Civil Society in India:
India’s civil society consists of
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Grassroots organisations that connect to the last mile and provide essential services
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Think tanks and academic institutions that produce new policy ideas and generate evidence.
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Advocacy organisations that build support for causes
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Large impact funds and philanthropists who decide how these organisations get funded.
What are the issues with the functioning of Civil society organisations in India?
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Successive governments in India have significantly curtailed the kind of activities that civil society actors can engage in. For instance,
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Philanthropists and donor organisations often find themselves unable to support initiatives that strengthen India’s democracy and its accountability mechanisms, for fear of retribution.
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Many civil society actors focus on engaging with narrow policy problems by ignoring the politics around policy and focussing disproportionately on technocratic solutions. For instance,
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A report by McKinsey and Company estimated that close to 90 percent of total donor interest in India was targeted towards primary education, primary healthcare, rural infrastructure, and disaster relief.
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Whereas, areas such as human rights and governance are left with minimal funding.
What needs to be done?
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Need to re-examine parliamentary rules that are heavily tilted in favour of the ruling government.
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Need to strengthen the judiciary, bolster federalism and the independent media.
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Further, need to create transparency in decision-making within the executive.
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Philanthropists need to fund initiatives that empower citizens, build fair processes, call for responsive policy, strengthen information and communication networks, and bolster social cohesion.
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Civil society organisations too, need to broaden their agenda. It should include issues that strengthen India’s institutions by demanding more transparency and accountability in all areas and levels of policymaking.