Indian Journal of Law and Human Behavior

COVID-19 has adversely impacted the overall investment sector. While businesses across all sectors can sense the repercussions of COVID-19, start-ups have particularly been one of the most vulnerable, and in fact, are facing various formidable challenges both, from a business as well as from an operations' perspective. Most start-ups have witnessed a decline in supply and or demand, except for those start-ups that are engaged in the supply and, or delivery of 'essential services', educational technology, gaming or streaming services. Notwithstanding the above, glitches in the supply chain network have either way presented challenges for all start-ups. However, the start-up ecosystem has been continuously striving to adapt to the present situation as flexibly as possible, by focusing on the need to innovate and diversify their business techniques and its operations. Startup India is a Government of India flagship initiative to build startups and nurture innovation. Through this initiative, the Government plans to empower startup ventures to boost entrepreneurship, economic growth and employment across India. India’s startup eco-system has become a talking point for the entire world. With hundreds of innovative youngsters choosing to pursue the path of entrepreneurship instead of joining the multinational corporations and government ventures, the business world has witnessed an explosion of ground-breaking startups providing solutions to the real problems at a mass level in the past years. In the past couple of years, the start-up ecosystem in India has emerged as a reckoning force, largely attributable to the efforts of the stakeholders, and the initiatives implemented by the government to facilitate the growth of the start-ups. Investments in start-ups have dramatically surged to $14.5 billion in 2019 from the previously $550 million in 2010. The paper discusses few issues and challenges that an Indian startup has to face and the opportunities that the country can provide in the current eco-system.

Drug abuse is prevalent in many sports and at all levels of competition. A sportsman may resort to drug for varying reasons like enhancing performance, to deal with stressful events like injuries, physical pain and to overcome the trauma of retirement. Performance enhancing drugs have its existence since ancient times and have continued to evolve with the improvement and advancements in the drug testing method and scientific researches. Many sports organizations have come to the banning of the intake of performance enhancement drugs. Doping also has innumerable side effects. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) maysanction punishment ranging from a reprimand to a life time ban. The duration of ban mayvary on a number of factors like anti-doping violation, circumstances, the substance used andthe repetition of the violation. The current research focuses on the history of doping, theeffects and side effects of different drugs used for doping, and to examine the laws pertaining to doping and drug abuse by sports professionals.

The denial of equal opportunities to a part of population in participating in the political, economic and social functioning of the society imposed by majority of society is termed as ‘social exclusion’. In case of India, caste is an important determinant of social exclusion. Caste for an individual is fixed since birth and serves as a vehicle of complex, discriminatory and exclusionary processes. It is argued that all men are born equal but the social reality is that not all men are born equal. Caste along with its practices continues to restrict the means and resources for upward mobility. This paper attempts to study the social exclusion in India on the basis of caste and the strategies for promoting a more inclusive society. Literacy rates among Dalits in India are only about 24 percent. Even though there are constitutional safeguards for SCs and STs these groups face systematic social exclusion in the form of denial to opportunities like access to land, education and employment. Social integration or inclusion is seen as a universal human right. It aims to provide equal opportunities irrespective of caste, gender and disability. Caste superiority norms among the administrative service delivery system is one of the biggest challenges towards inclusion of Dalits. For a more inclusive society, institutional reforms are required. Strategies like social auditing, sensitization, conscientization and mobilization, equitable quality education and use of RTI act can be effective. Formation of commissions like Employment Opportunity Commission to ensure the representation of excluded group can also prove to be helpful. Thus, for the overall development of the nation and creation of an inclusive society, it is important to eradicate social exclusion on the basis of caste. This paper aims to include the factors responsible for caste based social exclusion in India, its impact on the human and societal development and what should be the strategies to promote social inclusion.