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The Last Mile: Turning Public Policy Upside Down
The Last Mile explores the gaps and dichotomy between drafted policies and their implementation, and the last mile challenges which often make public services inaccessible to the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society. It provides an in-depth overview of the dynamics between communities, research and consultation and the implementation of policies for development.
Rich in empirical data and case studies from different government programmes and reports, this book examines the implementation of government service programmes for poverty reduction, women’s empowerment, and income generation for the poor, among others, from a people’s perspective. It highlights the need for policies and institutions to align their methods to community needs. Offering guidelines for redesigning as well as solutions to counter challenges related to lack of trust and effective communication, human resource management, capacity development, redressal mechanisms, and facilitating the last mile connection, the author delineates effective ways for integrating new technologies in policy implementation. The book also addresses legacy issues in institutions and re-orienting policy for better governance, transparency, and building trust.
Part of the Innovations, Practice and the Future of Public Policy in India series, this book, by a senior practitioner, will be an essential resource for students and researchers of development studies, sociology, public policy and governance, economics, and South Asian studies.
This book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Rich in empirical data and case studies from different government programmes and reports, this book examines the implementation of government service programmes for poverty reduction, women’s empowerment, and income generation for the poor, among others, from a people’s perspective. It highlights the need for policies and institutions to align their methods to community needs. Offering guidelines for redesigning as well as solutions to counter challenges related to lack of trust and effective communication, human resource management, capacity development, redressal mechanisms, and facilitating the last mile connection, the author delineates effective ways for integrating new technologies in policy implementation. The book also addresses legacy issues in institutions and re-orienting policy for better governance, transparency, and building trust.
Part of the Innovations, Practice and the Future of Public Policy in India series, this book, by a senior practitioner, will be an essential resource for students and researchers of development studies, sociology, public policy and governance, economics, and South Asian studies.
This book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 9, 2023
JiIt is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This book by former bureaucrat Amarjeet Sinha, who has spent all his working life on that road, is all about making sure that the road goes where it is intended to go.
The author’s long experience across the Ministries of Rural Development, Health and Education has equipped him to deal confidently with the pitfalls on the road and, more importantly, how to ensure that the benefits of development safely reach the last woman standing at the very end of the last mile.
Sinha dwells at length at community connect; unless the community for whom a policy has been designed is taken as a stake-holder and gets ownership of the policy, its impact can at best be only partial. He sites various examples like Ayushman Bharat to buttress his argument.
De-centralisation is at the heart of the book’s recommendations. As it says, it is the State and local governments that actually have the field presence and so lead programme planning and implementation. It sites how direct transfer of funds by the finance commission to Gram Panchayats has led to creation of basic infrastructure like pucca village roads and drains at a much faster scale in rural areas.
Another point that Sinha goes back to repeatedly is how India needs to focus equally if not more on human resources as on physical infrastructure. As he says, “That development requires growth is quite well understood; that growth falters without human development is often not so well understood.”
The author effectively argues that grass-root growth demands that focus be shifted on women when it comes to policy formation. He gives examples from the more developed states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu to bring home his point.
The book is replete with examples of success stories from different parts of the country, each story being a lesson for the rest of the nation and a teaching for policy framers.
We will do well to heed the sane advice of the author as we can already hear a loud clangour against growing inequalities in our country and there is an urgent need for a more shared growth, and a more inclusive society.
The author’s long experience across the Ministries of Rural Development, Health and Education has equipped him to deal confidently with the pitfalls on the road and, more importantly, how to ensure that the benefits of development safely reach the last woman standing at the very end of the last mile.
Sinha dwells at length at community connect; unless the community for whom a policy has been designed is taken as a stake-holder and gets ownership of the policy, its impact can at best be only partial. He sites various examples like Ayushman Bharat to buttress his argument.
De-centralisation is at the heart of the book’s recommendations. As it says, it is the State and local governments that actually have the field presence and so lead programme planning and implementation. It sites how direct transfer of funds by the finance commission to Gram Panchayats has led to creation of basic infrastructure like pucca village roads and drains at a much faster scale in rural areas.
Another point that Sinha goes back to repeatedly is how India needs to focus equally if not more on human resources as on physical infrastructure. As he says, “That development requires growth is quite well understood; that growth falters without human development is often not so well understood.”
The author effectively argues that grass-root growth demands that focus be shifted on women when it comes to policy formation. He gives examples from the more developed states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu to bring home his point.
The book is replete with examples of success stories from different parts of the country, each story being a lesson for the rest of the nation and a teaching for policy framers.
We will do well to heed the sane advice of the author as we can already hear a loud clangour against growing inequalities in our country and there is an urgent need for a more shared growth, and a more inclusive society.
June 29, 2024
An absolutely brilliant read with actionable items! Reassuring that civil servants like him are in the PMO advising the PM!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews