PPFP – Main Course • Public Policy

The Public Policy Fellowship Program – Main Course is an intensive 3-month program that comprises 20 sessions conducted on-site at DAV Shikshanam, Gopalapuram.

Eligibility – Anyone above 18 years of age with a reasonably good command over English.

Format – On-site at DAV Shikshanam, 212-213 Avvai Shanmugam Salai, Gopalapuram, Chennai – 600 086

Duration – 20 sessions across 10 Sundays

Broad Timeline – January – April

Registration Fee – Rs.2,500/-

MODULES

Economic Development

Economic Development forms one of the fulcrum modules of the public policy fellowship program. Under this module, experts detail various aspects of India’s as well as Tamil Nadu’s economic development: past, contemporary scenarios and future roadmaps. Contours of the union budget, the state budget, policies such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) are some of the themes discussed under this module across different sessions.

The Security module aims to cover both internal and external security under separate sessions. The internal security aspect covers regions such as Jammu and Kashmir, India’s northeast, and the states under the threat of Maoism. The aim is to unravel the historicity of India’s internal security challenges in these regions, assess what the current scenario is and objectively put into perspective the journey that needs to be undertaken to weed out any design of harming the nation’s security. The external security component explores India’s journey in the area of defence and an impact assessment by giving a 360 degree view of the making of India’s external security contours and challenges that lie ahead.

Security

Technology

The current global information age is regarded as the 3rd industrial revolution by many experts. By the end of 2021, close to 40% of the world is expected to be on social media. The advent of 5G technology has been a catalyst of sorts for the current information revolution. With over 5 million plus websites, the importance of user generated content is now more than ever. The basic feature of this module is to give the learner an opportunity to understand Tamil Nadu’s e-governance initiatives, the latest trends in global technological advancements, a thorough analysis of Aadhaar (India’s unique identification) amongst others.

Education remains a key component of public policy making. Why education? Why is it important to train the minds to think and not just learn facts, are some of the important questions that this module seeks to answer. India’s education system and its journey until date form the basis of the sessions. Themes of this module include presentation of relevant global and national case studies to deepen understanding and a look at basic education as means to understand public policy.

Education

Politics

In a vibrant democracy like India, understanding political science becomes imperative. In and through an analysis of India’s general elections and state elections, the module seeks to put into context why it is important to understand and study elections in India. While not restricted to India, the module also covers specific and special sessions from countries abroad such as the US presidential election to give a ringside view to understanding the modus operandi of how elections are conducted in countries abroad especially with differing systems such as the presidential form of governments.

Reforms, historicity of the constitution, its amendments and why they were undertaken, key laws, their formation and current status form the basic themes of this module. Judiciary is an important pillar of any country’s democratic ethos. In addition, this module takes the course of making the basics of the functioning of the judiciary more clearer. The roles and responsibilities as well as the relationship between the legislature, executive and the media with respect to the judiciary is also discussed.

Judiciary

Health

Be it right to health or health assurance, the importance of health cannot be more pronounced. Understanding Tamil Nadu’s health apparatus and a deep dive into health policies in the state as well as the country form key themes in this module. Why public health policies play a key role in shaping global societies and how they contribute to a productive society are some of the other finer aspects that this rigorous module will detail. In addition the ways in which public policy as such impacts health is a highlight of this module.

In and through case studies and relevant reports, this module will rethink the importance of agriculture to India’s public policies. Each state has its own set of policies of thinking through agriculture, how to remove unnecessary clutches so that agriculture as a whole is paid attention to and there is win-win for the farmer and consumer. Importantly, through this module the focus will be on challenges that the Agriculture sector faces and what the state and union should do to overcome in order to enable the sector to be a comprehensive enabler for India’s economic development. Historicity around Independent India’s agricultural policies and the planning that was envisioned to implement these policies are important pillars of this module.

Agriculture

Media

Media plays a crucial role in public policy formulation. This module across relevant sessions covers the role that media plays to influence people about different public policies that are in direct relation to India. While doing so, the module seeks to explore the role and responsibilities of media in India’s democracy in order to enable efficient public policy making. The contemporary dynamics of media in India, what role they are choosing to opt for in order to represent the interests of the country, its advancement will also be highlighted.

The contours of the global power axis from the pacific atlantic to the indo-pacific, how are Asian powers responding to mitigating the global challenges of today and which are the countries that are committed to doing global good that is for their own citizens as well as those from outside of their countries are some of the key themes of this important module. The past and present of international relations between countries and what are their determinants such as trade, culture, people to people exchanges, security, connectivity, communications and so forth will be areas of examination.