Policy Hackathon On Creating Policies for the Future

School of Law, Governance and Public Policy, Chanakya University invites policy ethusiasts to participate in the competition to design innovative policy solutions for Sustainable Access to Clean Water and Sanitation. 

Problem Statement:

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been at the core of policy making to enable quality of life for all. SDGs have drawn significant attention from all over the globe to ….Despite significant progress towards ensuring access to clean water and sanitation, India faces challenges of water scarcity for drinking, irrigation and sanitation, water contamination, and inadequate infrastructure. Changes in land use patterns, climate change, and poor water management practices exacerbate these challenges, posing significant threats to food security, public health, economic development, and environmental sustainability across the country. 

SDG 6 aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. Despite the progress on implementing SDG 6, billions of people still lack safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene services. This challenge is exacerbated by climate change, population growth, urbanization, and industrial pollution. In line with this, governments across all levels and non governmental organisations in India have made substantial interventions to ensure acess to clean water and sanitation for all. However, the country witness incidents of limited and skewed (regional) access to clean and safe drinking water, sanitation, and challenges in irrigation. 

Policy Challenge: 

Develop a policy, implementation mechanism, and evaluation system for the country, that ensures reliable access to clean water and sanitation services for all by 2030. The policy must protect water ecosystems and promote efficient water use to achieve universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030. The Policy should be designed keeping to ensure inclusivity for marginalized communities in the backdrop of issues of accessibility and climate change for quality of life for all. 

Who can Participate:

Individual and Group Participation (group size: minimum: 3 and  maximum: 5)

• Recent graduates from any academic programmes from an UGC recognised Higher Education Institution
• Final-year undergraduate students from any academic programmes from an UGC recognised Higher Education Institution
• Post-graduate students from any academic programmes from an UGC recognised Higher Education Institution

Evaluation Criteria:

• Innovative and evidence-based ideas for policy formulation, implementation and evaluation
• Ability to pitch and convince policymakers/industry/academia
• Interdisciplinarity (participants can look into interconnectedness in the SDGs and across different disciplines of study and research)
• Scalability of solutions

Important Dates: 

• Expression of Interest by email on or before July 26, 2024, to Ms Gowri Dixit at gowrid.phd23@chanakyauniversity.edu.in 

gowrid.phd23@chanakyauniversity.edu.in

• Further details and guidelines will be shared with students who have expressed their interest by August 1, 2024. 

Prizes:

• Prize money of ₹ 20,000/- for the first winning team/individual
• Prize money of ₹ 15,000/- for the second winning team/individual
• Prize money of ₹ 10,000/-  for the third winning team/individual

All teams/individuals shall get a participation certificate. There will be awards/citation for Best Pitch, Most Innovative Idea, Most Scalable Solution. 

Rules:

• For each student participating in the competition, bona fide certificate from the institution of study clearly stating a) the programme of study, b) year of study, c) name of institution, d) phone number of institution, e) name and designation of the person signing the letter.
  • if participants are from different colleges, separate letters from each institution will be required
• If participants are not affiliated to any institution, a letter of reference from you mentor endorsing your participation, stating a) name, b) name and designation (latest) of the mentor, c) phone number of the participant and the mentor d) programme and institution you were last affiliated to 
• Participants are requested to disclose any health issue that might need medical attention.
• The final authority for settling any disputes arising out of competition shall be the Dean of School of Law, Governance and Public Policy. 
• Any participant requiring accommodation on campus shall be provided. Information regarding this is solicited in the expression of interest to be sent on or before July 26, 2024. 

Note: The Chankaya Univerisyt campus is a wheelchair friendly ecosystem.