The second annual three-day Public Policy Dialogues of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business (ISB), began on Wednesday, January 3, where the keynote speaker, Padma Bhushan awardee Dr K Srinath Reddy, used the analogy of a digital camera to stress that policymakers need to, “zoom into the ground level while also keeping a panoramic view of the overall goals for development of a country”.

Dr Reddy, Honorary Distinguished Professor at the Public Health Foundation of India, said, “Public policy has to be both multi-disciplinary and grounded. Its essence lies in the welfare and happiness of those who depend on the practitioners of public policy.” Stressing upon the diverse aspects of human development, he said that these require attention equally and are not isolated entities. Taking the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an example, he highlighted their bidirectional nature – as in, how they are inter-related and affect each other, such as climate change and food security, or even biology and social development.

This year, the dialogues focuses on the theme of human development and its importance.

Also speaking at the plenary session on Human Development Perspective from India, Amarjeet Sinha, retired IAS officer, and Member, Public Enterprises Selection Board, underscored the importance of public policy dialogues. He said, “There is a disconnect, sort of a gap, between the micro and the macro. We need to bridge that. How do we repair the broken ladder of aspirations even for those students from ramshackle government schools? That is a key question, for instance.”