In this cynical society where most citizens have negative opinions due to lack of understanding of the parliamentary procedures, it is refreshing to have someone bring to light the positives of a parliament that has kept this diverse nation together.

M R Madhavan addressed the students of FLAME University on 21st February, 2017.

He presented some interesting facts and statistics about the Members of the Indian Parliament which were rather different from the popular belief of the crowd. He also explained with great simplicity the running of the parliament and procedures for passing bills in the house.

His method of presenting was unique. By constantly throwing questions at the audiences he kept them engaged and involved. And his wit and humor was endearing.

Mr. Madhavan holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from IIT Madras and an MBA and PhD from IIM Calcutta. He started his career in ICICI Securities in the equity research group and later headed interest rates research at ICICI. He also worked for Bank of America as a Principal and Senior Strategist for the Asia region. Mr. Madhavan quit Bank of America in September 2005 and joined forces with C. V. Madhukar to open PRS Legislative Research. At PRS, Mr. Madhavan set up and led the Research team, before becoming the President of PRS.

M. R. Madhavan is the President and co-founder of PRS Legislative Research, a public policy research institution that focuses on making the legislative process in India better informed, more transparent and participatory. PRS publishes “legislative briefs” (short commented summaries) of Bills in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and other articles related to legislation in India.

He spoke of the LAMP Fellowship run by PRS which is rather interesting for students interested in Political Science and International Studies. The Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship was conceptualized by PRS to create a platform for young Indians to engage with policy making at the national level.
The LAMP Fellowship places one legislative assistant to work with a Member of Parliament (MP). The LAMP Fellows are engaged full-time for eleven months to work with the assigned MP over three parliamentary sessions. Throughout the eleven months, the LAMP Fellows work closely with the MP’s, providing extensive research support for his/her parliamentary work. There was considerable interest amongst FLAME students for the LAMP Fellowship.

It was a great pleasure to host someone like M R Madhavan with so much expertise on campus.