Local Democracy and Welfare Entitlements: Theory, Policy, and Practice August 2025 Batch
Designed to extend knowledge and understanding of the key issues related to local democracy, to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) of India.
Introduction
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 also be discussed. Case studies of successful collaboration between local governments and Civil Society Organisations will be highlighted. Finally, the participants will be guided to develop their own vision and projects related to strengthening of local democracy in their respective field areas.
Structure of the course
The course will be offered from 4 August to 14 August 2025, in Bangalore, in an in-person (offline) mode. It’s divided into seven 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.
| Content | Number of sessions |
|---|---|
| Concepts and Theories | Three |
| Panchayati Raj: Evolution, Structure & Mandate | Two |
| Panchayat Planning: Evolution and Good Practices | Three |
| Democratic Governance in Forests and 5th Schedule areas | Three |
| Rights and Welfare: Concepts and Policies | Two |
| Facilitated Sessions on Civil Society Engagements | Four |
| Exemplars and Innovations | Twenty |
| Field Visits and Reflections | Three |
| Way Forward for CSOs | Two |
Who should attend?
The course is designed and intended for Civil Society Organisations who are working or are interested in working on local democracy issues in rural 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 seven years of experience.
Eligibility and selection process
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.
Last date to apply
Selected candidates to be informed about the payment process
Last date of fee payment
The decision of the evaluation committee will be final.
Certificate of Participation
The participants will be awarded a certificate of participation after successful completion of the 10 — day training.
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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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…
Fee Structure
| INR 9920 | (inclusive of taxes) For general category |
|---|---|
| INR 1180 | (inclusive of taxes) For Field Practice Organisations (FPO) associated with Azim Premji Foundation, including Azim Premji University |
| INR 7080 | (inclusive of taxes) Accommodation and other logistics - per person for 12 days on twin sharing basis. |
All other costs, such as travel to and from Bengaluru, local travel, meals must be borne by participants.