डॉ. बी. आर. अम्बेडकर विश्वविद्यालय दिल्ली 
| Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Core | SPG2PP406 | 4 |
Semester and Year Offered: Semester 2 (Winter Semester)
Course Coordinator and Team: Ekta Singh
Email of course coordinators: ekta@aud.ac.in
Pre-requisites: None
Aim: The course intends to shed light on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of public policymaking in India by providing a disaggregated understanding of state and governance framework. Some of the questions that the course seeks to address are - why governments pay attention to some problems and not others (agenda setting), why policy changes or remains stable across time, how individuals and groups affect policy, and where policy comes from. Focusing on both the formal and informal aspects of policymaking, besides focusing on official policymakers and policymaking institutions, the course seeks to draw attention to the wider set of actors and networks that shape policymaking in India.
Course Outcomes:
- Have an informed understanding of the ‘process’ of public policymaking in India
- To appreciate the role of formal and informal actors and processes at work in shaping public policymaking in India
Brief description of modules/ Main modules:
This course consists of five modules.
Module 1: Theorizing Institutions and Policy Processes in Indian Context – Two weeks
The module will provide theoretical background to understanding institutions and policy processes in the Indian context. The emphasis will be on foregrounding the ‘interlocking’ ways in which ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ institutions function and interact and its wider implications for development and policy outcomes.
Module 2: Policy Environment: Actors, Networks, and Contexts – Four weeks
Although public policies are authoritative solutions emerging from the governing structure, the policymaking process and the process of policy change is characterized by interaction of a wide variety of actors, networks, institutions and the broader context within which policies emerge, take shape and are implemented. In this context the module will shed light on issue networks, epistemic communities, policy communities, advocacy coalitions, role of pressure groups and media in shaping policies.
Module 3: Public Policymaking in India: Institutional Structures and Processes – Four weeks
The module will introduce students to the “institutional matrix” within which policymaking operates in India. Focusing on policymakers and policymaking institutions, the module will seek answers to questions like how does the formal public policymaking process proceed? What is the role of different institutions and mechanisms at play?
Module 4: Parties, Electoral Politics and Public Policy – Two weeks
The module will discuss the role of politicians and political parties in policy processes. Political parties aggregate the opinions of variegated “publics” from society and carry them into the machinery of government for public policymaking. Accordingly, the module will discuss the role of political parties in shaping policies based on the kind of linkages are established with the electorate. The process of conducting elections through a discussion around Election Commission of India and various reforms initiatives in the electoral domain, electoral populism, issues of regime/party legitimacy as crucial in policy-making processes will be explored. Recent trends shaping the electoral arena will also be discussed.
Module 5: Is there an Indian Policy Process (or Processes)? Some Reflections – Two weeks
The last module will have a more reflective and analytical focus and will address the question of whether there is an ‘Indian policy process’ or processes at play especially when we look at inter-state variation in policies. The emphasis will be on analysing if the policy process turns out to be distinct in non-western, Third World context.
Assessment Details with weights:
The course will have two types of assessments:
- The first assessment will involve written assignment and presentation around a policy that captures the policy process, more precisely the interplay between processes and institutions (formal and informal) in the making and implementation of the policy. (50%)
- Policy Report: 30%
- Presentation: 20%
The final assessment will consist of a summative examination based on selected readings (50%).
Reading List:
- Mathur, Kuldeep (2013). Public Policy and Politics in India: How Institutions matter, OUP [Chapter 1 and 2].
- Chopra, Deepta (2011). Policymaking in India: A Dynamic Process of Statecraft, Pacific Affairs, Vol.84, No.1
- Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (ed.) Public Institutions in India: Performance and Design, Delhi: Oxford University Press.
- Rajesh Chakrabarti and Kaushiki Sanyal ed. (2017). Shaping Policy in India: Alliance, Advocacy, Activism, Oxford University Press
- Sudha Pai (2020) (ed.) Constitutional and Democratic Institutions in India: A Critical Analysis, Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan.
- Choudhry, Sujit, Madhav Khosla, and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (2016) eds. The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, Oxford University Press.
- Kapur, D., & Mehta, P. B. (2006). ‘The Indian Parliament as an Institution of Accountability’. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Programme Paper No. 23.
- Kuldeep Mathur and J.W. Bjorkman (1994). The Top Policy Makers in India: Cabinet Ministers and their Civil Service Advisors, New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
- Nick Robinson (2016). ‘Judicial Architecture and Capacity’ in Sujit Choudhry et al. The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, pp 366-385.
- Jacob Babu and Suraj Jacob (2021). Governing Locally: Institutions, Policies and Implementation in Indian Cities, Cambridge University Press.