Government of Andhra Pradesh partners with J-PAL South Asia to enhance evidence-based policymaking in the state

2 November 2022, Vijayawada | The Government of Andhra Pradesh today announced its partnership with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia to maximise the impact of its anti-poverty programs through the use of a strategic, evidence-based approach to policymaking. 

Under this partnership, J-PAL South Asia will work with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to evaluate as well as enhance new and existing social programmes and policies, including providing technical assistance on the effective use and analysis of administrative data to generate policy-relevant insights. 

The Government of Andhra Pradesh, under the leadership of The Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has laid out a comprehensive development plan to achieve “prosperity with happiness” as part of its Vision 2029. The state has reaffirmed its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by introducing several social welfare and poverty reduction programmes such as Jagananna Ammavodi and the Navaratnalu schemes that include YSR Aarogyasri and YSR Raithu Bharosa. Through this partnership, the Government has invited J-PAL South Asia as a thought and knowledge partner to work collaboratively with state departments in using scientific data and evidence to deliver on the state’s development objectives and meet its SDG targets. 

The MoU establishes an overarching framework enabling J-PAL South Asia to work with several departments within the Government of Andhra Pradesh, including, but not limited to, Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing, and Women and Child Development, to test the effectiveness and delivery of new and existing anti-poverty and development programmes through randomised evaluations and the rigorous analysis of administrative data. These evaluations and the accompanying evidence-based insights will support the state in strengthening existing schemes through quality improvements, increasing transparency, and better tracking of targets as well as designing new schemes. 

J-PAL South Asia will draw upon the systematic processes it has developed with its government partners over the last 15 years to translate academic research insights into actionable policies. This institutional collaboration is the fourth of its kind, following partnerships with the Governments of Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Odisha. 

Shobhini Mukerji, Executive Director, J-PAL South Asia said: “The Government of Andhra Pradesh’s engagement with evidence and data, along with their commitment to adopt a scientific approach to policymaking, makes them a valuable partner of J-PAL South Asia. This partnership will enable deep engagements across various departments and will facilitate a holistic approach towards continuously improving the lives of the people of Andhra Pradesh.” 

J-PAL South Asia will engage with the state departments to identify the government’s policy priorities and discuss research insights, as well as jointly design anti-poverty solutions that can be rigorously tested for effectiveness. 

J-PAL South Asia will also collaborate with the government departments in strengthening their internal capacity to independently conduct the monitoring and evaluation of new and ongoing schemes. 

Media Contact, J-PAL South Asia: Saptarishi Dutta ([email protected]), +91 99581 68168