Events
Baithak: Conversations in Policy
What?
Last year at CCS Academy, we curated a platform for CCS alumni, young students and professionals to engage in themes and discussions around public policy; now popularly called Baithak: Conversations in Policy. Baithaks follow an open group discussion format where the speaker is also the moderator of the debate, the principal guide and the facilitator of free flow of information among all the participants.
About Ragini Bajaj
Ragini Bajaj Chaudhary, Director Caspian Impact Advisors is development finance professional with more than 20 years of experience in microfinance, impact investment and development. Prior to Caspian, Ragini served as a CEO of GMC India, where she led the development of its strategic road map for the Affordable private school sector, set up operations to lead an 8m early stage investment fund, an Accelerator – Calibrator for mobile ed-tech companies and eco-system development for education.
Prior to GMC, she led the financial inclusion agenda of Poorest State Inclusive Growth (PSIG) Programme as well as its impact investment and incubation portfolio as a Private Sector Development Advisor, UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID) India.
Prior to DFID, she has worked in Mi India (Dia Vikas Capital), EDA Rural Systems, Care India, Institute of Rural Management Anand, in various capacities specialising in, impact investment, training, rating, consulting and social performance management for microfinance, livelihoods and social enterprise space. Ragini is a management graduate from Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) and has qualified as a Management Accountant from Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA),UK. Ragini strongly believes that her strong understanding of consumer context, social and economic challenges and rural realities has been on account of her grounding in IRMA. She counts this as one of her life-changing experiences.
Why?
The idea of Baithak is to give a platform to all CCS graduates and potential course participants to come together for a discussion on contemporary socio-cultural and economic issues in the presence of prominent voices from the liberal movement in India. Its objective is to create a knowledge ecosystem, impacting the policy space in India at large.
When and where?
Topic: Privatisation of Education in India: The Sin or the Saviour?
Date: June 30, 2019
Time: 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Venue: TBD
For details contact: Sourya Banerjee (Sourya Banerjee)
Baithak: Conversations in Policy
What?
Last year at CCS Academy, we curated a platform for CCS alumni, young students and professionals to engage in themes and discussions around public policy; now popularly called Baithak: Conversations in Policy. Baithaks follow an open group discussion format where the speaker is also the moderator of the debate, the principal guide and the facilitator of free flow of information among all the participants.
About Dr Dhanuraj
Dr Dhanuraj is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Chief Executive of CPPR of which he is also one of the founding members. He holds a PhD (Anna University), MSc Physics (Mahatma Gandhi University) and MA Political Science (Madras Christian College). He also holds a Post Graduate Executive Diploma in International Business from Loyola, Chennai and has undergone training by TTMBA of Atlas USA, IAF Germany, FEE USA, etc. Dhanuraj started his career as a Research Associate in 2003. He has handled various social research projects and has extensively travelled across the country to manage projects of various kinds. He works in the areas of urbanisation, education, health, livelihood and law. Dhanu, as he is fondly called by friends and colleagues, is foremost a policy researcher and then an entrepreneur and consultant. Election studies have been one of his main areas of interest and he has been analysing the polls on various TV channels and social media since 2012.
Why?
The idea of Baithak is to give a platform to all CCS graduates and potential course participants to come together for a discussion on contemporary socio-cultural and economic issues in the presence of prominent voices from the liberal movement in India. Its objective is to create a knowledge ecosystem, impacting the policy space in India at large.
When and where?
Topic: Decoding the Polls and Policy Challenges Ahead
Date: June 15, 2019
Time: 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Venue: Dialogues Cafe, J P Nagar, Bengaluru
For details contact: Manasa Pidatala (manasa@ccs.in)
Baithak: Conversations in Policy
What?
Last year at CCS Academy, we curated a platform for CCS alumni, young students and professionals to engage in themes and discussions around public policy; now popularly called Baithak: Conversations in Policy. Baithaks follow an open group discussion format where the speaker is also the moderator of the debate, the principal guide and the facilitator of free flow of information among all the participants.
About the speakers
Barun Mitra
Barun is the founder and director of the Liberty Institute, a non-profit, independent public policy research and advocacy organisation, based in New Delhi, India. Barun has also received the 2005 Julian L. Simon Award for his contribution in environmental policy debates from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Prashant Narang
Prashant Narang is a lawyer practising in the High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court of India. As a doctoral candidate at Center for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, he is working on a critical study of Supreme Court judgments on the Fundamental Right to practise business, trade and profession in India.
Nikhil Mehra
Nikhil Mehra is an advocate practicing in New Delhi before various forums, particularly the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. Nikhil graduated from the NLSIU, Bangalore and started his career with Mr. Harish Salve. He went on to complete his Masters in Law at the prestigious Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, USA. He worked as a Corporate Attorney in New York for many years with two of the top financial law firms before returning to India to set up his own Litigation practice. Nikhil was part of the talented team that assisted in drafting the JS Verma Report of 2013 on Reform of Criminal Laws.
Topic
The discussion will center around The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 and its implications on society 68 years on. The act was the first attempt to dilute right to property, and limit freedom of speech, as well as land acquisition and distribution. It was also a manifestation of the widespread political support for efforts to curb property rights in various forms. Whilst Barun will provide a broad overview of the act with emphasis on the political context of the time, Prashant is going to speak on Article 19(6)(ii) inserted through the First Amendment, focusing on how state monopolies were made immune from judicial review under the clause. Nikhil Mehra will shed light on Article 19(2) in particular, discussing restrictions on freedom of speech.
Why?
The idea of Baithak is to give a platform to all CCS graduates and potential course participants to come together for a discussion on contemporary socio-cultural and economic issues in the presence of prominent voices from the liberal movement in India. Its objective is to create a knowledge ecosystem, impacting the policy space in India at large.
When and where?
Date: 15 June, 2019
Time: 4 - 7 p.m.
Venue: A-69, Hauz Khas, New Delhi (CCS Office)
For details contact: Shivang Raina (Shivang Raina)
Baithak: Conversations in Policy
What?
Last year at CCS Academy, we curated a platform for CCS alumni, young students and professionals to engage in themes and discussions around public policy; now popularly called Baithak: Conversations in Policy. Baithaks follow an open group discussion format where the speaker is also the moderator of the debate, the principal guide and the facilitator of free flow of information among all the participants.
About Badri Seshadri
Badri Seshadri graduated with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1991 and a Ph.D from Cornell University in 1996. He co-founded Cricinfo, a cricket website along with several others, and was one of the founding Directors of Cricinfo Ltd. in 1996 when it was incorporated as a company. Badri managed Cricinfo in India during 1996-99, functioned as Chief Operations Officer in UK in 1999-2000, worked as Director Commercial in India in 2001 and as Managing Director of the India operations and Chief Technology Officer between 2002-04. During 2004-05 he managed the mobile strategy for Cricinfo. Badri is the Managing Director of New Horizon Media Private Limited. He maintains blogs in Tamil and English. He is a noted political commentator and articles in both Tamil and English for prominent newspapers and appears on political debates.
Why?
The idea of Baithak is to give a platform to all CCS graduates and potential course participants to come together for a discussion on contemporary socio-cultural and economic issues in the presence of prominent voices from the liberal movement in India. Its objective is to create a knowledge ecosystem, impacting the policy space in India at large.
When and where?
Topic: Politics of Voting with a focus on TN
Date: June 08, 2019
Time: 5 PM to 7 PM
Venue: Shankar IAS, Anna Nagar, Chennai
For details contact: Rini Rafi (Rini Rafi)
Massive Open Online Course(MOOC) on Education Policy
About the Program
CCS' Massive Open Online Course on Education Policy is a course that aims to train students in research methods and the philosophical, economic, and political aspects of education policy. This course will provide a solid foundation in the theories that have influenced policy decisions over the decades and steps in the process of policy formulation, knowledge and skills necessary to analyze education policies and suggest reforms on the basis of successful pilot studies from across the world and emerging trends in the sector.
It is a 16 hours engagement (including a 1.5-hour assessment exam) which can be accessed anytime between the start of the course till July 11.
Program Highlights:
- Offered entirely on a digital learning platform to reach development professionals working in the farthest ends of the country
- Comprises of 4 modules with 20 topics covered through video lectures, animations, quizzes, simulation building
- Discussion forum and technical query resolution forum
- Eminent board of mentors and experienced faculty team
Course Availability: 11 May-11 July 2019
Application Deadline: 10 June 2019
Selection Process: The second batch of MOOC will comprise of 200 students only. Due to monitored enrollment, the candidates will be selected on First Come First Serve Basis.
Course Outline
Module 1: Unpacking 'Education'
- Distinction between Knowledge, Education, Schooling and Learning
- Philosophy of Education: Key thinkers and Ideas
- Diversity and Equity in Education
- State, Civil Society, and Education: Gandhi, Tagore, Radhakrishnan, Krishnamurthy
- Emergence of Curriculum: The National Curriculum Framework and SSA
- Government in Education
Module 2: Economics of Education
- The Landscape of Education in India
- Demand, Supply, Exchange - How Markets Work in Education
- Defining Schools: Public and Private Alternatives in India
- Structure of School Financing in India
- The Cost of Universal Schooling in India
Module 3: Regulatory Framework for Education in India
- Analysis of Educational Administration in India
- Reading Data in Education: Key Sources
- Evolution of Education Policy in India
- Understanding RTE
- Advancing Social Justice
Module 4: Catalyzing Quality Education Delivery - Solving Puzzles in Education
- Re-envisioning the Learning Space
- Technology in Education
- Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Reforms in Education
Testimonials
The online course conducted by CCS on the Education Policy of India helped me understand the current education situation in India. Previously, I had a very constricted view of the education sector but after completing the course and the externship, I feel there are several shortcomings in the education sector that needs to be addressed. This course helped me understand the importance and the role of Education in the development of a country and its citizens. Overall, it was an excellent experience.
This course has helped me to inculcate the theory and practice of community based research along with community partners which would not have been possible in a classroom setting alone.
It has also given me an idea and knowledge about financing and partnerships, with emphasis on local collaboration in the education sector.
This course has motivated me to think about the critical gaps in the education space.
Further, it has also helped me to learn the strategies of consultation and collaboration to deal with various stakeholders and government agencies.
The course that we did on Education Policy was really helpful. I gathered a lot of useful information. This course wouldnt have possible it CCS wouldnt have been there.
I have learned so much from the course and I look forward to learning more. Thank you for being a remarkable teacher.
Thanks to CCS
Faculty
Dr. Parth J. Shah
Dr. Parth J Shah is the President of Centre for Civil Society (CCS), a public policy think tank advancing personal, economic and political freedoms. In a latest survey, CCS was ranked the number 1 think tank in India and 81 globally.
Dr. Shah's research and advocacy work focus on the themes of economic freedom, choice and competition in education, property rights approach for the environment, and good governance.
Avani Kapur
Avani is a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Initiative and the Director of Accountability Initiative - a research group at CPR focusing on governance, state capacity and implementation of key social sector programmes. The focus of her work has been in building evidence for policy advocacy to strengthen transparency and accountability in public financial management for service delivery and ensure greater citizen engagement in governance systems. At AI, she has also been anchoring the publication of the annual budget brief series and implementation of fund tracking surveys on key social sector schemes including education, health, sanitation, nutrition. She is a Tech4Good Fellow and an Alumna of the London School of Economics and Smith College, Massachusetts.
Amit Kaushik
Amit Kaushik was a civil servant for 20 years, joining the Indian Railway Accounts Service in 1987. During his time in the service, he held a variety of challenging assignments, including as Director in the Ministry of HRD, Government of India, where he was associated with the implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), as well as the drafting of the Right to Education Act. He has consulted widely, with multilateral agencies like UNESCO and UNICEF, and has extensive experience of educational planning in India and other developing countries.
Since leaving government, he has worked with organisations like SRF, the NGO Pratham, Educomp Schools and IPE Global. He is currently the CEO at the Australian Council for Educational Research (India).
Geeta Gandhi Kingdon
Prof. Kingdon holds the Chair of 'Education Economics and International Development' at UCL Institute of Education, University College London. She has worked for 10 years as faculty at the Department of Economics, University of Oxford. Her research is based mostly on statistical analysis of education datasets. Based on this research, she advises governments and donor agencies such as the World Bank, European Union (EU) and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) on their education-related aid to developing countries.
She has frequently been a member of the Union Human Resource Development Ministry's 'Joint Review Missions' of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and of the Secondary education programme (the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan), a member of the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board (Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad), and also serves on the Government of UP's Advisory Committee on Basic Education.
In 2013, Professor Kingdon was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Kingston University London for "her outstanding contributions to education and development".
Gurcharan Das
An Indian author, commentator and public intellectual. Gurcharan Das graduated with honours from Harvard University in Philosophy. He later attended Harvard Business School (AMP), where he is featured in three case studies. He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later managing director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). In 1995, he took early retirement to become a full-time writer. He writes periodic pieces for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Newsweek.
Sridhar Rajagopalan
Sridhar Rajagopalan is a co-founder of Educational Initiatives Pvt. Ltd. (EI), a company that has helped change the way student learning outcomes are seen in India. EI offers ASSET, India's leading private school assessment and Mindspark, a personalised learning program that has featured as a Harvard Business Study case. Sridhar has been a member of various central and state government committees related to education including the committee for devising model rules for the Right to Education Act in Gujarat. He is currently based in the US and heads EI's US subsidiary.
Vimala Ramachandran
Vimala Ramachandran, has been working on elementary education, girls' education and women's empowerment. She conceptualized and launched Mahila Samakhya, a women's education program of Government of India program based in the Department of Education, MHRD. She was the Managing Trustee of HealthWatch – a network of researchers and activists engaged with women's health.
She established Educational Resource Unit in 1998 as a network of researchers and practitioners working on education and empowerment.
She has published extensively on education policy and practice, gender issues and women's empowerment.
Yamini Aiyar
Yamini Aiyar is the President and Chief Executive of CPR. Her research interests are in the field of social policy and development. In 2008, Yamini founded the Accountability Initiative at CPR. Under her leadership, the Accountability Initiative has produced significant research in the areas of governance, state capacity and social policy.
Yamini's own research on social accountability, elementary education, decentralisation and administrative reforms has received both academic and popular recognition.
Aiyar is an Alumna of the London School of Economics, St. Edmund's college Cambridge University, and St Stephen's College, Delhi University.
Your slot would be reserved once you register and make the payment.
Applications open! Course Availability: 11 May - 11 July