Local Democracy and Welfare Entitlements: Theory, Policy, and Practice November 2026 Batch
A 10-day residential course with a focus on South India
Details
Despite efforts by some state governments and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the practice of local democracy and welfare entitlements in India has not been impressive. The Union and the State governments, despite the promise of the Constitution, have more often than not treated the Local Democratic Institutions as non-desirable or as their agencies rather than as local governments. Also, much remains to be done to bridge the systemic gaps to reach welfare entitlements to the population. The perception of elected representatives about their identity and role is also an area of concern.
The Civil Society Organisations of India, as some outstanding examples have shown in the past, can play a crucial role to develop a vibrant local democracy and ensure delivery of welfare entitlements in the country. Fortunately, there are many CSOs which are willing to devote themselves to the cause, but do not have the domain knowledge to work on local democracy issues. The course has been designed to equip them with knowledge and understanding of the issues related to local democracy and welfare entitlements.
The course explores the theory, policy and practice of local democracy in India, with a focus on Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabha. Participants will be provided a holistic overview of various ideas and policies that has informed India’s local democracy initiatives. The field experience of various issues related to local democracy such as participatory planning, poverty alleviation, empowerment of women and Dalits will be discussed. Case studies of successful collaboration between local governments, SHG collectives and CSOs will be highlighted. Finally, the participants will be guided to develop their own vision and projects related to strengthening local democracy in their respective field areas.
The course will be offered in person from 16 – 26 November 2026 in Bengaluru. It’s divided into 7 themes as shown along with a field visit and a way forward for the participants to plan their work in future. The themes cover the theoretical foundation, policy perspectives and dominant field realities, and major exceptions and good practices.
Day wise schedule
| Day | Theme/ Topics covered | Number of sessions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Concepts and theories | Three sessions |
| 2 | Panchayati raj: Evolution, structure, and mandate | Two sessions |
| 3 | Panchayat Planning: Evolution, measuring progress, and good practices | Three sessions |
| 4 | Democratic governance in forests and 5th Schedule areas | Two sessions |
| 5 | Rights and welfare: Concepts and policies | Three sessions |
| 6 | Facilitated sessions on civil society engagements | Four sessions |
| 7 | Exemplars and innovations | Thirteen sessions |
| 8 | Field visits and reflections | Three sessions |
| 9 | Reflection session for CSOs | Two sessions |
| 10 | Way forward for CSOs | One session |
The course is designed and intended for civil society organisations who are working or are interested in working on local democracy issues in rural areas, including forest and PESA areas. The course is best experienced by a minimum of two development practitioners from one organisation. The design of the course is aimed at mid-to senior-level staff of the organisations having a minimum of 7 years of experience.
All applicants are expected to represent their organisation. A minimum of two participants from each organisation should participate. All applicants must possess a working knowledge of English. Applicants will be shortlisted based on their applications and telephonic interviews. The decision of the evaluation committee will be final.
Important dates to remember
Last date for applications
Last date for fee payment
- The course will be transacted in English. It shall utilise published texts, videos and class presentations followed by interactive classroom sessions to explore the issues that will be discussed.
- The course will be conducted in person.
- Course materials will be available in English.
The course will be facilitated by Ashok Kumar Sircar, Rajan Singh, Debraj Bhattacharjee, Debmalya Nandi, Syeda Noor Fathima and Sukanta Sarkar – faculty members of Azim Premji University and a pool of noted resource persons from across India.
The participants will be awarded a Certificate of Participation after successfully attending all the days and submitting assignments.
Contact us
For any questions, please write to us at: localdemocracy.development@apu.edu.in
Course Faculty
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Ashok Kumar Sircar
Ashok Sircar has worked for 31 years spanning the corporate sector, development sector, and teaching/training. He has been extensively involved in development action and studies in India in the domains of programme design, planning and execution, monitoring-evaluation, research and policy advocacy on issues of local governance, land rights and livelihoods.
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Debmalya Nandi
Debmalya is a faculty member at School of Continuing Education University Resource Centre, Azim Premji University.He is a development practitioner with over 17 years of experience working on rural development, local democracy, welfare rights, and social policy implementation in India. He has also been writing quite frequently in different media platforms.His earlier work lies at…
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Debraj Bhattacharya
Debraj is an alumnus of Presidency College, Calcutta and Calcutta University where he studied History for his BA and MA degrees.He has worked in various NGOs in the development sector of India for the last two decades and learnt about “development”, or the lack of it, while working.Debraj’s research, broadly speaking, falls in two disciplines…
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Rajan Kumar Singh
Rajan Kumar Singh is a faculty member at the School of Continuing Education — University Resource Centre, Azim Premji University.He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Delhi, where his research examined democratic deepening and self-rule in Panchayati Raj Institutions, based on empirical studies in West Bengal and Jharkhand.He holds a Master’s…
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Sukanta Sarkar
Sukanta Sarkar has been involved in the development sector for last 30 years since he started his career in PRADAN. He has done master’s in agriculture and thus been involved in ensuring livelihoods of poor and marginalised especially of the Women. He has been instrumental in capacitating the rural poor women of Jharkhand to take…
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Syeda Noor Fathima
Syeda Noor Fathima is a faculty Member at the School of Continuing Education — University Resource Centre (SCE-URC), Azim Premji University. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Mysore and is a Gold Medallist in Master of Social Work (MSW). A recipient of the Best Student, Best NSS Volunteer and many…
Fee Structure
| INR 12390 | For individuals from non-partner organisations. |
|---|---|
| INR 1770 | For individuals from partners of Azim Premji Foundation, including field practice partners of Azim Premji University. |
This fee includes GST.
Accommodation and food will be borne by Azim Premji University.
Travel to be borne by the participants.