The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) launched EPIC India in 2014 to promote an understanding of energy and environmental challenges in India. Drawing on expertise from the University of Chicago’s renowned economists and leading policy experts, EPIC India’s work has led to large-scale implementation on the ground in different Indian states over the last seven years.

To enable knowledge exchange between EPIC experts and India’s policymakers, EPIC India conducted its first Legislators Program in 2017. The Program, spread over a few days, invited a cross-party delegation of Indian Legislators to engage with experts at the University of Chicago. The program offered a platform for the legislators to engage directly with experts who have extensively researched India’s environment and energy challenges. A very positive response from the first cohort led to another delegation in 2018 and 2022.

The 2022 edition of the Legislators Program had nine MPs visiting the University of Chicago between May 8-12th, 2022. During the trip, the lawmakers met experts from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), Development Innovation Lab (DIL), and the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) at the University of Chicago. The Program, through high-level interactions, facilitated knowledge exchange and served as a platform to align individual efforts into collective action. Over the five days, lawmakers discussed solutions to India’s energy, pollution, and climate change-related problems with academicians and subject matter experts. The engagements helped the legislators better understand EPIC’s research priorities and co-identify priorities and solutions that can be implemented in specific constituencies.

Read the highlights from the program here.