Remya Nair

The government has started Arthapedia, a website designed on the lines of Wikipedia, that will act as a source of reference for economic terms and concepts used in the public policy domain in India.

The website, an attempt by the government to bridge the gap between policymakers and the general public, was inaugurated on Monday by Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia as a part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Indian Economic Service. It will cater to the requirements of academicians, economists, policy practitioners, journalists, students and other interested parties, both within India and abroad.

“The objective of this portal is to increase transparency in government by simplifying indigenous concepts or by introducing domestic institutions to support the professional development of public policy economists,” the website says. “It is meant to enrich and enhance citizen-friendly policy formulation through dialogue and collaborative action.”

A finance ministry official involved in the designing of the website said government officials may frequently use some terminologies unique to India such as panchayati raj and flagship programmes, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, but their exact scope and meaning may not be well known to others. “The idea is to explain the meaning and relevance of the terms in the Indian context. Also, some terms may have different meanings in different countries. It is important that the Indian context is explained,” she said.

Besides explaining terms and concepts, the website will also offer detailed profiles of some of the key Indian policymakers. To begin with, the website has uploaded five profiles—Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; finance minister Pranab Mukherjee; C. Rangarajan, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India; Ahluwalia; and Reserve Bank of India governor D. Subbarao.

Users willing to upgrade the text and context of a particular word can open the text on a virtual mode and edit the same with authentic references. The edited content is posted after being moderated by the editorial board. In the initial phase, however, only serving IES officers will be allowed to write the content of this website and non-IES persons can only post comments and queries for now.

To be sure, the website has a disclaimer that says the government of India does not monitor the entries and the views expressed therein are not necessarily those of the government. “The entries, therefore, must not be treated as official statements of policy or definitions”.

It will, however, take some time for the website to become a one-stop destination for all terms, concepts and profiles of eminent personalities.

“Going ahead, the challenge will be to sustain the portal with constant upgradation,” Kaushik Basu, chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, said.