Conference Agenda

This book is the result of a fruitful collaboration of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India and the International Institute of Administrative Sciences, Brussels. Being published on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Republic and celebrating the achievements of the nation in fulfilling the aspirations of the people expressed through the Constitution of India, the book is a collection of essays written by academics and experienced former bureaucrats. Each essay tells the story of the development of the identified sectors over the last three-quarters of a century since Independence from colonial rule. It relates the early struggles of implementation leading to our solid achievements contributing to the unprecedented growth of the economy. These essays cover a wide range of subjects, including the Constitution of India, the nature of our democracy, the civil service and our administrative systems, as well as crucial sectors of our political economy such as industry, information technology, health, education, energy, water, rural and urban issues, while also not ignoring sensitive areas such as gender inclusion and social justice. It is our hope that this volume of essays will prove useful for students, researchers, academics, India watchers, as well as the general reader, who wish to know more about India.

• Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Former Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
• Dr. B Rajender, Additional Chief Secretary, Bihar
• Mr. Inder Pal Singh Sethi, Director General, National Informatics Centre
• Dr. Nirmalya Bagchi, Director Centre for Management Studies at Administrative Staff College of India

The Braibant lecture is an award granted by the Institute to an individual, for his/her contribution to the advancement of the public governance discipline in general and to the Institute in particular. It is named after Guy Braibant, Président de la section du rapport et des études du Conseil d’Etat (1985-1992) and IIAS Director General (1979-1981) and President (1992-1995). 

In 2025, the IIAS Scientific Committee has decided to grant the Braibant lecture award to Andrew Massey.

Andrew is Emeritus Professor of Government at King's College London, and was previously the founding Director of the International School for Government at King's from 2019-2025. Prior to that, he was Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Exeter, UK and Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social Science at Exeter. He has worked in a range of areas including British, European, and US policy and politics. His main areas of research include comparative public policy, public administration and issues around the reform and modernization of government and governance. He also has extensive experience working in and with the UK's civil service.
He was Editor in Chief of the journal International Review of Administrative Sciences, and Editor of Public Money and Management for ten years up until 2024, and was a member of the Council of Administration of the International Institute for Administrative Sciences. His community work included over 17 years as a Justice of the Peace.