'Evidence-based public policy is the way ahead for Bengaluru'

To facilitate innovation and big changes in public policy and to make it evidence-based and transparent, students should be empowered with enough tools and awareness. A recent agreement between the Kautilya School of Public Policy and DAKSH Society intends to take this forward.

“Evidence-based public policy needs to be mainstreamed across all four pillars of democracy. Devolution of power is critical,” says Sridhar Pabbisetty, founding director of Kautilya School. The school is active in the role of building among its students key leadership capabilities required to take on today’s complex challenges.

From the point of view of Bengaluru’s city governance, a sound policy would imply automatic elections to the BBMP every five years without the need for legal recourse.

It would also mean data-driven, consultation-based urban planning. “Why is the Bangalore Development Authority acting as the master of the city?” asks Sridhar. Transparency, accountability, devolution of power and citizen involvement, he notes, should be integrated into the policy.

Among the overarching goals of the recent tie-up, says Sridhar, are to conduct mutually beneficial studies and share the case studies in the long term. The eventual goal is to prepare students in policy-making that integrate accountability and proper data collation.

India’s public administration is the world’s largest bureaucracy system, including all levels of government and quasi-government entities. Administrative reform, he says, remains an issue of critical importance, with the changing environment and rising aspirations of the people.