states continue to penalize the poor.

This topic questions the structural criminalization of poverty and proposes replacing these
colonial laws with rehabilitation-centric policy frameworks, incorporating right to shelter,
skill-building, and social security rights.

10. Children of Incarceration: The Forgotten Stakeholders in India’s Prison Reforms

Children of incarcerated parents, especially undertrials, face stigma, economic hardship, and loss
of basic rights, yet there’s no specific legal policy addressing their needs.

This paper can propose a Child-Centric Prison Policy, ensuring education, guardianship
planning, and post-release counselling. It can also recommend amendments in JJ Act and prison
manuals to recognize their legal status.

11. Where Are the Dalits in Tech Policy? Addressing Caste Discrimination in the Digital
Economy

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Caste bias is re-emerging in the digital space, via AI hiring tools, tech firm cultures, and platform
hierarchies—yet India’s IT policy does not recognize caste as a digital barrier.

This topic explores the intersection of tech and caste injustice, recommending changes in IT
rules, corporate governance laws, and anti-discrimination codes in the digital gig economy.

12. Is Gender-Neutrality Enough? Reimagining Criminal Law Through the Lens of Gender
Justice, Not Symmetry

Gender-neutral laws for rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence are increasingly
proposed, but may erase the structural inequalities faced by women and queer persons.

This paper critiques formal equality vs. substantive justice, suggesting legal reforms that
balance neutrality with identity-conscious remedies like affirmative burdens, safe reporting
spaces, and trauma-informed procedures.

13. Right to Die with Dignity: Should Passive Euthanasia Be Made Accessible to
Marginalised Communities?

Though the Supreme Court legalized passive euthanasia, access remains a class-based privilege,
with no real framework for underprivileged patients or rural hospitals.

This paper can propose a Public Passive Euthanasia Protocol, with government panels,
palliative care mandates, and legal counselling available to economically weaker sections. It
addresses the legal gap between theory and accessibility.

14. Do Forest Dwellers Have a Right to the City? Examining Urban Evictions Through the
Lens of Scheduled Tribes’ Rights

Tribals migrating to cities face repeated slum demolitions and police violence, with no
recognition of their forest dweller status under urban planning laws.

This paper can propose integrating urban housing policy with the Forest Rights Act,
recognizing tribal urbanization as a form of displacement justice. It may also suggest special ST
housing reservations or no-eviction zones.

15. From Rescue to Rights: Rethinking the Legal Approach to Human Trafficking
Survivors in India

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Most anti-trafficking frameworks treat survivors as victims to be “rescued” and rehabilitated, but
often deny them agency, legal aid, or compensation.

This research can argue for a survivor-centric, rights-based anti-trafficking law, with
provisions for compensation, witness protection, economic reintegration, and post-trial advocacy,
moving beyond the shelter-home model.

THEME 12: TECHNOLOGY & DATA PROTECTION

1. From Consent to Coercion: Rethinking ‘Free Consent’ in Indian Digital Privacy Laws

The 2023 DPDP Act emphasizes user consent, but real-world digital behavior shows that consent
is often illusory, especially when people must accept intrusive terms to access basic services.

This paper can argue that India needs a contextual and layered consent model that goes beyond
checkboxes. Drawing from behavioral law, you can propose legal standards for “meaningful
consent” and advocate for defaults that protect the least powerful.

2. Deepfake Democracy: Legal Responses to AI-Generated Disinformation in India’s

Electoral System

Deepfake videos are being used in political campaigns to mislead voters and damage reputations,
yet Indian law has no specific offence or procedural safeguards against AI-generated lies.

This paper could recommend introducing a “Digital Authenticity Certificate” system for
political content and propose a legal framework balancing free speech vs. electoral integrity. It
can also critique the IT Rules' inability to tackle synthetic media.

3. Code is Law? The Urgent Need for Algorithmic Accountability Legislation in India

Algorithms now decide loan eligibility, hiring, bail, and even school admissions. But there's no
legal requirement to audit these systems or ensure they’re not biased or opaque.

This paper can argue for a Mandatory Algorithmic Transparency Bill, calling for independent
audits, explanations of automated decisions, and rights to challenge algorithmic bias, especially
in public-facing sectors like edtech and fintech.

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4. Are We Being Watched Too Much? Surveillance, Data Sovereignty, and the Limits of
State Power

India lacks a comprehensive surveillance law. Projects like CCTNS, CMS, and facial
recognition tools collect data without clear boundaries, oversight, or remedy mechanisms.

Your paper can propose a constitutional privacy test for surveillance systems, emphasizing
proportionality, necessity, and transparency. It can also explore comparative models (UK’s
oversight commissions, Germany’s surveillance ceilings).

5. The Ghost of Aadhaar: What Happens to Data After the Purpose is Served?

The Aadhaar project collects biometric data for identification, but post-purpose data retention
is vague and risks misuse, especially for profiling and exclusion.

This paper can propose strict “data retirement” laws, including auto-deletion protocols, user
rights to data erasure, and auditing mechanisms to ensure the state does not use old data for
unrelated future actions.

6. Your Face, Not Yours: The Legal Battle for Biometric Ownership in India

While biometric data is being used by banks, airports, and police, there is no clarity on who
owns it- the individual, the company, or the state?

This research can explore the concept of biometric property rights, recommending legislative
recognition that individuals own their facial, iris, and fingerprint data, along with redressal
mechanisms for misuse or unauthorized storage.

7. Data Colonialism in the Digital Economy: Should India Push Back Against Big Tech
Data Extractivism?

Global tech giants extract Indian users’ data, monetize it abroad, and offer little value or control
in return. This leads to digital neo-colonialism, with data flowing out but rights and revenues
staying abroad.

This topic can argue for a “Digital Sovereignty Framework”, advocating data localization,
mandatory data-sharing with Indian startups, and taxation of foreign tech revenues generated
through Indian user bases.

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8. Children’s Right to Be Forgotten: A Missing Chapter in Indian Data Protection Law

The DPDP Act 2023 has no clear guidelines on how minors can remove embarrassing or
outdated digital traces. In the age of permanent digital footprints, this absence is critical.

This paper can recommend a “Child Digital Privacy Charter”, arguing that children deserve
stronger digital rights including automated erasure rights, age-based retention limits, and
parental transparency tools.

9. Can WhatsApp Be Prosecuted? Exploring Platform Accountability Under Indian IT

Laws

Messaging apps with end-to-end encryption have become breeding grounds for fake news, illegal
trade, and hate speech. Yet platform liability is still evolving under Indian law.

This paper can examine whether intermediary guidelines under IT Rules 2021 go far enough, and
propose a tiered liability framework, where platforms that monetize content (via AI moderation
or targeting) bear greater accountability.

10. Who Owns the Data in HealthTech? The Legal Vacuum Around Medical AI in India

Startups now use health records to build diagnostic tools, but India’s health data protection law
(DISHA) remains in limbo, and the DPDP Act doesn't cover sensitive clinical inference data
well.

This topic proposes a “Medical Data Rights Act”, defining ownership, consent, portability, and
monetization of patient data, ensuring hospitals, startups, and patients understand their legal
boundaries.

11. Right to Disconnect in India: Is Digital Overwork a New Labour Rights Violation?

Employees today suffer digital burnout, expected to be available 24x7 due to emails, WhatsApp
work groups, and virtual surveillance, even outside work hours.

Your paper can explore how labour law reform must acknowledge digital overwork as a rights
issue. Propose a “Right to Disconnect” statute similar to France, and push for employer
obligations on digital availability, rest hours, and burnout audits.

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12. When Your Data Crosses Borders: Should India Reconsider Its Stance on Cross-Border
Data Transfers?

The 2023 DPDP Act has relaxed data localization, but critics fear this leaves Indian user data
vulnerable in foreign jurisdictions, especially where reciprocal privacy rights don’t exist.

This paper can examine whether India needs a differentiated cross-border data transfer
framework, based on risk assessments, adequacy tests, and local redress options, drawing from
EU's GDPR and China’s PIPL.

13. Digital Inheritance: What Happens to Your Data After You Die?

Indian law is silent on what happens to your social media accounts, cloud storage, crypto assets,
or AI avatars after death.

This paper can propose a Digital Legacy Act, giving users legal control over their posthumous
data, whether they want it deleted, preserved, transferred, or memorialized, much like a digital
will.

14. AI in Governance: The Missing Accountability Loop in Automated Welfare Decisions

States are using AI to automate ration distribution, welfare eligibility, or land mapping, but
without explanation rights, appeal mechanisms, or human override options.

This paper critiques the “automate first, fix later” model and proposes a Welfare AI
Accountability Framework with built-in rights to explanation, appeal, and redress, especially
for rural and tribal beneficiaries.

15. Can We Trust Government Apps? The Legal Void Around Public Sector Apps and Dark
Patterns

Government-run apps like Aarogya Setu or DigiLocker often collect excess data, have vague
terms, or nudge users into options that benefit the state, without regulation.

This topic can explore the concept of "dark patterns" in public digital infrastructure, pushing
for a regulatory code mandating user-centered design, clear opt-outs, and third-party audits for
all public apps.

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 THEME 13: FINANCE & TAXATION LAWS

1. The Untaxed Metaverse: Should India Create a Digital Goods Tax Code for Virtual
Assets?

Virtual real estate, NFTs, and in-game currencies are being traded across platforms, but they
don’t fit into India’s current tax architecture. There's no clarity on classification, valuation, or
jurisdiction.

This paper can advocate for a Digital Goods Tax Framework, proposing legal definitions, fair
valuation methods, and how India can avoid double taxation or tax arbitrage as the metaverse
economy expands.

2. Crypto-Compliance Conundrum: Are India's TDS and Tax Regimes Choking Web3
Innovation?

While India introduced TDS on crypto transactions and 30% taxation on gains, startups argue
it’s pushing the ecosystem offshore, deterring genuine innovation.

You can examine if tax-first regulation is the right strategy for emerging tech. The paper can
propose a sandboxed tax relief system for early-stage crypto firms and explore better models
(e.g., UK’s asset-based taxation).

3. The Carbon Tax Dilemma: Is India Ready to Shift from Subsidies to Polluter Pays?

India currently relies more on subsidies and soft incentives for climate action, but a carbon tax
could realign industrial behavior towards sustainability, if implemented equitably.

This paper can explore the feasibility of a sector-wise carbon pricing policy, ensuring it doesn’t
disproportionately impact MSMEs or energy-poor households. It can propose a “Green
Dividend” to redistribute tax revenues to vulnerable groups.

4. Do We Need a Fintech Tax Code? Legal Frameworks for Income, Capital Gains, and
Platform Fees

With the explosion of investment apps, lending platforms, and digital gold, tax treatment of
fintech incomes (referral commissions, platform gains, algorithmic trading) remains grey.

53
This paper can propose a dedicated fintech taxation code clarifying obligations for both users
and platforms, and bridging the regulatory gaps between SEBI, RBI, and the Income Tax Act.

5. Digital PE and the Ghost of Equalization Levy: Has India’s Digital Tax Strategy Failed?

India’s Equalization Levy aimed to tax foreign digital companies profiting from Indian users.
However, global backlash, WTO pressure, and lack of uniformity now put this model in
question.

This paper can critically analyze whether Digital Permanent Establishment (PE) is a better
long-term approach, and how India should align with OECD Pillar One/Two frameworks while
retaining digital tax sovereignty.

6. Taxing Gig Work in India: Legal Imbalance Between Flexibility and Fiscal
Responsibility

Gig workers (Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company) often fall outside traditional tax and welfare
nets, yet companies benefit from classifying them as “independent contractors.”

This paper can argue for a Unified Gig Taxation Framework, balancing portable benefits,
TDS simplification, and income stability tools while preserving worker flexibility.

7. Is GST Crippling Non-Profit Finance? A Legal Analysis of GST Applicability on

Charitable and Research Institutions

Many charitable trusts, research centers, and educational NGOs face confusion over GST on
consulting, donations, or foreign grants.

This paper can explore how GST compliance burdens are eroding public good initiatives, and
propose a revised exemption framework with clear criteria and simpler processes for tax-
neutral research funding.

8. Tax Havens and Indian MNCs: Should India Adopt a Controlled Foreign Corporation
(CFC) Rule?

Despite GAAR and other anti-avoidance rules, Indian MNCs still use offshore subsidiaries for
tax base erosion. India lacks a CFC regime like in the US or EU.

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This paper can propose how India can build a CFC framework, preventing profit-shifting while
avoiding overregulation of genuine overseas investments. It can include carve-outs for legitimate
business purposes.

9. Taxing the Robots: Should India Consider an Automation Tax to Counter AI-Induced
Job Losses?

As automation grows, companies reduce headcount but pay no equivalent contribution to

social security, unlike when they had human workers.

This paper can argue for a “robot tax” or automation levy, funnelling that revenue into
retraining programs or a universal social protection fund. It can examine moral hazards,
enforceability, and international parallels.

10. Black Money 2.0: Legal Loopholes in Cross-Border Crypto Laundering and India's
Enforcement Gaps

Despite the Black Money Act and PMLA, enforcement against crypto-based money laundering
remains fragmented and outdated.

This paper can identify the dark corners of cross-border laundering using stablecoins and
DeFi platforms, and propose a regulatory system integrating blockchain forensics, cross-
jurisdiction treaties, and EoI mechanisms.

11. Can AI Help Prevent Tax Evasion? Legal Implications of Deploying Predictive Analytics
by Indian Tax Authorities

Countries like Brazil and Estonia use AI to detect fraud patterns. India’s data-rich but under-
analyzed tax ecosystem is ripe for similar reforms.

This paper can explore the constitutional and ethical dimensions of tax authorities using AI,
ensuring transparency, non-discrimination, and auditability. It can propose pilot programs and
guardrails.

12. Are Tax Disputes Killing Investor Confidence? Rethinking India's Advance Rulings
System

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Foreign investors fear lengthy, inconsistent tax disputes in India, despite the existence of the
AAR and MAP systems.

This paper can critique the institutional weaknesses in the AAR mechanism post-2021 reforms,
and propose a time-bound, expert-led tax certainty tribunal to boost FDI without
compromising tax justice.

13. Do HNIs Get a Free Pass? The Missing Wealth Tax Debate in India’s Post-Pandemic
Recovery

In a country with stark inequality, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) pay proportionately less
compared to their wealth base.

This paper can revisit the case for a graded wealth tax, while addressing common concerns of
capital flight, valuation complexity, and administrative feasibility. It can recommend global
learnings adapted for Indian context.

14. Taxing Attention: Should India Consider a Digital Attention Economy Tax on Ad-Based
Platforms?

Platforms like YouTube, Meta, and X earn massive ad revenues by monetizing Indian users’
time, data, and attention, but most pay limited taxes in India.

This paper can propose an “attention tax” or data usage levy for large ad-tech firms, arguing
that the user’s time and data have economic value and must be compensated at a systemic level.

15. The Feminist Tax Lens: How Gender Biases Get Reinforced in India’s Tax Laws and
Relief Structures

India’s tax codes are largely gender-neutral on paper but ignore structural inequities like
caregiving burdens, income gaps, and asset ownership issues that affect women.

This topic can analyze where tax incentives (e.g. for HUFs, capital gains, retirement funds) fail
to benefit women equally, and propose a gender-sensitive tax policy reform, potentially linking
relief to unpaid care work or asset redistribution.

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 THEME 14: MARITIME & SPACE LAW

1. Deep Sea Mining and the Legal Vacuum in India’s Marine Resource Strategy

India has exploration contracts with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) but lacks a
domestic legal regime for deep-sea mining, environmental impact standards, or profit-sharing
models.

This paper can explore whether India needs a Comprehensive Marine Mining Act, learning
from China and Norway. It can also question how India will reconcile seabed commercialization
with the Common Heritage of Mankind principle under UNCLOS.

2. Regulating Private Space Operators in India: Is IN-SPACe Enough?

With the rise of private space startups (like Skyroot, Agnikul), India has opened its doors to
commercialization. But IN-SPACe is still a policy body, not a full-fledged regulatory or
licensing authority.

The paper can argue for a Space Activities Act 2.0, ensuring licensing clarity, liability insurance,
export controls, and dispute resolution, areas India currently regulates only in fragments.

3. Piracy in the Indian Ocean: Do India’s Anti-Maritime Piracy Laws Address Emerging
Threats?

While India recently enacted the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, newer threats like cyber-hijacking
of vessels, gray zone warfare, and floating terrorist bases are still unaddressed.

This paper can examine if existing laws are equipped to handle modern piracy tactics, and
propose amendments integrating tech-based surveillance, jurisdictional clarity in EEZs, and
inter-agency maritime coordination.

4. Who Owns the Moon’s Minerals? Legal Gaps in India’s Lunar Ambitions Post-
Chandrayaan-3

With Chandrayaan-3, India’s interest in lunar mining is real, but there's no clear legal basis for
resource extraction under the Outer Space Treaty, which bans “national appropriation.”

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This paper can propose a multilateral Lunar Mining Agreement or explore how India can push
for amendments in the Moon Agreement to allow “benefit-sharing without ownership.” It’s a
perfect blend of policy innovation and space ethics.

5. Regulating Maritime Drones: Should India Create a New Legal Framework for
Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)?

Maritime drones are increasingly used for coastal surveillance, cargo delivery, and naval
warfare, but India has no legal or regulatory framework for them.

This paper can propose a USV-specific code, outlining rules on registration, collision avoidance,
radio frequencies, and security clearances. It fills a major vacuum in India’s drone policy, which
is land-centric.

6. Flag of Convenience Loopholes: Can India Tackle Regulatory Arbitrage in Ship

Registration?

Many shipping companies use Flags of Convenience (FOC) to avoid taxes and labor laws by
registering ships in lenient jurisdictions.

This paper can explore how FOC undermines maritime safety, seafarer rights, and tax
compliance, and propose whether India should adopt ‘beneficial ownership disclosure’ laws or
blacklist non-compliant FOC nations under bilateral trade.

7. Environmental Liability in Space: Does India Need a Domestic Law for Space Debris
Management?

Space debris is increasing at an alarming rate. While international liability exists under the Outer
Space Liability Convention, India has no domestic framework to assign or enforce clean-up
obligations.

This paper can recommend a National Space Debris Liability Act, with obligations for private
and public launchers, insurance mandates, and clean-up protocols, especially critical as India
opens to private launches.

8. Blue Economy and Tribal Rights: Legal Conflicts in Coastal Development Projects

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India’s blue economy push often overlaps with traditional coastal communities’ fishing and land
rights, yet these communities are rarely consulted in EIA processes.

This topic can examine how existing laws (like CRZ Notification) fail to account for
customary marine rights, and propose a Tribal and Coastal Livelihood Protection Code
within the Blue Economy framework.

9. Private Maritime Security Companies: Legalising the Grey Zones of Floating Armed
Personnel

Many merchant ships now employ private armed guards due to piracy threats, but India
doesn’t have a clear law regulating Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs).

This paper can argue for a PMSC Regulation Bill, defining permissible arms, licensing,
reporting duties, and liability frameworks, balancing security needs with international human
rights law.

10. Space Traffic Management: Should India Push for a Global Code of Conduct?

Space congestion is rising with Starlink, OneWeb, and CubeSat launches. Yet there is no
international binding law on space traffic management.

This paper can propose how India, as a spacefaring nation and Global South leader, can draft
and champion a Global Code on Space Traffic Governance, promoting sustainability, anti-
collision norms, and satellite deorbit obligations.

11. Climate Refugees and Sinking Islands: Can India Use Maritime Law to Secure Stateless
Populations?

As sea levels rise, entire nations like Tuvalu and Kiribati face submergence. There is no legal
status for “climate refugees” under existing maritime or refugee law.

This topic can argue for a new Maritime Climate Displacement Protocol, with India taking
leadership to define statehood, citizenship, and maritime boundaries post-submergence.

12. Cybersecurity of Maritime Infrastructure: Legal Frameworks for Underwater Cable

and Port Protection

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India relies heavily on underwater internet cables, but lacks specific legislation for their
protection against sabotage or cyberattacks.

This paper can explore whether India needs a Critical Maritime Infrastructure Protection Act,
including private-public coordination for ports, cables, satellites, and navigation systems.

13. Outer Space & Intellectual Property: Can India Craft a Patent Framework for Space-
Based Inventions?

Space-based R&D (e.g., in zero gravity labs) will lead to new inventions, but territorial patent
laws don’t account for ownership or jurisdiction in space.

This paper can propose how India can lead in drafting a Model Space IP Framework,
identifying when inventions in orbit can be claimed, and by whom, blending IPR, international
law, and space innovation.

14. Geopolitics in the Indian Ocean: Should India Propose a Regional Maritime Dispute
Settlement Body?

With growing friction among littoral states, India could lead in creating a regional maritime
arbitration body for the Indian Ocean.

This paper can explore legal mechanisms under UNCLOS and SAARC/IORA frameworks to
reduce naval standoffs, EEZ clashes, and fishing disputes.

15. Privatisation of Space and the Future of Liability: Who Pays for Damage from Indian
Private Launch Failures?

With private launches increasing, the question arises: Who bears liability for accidents that
harm people, property, or satellites?

This paper can explore gaps in India’s liability assignment mechanism, advocate for
mandatory insurance pools, and push for amendments to existing policies to clarify
accountability in a privatized space race.

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 THEME 15: HEALTH, PHARMA & BIOETHICS LAW

1. Should India Regulate AI Diagnosticians? The Missing Legal Framework for Clinical
Decision Algorithms

As AI-based diagnostic tools become more common in hospitals and apps (e.g., Dr. Diagnoz,
JIVA AI), there is no law assigning liability for incorrect diagnosis, bias, or AI hallucinations.
This paper can highlight how Section 304A IPC or Consumer Protection Act doesn't cover AI-
specific harms and propose a new “Clinical Algorithm Accountability Framework” to
regulate, audit, and license AI tools in health care.

2. Legalising Genomic Privacy: A Case for a Human Genetic Data Protection Code in India

Genetic testing startups are booming (e.g., MapMyGenome, 23andMe-like ventures), but there’s
no specific Indian law regulating how your DNA data is stored, shared, or monetized.
This paper can explore ethical dilemmas of informed consent, eugenics risks, and global
models like the EU’s Genetic Data Directive, calling for a standalone Indian law under the
Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023.

3. Mental Health in the Age of Apps: Are India’s Tele-Therapy Platforms Legally
Accountable?

Apps like Wysa, MindPeers, and even WhatsApp therapy services are now the norm, but India’s
Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 doesn’t cover tele-therapy protocols, licensing, or malpractice
liability.
This paper can argue for an amendment to MHCA or a separate Digital Mental Health
Guidelines Act, requiring quality standards, therapist verification, data protection, and
emergency protocol systems.

4. Who Owns Human Tissue? Addressing the Legal Vacuum in Biobank Governance in
India

India is investing in national bio-repositories for disease research, but lacks laws governing
ownership, withdrawal, posthumous use, or commercial benefit-sharing from stored human
tissues.
This paper can explore global best practices (e.g., Finland, UK Biobank) and argue for a

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Biobank Law based on informed consent, public interest use, and benefit-sharing for
indigenous and rural donors.

5. Do We Need a National Policy on AI in Surgery? Ethical and Legal Challenges in

Robotic Interventions

Robotic surgeries (like Da Vinci systems) are rising, but there’s no law outlining who is liable
when AI-powered robotic arms cause injury, or whether patient consent is truly informed.
This paper can call for a Medical Robotics Regulation Act, defining standards for AI use in the
operating room, human override authority, and mandatory reporting of robotic failures.

6. Digital Health Ecosystem and Marginalised Communities: Do NDHM Policies Widen the
Access Gap?

The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) aims to digitize all health records, but
tribal/rural patients often lack smartphones, digital literacy, or language access.
This paper can critique Digital Health IDs and centralised registries for increasing systemic
exclusion and propose equity-by-design safeguards, offline access alternatives, and community
health integration.

7. Should India Criminalise Non-Disclosure of Clinical Trial Failures? A Legal Gap in Drug
Regulation

India’s clinical trial landscape is booming, but trial sponsors often hide failures, adverse
reactions, or abandon reports, and there is no criminal penalty for such concealment.
This paper can push for an amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act creating criminal
liability for unethical trial concealment and propose whistleblower protection for trial
volunteers.

8. Cross-Border Telemedicine and the Jurisdictional Crisis in Medical Malpractice

An Indian doctor treats a patient in Dubai via Practo. The treatment goes wrong. Which court
has jurisdiction? Which law applies?
This paper can explore jurisdictional loopholes in transnational telemedicine, argue for a
bilateral health-tech treaty model, and propose new digital consent frameworks for
international consultations.

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9. Legalising End-of-Life Autonomy: The Case for a Living Will Registry Law in India

The Supreme Court upheld passive euthanasia in Common Cause v. Union of India, but living
wills remain difficult to register and enforce in practice.
This paper can recommend a centralized Living Will Registry, with digital access, hospital
nodal officers, and training for doctors, ensuring autonomy isn't lost in procedural chaos.

10. Healthcare Algorithms and Dalit Lives: Is India's Digital Health Stack Reproducing
Caste Discrimination?

If caste is used (directly or indirectly) in health profiling or access algorithms, the consequences
can be deadly. Yet, algorithmic discrimination in health tools remains unregulated.
This paper can call for social bias audits of digital health platforms, making caste equity a
legal requirement under digital health laws.

11. Mobile Clinics and Legal Personhood: Should We Recognize Health-Tech Buses as
Public Health Units in Law?

Mobile health buses in remote areas offer diagnostics, maternal care, and even minor surgeries.
But legally, they’re neither hospitals nor clinics, hence not protected or governed like fixed
institutions.
This paper can argue for legal recognition of mobile clinics, entitling them to infrastructure
funds, licensing, and legal protections like other public health units.

12. Legal Gaps in Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing in India: Between Lifestyle and
Medical Advice

Companies now offer genetic insights on obesity, skin, diet, stress, but blur lines between
wellness and medicine, risking misdiagnosis.
This paper can propose a licensing regime for DTC genetic testing, with informed consent,
disclaimers, and liability norms, drawing lines between cosmetic claims and clinical advice.

13. Should India Regulate Biohacking? Legal and Ethical Risks of DIY Human
Enhancement

Biohackers are using chips, implants, nootropics and body modifications without medical
supervision. India lacks any laws on DIY human enhancement.

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This paper can push for a Biohacking Regulation Bill, balancing personal freedom with public
health concerns, especially for unregulated biotech devices.

14. Pharma Branding and Patient Confusion: Why India Needs a Law on Prescription
Clarity

Doctors often prescribe branded generics, leading to price hikes and confusion over active
ingredients. There is no legal requirement to mention INN (International Non-proprietary
Names).
This paper can argue for a law mandating INN-first prescription practices, penalizing pharma-
incentivized brand pushing, and simplifying drug substitution for rural patients.

15. Access to Abortion Pills via E-Pharmacies: A Legal Grey Zone Post-MTP Amendment

Though the MTP Act was liberalized, ordering abortion pills online remains unregulated, with
risks of misuse, black marketing, or unsafe self-administration.
This paper can propose an E-MTP Regulation Framework, outlining e-pharmacy verification,
gestational checks, remote doctor consultation protocols, and post-use care guidelines.

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