Public Policymaking in India

1

Introduction

Show us not the aim without the way

For ends and means on Earth are so entangled

That changing one, we change the other, too

Each different path brings other ends in view.

—Ferdinand Lassalle¹

A policy is a set of decisions which (a) sets out directives for immediate or future action or conduct; or (b) lays down guidelines for the implementation of action or conduct already approved. Though a policy may be designed for action in an isolated case, it is usually designed for repetitive actions in similar cases. A policy comes into being when (a) a policy issue is taken up for consideration; (b) solutions are identified for the issue; (c) the approval of the competent authority is obtained for one of the solutions.

Public policy ...