Democracy up close: Assist MPs to learn policymaking

“The idea is to get them acquainted with the way the nation runs and the only way youngsters can do that is by assisting representatives of people,” said Tonusree Basu of PRS Legislative Research.

The organisation claims that this is the first and probably one-of-its-kind initiative and has implemented it on a pilot batch,which is about to complete their internship that started last year. “In the pilot batch,we had about 15 youngsters from various parts of the country.

They were given initial training and tagged with MPs of either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha so that they could assist MPs in their day-to-day tasks.

Besides,a number of projects with our organisation was also given to them to work on,” added Basu.

Interns would be paid a stipend of Rs 11,000 a month,and carry out a number of tasks such as research on questions MPs raise during Parliament sessions,preparation of speeches for them,helping them with TV debates and providing legislative assistance on a number of occasions.

“This is based on a model followed in a number of other democratic nations,” added Basu.

Bharati Sekhar,23,a Pune-based law graduate,of the been pilot batch said,“I am keen on knowing the intricacies of policymaking. Some things I would have never learnt otherwise were learnt in the past 10 months. In fact,we attended all the three sessions of Parliament during this tenure. I have been tagged with Rajya Sabha MP Ratna Bai and have been assisting her in areas of her interest,such as tribal research.”

With plans to increase batch size,the organisation intends training MPs,too,for ensuring they make the best use of young interns assisting them.

“Pune being a major hub for youngsters and education,we have high hopes from the city,” added Basu.