This book comprehensively chronicles the history of the education policymaking in India from 1947 to 2016 with a focus on the developments after 1964 when the Kothari Commission was constituted. The book is informed by the rare insights acquired by the author while making policy at the state, national, and international levels of governance. Another distinguishing feature of this book lies in the attention it pays to the process and politics of policymaking and the larger setting—or, to use jargon, the political and policy environment— in which policies were made at different points of time. The author brings out a crucial analysis of the Indian educational system against the backdrop of national and global political, economic, and educational developments. Two other distinguishing features of the book are the systematic treatment of the regulation of education and the role of judiciary in the making and implementation of education policies.

Drawing on empirical, interdisciplinary research, this book presents a critical review of some of the major issues that are of interest to researchers, policymakers and planners in developing as well as advanced countries, including specifically in India. It provides an in-depth review of some of the major development policy issues in education in general, and in India in particular, over the past 2-3 decades. Besides presenting an overview of the educational developments in India that reflects issues such as growth, equity, efficiency, foreign aid, decentralization, center-state relations, financing, and cost recovery, the book puts forward in-depth analyses of education poverty, interrelations between education and poverty, low level of outcomes in elementary education, effects of structural adjustment policies and approaches on education, south-south cooperation, etc. It also critically discusses changes in policies relating to financing higher education, external assistance for education, and how the growth of private higher education is affecting society at large. The dichotomy between public policy and action is also highlighted in many chapters. On the whole, while the importance of education is being increasingly recognized, the state does not seem to be as willing to foot the bill for education as the households and even the private sector. Occasionally contrasting with international evidence on, for example, financing higher education, private higher education, or the effects of neo-liberal policies, the book offers an interesting read for a wider audience.

After the COVID-19 disaster, ‘old’ frailties and inadequacies in agriculture and industrial productive capacities, in public health and transport systems have evinced sharply in the open, reopening the debates over public policy reforms as never before. This volume: Studies the likely impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future policy making in India and other democracies. Critically looks at the available theoretical frameworks, models and approaches used in the policy making process and studies their contemporary relevance. Balances theoretical approaches with concrete case studies. Examines India’s policies on education, health, e-governance, gender and work, and also provides recommendations for the future. An important and timely contribution, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researches of public administration, public policy, political theory, globalization and global democracy.

This volume presents an interdisciplinary framework to map out contemporary educational studies in India. Based on conceptual tools, quantitative methods and ethnographic accounts drawn from extensive fieldwork, it addresses emerging discourses on educational policies, their operation in the everyday functioning of institutions and actual practices in teaching and learning. Individual chapters discuss the intersectionality in the current educational system of region, gender, class, caste and minorities. With comparative perspectives and case studies from across states, including under-studied rural and urban regions of India, the book explores a wide range of issues affecting the educational system, including socioeconomic and gender inequalities; the educational status of tribal settlements in the hinterlands and their respective urban areas; the marginalisation of minorities; challenges in accessing educational avenues and choices; and the model for imparting vocational education and training. It navigates complex sites of discrimination and exclusion in the institutional spaces of the educational system and assesses the consequences of market dynamics and ideological undercurrents. Presenting first-hand information from the field, it evaluates educational policies, practices and research; investigates challenges and failures; provides suggestions and fosters critical thinking for a knowledge society. The findings in this book will be of interest to researchers, scholars and teachers of education, economics, sociology, urban education and the politics of education, as well as of public policy, governance and development studies. It will also be useful to research institutions, policymakers, educationists, social scientists, education professionals, and governmental and non-governmental bodies working on education.

The book explores the WIPO journey so far and looks at how relevant the treaties are in contemporary world after 25 years of their existence. It revisits the WIPO Diplomatic Conference, narrates briefly how the Internet Treaties came into being, describes all the developments germane to the Internet Treaties over the last twenty-five years and examines at length how well these treaties withstood the creative gales of destruction having a bearing on the production, distribution and consumption of digital content. The retrospective consists of two parts. The first part looks back at the conference, its course of events, its negotiation dynamics, the doctrinal differences and sharply conflicting economic interests underlying the stands taken by the main parties to negotiations and the national and transnational interest groups that sought to influence the negotiation process and outcomes. The second part reflects on the outcomes and assesses with the wisdom of hindsight, how appropriate the outcomes were and how well they withstood the passage of time. This second aspect is the main focus of this book. The retrospective is limited to the digital agenda of DipCon; but for the digital agenda, the DipCon is convened so soon and the Internet Treaties concluded so fast. The book provides rich material for researchers studying the WIPO journey and also the practitioners by throwing light on discussions that led to a treaty that has in general withstood the trials of time.

What will it take to build high-performing, purpose-oriented public sector organizations in India? In answering this question, the voices of India's frontline officers--charged with delivering a vast array of public services to citizens--are dismissed all too quickly. Public debates on the Indian state generally view them as corrupt, apathetic, incompetent, and in urgent need of disciplining. By providing an empathetic ear to these voices, this book reveals the complex ways in which bureaucratic hierarchies, processes, and belief systems shape state capacity. It describes an ambitious effort to improve the quality of government schools, particularly their ability to equip students with foundational literacy and numeracy, in the city-state of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. In documenting the trials and tribulations of educational personnel, bureaucrats, and reform champions, Aiyar captures the sites of resistance, distortion, and adoption of reform ideas through the voices of those charged with its implementation. Understanding these dynamics lies at the heart of the challenge of building state capacity.