PRS Legislative Research, commonly referred to as PRS, is an Indian non-profit organization that was established in September 2005 as an independent research institute to make the Indian legislative process better informed, more transparent, and participatory. PRS is based in New Delhi.
What do they do?
Each Member of Parliament (MP) in India represents over two million constituents. The Indian Parliament passes an average of 60 Bills every year. MPs make laws and address complex policy issues across a wide range of sectors. Given the diversity of issues and the technical nature of many of them, it is not possible for MPs to be well versed on all such issues.
It is in this context that PRS provides MPs analysis on legislation and policy to help them prepare for parliamentary debates.
PRS was co-founded by C.V. Madhukar and M.R. Madhavan in 2005. M.R. Madhavan is currently the President of PRS. The Board of Directors is headed by Mr. S. Ramadorai. The initiative was incubated in the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi, which is a leading Indian think tank. Since 2013, the initiative has been institutionalized as the Institute for Policy Research Studies, a not-for-profit Section 8 Company.
The work of PRS is entirely funded through philanthropic donations and grants by a number of Indian institutions and individuals.
About the Internship
PRS offers rolling internships throughout the year.
The PRS staff consists of a team of dedicated professionals with different areas of expertise and is broadly divided into the research and outreach departments.
While the research team analyses legislative and policy issues of topical interest, the outreach team tracks the working of the legislatures and legislators, manages citizen engagement, and is PRS’s interface with the MPs and MLAs.
A prospective intern can apply for an internship in either/both departments.
Structure of the Internship
The internship varies from session to non-session time.
- During a Parliament session, PRS’s work is guided by the issues taken up in Parliament, and interns are expected to work with the analysts on any and all projects.
- During non-session periods, the interests of the individual intern are taken into consideration, and he/she is matched with an analyst(s) doing related work.
The successful completion of a PRS internship requires the intern to pursue and complete an internship project. The intern will be assisting analysts in their research, as well as undertaking an internship project.
Duration of the Internship
The duration of the internship is flexible but is normally between four and eight weeks. Interns can work from their homes.
Expectations from Interns
In addition to a deep interest in the working of Parliament and the legislative process in India, an intern should have:
- Strong writing skills
- Strong analytical skills
Stipend
Please note that no accommodation or remuneration is provided. This is strictly an unpaid internship.
Application Procedure
Interested persons can fill in the application form. The form has to be filled out in one session, and there is no option of saving responses.
PRS is only accepting applications for internships starting May and June 2021.
You are expected to:
- write a short statement of purpose (not more than 500 words).
- upload an up-to-date resume in PDF format.
- upload a writing sample on any policy issue. (not more than 1000 words) in PDF format.
Contact Information
For any queries, please write to internship@prsindia.org.
Click here for the official information.