Think tank chalk out blueprint for change

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They are young and determined. They aim to make a difference. But they are not taking to streets to do so. They want to bring in a change but in their own way. They call themselves the first think tank of India. A team of about 20 young volunteers is trying to create a society that seeks the opinion of young people.

Youth For Policy and Dialogue (YPD) aims to involve young Indians into policy-making, says founder member of the organisation, Bhanu Joshi. “Youngsters can play an important role in policy-making. Unlike foreign countries India has no platform for youngsters who want to make a contribution to the policy making,” says Bhanu, who believes that protesting is not the only way to bring in change. In 2010, six youngsters, including 23-year-old Bhanu decided to form the first think tank of the country. Now, YPD has been recently recognised by the government.
The group, with maximum age limit of 30 years, has been sending delegations to Y20 Summit and is working in association with the Ministry of Finance to create a team of 20 youngsters to be sent to meet the foreign leaders at the G20 next year.
“We all are either studying or working. But we are a dedicated team of youngsters who make sure that we put in a couple of hours every day to do our research and other works,” says Abhinav Harlalka, a law student.
He adds that sometimes it gets difficult to manage both work and studies, “However, the work is so interesting that once you get involved there is no looking back.”
Same happened with Sonal Dhingra, who works with Planning Commission and about a year back happened to attend the YPD Dialogue series at India Habitat Centre. And now she is a part of YPD International Relations team.
“I believe many youngster like me wanted to be a part of such organisations. The organisation has four main divisions international relations, skill development, economic and finance, and youth policy in India. I also write for our blog that invites youngsters to write on various issues,” says Sonal.
While the members have at least once a week conference call to discuss their way ahead they also have a small office in Noida. “Though it’s mostly work and no play at our various meetings we do sometimes take the liberty to crack a few jokes and chill out,” says Abhishek Bhardwaj, another founder member of the group.
“Since we are from same age group and share a vision for a better future we enjoy our work together. As the government is realising the important of youngster in policy making many of my friends want to be a part of this organisation. We are also looking for ways to expand our group so that more and more youngsters are a part of policy making in the country,” adds Abhishek.