India needs a globally recognised public policy school

India's absence of a world-class public policy institution has become a topic of discussion, especially when compared to global leaders like the Harvard Kennedy School and the London School of Economics, which shape national and global governance. Despite India’s democratic complexity and urgent developmental challenges, its finest policy experts are still trained abroad. The lack of a top-tier policy school is attributed to India's political and institutional landscape, which limits meaningful influence for policy professionals.

The Political Structure and Policy Influence in India

• Executive Dominance in India: In India, the executive wields significant power over decision-making, with most policy formulation being controlled by political elites, bureaucrats, and government officials rather than a deliberative legislative process. This centralisation limits the ability of public policy institutions, academics, and civil society groups to influence the policymaking process.
• Fragility of Influence with Regime Changes: India’s political landscape is marked by frequent shifts in power, which leads to fragility in the policy ecosystem. When regimes change, key policy professionals can find themselves sidelined.
• Need for an Indian-Specific Policy School Model: To create a top-tier public policy institution in India, the school must reflect the country’s unique political realities, such as informal networks, regional power structures, and social hierarchies. Unlike Western institutions that focus on formal political structures, an Indian policy school must prepare students to navigate a system where power is opaque, unevenly distributed, and influenced by complex socio-political factors.

Building a Stable and Effective Policy Ecosystem

• Cultivating Empathy for the People: An essential aspect of policy education in India is cultivating empathy for the lived realities of the people. Too often, top-down policies are implemented without understanding the ground realities, leading to ineffective or harmful interventions.
• Creating Non-Partisan Space for Policy Dialogue: A successful policy institution must provide a broad, non-partisan space for policy dialogue, where legitimacy and influence are based on the quality of public interventions, not proximity to political power. This space would allow the institution to remain relevant and impactful across changing regimes.
• Institutionalizing a Long-Term Vision for Development: Ultimately, the goal of such an institution is to serve as a hub for nation-building, where graduates are equipped not only with technical policy expertise but also with the capacity to influence real change across India’s diverse political landscape.

Practice Question

Q. Critically assess the challenges and potential pathways for establishing a world-class public policy institution in India, considering the unique political and institutional landscape of the country.