Dan Banik and Rajesh Veeraraghavan discuss the impact of two landmark rights-based laws enacted by the Indian government in 2005: the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which resulted in the largest development program in the world that provides employment on demand and builds rural infrastructure; and the Right to Information Act, which granted all citizens the right to access government records.
Many well-designed development programs do not deliver social benefits effectively, especially to marginalized citizens. While political will and good policy design are vital for a program’s success, they often run into resistance from local power systems. How states react to the local exercise of power that often comes into play at the “last mile” of project implementation appears to be particularly important. Indeed, the extent to which development programs avoid being captured by state or local power systems is key and something that concerns both scholars and practitioners.Â
My guest has studied whether the opening of government records and the use of digital technology provide higher levels of government with better tools to effectively monitor local state action. Rajesh Veeraraghavan is an assistant professor in the Science Technology and International Affairs Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. In a wonderful new book, Patching Development: Information Politics and Social Change in India, Rajesh explores two crucial and interrelated questions: First, how can states best deliver social benefits to marginalized citizens? And second, what role can marginalized citizens and members of civil society play in strengthening systems of accountability? Twitter: @RajeshVeeraa
Key highlights:
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Host:
Professor Dan Banik, University of Oslo, Twitter: @danbanik  @GlobalDevPod
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