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Maharashtra government to set up policy research institute

The institute will assess state government policies, conduct research and provide feedback on lacunae

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Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) in Pune where the institute will initially work from
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The state government may be pouring crores of public money into welfare and infrastructure schemes but there is little research about the outcomes of these programmes. Plus, as seasoned babus admit, there is little information in the public domain about the scientific assessments of these schemes and how the best global practices can be adopted to improve service delivery.

The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday decided to set up the Maharashtra Policy Research Institute at Tathawade near Pune, making it the first state to do so. The Institute will conduct scientific assessments of state government policies and schemes, conduct research on initiatives, zero down on viable options and initiate administrative reforms through training. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has agreed to provide technical and other expertise and need-based agreements will be signed with technical bodies and CSR groups.

It will study the best practices in other states and countries and make suggestions to the Maharashtra government accordingly.

At present, Maharashtra has the Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) as a think tank and policy incubator, but for Mumbai and urban agglomerations.

"This will serve as a good backup for us who are practitioners of the policy," said Chief Secretary Sumit Mullick, adding that the Institute will provide a third-party assessment of government policies and schemes. This will cover the implementation of policies, lacunae, utilisation of funds and the need for changes.

The Institute will be manned by government officials and sector experts, with cells being set up gradually to cover all state government departments. Various government departments will suggest schemes to the Institute for assessments, noted Mullick.

From this year, it will undertake work on policy research on five important priority initiatives or decisions by government departments.

"It is a good idea. The state government has many departments and policies and it is necessary to adopt global policies and detect and weed out lacunae for better policy making," noted a retired IAS official with extensive experience in the social sector.

Initially, the Institute will work from the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA). The chief minister will head the apex body and the chief secretary will chair the high-power committee.

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