Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Welcome to Policy Without Borders

Good governance is intrinsically linked with a robust system of public policy making. As a citizen of India, I am daily confronted with the effects of failure of public policies related to eradicating poverty, food shortage, water scarcity, universal healthcare and education, employment and security.  Why are government programmes and policies woefully inadequate in addressing these problems in spite of India’s democratic credentials and a steadily growing economy?  The reason, in my understanding, lies in our system of policy making which relies heavily on bureaucrats not only for implementing the policies but also for basic information about the sector.  Such a system has seen policies which are bereft of a basic understanding of ground realities, an honest exploration of alternate solutions, and an ability to conceptualise programmes which actually address the problem in a sustained manner.  

As a first step, it is important that concerned stakeholders have access to information about various policies of the government and the available research on the subject.  This blog will use various credible sources of information to provide an analysis of government policies and programmes.  This would alert citizens on the possible implication of a given policy and empower them to monitor and scrutinise such matters.