This NCAER research study commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resource Development was undertaken with the primary objective of examining parallel import restrictions and outline the issues of concern for the producers of copyright material who import their own or their subsidiaries’ goods produced abroad, and equally important, to outline the concerns of the consumers of these products in India. The Study does a thorough job of exploring the economic logic underlying the concerns expressed on both sides of the parallel book import divide. It is the first comprehensive, evidence-based attempt at documenting and assessing the views of the stakeholders in favor of and against incorporation of the new proviso in a further amendment of India’s Copyright Act.
There has been a long tradition in India of large business groups endowing academic and research institutions but in recent years a new trend seems to be emerging. A few days ago Nandan and Rohini Nilekani contributed Rs 50 crore to the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) a sizeable amount by any standards the interest from which would cover almost 20 per cent of the 57 year-old institution’s current annual expenditure.
The Nilekanis had contributed a similar amount to the newly established Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) a couple of years ago even more significant for a start-up looking to quickly attain criticalmass. Last year the Brookings Institution set up its India centre financed by several contributions from prominent businesspersons. The key difference between the traditional and new trends is that the endowed institutions do not bear the name of the contributor(s) and on the face of it maintain a distance and autonomy from the people that fund them.
But the question is whether distance and autonomy are achieved in practice. Think tanks such as NCAER and the Brookings Institution essentially add value to their core activities by virtue of their independence both real and perceived. Their responsibility is to analyse policy issues objectively and rigorously and proffer solutions that are evidence-based and consistent with a larger public interest. When private sector funding begins to play a larger and larger role in these institutions questions can arise about their ability to preserve and protect this independence.
Businesses unquestionably have interests in policy decisions that are not always aligned to the public interest and policy research that is directly or indirectly funded by them is potentially under pressure to draw conclusions favourable to these interests. The fundamental issue then is whether tapping into a new pool of resources is actually serving to dilute their value addition.
If this has to be preserved these new sources of funding must be matched by robust mechanisms of governance which screen all the research activities and output for potential conflicts of interest. Meanwhile businesspersons who venture into this space also need to develop a consciousness about the value that these institutions add when they are genuinely independent.
From the institutional viewpoint such contributions if appropriately governed represent a valuable opportunity to ramp up the quality and impact of their research activities. These funding channels bring with them greater scrutiny of how the money is being used. This implies much more emphasis on explicit articulation of targets agendas work plans and financial control mechanisms – in short bringing the discipline and accountability of a well-managed organisation to bear on research and dissemination activities.
In an environment in which many think tanks are viewed by cynics to be bottomless pits for unquestioning public funding greater dependence on private funding could be a source of redemption as long as the right internal mechanisms and control systems are put into place. This is clearly a huge challenge which many institutions will eventually fail to meet. But this should not deter them from trying; the few that emerge will be the stronger and more effective for it. All in all this is a welcome development but one that imposes huge responsibilities on both the giver and the receiver.
After receiving one of the largest private gifts to an independent research body in India the National Council of Applied Economic Research plans new study initiatives to redevelop its campus and so on. Director General Shekhar Shah talks to Somesh Jha about these plans and the problems such think tanks face in India. Edited excerpts:
NCAER has got a Rs 50-cr gift from Nandan and Rohini Nilekani. How do you plan to utilise it?
We are grateful to the Nilekanis. This is not a gift to only us but can also change the nature of philanthropy in India. There are three things: endowment new research initiative and campus redevelopment. We currently have around Rs 26 crore as endowments and this will be an addition. Some of this will go in NCAER’s new India Centre.
Recently we’ve seen a surge in funds given to think tanks another example being Brookings which entered India recently. Is India becoming more mature in terms of environment for funding such institutes?
I believe philanthropy and gift giving is changing rapidly in India. This is a turning point in some sense and is taking a progressive form. There were fundings going to foreign institutes like Harvard etc but this is the first to an economic research institute. It is heartening to see such a contribution coming home. Policy research and data gathering are crucial for policy and evaluation of programmes. I would say it is maturing and a welcome trend. This gift speaks extremely highly of that. So far not many people have taken this path and I look at it as a trend setter which will change the nature of research in India.
What problems do think tanks face in our country? Is funding one of these?
Funding has been a constraint for us given the size of our economy. Also the nature of funding is important. If we get untied support like this it changes the ability of institutes like us to push for what we want to achieve. Second talent. It is important to attract good talent to India in this field. Finally to improve the ability to reach out. We do not take good research till the last mile in India in a way that it can be accepted. Hence this is a combination of finance human capital and outreach.
What are your plans?
We are going to fund new research initiatives. There is a major redevelopment of our campus taking place with more space and facility. Further NCAER plays a bigger role in policy analysis and the country needs it.
In what is one of the largest private gifts to an independent economics research organisation in the country Nandan and Rohini Nilekani have gifted Rs 50 crore (around $8.08 million) to the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) from their personal wealth.
The funds will be used to fund a new India Centre of the institution in the national capital along with furthering new research and knowledge capabilities at NCAER.
Nandan Nilekani currently chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India is a co-founder of Infosys Ltd and is also the president of NCAER’s governing body. His wife Rohini is a philanthropist and writer and has been investing towards various causes such as education environment and sanitation.
In 2011 the power couple had donated Bangalore-based Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) Rs 50 crore to fund the establishment of its School of Environment and Sustainability. Nilekani is one of the directors of IIHS. They have also given $5 million each to IIT-Bombay in 2002 and Yale University in 2008.
In August this year Rohini sold 570000 shares of Infosys for Rs 163 crore to further her philanthropic activities. In an interview to Business Standard she had said instead of setting up another foundation like ‘Arghyam’ which supports initiatives for safe water and sanitation she plans to use the money to support institutions working in the area of governance transparency data etc. These are some of the emerging areas where lots of innovative ideas are coming up and need early support she had said. “We have identified a few organisations. There are some think tanks along with some good research that needs to be encouraged.”
However it is unclear whether the Rs 50 crore for NCAER have come from Nandan’s personal wealth or from the Rs 163 crore Rohini derived from the sale of Infosys shares. In the interview Rohini had also said she had given away Rs 210 crore till date from her own personal money which doesn’t include Nandan’s.
Rohini’s recent investments have gone to institutions such as Parliamentary Research Service Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment or ATree Dakshin Foundation IndiaSpends Association for Democratic Reforms etc.
In a statement on Wednesday Nandan Nilekani said from its early days in the 1950s NCAER’s empirical research and data collection have contributed immensely to economic policy thinking in India. “Rohini and I are excited about contributing to a national institution of NCAER’s stature helping it build further on its durable legacy of almost six decades of service to the nation and supporting its rejuvenation in ways that will make it even more vibrant.”
The governing body of the institution includes Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani economist Surjit Bhalla banker Naina Lal Kidwai and economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram among others.
NCAER Director-General Shekhar Shah added the country needed institutions like it more than ever before. “India is grappling with hard policy choices challenges of implementation regulation and governance an uncertain macroeconomic environment and global transformation at a pace that is unprecedented. Mapping a sound course through this can make the difference between floundering and flourishing between attaining India’s vast potential and letting it slip away.”
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