Request to fund India’s first-ever All India Policy Writing Competition

Dear All: As some of you may know already, FTI has launched India’s first Policy Writing Competition to encourage young Indians (the 90s generation) to develop well-researched draft policies based on the concepts of liberty. This project is being led by my FTI colleague, Sanjeev. I am very pleased to report that we have already raised more than Rs 3 Lakhs of our target of Rs 5 Lakhs (from a very significant number of supporters and FTI members).

May I request all of you to kindly consider supporting this effort with any amount you can (we are suggesting a Rs.5,000 to Rs.30,000, but smaller or slightly larger contributions will be accepted too). The closing date for commitments is 5 November.

Lot more details (including how to donate etc) here. 

 Pl do share this link with friends, fellow activists and everyone else who wishes to do their bit in our movement to Reclaim India. 

Some excerpts from the main post on FTI’s blog below:

FTI subscribes to the classical liberal philosophy of equal freedom (with accountability) and respect for knowledge and innovation. If the government performs its necessary roles – of defence, police and justice, and possibly some infrastructure and social insurance – well enough, then citizens are generally capable of solving most of their remaining problems by themselves.

Over the past three years, FTI has attracted over 100 outstanding leaders, including many graduates from India’s and the world’s best educational institutions. Most of its members currently hold (or have held) senior roles in the public and private sectors in India and abroad. With total commitment to personal integrity, all FTI members bring a single-minded dedication to liberty and good governance in India. Over the past few years, these leaders have extensively discussed and agreed key strategies and frameworks.

…FTI follows a “pyramid model” of decision making. Higher level agreements are achieved first, then the details. Policy development should be undertaken after a process for such development has been agreed.

…Policies, which create the system of incentives in a society, underpin its performance. FTI is keenly aware, as Chanakya was, that public policies must be incentive compatible. Only that will ensure integrity in public and private life: enabling its people to flourish. India’s current policies are not incentive compatible, and systematically generate moral hazard (cheating, criminality) in every aspect of public life.

FTI’s next step is to develop detailed public policies (based on the ten questions described above) on a range of public policy issues. We will also attach, to each policy, an FAQ that explains commonly asked questions.

To assist FTI in this task of policy development, we want to invite the best ideas from India’s best students and policy researchers. We propose to do this by holding a national policy writing competition with significant prize money attached. FTI will provide the detailed policy architecture (outlined above) and ask respondents to submit draft policies consistent with this architecture. We will announce this competition to all colleges and universities in India, and disseminate through social media.

…FTI aims to publish its policies by mid-2013, in order to be influential in the national debates leading to the 2014 parliamentary elections.

…FTI needs to raise Rs.5 lakhs for prizes (with about Rs.20,000 per policy plus some overall awards) to launch this competition.

Please note that:

i) Only Indian citizens are eligible to contribute to FTI, and all contributions will need to be made in Indian rupees electronically into FTI’s bank account.

ii) FTI will publish the names of all its donors, and the amounts they have donated.

iii) Should any prize money not be used for the purpose intended, FTI will return the contributions on pro-rata basis. (Although FTI does need funds for many other purposes, such support should be separate to support for this policy competition.)

In addition to this, FTI members in London are planning to host a fund-raising dinner for this same purpose on 6th December. Stay tuned for further details.

Related Posts: Building a Freedom Team for India, FTI comes of age! and on Politics, FTI and Corruption