Public Policy Forum & Public Policy LITFest, 11th January 2020
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Featured Video
Overview
Public Policy Forum
Good policy making is a prerequisite for inclusive growth and development. For India, this has been a big constraint. The biggest problem with policy making in India has been its disconnect with ground realities. Insufficient and unreliable data and statistics also hamper the process of good policy making. In order to achieve the desired result it is pertinent that policy making comes out of its comfort zone and is devised on the basis of ground realities. SKOCH Public Policy Forum will identify policy areas in need of urgent attention, zero in on the appropriate policy tools applicable to each of the identified areas and then complete the package with practical pragmatic solutions.
Public Policy LITFest
Public policy does not make for popular literature. However, it is invaluable for a country’s growth and development. Almost 30-40 books on public policy are published every year. Literature festivals in the country are mostly Page 3 events, serious public policy issues hardly get any place at such events. SKOCH Public Policy LITFest is an endeavour to bring public policy literature to the forefront of public discourse and decision making.
Eminent public policy writers, policymakers and practitioners come together to brainstorm on how to make the public policy literature contribute towards decision making for New India.
myTake
Public Policy Literature Festival (LitFest) brings to you myTake, which is a mentorship platform for thinkers and writers. myTake provides an opportunity to such thinkers and writers to make their work reach a national audience as well as policymakers. You may have an idea or suggestion which has been penned down towards making Indian policy better but haven’t had an opportunity to be published. myTake invites you to submit your unpublished paper on public policy for a national contest and the recognition. Top fifteen per cent papers will be published online on Public Policy Forum website and promoted as a rich resource for policymakers. Details at mytake.skoch.in
Mr Sameer Kochhar, Author of ‘India 2030’, ‘ModiNomics’ and Chairman, SKOCH Group @SkochSameer
0930-0940
Conferring of SKOCH Challenger Award
0940-0955
Jai Hind Keynote: Mr Amitabh Kant, Author of ‘Incredible India 2.0’ and CEO, NITI Aayog @amitabhk87
0955-1010
Promoting India: Chat with Mr Amitabh Kant moderated by Mr Rohan Kochhar, Author and Director, Public Policy, SKOCH Group @RohanSkoch
Public Policy at Crossroads (1000-1130)
Public Policy at Crossroads
With the current economic situation on the one hand and the growth imperatives for aspiring Indians on the other, public policy is at crossroads. Fundamentals of policymaking itself need to be revisited and re-examined and an out-of-the-box thinking is called for. Statistical infrastructure in the country is woefully inadequate and often times out of sync with policy requirements. It is also increasingly viewed as suspect due to a variety of reasons.
At the same time, due to technological disruptions, changing geo-political realities and emergence of economic nationalism, new expertise are required for policymaking that looks at the future and takes cognisance of disruptions and the forthcoming changes. Obviously, there is no empirical evidence for such a future. This then puts Indian policymaking at an interesting crossroads.
Discussions draw from a wide body of experiential learning, some select books and reports that may form a template for the future
1020-1025
Public Policies and Women: Ms Zohra Chatterji, Former Member Secretary, National Commission for Women and Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation @zchatting
1025-1030
Health System for a New India: Building Blocks: Dr Rakesh Kumar, Chief Advisor, UNDP India @DrRkumar92
1030-1035
Defragmenting Health Sector: Mr Alok Kumar, Adviser Health & Nutrition, NITI Aayog @IasAlok
1035-1040
Delivering on Crossroads: Dr M Ramachandran, Author of ‘The Mavericks of Mussoorie’, Former Secretary, Government of India and Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation @RamachandranDr2
1040-1045
Policy Imperatives for Riding The Digital Wave: Mr R Chandrashekhar, Author and Former Secretary, Government of India @RentalaShekhar
1045-1130
Discussion and Q&A moderated by: Mr Sameer Kochhar @SkochSameer
Public Policy at Crossroads (1000-1130)
Public Policy at Crossroads
With the current economic situation on the one hand and the growth imperatives for aspiring Indians on the other, public policy is at crossroads. Fundamentals of policymaking itself need to be revisited and re-examined and an out-of-the-box thinking is called for. Statistical infrastructure in the country is woefully inadequate and often times out of sync with policy requirements. It is also increasingly viewed as suspect due to a variety of reasons.
At the same time, due to technological disruptions, changing geo-political realities and emergence of economic nationalism, new expertise are required for policymaking that looks at the future and takes cognisance of disruptions and the forthcoming changes. Obviously, there is no empirical evidence for such a future. This then puts Indian policymaking at an interesting crossroads.
Discussions draw from a wide body of experiential learning, some select books and reports that may form a template for the future
1010-1015
Decision based Evidence Making: Dr N C Saxena, Author of ‘What Ails the IAS and Why It Fails to Deliver?’ and Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation
1015-1020
Facilitating Access to Credit and Risk Capital: Mr U K Sinha, Author of ‘Going Public: My Time at SEBI’, Chairman of the Expert Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Former Chairman, SEBI
1020-1025
Public Policies and Women: Ms Zohra Chatterji, Former Member Secretary, National Commission for Women and Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation @zchatting
1025-1030
Health System for a New India: Building Blocks: Dr Rakesh Kumar, Chief Advisor, UNDP India @DrRkumar92
1030-1035
Defragmenting Health Sector: Mr Alok Kumar, Adviser Health & Nutrition, NITI Aayog @IasAlok
1035-1040
Delivering on Crossroads: Dr M Ramachandran, Author of ‘The Mavericks of Mussoorie’, Former Secretary, Government of India and Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation @RamachandranDr2
1040-1045
Policy Imperatives for Riding The Digital Wave: Mr R Chandrashekhar, Author and Former Secretary, Government of India @RentalaShekhar
1045-1130
Discussion and Q&A moderated by: Mr Sameer Kochhar @SkochSameer
Data Governance at Crossroads (1200-1300)
1200-1300
Data Governance at Crossroads
Data is now considered among the world’s most valuable resources, playing an unprecedented role in global trade and commerce, impacting not only the information technology sector, but also traditional industries. The value of data lies in its ability to improve decision making and optimise operations by measuring and monitoring activities and providing insights and analytics. Much of the data collected today remains in the control of organisations that collect it and is often left unprocessed. India’s most recent economic survey (2019) proposed the idea of data as a collective resource. The public good argument based on non-rival and non-excludable principles, advocates that the benefits of data and computing power are not for businesses alone. Sharing data across organisations can help improve research and build services for better governance.
While the modern view on data privacy regulations is largely based on the understanding that data belongs to individuals and not to companies/institutions that buy or use them, the public good view suggests that data generated from consumers should be owned by a public repository that manage its responsible use. The experiment with Data Trusts in UK is a case in point. Other policy questions around data governance relate to anti-trust conduct, inequality, privacy, data security and surveillance. Private entities and the state, are gatekeepers of personal data, their integrity and commitment are central to the design and implementation of data protection laws. However, the absence of a coherent international legal regime for data protection has prompted countries to devise frameworks based on their unique cultural and legal traditions. Some policies on data regulation are also driven by the economic interests of nations.
In India, data governance policies have taken centre-stage with the Justice Srikrishna Committee Report, and the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018. The Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019, has been approved by the Cabinet and has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. The Bill, among other suggestions, also calls for the creation of an independent regulator Data Protection Authority (DPA), which will oversee assessments and audits. India is currently witnessing a host of sectoral proposals (draft E-Commerce Policy, draft e-pharmacy regulations) on the use and storage of data that overlap with existing policies. This could result in potential over reach and excessive regulation that can adversely impact the growth of the industry.
This session proposes a broad discussion on data governance that will identify trade-offs in policy decisions related to accessibility, sharing and security of data. We hope that the outcome of the panel discussion will feed into policies for India’s data driven economy and provide the least disruptive recommendations to guard against the negative use of data, particularly data that is personally identifiable and sensitive in nature.
1200-1205
Moderator: Dr Rajat Kathuria, Director & Chief Executive, ICRIER
1205-1210
Dr Gulshan Rai, Former National Cyber Security Coordinator & Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation
1210-1215
Mr Shyamal Ghosh, Chairman, Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC)
1215-1220
Mr Rahul Sharma, The Perspective @wisdom_stoic
1220-1225
Ms Anita Gurumurthy, Executive Director, IT for Change @ITforChange
1225-1230
Dr Mudit Kapoor, Associate Professor, Economics, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) @muditkapoor
1230-1235
Ms Saranya Gopinath, Co-Founder, Digital India Collective for Empowerment (DICE) & Research Fellow, Bharat Inclusion @Saranyagop
1235-1240
Mr Udbhav Tiwari, Advisor – Public Policy, Mozilla @udbhav_tiwari
1240-1300
Discussion and Q&A moderated by Dr Rajat Kathuria
The Art and Science of Economic Policy (1400-1500 hrs)
1400-1500
The Art and Science of Economic Policy
Veteran economists Dr. Vijay Kelkar and Dr. Ajay Shah have recently argued that economic policy making is an art and a science in their book “In Service of the Republic.” This is perhaps true for all policy making. They argue that it becomes a science when you look at the evidence, analyse it and make informed policy choices and it is an art when evidence is not available or scanty and hence you have to use gut-feel or guess based on experience. From other perspectives there are a few more elements required i.e felt needs of the people, participativeness of the process and the institutional capacity to decide based on all these inputs. You also need to take cognisance of the massive disruptions that technology, de-globalisation and economic nationalism may cause. Then there are changing political geo-strategic realities that impact economic policy e.g. look east for India.
There is then the onerous task of selling the policy or implementing it through stealth. In this panel, we have experts and authors who draw upon these wonderful books, agree or disagree and bring forth additional dimensions that may make policies deliver better.
1400-1405
Moderator: Dr Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Managing Trustee & Research Director, India Development Foundation
1405-1410
Dr Vinod K Paul, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog @NITIAayog
1410-1415
Dr Aruna Sharma, Author, Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation & Former Secretary, Government of India @DrArunaSharma6
1415-1420
Mr Ravinder Singh, Chief Information & Innovation Officer, Air Vistara @ravinps
1420-1425
Mr Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, Author and Consultant, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) @subhomoyb
1425-1430
Prof R Sudarshan, Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University @JindalSGP
1430-1500
Discussion and Q&A moderated by Dr Shubhashis Gangopadhyay
Capturing Economic Value in India (1530-1630 hrs)
1530-1630
Capturing Economic Value in India
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is facing existential crisis after the collapse of its dispute settlement mechanism, leaving no official body to resolve global trade disputes. Other multilateral and bilateral trade agreements also seem to be falling apart. India has opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and there seems to be hardly any movement on other multilateral and bilateral trade deals. How do these unfolding circumstances in global trade impact India? The answer to this depends largely on the country’s ability to capture economic value. If India is able to capture value and succeeds in manufacturing products for the masses it would gain as has been the case with the US, Germany and China.
Major economies including US and Germany have dominated global trade due to their ability to capture value. For instance, for Apple, manufacturing is done in China and Vietnam but the value capture is done in the US. Even though Apple set up facilities in India, 90 per cent of the product value is captured in the home country in the name of innovation and IP. There is a need to nurture and promote innovation and new technologies based businesses that capture high values.
A large part of Indian demands are met by affordable imports which means that India needs to do a lot more to make its manufacturing competitive. India, in a way has the late movers advantage in Artificial Intelligence (AI). We need to ensure that most value added products built on top of AI come from India. Each sector can get a huge competitive edge through the use of AI, that has the potential to add large incremental value to businesses, augment manufacturing and become globally competitive with the use of modern technologies. The policy constraints need to be identified and removed.
World’s three biggest exporters—US, China, Germany—have appropriated the most benefits from the WTO agreements and other multilateral trade agreements. What should be the position of India on global trade at this juncture? Should we opt for an open trade? Even more pertinent question is, are we capable to be competitive in a free trade environment?
1530-1535
Moderator: Dr Mohan Kumar, Author of ‘Negotiation Dynamics of the WTO: An Insider’s Account’, Professor and Vice Dean, Jindal School of International Affairs and Chairman, RIS @AmbMoKumar
1540-1545
Dr Sachin Chaturvedi, Author and Director General, RIS @Sachin_Chat
1545-1550
Mr Pradeep S Mehta, Author and Secretary General, CUTS International @Psm_cuts
1550-1555
Dr Bornali Bhandari, Senior Fellow, NCAER @BornaliBhandari
1555-1600
Dr Nagesh Kumar, Author, Director and Head of the South and South-West Asia (SSWA) Office of the United Nations @nageshkum
1600-1605
Mr Abhijit Das, Author, Head & Professor, Centre For WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
1605-1630
Discussion and Q&A moderated by Dr Mohan Kumar
100 Books Later: Bibek Debroy at the 63rd SKOCH Summit: Public Policy Forum (1705-1720 hrs)
Boond Dialogue (1500-1700 hrs)
1500-1700
Boond Dialogue
Our country needs an ‘Integrated National Water Policy’ plan that encompasses the rural as well as the urban areas. There is a greater need for awareness of holistic water policy and resolving issues of Competition & Conflict through CooperationConvergence-Cohesion approaches. In light of the above the session looks at the following:
1. How can an Integrated National Water Policy meet the aspirations of Jal Shakti Abhiyaan’s mandate to provide tap water to all of these households by 2024?
2. Can the assessment of Water policy be facilitated against three criteria: effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness? What can be the possible repercussions on the Centre-State Federalism?
3. How shall we ensure a cross-disciplinary approach towards water management at the macro level and micro level on a number of policy issues, given that Water is a State subject?
1500-1515
Tea
1515-1520
Welcome: Mr Rohan Kochhar, Director, Public Policy, SKOCH Group @RohanSkoch
1520-1530
Water and Sanitation Imperatives for India: Dr M Ramachandran, Former Secretary, Government of India and Distinguished Fellow, SKOCH Development Foundation @RamachandranDr2
1530-1545
Jai Hind Keynote: Mr U P Singh, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti
1545-1630
Integrated Water Policy
Chair: Mr U P Singh, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti
1545-1550
Moderator: Dr Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation @drarvindkumar1
1550-1555
Mr G Asok Kumar, MD, National Water Mission
1555-1600
Dr Sanjay Bajpai, Head, Technology Mission (Energy, Water & all Other), Department of Science and Technology @SanjayBajpai65
1600-1605
Dr Ritesh Kumar, Director-South Asia, Wetlands International @RiteshEconomics
1605-1610
Mr Sunil Kumar, Director, Central Water Commission
Raksha Digital Transformation (1500-1630 hrs)
1500-1700
Raksha Digital Transformation
The government has taken major policy initiatives in defence production to promote Make in India. Defence Procurement Policy has been instrumental in stimulating growth of the domestic defence industry. An innovative ecosystem for defence (iDEX) to foster innovation and technology development by engaging MSMEs, Startups, R&D institutes and academia thus has been created. Yet, digital transformation in the defence sector still has a long way to go. The sector touches half of the total level of digitisation in India, which needs to catch up. In light of the above, the session discusses:
1. Indian defence sector has been dominated by DPSUs, Ordnance Factors and so on following traditional methods. How to keep pace with changing modern digital technologies which hinders Transfer of Technology (ToT)?
2. How to overcome gaps in supply chain in defence products, knowledge gaps and real-time information in an era of increasing user expectation and cost effectiveness?
3. Indigenisation of components under Make in India and role that artificial intelligence, robotics etc play in digital defence.
1500-1515
Tea
1515-1525
Welcome and Introduction: Dr Gursharan Dhanjal, Managing Director & Editor, SKOCH Group @DhanjalDr
1525-1535
Opening Remarks of the Moderator: Mr Sanjay Jaju, Joint Secretary, Defence Production, Ministry of Defence and CEO, iDEX @sjaju1
1535-1540
Dr S Guruprasad, DG (PC & SI), DRDO @DRDO_India
1540-1550
Mr Amit Cowshish, Former Financial Advisor (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence and Consultant, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) @amitcowshish
1550-1555
Mr Munish Sharma, Consultant, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) @munishsh
1555-1630
Moderated Discussion
Mr K Vannia Perumal, ADGP, Coastal Security Group, Tamil Nadu
Mr P V Sunil Kumar – Additional Director General, Crime Investigation Department, Andhra Pradesh Police
Dr R K Sinha, Director, CSIR – Central Scientific Instruments Organisation
