PRS Legislative Research

PRS Legislative Research is a not-for-profit research initiative that aims to strengthen the legislative debate by making it better informed, more transparent and participatory, mainly through summaries of Bills. "The group boils down 40-page Bills into four-to-six pages of bullet points and analysis, stripped of legalese and partisanship. They highlight key points and provide context—the product of a month of research and interviews with stakeholders, outside experts and the government officials who drafted the Bills." [http://www.livemint.com/UserControls/2007/05/21220910/CV-Madhukar-His-work-on-Bil.html "C.V. Madhukar: His work on Bills makes it easy for MPs to take part in debates"] ] PRS is the first initiative of its kind in India.

PRS seeks to build strong professional relationships with political parties and Members of Parliament across party lines. Additionally, the initiative is also making significant efforts to reach out to the citizen sector, the corporate sector and the Press. The briefs (about bills) are sent to all the MPs, about 700 journalists and 1,000 non-governmental organizations around the country. The briefs are available for free on the PRS website (see external links). [http://www.prsindia.org/aboutus.htm "About Us" on the PRS homepage] ] Additionally, data sets complied about the work of the parliament is freely shared with others. [ [http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070729/asp/7days/story_8120939.asp Women at the bottom] The Telegraph (Calcutta) Sunday, July 29, 2007]

PRS for the time being is a six-person team, financed by the Ford Foundation and [http://www.google.org/projects.html Google] . [http://www.livemint.com/UserControls/2007/05/21220910/CV-Madhukar-His-work-on-Bil.html "C.V. Madhukar: His work on Bills makes it easy for MPs to take part in debates"] ] The "institutional anchor" is a collaboration with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, an autonomous institution set up in 1973 with the objective of studying major policy issues before the nation and suggesting alternative policy options. [http://www.prsindia.org/aboutus.htm "About Us" on the PRS homepage] ] Director of PRS is CV Madhukar, who told Mint (newspaper) about his motivation: "'Indian elections are so personality driven, not policy driven,' he said. 'My emotional reaction was to ask: how do you get more substance on policy and performance into our election debates?'". [http://www.livemint.com/UserControls/2007/05/21220910/CV-Madhukar-His-work-on-Bil.html "C.V. Madhukar: His work on Bills makes it easy for MPs to take part in debates"] ]

List of newspaper articles by/citing/about PRS Legislative Research

1. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/327619.html Where the Women Are]
2. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/313824.html All Bills Old and Older]
3. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/306299.html House in Numbers]
4. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/306275.html The Young and Questioning]
5. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/303747.html Security Net for Us and Them]
6. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/289755.html Different Value for Different Votes]
7. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/284551.html Is this why we sent them to Parliament?]
8. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/280467.html Order of Speech]
9. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/276180.html One, Two, Three, Budget]
10. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/263075.html Google announces $25m aid for India]
11. [http://www.expressindia.com/story.php?storyId=249970 Anyone in the House?]
12. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/219556.html It's not just about MP's allowances]
13. [http://www.indianexpress.com/story/215814.html Quality at Rs 500 a day?]

References

External links

* [http://www.prsindia.org/ homepage] of PRS Legislative Research
* [http://www.cprindia.org/ homepage] of Centre for Policy Research