India has always been a land of great contrasts, and more so now in the welfare of its people. Moreover, this inequality seems to be increasing not only in terms of earning power, but in most other attributes such as access to education, health, livelihoods or water. A considerable body of researchers and policymakers feel that the solution lies in the correct control of key macroeconomic variables. An assertion of this paper is that there are many systemic deficiencies which are unlikely to be

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... corrected by purely macroeconomic arrangements. Our main thesis is that the essential ingredient in the overhaul of our key systems is the management of knowledge. The main points of this paper are (i) practice is an essential knowledge system and requires distinctive skills, (ii) training in practice is largely absent in our education and knowledge systems, (iii) this practice deficit has severe consequences, foremost in poor development outcomes, and the hovering threat of knowledge capture, and finally (iv) a possible way out using the development agenda itself as a training device. We add that the focus on knowledge generation and consumption as a basis for development has once more been explicitly pointed out by Joseph Stiglitz as recently as in 2011. India has always been a land of great contrasts, and more so now in the welfare of its people. While a mere 100 individuals corner about 20% of our nation's GDP 2 , millions and millons must live their lives on less than two meals a day. Moreover, this inequality seems to be increasing not only in terms of earning power, but in most other attributes such as access to education, health, livelihoods or watersee for example, Das and Zajonc (2008) in the area of education, or WBICSSR (2010) overall. The reasons for this are hotly debated by many economists, policymakers and public figures. An assertion of this paper is that there are many systemic deficiencies which are unlikely to be corrected by purely macroeconomic arrangements. Addressing these deficiencies will require a deeper sectoral understanding and a more profound intellectual inquiry about the engagement between society, government and its institutions. Two very diverse examples of such deficient systems are (i) the legal and judicial system, and (ii) the water and sanitation sector. Our main thesis is that the essential ingredient in the overhaul of our key systems is the management of knowledge. It has been clear that our knowledge systems are failing to meet not only our demand for technicians and professionals, but also for the public intellectuals, i.e., those who understand the theory, who can communicate its practice, and who can lead in the public discourse to revamp our key systems. It is this matter which is the subject of this note. The main points of this paper are (i) practice is an essential knowledge system and requires distinctive skills, (ii) training in practice is largely absent in our education and knowledge systems, (iii) this practice deficit has severe consequences, foremost in poor development outcomes, and the hovering threat of knowledge capture, and finally (iv) a possible way out using the development agenda itself as a training tool. We add that the focus on knowledge generation and consumption as a basis for development has once more been explicitly pointed out in Stiglitz 2011. The primary background for this study comes from the author's field work, largely in Maharashtra but also elsewhere, and largely in the area of rural drinking water, but also other sectors. It is also based on the decades of experience of CTARA with rural development in Konkan and west Maharashtra, and also its situation within IIT Bombay and the consequent dialogue between academicians, practitioners and researchers.