National Policy Drafting Competition ‘विचार (Vichaar)’ by NLU Assam: Register by Sep 12

The National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam (NLUJAA) has been established by the Government of Assam by way of enactment of the National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam Act, 2009 (Assam Act No. XXV of 2009). The word ‘School’ was replaced by the word ‘University’ by amending the National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam (Amendment) Act, 2011. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court is the Chancellor of the University. NLUJAA promotes and makes available modern legal education and research facilities to students and scholars drawn from across the country, including the North East, coming from different socio-economic, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. Recently, NLUJAA has been ranked 16th in the NIRF ranking among the institutions imparting legal education in India.   

The National Service Scheme (NSS) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. It provides an opportunity to the student youth of 11th & 12th Class of schools at +2 Board level and student youth of Technical Institution, Graduate & Post Graduate at colleges and University level of India to take part in various government led community service activities & programs. The sole aim of the NSS is to provide hands-on experience to young students in delivering community service.

About the Opportunity

Policy drafting and policy formulation are regarded as the primary step of any planning process for development. Participation of citizens while drafting a policy is very pertinent, especially in a democracy like ours as it is believed that democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. 

In order to inculcate a sense of participation in policy-making among the youth, the National Service Scheme Unit of the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam in association with the Internal Quality Assurance Cell of the University have come up with a policy-making and drafting competition. The National Policy Drafting Competition – (VICHAAR) is the first of its kind that is being organised by any institution of the northeastern part of our country. The purpose behind holding this competition is to evoke the youth to enhance their creativity and bring out myriad solutions on some timeless and some contemporary issues given below:

Eligibility

• The Policy Drafting competition is open for all the students, academicians, lawyers and all others who wish to contribute in policy making.
• Those participants who wish to get the certificate along with the names of their respective institutions, must attach their University/ Institution ID card along with their policy draft papers.
• The portal for uploading the ID card will be provided in the google form at the time of the submission of the policy draft.

Themes

• Reviving Start-ups Post Covid-19 Pandemic
• Control of Domestic Violence
• Developing J&K and Ladakh
• Mental Health and Care
• Inter-State Conflict Resolution
• Privacy and Data Protection
• Implementation of the Farm Laws  

Structure of the Competition

The National Policy Drafting Competition – (VICHAAR) will consist of the following stages:

1. Registration and Theme Selection: Participants must register and select the topic before the due date to be eligible for participation. It is advised to register beforehand and not wait for the eleventh hour in order to avoid last-minute hassles. Registration is free of cost. Themes once selected will not be changed under any circumstances. Each participant can register for only one theme. A maximum of 2 co-participants is allowed to take part in the competition along with the team coordinator. So, a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 participants can register under a team. The registration will commence from 11/08/2021 (Tuesday) and the last date for registration is 11/09/2021 (Friday) by 11:59 PM IST.

2. Qualifier Round – Submission of the Policy Statement: The teams are expected to submit a detailed policy statement on the theme selected during the registration process. Participants must adhere to the formatting and structural guidelines as laid down. The policy statement should be mailed on: vichaar.nss@gmail.com on or before 03/10/2021(Sunday) by 11:59 PM IST. The policy statement also needs to be submitted through submission google form which will be sent to registered participants.

3. Final Round: The qualified Participants will be expected to prepare and present a power-point presentation for not more than 10 minutes. This will be followed by a question-answer session. The final round will take place on 15/10/2021(Friday). The results will be declared on 17/10/2021 (Sunday).

Guidelines regarding Structure of Policy

The draft policy submitted must contain the following:

• Policy Title: A short and simple title apt with the body of the submission.
• An Abstract: A summary of the Policy.
• Statement of Problem: A concise statement of the problem dealt with in the policy.
• Definitions: Defining uncommon or complex terms used in the policy.
• Policy Statement: A detailed policy statement which may answer the following questions:
  • Who is the primary audience required to follow the policy?
  • What are the major conditions and restrictions?
  • What are the details on the Applicability and Inapplicability of the policy?
  • What are the special situations or exclusions, if any, where the policy shall not apply?
• Implementation Procedure: Reference to detailed procedures that are recommended in order to carry out the intent of the policy. It is advised to list the procedures in the order in which they are to be carried out. If there is no particular order, procedures should be listed alphabetically.
• Cost-benefit Analysis: An indication of the costs involved and the benefits aimed through the policy.
• Concluding Remarks: A brief concluding observation outlining the future roadmap.

Formatting Guidelines

• The language of the submission should be in English.
• Font of the submission must be Times New Roman with size 14 for the main body (size 12 in case of footnotes).
• Line Spacing should be 1.5 for the main body (1 for footnotes).
• Citation format should be uniform throughout the Policy Submission.
• The word limit of Policy Submission should be between 2000-3000 words, exclusive of footnotes.
• The similarity is allowed up to a maximum of 10%.
• File Format must be only in .doc/.docx format.
• The file should not contain any details of the Participants. These details shall be mentioned in the Email while submitting the policy.

Important Dates

• Registration opens: 11th August, 2021 
• Registration closes: 12th September, 2021
• Inauguration Ceremony Date: 20th August, 2021 (3:00 PM IST) 

• Click here for the Inauguration Ceremony link.

Other Guidelines

• The organizers reserve all rights over the submissions received.
• The decision of organizers is final and binding.
• The organizers reserve the right to amend any condition or rules in the competition.
• Non-adherence of any of the guidelines may lead to disqualification of the participants.

Perks

• All the participants who will make through the finals will be awarded with certificates of appreciation
• The best and the second best policy paper will be awarded with a LOR (Letter of Recommendation).
• On the day of declaration of results, a webinar will be organised which will include government officials and several eminent personalities who will share their experiences and provide their valuable advice to the participants.

Contact Information

Email ID: 

• nss@nluassam.ac.in
• vichaar.nss@gmail.com

Click here for the official website of NLU Assam.

Click here for the concept note of Vichaar.

Click here to register for the policy drafting competition.