On Sep 2, 2011 10:00 PM, "Sohel Bohra" <sohelbohra@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.livemint.com/articles/2011/08/29214955/Govt-starts-website-to-explain.html?atype=tp
>
> *Govt starts website to explain economic terms and concepts*
> 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.
>
>
> --
>
> Sohel Bohra
> Co-founder - WikifyIndia <http://www.wikifyindia.com/>
> +91-95038 48386
> sohel@wikifyindia.com
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