“We have found most MPs receptive with a keen sense of curiosity and recognition of their own limitations.” – Arghya Sengupta of the Vidhi Centre of Legal Policy

Initially starting out as the Pre-Legislative Briefing Service, the (now renamed) Vidhi Centre of Legal Policy has recently called for applications to the post of Vidhi Fellow, as well as Vidhi Junior Research Fellow. The think tank is expected to start functioning as a “full fledged institution” in New Delhi from November this year. In a short chat with Bar & Bench, VCLP Fellow Arghya Sengupta talks about the new positions, the challenges of running a think tank in India, and the role of Indian law schools in developing State policy..Bar & Bench: Why the change in name from Parliamentary Pre-Legislative Briefing Service to Vidhi ? Any other changes?.Arghya Sengupta: The original name was Pre-Legislative Briefing Service. But as we worked on the projects which came our way we realised that much like the Bachelor of Civil Laws Course in Oxford, which is neither a Bachelor’s degree nor related to civil law, our work wasn’t only pre-legislative, we weren’t briefing anyone and we didn’t see ourselves as providing a service! Hence the name changed to something that describes our work more accurately and which hopefully has some recall value as well..B&B: What is the kind of work a VCLP Fellow is expected to do? Could you give a real world example?.AS: A VCLP fellow will be undertaking high-impact legal research. The end product of the research will be either a memo to the Government of India or other state governments or a VCLP report with recommendations for legal and policy reform. For example, the first piece of work that we undertook was to advise the Standing Committee on Science and Technology on certain aspects of constitutional and international law regarding the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill. We prepared a comprehensive report on why particular sections of the Bill were flawed, what the position in international law and comparative jurisdictions were and made specific reform proposals on this basis. Later, we advised the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India with specific drafting assistance on sections of the Bill as well..B&B: How is VCLP funded? Do you think that policy-based organisations such as VCLP are financially viable in India?.AS: We are funded by philanthropic donations by a few public-spirited individuals and foundations in India..Financial viability of organisations such as ours is a major issue. We have been fortunate to receive seed funding from private sources to begin and operate for the first 2 years; we hope to generate sustainable revenues from our work during this time and become sustainable. It’s not going to be a cakewalk but it’s certainly possible, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it..B&B: In VCLP/PLBS’s experience, what is the kind of feedback received from Members of Parliament? Is the government becoming a bit more receptive or is it still a bit of an uphill task?.AS: On the whole, the experience has been very positive. Before commencing we had been warned that in the Indian government, maturity is seen as coterminous with age and since the latter isn’t our forte (we’re all 32 or below), our advice would fall on deaf ears. But on the contrary, we have found most MPs receptive with a keen sense of curiosity and recognition of their own limitations. Of course this is not true across the board but I can only see MPs becoming more receptive as law-making becomes more technical and evidence-based..B&B: Lastly, do you think Indian law schools will influence State policy in the near future? What steps need to be taken, on the part of law schools, for this to happen?.AS: Great question. I think Indian law schools themselves will only influence state policy significantly if there is a greater focus on high-quality legal research amongst faculties. Currently, across several law schools, faculty have such a high teaching load that pretty much their entire time is taken up by teaching. To influence state policy, a better balance between teaching and research has to be found..Happily for law schools, their graduates are starting to influence state policy. As early batches of law school graduates are on the verge of becoming designated senior advocates, several joining the IAS, and more on more keen on experimenting with ways to make their legal expertise count in contributing to good governance in India, their influence is slowly coming to the fore. Our effort in starting the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy is a small step in this direction- to create a space where law graduates, either fresh out of law school, or in higher academia abroad, or working in a law firm in India or abroad who want to use their legal expertise to make a difference in India, can come together. It is in a sense a bellwether for whether it’s best to stick to tried and tested paths (read: litigation/ corporate law firm job) or try something new to create well-functioning legal and governance mechanisms in India, something that our legal education has repeatedly pointed out as woefully lacking in India today..More information on VCLP can be found here.