Latest Updates
On 30th May, Bhakti Patil, Assistant Manager, Development and Strategy, Centre for Civil Society (CCS), was invited to speak about CCS' ongoing work for the rights and recognition of street vendors, at the Atlas Network Global Policy Perspectives Event held in New York. Atlas Network's Global Policy Perspectives series brings think tank leaders from around the world to discuss policy issues affecting their countries and how their work fits into those landscapes.
Engaging with over 70 policy enthusiasts, industry and civil society leaders and journalists,she highlighted CCS' continuing effort to protect and empower street vendors through the effective implementation of the Street Vendors Act of 2014. The talk also addressed the state of doing business in India, enduring regulatory bottlenecks to the opening and running businesses and the burgeoning shadow economy in the country.
Read more about our work on economic freedom and the right to a livelihood here.
Watch our impact story here.
Date: 2nd April 2019
Venue: World Bank Office, New Delhi
On 2nd April, we organised a roundtable on 'Reforming K-12 Governance in India: Principles-based Uncoupling and Separation of Functions' in partnership with the World Bank, at their premises in New Delhi. The event brought together 18 experts and stakeholders in the education sector; including Dr. Junaid Ahmad, World Bank India Head; Dr. K. P. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Skills; Dr. Ajay Shah, Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; Dr. Madhav Chavan, CEO, Pratham; and Dr. Tara Beteille, Education Specialist, World Bank, among others.
Dr Ajay Shah presented reform-stories from the Indian telecom and financial sectors, attributing the success of these reforms to uncoupling and separation of functions that allowed market competition and innovation, spurring change.
Drawing from our ongoing research on reforming the education sector, Bhuvana Anand, Policy Expert, and Advisor, Research, Centre for Civil Society, presented our policy and regulatory recommendations, emphasising that governance reforms and the implementation of separation of powers in the education sector are key to bring about any long-term change and the civil society has to be unified around this singular goal.
This April, the Indian School of Public Policy organised three webinars, bringing expert perspectives on critical contemporary concerns and the scope of public policy today. On 13th April, Vineeta Hariharan, Policy Head, World Bank spoke on 'Public Policy- Key Steps and Scope', highlighting the scope for public policy in corporate and government sectors, and on experiential learning opportunities available to policy professionals. The webinar was attended by 51 participants.
Raja Karthikeya, Political Officer, United Nations, New York conducted a webinar on 17th April, addressing 'New challenges in International Public Policy', engaging 30 participants.
On the 26th, Professor Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business, the Fletcher School at Tufts University and Founding Executive Director, Fletcher's Institute for Business in the Global Context, conducted a session on 'Digital India is lovely.. But can it get past the Real India?. With 48 participants, the webinar brought forth questions and concerns on India's digital revolution, its performance in the global economy and inclusiveness.
Follow us at @indianschoolofpublicpolicy, or visit our website to stay updated with our upcoming webinars and other events.
In March - April 2019, we offered a credit course on 'Introduction to Public Policy', our third course at the Vedica Scholars Programme in New Delhi. The course was offered as a part of the formal program curriculum through a 20 hour module, and saw the participation of 58 young women leaders.
The course elaborates on public policy in India and its linkages with various disciplines of study, such as environmental challenges and regulation.
Our credit courses are crafted in accordance with international trends in policy training and host a diverse faculty comprising of academicians and practitioners. Our distinguished faculty included Shubho Roy, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; Bhuvana Anand, Governance and Public Policy Specialist, and Advisor, Research, Centre for Civil Society, among others.
On 27th April, Spontaneous Order, our digital publication of liberal commentaries, hosted its fourth Facebook Live discussion, 'Spontaneous Dialogue' on 'The Street Vendors Act - Enabling Street Entrepreneurship'. Featuring eminent speakers such as Indira Unninayar, Advocate, Supreme Court and Delhi High Court; Vivek Kalia, Joint Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram; and Manoj Mehra, General Secretary, National Hawkers Federation and himself a street vendor, the dialogue discussed the enduring challenges in the implementation of the Street Vendors Act 2014.. The dialogue explored what can be done to ensure better implementation and at the scope of interventions to protect and regulate vendors more effectively.
The dialogue received a reach of 3862 and was viewed by 884 people.
We have been successfully campaigning for the effective implementation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, through Jeevika, our 'Law, Liberty and Livelihood' campaign. We have also published two comprehensive reports on the status of the implementation of the act across the country.
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This April, the National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA) hosted two members of the Union of Private Schools of Afghanistan (UPSA), visiting India to understand the role and scope of affordable private schools in the Indian education ecosystem.
Representatives from NISA met with Mr Seyyed Hashmat and Mr Amin Al-Din, to discuss the models of budget privates schools in India and the enduring policy challenges faced by them, promising cooperation and assistance to the UPSA. The UPSA members also visited budget private schools in Dwarka, Delhi.
Earlier in January 2018, NISA had also hosted 17 members from the Afghanistan Private School Association to help them understand the establishment, role and development of private school associations and private schools in India.
Date: 27th April 2019
Venue: PHD Chamber of Commerce , New Delhi
On 27th April, The Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) organised a workshop on 'Public Policy for the Environment: New Wine in Old Bottles?', at the at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi. The workshop was conducted by Shreekant Gupta, Professor, Delhi School of Economics and Adjunct Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore. Attended by 30 participants, the workshop challenged conventional ways of thinking about and addressing environmental problems and explored how public policy based on market approaches can offer new ideas and solutions to enduring environmental problems.
Follow us at @indianschoolofpublicpolicy, or visit our website to stay updated with our upcoming workshops and other events.
Date: 28th April 2019
Venue: Lamaakan, Hyderabad
On 28th April, we hosted 'Adhyay', our socratic seminar in the city of Hyderabad. The Adhyay brought together 6 young thinkers to reflect and discuss the manifestos of national political parties, in the light of the 2019 elections. The discussion explored the proposed the substantive proposals contained in the manifestos, along with questions regarding the relevance and enforceability of political manifestos, and mechanisms to ensure due accountability from the elected leaders.
Adhyay, socratic seminars have been conceptualised with the aim of engaging our alumni and young learners in critical reading and dialogue, to foster reasoning and comprehension.
Date: 16-17th March 2019
Venue: Hyderabad
We organized our two-day immersive course, Politics of Development in Hyderabad, on 16-17th March with 23 participants. With a focus on the enduring policy challenges to achieving economic development, the course engaged students in sessions like 'The Role of the State' , 'Decentralisation and Separation of Power', 'How good a Solution is Welfare?' and 'The State of Agriculture in India'. The sessions were delivered by leading development and policy experts, including Barun Mitra, Founder and Director, Liberty Institute and Jayaprakash Narayan, Former IAS Officer and Founder, Lok Satta.