New Delhi December 1, 2015 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 30, 2015, the Center for\nIndia-China Studies at Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), organized a special\nroundtable consultation for representatives of National People’s Congress of\nChina (NPC) titled, \u201cImproving Public Participation in Legislative Process in\nIndia and China.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting was organized to discuss unique\nideas to enhance public participation and transparency in legislation and\nimprove governance through the promotion of innovative participatory approaches\nin law making in both countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussion witnessed participation from\nover 25 leading academics, experts, and policy-makers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delivering the welcome address at the\ndiscussion, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar<\/strong>, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P.\nJindal Global University (JGU), said, \u201cIndia and China have a very long and\nhistorical relationship and people and institutions of both countries share\nvery deep and pervasive ties. Both our countries share remarkable similarities\nand there are a number of causes we can work on. I am hopeful the deliberations\ntoday will help discuss those issues in a candid manner\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Lang Sheng<\/strong>, Member of the Standing Committee of NPC; Vice\nChairman of Legal Affairs Committee of NPC, was the chief guest at the\ndiscussion, speaking on the bond that India and China share, he said, \u201cOur\ncountries share a great history and heritage and we are honored to participate\nin this discussion, we are very keen to share our views and enthusiastic to\nlearn from our Indian counterparts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Highlighting the importance of transparency\nin public policy formulation in China, he stated, \u201c99% of draft laws in China\nare open for public to debate, and only 1% of policies pertaining to defense\nand security are kept a secret from the public.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Delivering a special address at the\nconference, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Railway, Government of\nIndia<\/strong>, spoke on the avenues and challenges for participatory governance in\nthe country, he said, \u201cWe may not have embraced structured consultative\ntechniques like referendums or surveys in the country like the Swiss, but the\nIndian policy making procedures are not bereft of public intervention. Every\nindividual in the country can express his opinion on the policy formulation\nprocess and can register it through the social or the mainstream\nmedia.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor R. Sudarshan<\/strong>, Dean, Jindal\nSchool of Government and Public Policy, noted that China is unique in having\nlegislation on how to legislate, i.e., requiring consultations with the public\nand experts, and mandating feedback to the public on the outcomes of those\nconsultations. Even though the\nlegislative systems in India and China are radically different, lessons can be\nlearned about how both systems can be responsive to people, especially at the\ngrassroots level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numerous other public policy and academic\nexperts debated on key fundamental questions surrounding public policy and\ngovernance, discussions at the forum revolved around formal mechanisms for\nlegislatures or policy-makers to seek public opinions and also the process that\nshould be employed for public deliberations and consultation<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking on public participation policy and\npractices in the legislative process in India, Mr. Sandeep Dikshit<\/strong>,\nFormer Member of Parliament, explained, \u201cThe Indian populace has minimal\ninvolvement with the legislative process in the country, public consensus accounts\nonly for 2-3% of policy formulation in the country, whereas close to 80% of\ndecisions are driven by the bureaucracy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Mr. Venkatesh Nayak<\/strong>, Program\nCoordinator, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, stated, \u201cThe policy making\nprocess in the country is extremely secretive and does not involve public\nconsensus in drafting of laws, he further stated, \u201cthe Right to Information Act\nwas the only law that came through a consultative process.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Highlighting the\nimportance of bilateral dialogue between the two countries, Professor (Dr.)\nSreeram Chaulia<\/strong>, Dean, Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), said,\n\u201cBilateral dialogues among legislators and intellectuals can throw up\nsurprising discoveries about governance and political problems in both the\nAsian giants. China and India are dissimilar but also similar in some ways and\nwe must promote more such comparative workshops for mutual learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking on ways to improve public\nparticipation in India and China, Professor Rajeev Malhotra<\/strong>, Lead Author\n& Chief Editor, India Public Policy Report, noted, \u201cIn India, the\nconsultative and participatory process of governance is very well defined at\nthe central level but a lot still needs to be done to establish the same\ncontrols at the provincial and sub-provincial levels.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Delivering the vote of thanks, Mr. Li\nBijian<\/strong>, Minister Counselor, said, \u201cWe attach great importance to such\ninteractions and eagerly look forward to many other constructive\nconversations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The delegation of the NPC is visiting India\nas part of an international study tour on Public Participation in Lawmaking and\nis supported by the UNDP project, \u201cPromoting innovative participatory\napproaches in law-making in China\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About Center for India-China Studies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Center for India-China Studies is a\nmulti-disciplinary intellectual platform and resource hub for academia,\npractitioners and students who are interested in India and China. It is\nalso committed to playing an active intellectual role on issues related to\nIndia-China collaborations and south – south cooperation at regional and\ninternational level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About Jindal Global Law School<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Located in the vibrant National Capital\nRegion, Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), part of O.P. Jindal Global University\n(JGU), imparts a rigorous and multi-disciplinary legal education with a view to\nproducing world-class legal professionals, scholars, and public servants. JGLS\nempowers its students with knowledge, skills, and vision to meet the challenges\nand opportunities of a rapidly changing world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Delhi December 1, 2015 On November 30, 2015, the Center for India-China Studies at Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), organized a special roundtable consultation for representatives of National People’s Congress of China (NPC) titled, \u201cImproving Public Participation in Legislative Process in India and China.\u201d The meeting was organized to Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsroom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1056,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions\/1056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}