Shillong, June 27: To get a firsthand experience in policy design and implementation, the students of the Advance Management Programme in Public Policy (AMPPP) at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business, embarked on a three-day (June 25-27) annual ‘Policy Walk’’ amidst the corridors of power in New Delhi.
During the visit, the students, led by Dr Aarushi Jain, Policy Director; Professor Anjal Prakash, Clinical Associate Professor (Research) and Research Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Kumara Guru, Senior Director, External Relations, Alumni Engagement, Advancement, Indian School of Business, held interactive sessions with Steven De Wilde, Deputy Head of Mission and Consul Mika Camps of the Embassy of Belgium.
The Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Member of Parliament Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu; BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog; Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Election Commissioner of India; Dr Santhosh Mathew, Country Lead, Public Policy and Finance, Bill and Mellinda Gates Foundation (BMGF.
Archana Vyas, Director, Program Advocacy and Communication, Growth, Opportunity, and Empowerment, BMGF; Dr R Balasubramaniam, HR, Capacity Building Commission; Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Water and Sanitation; Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairperson and CEO of Railway Board, over the course of three days.
The cohort held insightful interactions on a range of policy matters including social impact and sustainable investment; transformation of the civil services in India; challenges and progress made in rural sanitation and portable water supply across the country; bilateral ties between India and Belgium; intricacies and the scale of elections in India; and best practices for effective governance in the country.
Drawing similarities with India, while interacting with students, Steven De Wilde, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Belgium, said that the transition of Belgium from a centralised to a federal state mirrors India’s federal system, facilitating governance and international cooperation.
He said, “Belgium’s economic relationship with India is multifaceted, involving sectors like renewable energy, technology, and trade. Belgian companies are increasingly investing in India, driven by its vast market and growth potential.”
During his interactive session with the cohort, BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog emphasised the importance of understanding the national average to assess state and district performance. He highlighted that the need of the hour is to utilise comprehensive data and policy documents to understand performance at various levels.
Dr R Balasubramaniam, Member, HR, Capacity Building Commission, shared his insights on the transformation of India’s civil services from a colonial-era regulatory focus to a modern, performance-driven model post-1991 reforms. Emphasising the shift from mere regulation to citizen-centric governance and embracing technology, he said, “The focus is now on enhancing bureaucratic performance, ensuring accountability, and adapting to emerging technologies.”
The cohort also interacted with Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairperson and CEO of Railway Board. In her address to the students, she highlighted the crucial role the Indian Railways play in our economy, serving as a primary provider of logistics for both passengers and cargo.
The Policy Walk is a part of the curriculum of the Advance Management Programme in Public Policy (AMPPP) exposing students to the workings of policymaking, design and implementation.
The Advance Management Programme in Public Policy is a hybrid one year long programme, developed at the Indian School of Business in consultation with one of the world’s leading public policy schools.
The Fletcher School, Tufts University, USA. Every year, the programme attracts senior bureaucrats from the government as well as the private sector. Out of the 51 students in the current batch, 32 are from the government sector including senior IAS, IPS, Railways, Revenue services, besides others. The average work experience of the current cohort is 16 years.
