The 20th edition of the International Conference on Public Policy & Management, hosted by the Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at IIM Bangalore from August 19 to 21, concluded with a strong call for deeper collaboration between researchers, policymakers and communities to build robust state capacity and ensure citizens’ wellbeing. Themed “Rethinking State Capacity in Delivering Public Policy”, the three-day event coincided with the silver jubilee celebrations of CPP and featured a series of plenaries, lectures, workshops, paper presentations and panel discussions.
Delivering the concluding plenary on “Policymaking in a Multilateral World: Some Reflections from History and Practice,” Vikram Raghavan, Lead Counsel at the World Bank, described state capacity as “a multidimensional concept, without any universal definition, but central to development outcomes.” He explained: “It reflects the state’s ability to achieve goals, the government’s ability to get things done, organizational as well as bureaucratic ability. All these matter because they shape development prospects, citizen compliance and governance legitimacy.”
Raghavan cautioned that “technical competence alone will not achieve the desired outcome—citizens’ trust in institutions is what makes reforms successful.” Citing the World Bank’s 2024 World Development Report on avoiding the middle-income trap, he argued that developing economies must strengthen both regulatory standards and institutional legitimacy. “Development runs on both state experience and the social contract,” he noted, adding that “without trust, the probability of breakdown persists. That is the foundation of sustainable development.” Former IIM Bangalore Director Prof. G. Raghuram felicitated him after the talk.
The Prof. M. R. Krishnamurthy Memorial Lecture, delivered by noted water activist and urban planner Vishwanath Srikantaiah, turned the spotlight on Bengaluru’s long-term water security. “Geology is destiny,” he observed, warning that the city’s rapid growth has disrupted the balance between water storage and usage. “Water in itself has no great value; its value lies in how it delivers justice, equity and access,” he said.
Calling for a “social justice framework for water policy,” Srikantaiah argued that inequities in water access must be rectified through carefully designed interventions. He pointed out that Bengaluru’s water story is linked to gold mining, which led to the establishment of hydroelectric plants and the KRS dam. Today, he said, the city depends on a mix of piped supply, groundwater, rainwater and treated wastewater. “If we capture the true ecological cost of water and return it in the same quantity and quality, there will be no pollution,” he added, advocating demand management, leak reduction, lake rejuvenation and citizen monitoring of water institutions. “The future of metropolitan India will be technologically driven, but must be tempered with social justice and good governance,” he said.
The panel discussion on making Operation and Maintenance of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) sustainable featured World Bank’s Parameswaran Iyer, senior government officials and UNICEF specialists. Iyer underscored that “sustaining benefits must be built into design itself, not added as an afterthought.” Prof. Gopal Naik of IIMB said sustainability could only be achieved “through co-ownership between the community and government, with clear monitoring and checks.” Karnataka official Jafar Shareef Sutar admitted that community resistance is a challenge, but argued that “engineers need to act as social engineers by owning projects.” UNICEF’s Manish Wasuja emphasized behavioral change, while Arghyam’s Madhavi Purohit urged stronger community engagement.
A second panel on “Dharma in Public Administration” explored how Indian philosophical traditions could enrich governance. Shivakumar GV discussed the Karmayoga model for institutional Dharma, while researcher Dr. Srinidhi argued that “Dharmic administration balances freedom and compassion through individual welfare and good conduct.” Prof. G. Ramesh cited Isha Foundation’s initiatives as examples of mobilizing social capital and wisdom for development.
Earlier sessions across the three days saw discussions on healthcare pathways, technology-driven challenges to policy, and two pre-conference workshops on critical policy research and quasi-experimental methods. This year, 170 research submissions were received, of which 60 papers were selected.
Summing up the conference, Prof. Arnab Mukherji, Chairperson of the Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy & Management, said: “The CPP Conference continues to serve as a rare platform where scholarship meets practice. This year’s deliberations showed that strengthening state capacity is not just about bureaucratic efficiency but about building trust, ensuring equity and engaging with citizens.”
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