Takshashila partners Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) to deliver India’s first training programme for urban civic leaders.
The first batch consists of 66 civic leaders who go through an intensive three-month programme consisting of a concept track, a practice track and a field track. The BCLIP Programme features a “whole-of-Bangalore” effort and draws on the wealth of experience in urban policy & governance that exists in the city’s think tanks, institutions and individuals.
The Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP) starts off with a pioneer batch of 25 students from across India. The GCPP introduces a rigorous one-semester course in public policy designed for working professionals. It is delivered online, over a learning management system and live webinars every weekend. The class meets in New Delhi and Goa for its weekend policy workshops.
The Takshashila Institution is incorporated as a public charitable trust in Chennai. Nitin Pai, V Anantha Nageswaran, Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Anand Sampath and R Sreenivasan are the founding trustees.
We start Pragati – The Indian National Interest Review
“Pragati–The Indian National Interest Review, a publication on strategic affairs, public policy and governance” is launched. It is a magazine that extends both blog posts on the INI platform as well as new, “fresh & bold” articles about India for an international audience.
From the inaugural editorial:
Pragati expresses several of the themes that we care about dearly: economic freedom, realism in international relations, an open society, a culture of tolerance and an emphasis on good governance. The environment, poverty eradication and rural development have long been appropriated by vested ideological and political interests, over which they have come to assert an exclusivity of sorts. We challenge these claims of intellectual monopoly…
This publication is the product of independent minds, who—transcending ideological pigeonholes—are united in our determination to see a better future for our nation. [Why Pragati]
A group of like-minded people came together to create the Indian National Interest platform of blogs as a place for serious discussion on foreign affairs and public policy concerning India.