A Framework Of Public Policy Analysis: The Indian Context

Public Policy, practised for long as an art has emerged as a science. Yet, it defies and spills beyond all ‘disciplinary’ boundaries proving the axiom that science is more a method than the substance of a study. Public policy as a science is still evolving in the Indian context. Such an empirical canvas is warranted so as to prevent the temptation of being circumscribed by conceptual or theoretical ‘models’. It is with this perspective that this article discusses the rationale of policy analysis and seeks to set it out in the Indian context. The mosaic of issues for policy analysis are formulated as follows: multi-functional objectives emerging at different levels from the local to the global all of which have to be harmonised, and regarded as parallel concerns of policy. These complex factors are contributed to and operated by an organisational loop, which explains the diverse degrees of efficacy and effectiveness of policy on the ground.