The Centre for Business and Human Right (CBHR) launched the India’s first Three Months Certificate Course on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) on 29th August 2020. The inaugural session of the RBC was hosted online with participation of about 20 people from mid to senior level. The session was opened by Diksha Mishra, Senior Research Associate, CBHR, Dr. Garima Dadhich, Associate Professor & Head, CBHR, and Geetanjali Master, Partnerships Specialist, UNICEF with keynote interventions by Dr. Sameer Sharma, DG & CEO, IICA, Shri. Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India, and Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, Former FICCI President. The course has been specially designed and curated for business representatives, sustainability practitioners, company secretaries, and CSR professionals.

During the course of three months, the participants will be provided the technical know-how in integrating the responsible business practices in their business operations and further supporting them in the uptake of voluntary guidelines and reporting frameworks.

IICA in advancing and supporting E2E advisory with various CSR initiatives over the past few years have made use of the latest knowledge systems, practices and methodologies in informing project and policy decisions within and beyond CSR landscape. SoBE in capturing it’s learning and experiences from these projects undertook a strategic resource building exercise- with the preparation of IICA DIY Manual for various Need Assessment/Baseline, Real-Time Monitoring, Social Impact Evaluations and Social Returns on Investments (SROI) studies.

These manuals have been prepared with a focus on ‘Do It Yourself’ mode capturing the experiences, processes, and key methodological information of the multiple studies undertaken in one compiled version as a guiding institutional document for informing research project operations. These manuals will serve as a pathway and help in supporting strategic decision making for the upcoming projects.

Mr. Mahesh Uttamchandani- Practice Manager, World Bank Group, Ms. Antonia Menezes- Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Group and Mr. Sagar Shankar- Consultant, IFC - International Finance Corporation delivered an expert lecture on "World Bank Insolvency Regime Ranking Parameters" on August 28, 2020. The students of GIP batch 2020 interacted with them and got useful insights on the topic.

The Forum of Indian Regulators(FOIR) and the School of Competition Law & Market Regulation, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) in collaboration with the Bank of Mauritius and the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius organized a Virtual conference on "Digital Assets Regulation in India: Learnings from the Mauritius Model Framework." on 27th August, 2020. The main agenda for the conference was to discuss the challenges faced in regulation of digital assets in Mauritius and across the globe and to find efficient solutions and need for a digital assets regulation framework in India.

The panelists for the conference included dignitaries such as Lord Meghnad Desai (Member-British House of Lords & Emeritus Professor of Economics, London School of Economics), Ms. Hemlata Sadhna Sewraj-Gopal (Second Deputy Governor Bank of Mauritius) and Ms. Loretta Joseph (Fintech Advisor, Financial Services Commission, Mauritius). Mr. Sanoj Kumar Jha (Secretary, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and Executive Secretary, Forum of Indian Regulators) inaugurated the conference with his opening remarks.

The discussion began with a lead talk from Ms. Loretta Joseph, who explained how Mauritius came up with the Digital Assets Regulation and related concepts. In the panel discussion Lord Desai explained to the participants why regulatory bodies and central banks shouldn’t be so concerned or scared of this new asset class. Whereas Ms. Hemlata Gopal explained the emerging technology innovations at the BoM including the Pilot Central Bank digital currencies (CBDC) project.

The conference was successfully convened and moderated by Dr. Abha Yadav, Associate Professor, School of Competition Law and Market Regulation and Director Forum of Indian Regulators Centre, IICA. The participants of the conference included the chairpersons, members and regulatory officials from the financial sector and FOIR member organizations.

The GIP Students had an insightful session on "Funding" that we had today by Sh. Saket Misra. He spoke about the various sources of funds available to businesses during different phases of their life cycles. Sir also shed light on how important it is for companies to have a sustainable revenue-generating model that can drive growth.

The Centre for Insolvency and Bankruptcy, IICA organised an E- Conference on Interface between IBC & GST on August 22, 2020 with the senior industry professionals. The main objective of the conference was to understand the interplay between GST and IBC and other aspects triggering indirect tax implications.

The students of GIP had the privilege of having an interesting session with Sh. Satish Kumar Gupta - Insolvency Resolution Professional on August 20, 2020. Sh. Gupta gave insights on SARFAESI and its interplay with IBC and also spoke about the role played by Asset Reconstruction Companies under IBC.

Centre for MSME, IICA successfully organized a Webinar on "Restoring and Regenerating MSMEs & Make in India (Leading through COVID – 19 crisis and Beyond) on 12th August, 2020 in collaboration with eGrowth (www.egrowth.org) for CEO Talks Episode 141. C.E.O. Talks are interactive sessions With Entrepreneurs, By Entrepreneurs and For Entrepreneurs. eGrowth is an integrated, dynamic platform for Entrepreneurs, Businesses and Startups.

The Webinar session was started with the introductory remarks by *The Host - Mr. R K Mishra, CEO of SAAM Corp Advisors and specializes in Government Affairs as a service. He briefed participants about the credentials of Speaker – Mr. Rajesh Batra.

• A presentation was made by Mr. Rajesh Batra, Head Centre for MSME, IICA and in his presentation he stressed on the importance of start-ups and MSMEs in the country as the harbingers of hope during this unprecedented crisis. Webinar presentation oriented the participants about the contribution of MSME sector for Indian Economy, The presentation given by him covered the following aspects
• Key Challenges for Micro, Small & Medium sized Enterprises in Changed Economic Climate,
• Recent Announcements in light of Covid – 19 and various initiatives with a vision of making India a self-reliant nation such as ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
• Ease of Doing Business in India for growth of MSME’s,
• Strategy required to recover from lost ground in changed economic climate

The C.E.O. Talks interactive session was attended and applauded by the group of 24 CEOs, Top Management of various companies and President of leading Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

School of Finance, IICA organised Master Class with experts from International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) on “International Valuation Standards and Global Experience”. Mr Nick Talbot, CEO IVSC and Mr Alexander Aronsohn, Director IVSC joined participants of IICA Valuation Certificate Program (IVCP) on August 11, 2020 for interaction. During the session, participants were briefed about International Valuation Standards (IVS) and their implications in improving the transparency and stability of financial markets. The session also covered how to harmonise and effectively regulate valuation standards with consistency to contribute the growth of stronger economies leading to improved confidence for investors and users of valuation services.