The Big ‘I’ on the Prize: India’s Year of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

India’s growth story was one of the positive takeaways in the year 2024. Part of this growth in India is from its vibrant startup ecosystem, now the world’s third-largest, with over 157,066 recognized startups driving innovation, job creation, and economic expansion.¹ Notably, over 73,000 of these startups are led by at least one-woman director, highlighting how diversity in leadership provides impetus to economic opportunities.²  

Building on the insights from last year’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) review (here), this edition delves deeper into both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we advance these principles.  

We note that, by recognizing the right of queer partners to access joint financial services, it not only ensures economic inclusion, but also strengthens the movement for equality the foundation for which was laid down in the earlier progressive rulings, like the decriminalization of Section 377 in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India⁶, and signals a growing recognition of LGBTQIA+ rights within the judiciary.  

The Madras High Court recently, in December 2024 sanctioned the creation of three gender-neutral toilets on its campus, following a request from advocate and trans woman R. Kanmani, who wrote to the Chief Justice in November 2023, highlighting the necessity of such facilities alongside the existing ones. Today, India urgently needs similar initiatives across the country to foster a more inclusive environment for all genders.⁷ 

In Mrinal Barik v. State of West Bengal and Ors. on 14 June 2024, the Calcutta writ court dealt with the plea that the recruitment process for teacher eligibility test (TET) was discriminatory and did not accommodate transgender persons in the TET recruitment process. This is an important case for securing the right to equal opportunities for transgender persons and pursuant to this case, the state of West Bengal has been mandated to provide 1% reservation in all public employment opportunities for transgender persons. 

In Rakshika Raj v. State of Tamil Nadu⁸ on 08 April 2024, it was observed that transgender identity, like man or woman, is a recognized gender identity. It was held that denying horizontal reservations to transgender persons, while granting it to women, violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. As a socially and educationally backward community, transgender persons face discrimination based on gender identity. Therefore, they are equally entitled to horizontal reservations for equitable representation. 

Further, in Jane Kaushik v. Union of India on 10 December 2024, the Supreme Court has reserved its judgement in relation to termination of employment at two different schools in Gujrat and Uttar Pradesh due to gender identity of being transgender. This is the development which we await in 2025.   

These judgements mark an important evolution in the legal recognition of transgender identity and reinforcement of their rights, emphasising heavily on the importance of the judiciary’s role in addressing meaningful inclusion. Furthering this movement, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, on 14 February 2024, issued the ‘Equal Opportunities Policy for Transgender Persons’ with an objective to create an atmosphere that ensures the fair treatment of transgender individuals and creation of an enabling work environment in recruitment and hiring, access to facilities, promotion of transgender-friendly policies amongst others.⁹  

Despite significant progress, challenges remain. Data from the top 30 entities listed on the BSE, based on market capitalization for the financial year ending in 2023, reveals that 77.31% of the total workforce identifies as male, 22.62% as female, and 0.59% as other genders. Furthermore, women hold just 15.28% of positions on boards of directors and in key management roles. This gender imbalance not only limits diversity of thought and innovation but also hinders organizations from fully tapping into the diverse talent pool, affecting long-term growth and decision-making effectiveness.¹⁰ 

Equity: Empowering Everyone 

In a significant stride towards workplace equality and employee welfare, 2024 has witnessed several noteworthy developments in India’s corporate landscape. The government’s launch of the ‘SHe-Box’ portal¹¹ marks an important milestone in strengthening the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act). This digital platform serves as a centralized repository for filing and monitoring complaints under the POSH Act, streamlining the grievance redressal process. This marks as a positive step towards integration of digitization for grievance redressal for women.

Complementing this push for workplace equality, the judiciary has reinforced its commitment by pronouncement of its order in Union of India v. Ex Lt. Selina John on 14 February 2024 wherein it was held that firing women employees because they get married is gender discrimination and violates human dignity, right to non-discrimination and fair treatment. Further, it was re-iterated that laws based on gender discriminatory practices are unconstitutional. 

The Supreme Court, in Jagoo v. Union of India, on 20 December 2024 emphasized that government institutions must uphold the highest standards of fairness and equity in employment practices. It held that the misuse of temporary contracts by public sector entities is impermissible, as it undermines the principles of justice and job security enshrined in constitutional values and that governmental institutions should not mirror gig economy trends by misusing temporary employment contracts.  

In 2024, there was focus on the ‘principle of substantive equality’ and acknowledging that identical treatment of individual may not yield true equality due to historical disadvantages and social inequality.¹²  In State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh, Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of sub-classification in the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories and held “Inter-se backwardness within the class is a roadblock to achieving substantive equality. Sub-classification is one of the means to achieve substantive equality.” 

Further, as a step towards dismantling caste-based inequality, Supreme Court in Sukanya Shantha v. Union of India & Ors. on 03 October 2024 held that the practice of physical segregation and classification of prisoners based on their caste in various state prisons across India is discriminatory and violative of their fundamental right to life and dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. 

Inclusion: The Eye on the Big “I” 

In a year marked by transformative policy shifts and heated debates, India’s push toward greater inclusivity has emerged as a defining narrative across its financial, corporate, and social landscapes. The nation’s commitment to inclusion has challenged traditional paradigms while fostering unprecedented economic opportunities for marginalized and vulnerable groups. 

Last year, ‘work-life balance’ and remote or hybrid work models had emerged as top priority for employees and as an effective tool to promote DEI. However, in 2024, the Indian startup ecosystem found itself at crossroads when Zepto’s Kaivalya Vohra pushed for 100-hour workweeks, followed by Infosys’ Narayana Murthy advocating 70-hour workweeks to boost productivity. Industry leaders like Namita Thapar clapped back, calling for policies that respect diverse lives, especially working parents and women juggling domestic roles. 

Meanwhile, India’s gig economy is booming, rivalling government institutions in employment and offering flexible work options to those sidelined by traditional jobs. However, this rapid growth comes with hurdles—chiefly, the lack of public data on gig workers, which makes formulating targeted policies to support equity-seeking groups, like women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people with disabilities, an uphill battle. Balancing labour protections with the sector’s flexibility remains a behemoth of a task.¹³ 

The Fairwork India Ratings 2024 report highlights the persistent challenges faced by gig workers, particularly concerning fair pay and safe working conditions. Platforms like Ola and Porter have notably scored zero out of ten, reflecting a failure to meet basic labour standards. This is especially concerning given the rapid expansion of India’s gig workforce, which is projected to grow from 7.7 million in 2020 to 23.5 million by 2029-30.¹⁴ The report also highlights that no platform achieved a score above 6 (six), indicating widespread deficiencies in ensuring fair pay, conditions, contracts, management, and representation. These findings emphasize the urgent need for comprehensive policy interventions to safeguard the rights and well-being of gig workers, who are integral to India’s evolving economic landscape.¹⁵ Further, the lack of clear classification of gig workers has led to significant challenges, including workplace harassment as seen in the Ms. X v. ANI Technologies Private Limited.¹⁶ This is one of many such incidents where ambiguity in their classification leaves workers vulnerable and companies without clear compliance guidelines. Thus, leaving both parties exposed to violations. 

In 2024, India acknowledged that financial inclusion is crucial for its socio-economic stability and serves as a key mechanism to address systemic inequalities by integrating low-income groups into the formal financial framework and ensuring equitable access to essential financial services for all.¹⁷ In the Indian context, financial inclusion is defined as “the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely, adequate credit for vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low-income groups at an affordable cost.” ¹⁸ 

Financial inclusion in India represents an intersection of legal mechanisms, digital infrastructure, and identity resolution.¹⁹ The Aadhaar ecosystem has been central to this transformation, providing a foundational digital identity that enables systematic financial integration specially for the rural population.²⁰ By creating a unique identification mechanism, the government addressed barriers to financial access such as the lack of verifiable identity documentation. 

The legal framework supporting financial inclusion is anchored in the ‘Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidiaries, Benefit and Services) Act of 2016’ which has established a comprehensive digital identity system, empowering the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to collect demographic and biometric data. This has enabled direct benefit transfers and eliminated intermediary fraud by creating a verifiable, universal identity infrastructure.²¹ 

Technological platforms like Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unified Loan Interface (ULI) have been instrumental in translating legal frameworks into operational financial services. The Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007 created the regulatory environment for these digital payment ecosystems. The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile Trinity model integrated financial accounts, biometric identification, and mobile technology, effectively solving the identity verification challenge and providing previously excluded populations with formal financial access. 

In context of financial inclusion, India’s financial landscape has undergone its own revolution through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana 2.0 (PMJDY). As the world’s largest financial inclusion initiative, PMJDY has fundamentally altered the accessibility of banking services by bridging the gap between traditional banking and fintech innovation. The program’s impact on gender equity has been particularly noteworthy, with women comprising over 50% of account holders. This achievement gains even more significance when considered alongside the International Labour Organization’s data showing global female labor force participation at less than 50%, compared to 75% for men.²² 

Building on this foundation of financial inclusion, the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGSTME) and the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform have emerged as important tools for democratizing access to capital. These initiatives have been particularly transformative for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and entrepreneurs who previously struggled to access formal financing. The CGSTME has helped reduce the lending risk for financial institutions, while TReDS has revolutionized working capital financing by creating a transparent marketplace for invoice discounting, particularly benefiting smaller suppliers who often face delayed payments from larger corporations. (To read more about the TReDS, please click here to see our publication). Moreover, TReDS promotes inclusivity by eliminating gender biases, assessing MSMEs solely on financial and operational merits. This ensures equitable access to capital for entrepreneurs across all backgrounds. 

On a similar note, the introduction of portal such as e-Shram portal²³ also buttresses the inclusivity of vulnerable population, as it provides for a platform to all unorganised workers to enrol themselves and access social benefits accorded to them by the government. This development is significant in ensuring that unorganised workers across sectors have a safety net.  

Further, the e-Shram Portal has gained international recognition for its innovative approach to addressing labour market challenges. The Indian delegation to the 112^th International Labour Conference showcased the portal and its integration with the schemes of different ministries of India. The portal’s emphasis on inclusivity and digital empowerment has been highlighted as a best practice in workforce management and by 19 December 2024, the e-Shram portal has recorded more than 304.8 million registrations.²⁴

On 6 December 2024, RBI announced an increase in the collateral-free loan limit to INR 200,000, effective 01 January 2025, aimed at easing the financial burden on small and marginal farmers facing rising input costs.²⁵ This measure aligns with the Modified Interest Subvention scheme of 2007 that offers short-term loans to farmers and this initiative incentivizes timely repayment by offering loans of up to INR 500,000 at a reduced interest rate of 4%, providing access to affordable credit for farmers. 

The Ministry of Finance on 02 February 2024 had notified the ‘Accessibility Standards and Guidelines for Banking Sector’²⁶ which broadly cover the accessibility standards for physical infrastructure. This majorly included information counters and other norms such as adequate signage for guidance, tactile guiding indicators, minimum height of the counter for wheelchair users and those with short stature, hearing enhancement systems, magnifiers, along with external ramps, handrails, grab bars, and provisions for accessible communication and digital documents. These standards will apply to all banks in India.  

Building upon the above, RBI on 11 October 2024 issued a directive on digital payment accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) which further exemplifies this commitment to inclusion by mandating improvements in both physical infrastructure and digital interfaces. These guidelines ensure that the benefits of India’s digital financial revolution extend to all citizens. These requirements, ranging from wheelchair-accessible infrastructure to specially designed point of sale machines for the visually impaired, demonstrate how technological advancement can be harnessed to serve inclusive goals. 

In addition to the above, in Rajive Raturi v. Union of India, the Supreme Court in a three-judge bench led by former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on 08 November 2024 held that, accessibility for PWD is a fundamental and human right essential to substantive equality. The Court observed that Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees “not only formal equality but also substantive equality, which requires the state to take positive steps to ensure that individuals can enjoy their rights fully, irrespective of disabilities.” Mandating annual audits to assess progress, the judgement outlined measures for systemic inclusion—including disability-friendly public infrastructure, sensitisation of public sector employees and accessible education and transport.²⁷ 

In addition to the above, the Supreme Court on 12 November 2024 in Arushi Singh v. Union of India expanded airport accessibility guidelines by mandating mobile applications for wheelchair services, mechanized wheelchairs, coded boarding passes, integration with disability identity databases, accessible kiosks, and disability literacy training. 

Further, In Nipun Malhotra v. Sony Pictures Films India Private Limited²⁸, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for the sensitive portrayal of persons with disabilities in media, distinguishing ‘disability humour’ from ‘disabling humour’ while balancing between free speech and dignity under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.  

This push towards inclusion has also manifested in the evolution of legislative language, with recent reforms incorporating gender-neutral terminology and making laws gender neutral which can be identified in ‘Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita’ which came into effect on 01 July 2024 (previously known as Indian Penal Code). This linguistic and legislative shift reflects a broader recognition of gender diversity and the need for more inclusive institutional frameworks, setting a precedent for future policy developments. 

Corporate Inclusion: Industry Insights  

India’s corporate sector is redefining inclusion, transforming it into a core business driver that fosters innovation and engagement. Companies like Lemon Tree Hotels, Zepto, Accenture, and Wipro are leading the way with strategic initiatives that go beyond diversity metrics. Lemon Tree Hotels has increased its differently abled workforce to 12%, while Zepto promotes gender balance with over 1,400 women in warehouse teams. Accenture’s Vaahini Network and Wipro’s LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts are reshaping workplace culture, with Accenture achieving a 48% female workforce. These efforts not only enhance employee satisfaction and reduce attrition, but also drive innovation and attract top talent, proving that true inclusion is integral to business success. 

Going Ahead  

As 2024 unfolded, the DEI landscape showed significant promise with an increasing number of businesses committing to inclusive policies and practices, regulatory reforms, and digital infrastructure development. Progressive initiatives targeting gender balance, accessibility, and workplace equity took centre stage, signalling a positive shift. However, the tangible impact of these efforts remains elusive. Despite heightened awareness and growing pledges, measurable results in achieving real inclusion and equity have yet to materialize on a broad scale, bringing the gap between intent and execution to the forefront. 

The road ahead in 2025 presents both opportunities and challenges. Regulatory frameworks, such as the notification and implementation of the labour codes, could standardise inclusive practices across industries, providing much-needed recognition to gig-workers and associating accountability with the employers. By 31 March 2025, 36 States/UTs are expected to finalize the harmonization and draft publication of labour codes and rules, as highlighted in the Ministry of Labour and Employment’s yearly roundup. While this reflects considerable progress, implementation challenges, including compliance and resource allocation, may impact efficiency, as this will demand greater compliance efforts and cultural shifts within organizations.  

Finance-focused DEI, emphasizing equitable access to economic opportunities for underrepresented groups, is set to play a pivotal role. By tying financial incentives to inclusion metrics, companies can align business success with social impact, fostering both growth and equity as the next chapter of India’s economic story will be written not by those who see DEI as a checkbox to tick, but by those who recognize it as the key to unlocking India’s next wave of innovation and growth. When we democratize access to capital, we’re not just moving money through systems; we’re moving entire communities from the margins to the mainstream of economic prosperity. In a nation where millions of informal entrepreneurs build tomorrow’s possibilities with yesterday’s tools, financial inclusion isn’t charity – it’s the most powerful investment we can make in India’s future. 

The rise of digitization and AI is also reshaping the DEI movement. Tools powered by AI are breaking barriers in hiring, accessibility, and workplace collaboration, creating unprecedented opportunities for inclusion. However, to harness this momentum, businesses must stay committed to advancing DEI rather than allowing progress to stagnate. By embedding sustainable DEI practices into their core operations, companies not only foster inclusivity but also drive innovation, resilience, and long-term success. The future of DEI demands action, and businesses must seize the moment to transform intent into impact. 

The information contained in this document is not legal advice or legal opinion. The contents recorded in the said document are for informational purposes only and should not be used for commercial purposes. Acuity Law LLP disclaims all liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether arising from negligence, accident, or any other cause. 

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