The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 16th November 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

India needs a globally recognised public policy school 

Why in News?

Why is it that the world’s largest democracy has yet to produce a world-class public policy institution? The United States and Europe boast of institutions such as the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard Kennedy School) and the London School of Economics which train leaders who shape not only national but global governance. Yet, India, with its complex democratic structure and urgent developmental challenges, sends its nest to be trained abroad. This is not for lack of policy schools — India has many — but it has to do with the structure of India’s political and institutional landscape.

• After gaining independence, India focused on researching policies to assess how well public policies were being carried out. 
• As the need for independent evaluations grew, the Planning Commission (now known as NITI Aayog) began to conduct various studies to evaluate policies. 
• India set up several important organizations, including NCERT, IIPA, and NCAER, to assist in this research. 
• In 1969, the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research (ICSSR) was established, marking the beginning of a new phase in policy research. 
• The ICSSR aimed to create a research institute focused on policy outside of traditional universities. 

Evolution of Public Policy in India

• First Phase:After gaining independence, India chose to focus on planned economic growth. The belief was that improving the economy would lead to advancements in social, political, and human development. 
  • The Planning Commission played a key role in shaping the country’s policies and guiding public opinion. 
  • The Five-Year Plans (FYP) were established as the foundation for all government policies. 
• Second Phase: This phase began after the LPG reforms in India and was marked by the transfer of power through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. 
• Present Phase: This phase is characterized by the formation of the NITI Aayog and the rise of cooperative and competitive federalism in India. 

Major Types of Public Policy

• Public Policies can be classified based on their geographic reach into two main types: domestic and foreign. 
• Domestic Policy: This includes actions taken by the government that directly affect its citizens. Its focus is solely within the borders of one country and covers a variety of topics related to national affairs. 
• Types of Domestic Policies: 
  • Regulatory Policies: These policies aim to ensure that individuals and organizations follow societal norms by regulating their actions. They can restrict certain behaviors. Example: Anti-Dumping duty. Regulatory policies can be either competitive or protectionist. Examples: Establishment of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and RBI (Reserve Bank of India). 
  • Economic Policies: These are crucial for managing a country's public finances. They consist of actions taken by the government to influence the economy and its conditions. Examples: Mudra Yojana, LPG reforms, Aatmanirbhar Bharat. This category includes stabilization policy, monetary policy, fiscal policy, industrial policy, investment policy, and trade policy. 
  • Social Policies: These policies are designed to promote social control and bring about social change. They focus on creating positive social conditions that support community life. Examples: National Nutrition Policy of 1993, Poshan Abhiyan, MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). 
• Foreign Policy: This refers to a country’s strategy for interacting with other nations on various issues, both bilateral and multilateral. The goal of foreign policy is to protect national interests and build international relationships that promote peaceful coexistence among nations. Examples: Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Gujral Doctrine, Neighbourhood First Policy. 

Stages in the Policy Process

Thomas Dye (2004) sets out the following stages in his analysis of the policy process:

• Problem Identification: Recognizing issues that require government action based on public demands.
• Agenda Setting: Drawing the attention of the media and public officials to specific issues, preparing them for decision-making.
• Policy Formulation: Creating policy ideas by groups with interests, leaders in the executive branch, legislative committees, think tanks, and others.
• Policy Legitimation: Choosing and putting policies into action through political processes involving the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
• Policy Implementation: Carrying out policies through organized bureaucracies, government spending, and actions by executive agencies.
• Policy Evaluation: Reviewing and assessing policies by government agencies, outside experts, the media, and the public.

Significance of Public Policy

• Public policies are essential tools used by the government to achieve goals for the community.
• Redistribution of economic growth:
  • An example includes offering grants and special status to less developed states.
• Promoting inclusive growth:
  • This involves ensuring financial inclusion and social inclusion.
  • For instance, the JAM trinity is a key initiative.
• Reformative and progressive policies:
  • The goal is to eliminate poverty and hunger while providing universal health coverage.
  • Examples include MGNREGA, Ayushman Bharat Abhiyan, Zamindari reforms, and the National Food Security Act of 2013.
• The main aim of these policies is to create social stability by reducing deprivation and preventing social conflicts.

Issues with the policies in India

In India, when policies are made and implemented without the desired impact, the blame is often placed at the implementation end.

• Nature of Policies: Policies originate from discovering problems, followed by clearly defining them. 
• Designing Policies: Policies must be carefully designed rather than just created. 
• Example of Operation Blackboard: This initiative started with a basic understanding that if teachers are absent, children will not attend school. 
• Rush to Implement Policies: There is often a quick push to implement policies, which can lead to poorly designed solutions due to insufficient information. 
• Impact Evaluation: Evaluating the effects of policies is usually too slow and limited, and there is little willingness to acknowledge their shortcomings. 
• Need for Redefinition: Evaluations should prompt a rethinking of the initial problems and potentially lead to changes in policy. 
• Example of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: In this scheme, 43% of the budget for 2017-18 was spent on national media campaigns, while only 4% was allocated to district-level campaigns. 
• Challenges for Politicians and Bureaucrats: Politicians and officials often find it hard to retract large commitments once they are made. 
• MGNREGA Expansion: Initially, MGNREGA was limited to 200 drought-affected districts, but it was quickly expanded to cover all 600 districts due to political pressure, resulting in poor outcomes. 
• Implementation Issues: Policies that are not well thought out often lack the necessary manpower and funding for effective implementation, particularly at the local level. 
• Documentation Requirements: Top-down programs often require extensive documentation, complicating their execution. 
• Delayed Wage Payments: Many states fail to pay workers their wages within the required 15 days, and workers often do not receive compensation for late payments. 
• Lack of Professionalism: Policymakers and advisors often lack the necessary expertise. For instance, three recent farm laws were made without consulting key stakeholders, leading to widespread protests and a government rollback of these laws. 
• Bureaucratic Challenges: When left solely to bureaucrats, policy-making can lead to flawed and unrealistic policies, which can turn into political exploitation. 
• Issues of Corruption and Inefficiency: This situation creates problems like excessive bureaucracy, corruption, and operational inefficiencies. 

Measures needed to be taken

For Better policy formulation

• Decentralization of the policy-making process, separating it from implementation. 
• Enhancing the flow of information and feedback systems to ensure policies are driven by demand. 
• Ensuring the involvement of all stakeholders and civil society in policy-making to make it more inclusive and comprehensive. 
• Strengthening the environment for monitoring and assessing policies. 
• Collecting real-time data to support decision-making. 
• Building connections between government agencies and academic institutions to address challenges like limited skills and the complexity of bureaucratic processes, which can narrow the focus of executives and legislators. 

For better Implementation: 

• Developing a strong delivery system that encourages active participation from individuals at the grassroots level. 
• Promoting convergence of various schemes. 
• Highlighting the importance of raising public awareness about different schemes to help them access benefits effectively. 
• Incorporating measures for social auditing to ensure transparency and accountability in policy and program implementation. 
• Establishing a strong institutional framework to support these efforts. 

Conclusion

If public discussions about improving services are based on incorrect information about how to implement changes, reforms could fail and might even cause more problems. To achieve better public services, it is essential to make deep changes in how things are managed in the field. This requires a clear understanding of the real challenges that exist.