Indian Legislators to share ideas, best practices at NLC Bharat in Mumbai

India’s National Legislators’ Conference Bharat (NLC-Bharat) is set to bring together elected representatives from across the country for the first time. The event will take place in Mumbai from June 15 to 18 and provide a platform for legislators to share ideas and best practices on a common platform.

The conference will consist of more than 80 parallel thematic participatory sessions, allowing for experiential learning and thematic discussions. In addition to domestic political figures, acclaimed national and global leaders will be invited to participate in sessions aimed at strengthening democracy.

NLC-Bharat is a non-partisan platform for legislators to interact and learn from each other with the goal of enhancing legislative effectiveness and promoting good governance. It is supported by various state legislatures, senior bureaucrats, and members of civil society, and is patroned by former Lok Sabha speakers Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Dr. Meira Kumar, Shri Manohar Joshi, Shri. Shivraj Patil, and the Honourable incumbent Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla.

Organized by the MIT School of Government, Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad, and Atulya Bharat Nirman Foundation, the conference aims to enhance the skills and capacities of legislative leaders, legislators, and legislative staff in the States and Union Territories of Bharat, to enhance their effectiveness, independence, and integrity in law-making and policy formulation.

The idea of NLC-Bharat emerged from a long process of establishment of the MIT School of Government in 2005. In 2022, four former Lok Sabha Speakers, along with incumbent speakers of State Legislative Assemblies and Chairpersons of State Legislative Councils, envisioned a national organization to support, defend, and strengthen state legislatures.

NLC-Bharat aims to improve the interconnectedness between State Legislatures and thinkers, promoting cooperation and quality of legislative discourse. At a recent visioning exercise, attended by legislative assembly speakers, political leaders, bureaucrats, and industry heads, Rahul V. Karad, Convenor, NLC Bharat, stated that “all those present here and all those supporting us are the custodians of NLC Bharat. It is the result of a long-term vision.”