Good Governance

Good Governance Day

• Recently, Good Governance Day was observed on 25th December 2024, marking the birth anniversaries of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya.
• This year’s theme, “India’s Path to a Viksit Bharat: Empowering Citizens through Good Governance and Digitalisation,” emphasises the critical role of transparency, accountability, and digital innovation in governance.
• Initiated in 2014, Good Governance Day aims to inspire civil servants and stakeholders to uphold the principles of efficiency, inclusivity, and citizen-centric governance.

About Good Governance

• According to UNESCAP, good governance means ‘the processes and institutions which produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal’.
• In simple words, Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, believed that good governance is the key to fighting poverty and ensuring development.
• Concept: Good governance involves efficient cooperation among legislative, executive, judiciary, and civil institutions for effective resource management.
• Need: Provides transparent, accountable, and corruption-free service delivery, ensuring equal opportunities for all citizens.
• Role in Development: Effective governance accelerates development and addresses disparities, particularly benefiting the poor and vulnerable.

Characteristics of Good Governance

• According to the World Bank, good governance has 8 major characteristics.

1. Participation: Encourages the active involvement of all sections of society, including women, minorities, and marginalized groups, in governance, ensuring inclusivity and diversity.
2. Transparency: Ensures easy access to accurate information for stakeholders and promotes open decision-making processes aligned with laws and ethical principles.
3. Rule of Law: Guarantees the fair and impartial enforcement of legal frameworks, protecting human rights and maintaining societal order.
4. Responsiveness: Focuses on delivering timely and efficient services to meet societal needs and adapting swiftly to emerging challenges.
5. Consensus-Oriented: Reconciles diverse interests to achieve decisions acceptable to all, fostering a shared vision and preventing conflicts.
6. Equity and Inclusiveness: Creates a fair society by addressing disparities and empowering marginalised groups through equal access to resources and opportunities.
7. Effectiveness and Efficiency: Ensures that institutions produce desired outcomes by utilising resources optimally and addressing both current and future societal needs.
8. Accountability: Holds all stakeholders, including government and private sectors, answerable for their actions through robust mechanisms and ethical practices.

Source: Researchgate

Significance of Good Governance

• Promotes Transparency and Accountability: Ensures transparency in decision-making and holds officials accountable, reducing corruption. E.g., RTI Act, 2005 enables citizens to access government information, promoting accountability.
• Ensures Inclusive Development: Promotes policies benefiting marginalised groups for equitable development. E.g., PM Jan Dhan Yojana provides financial inclusion to the unbanked, especially in rural areas.
• Fosters Economic Growth: Creates a favourable environment for business, investment, and job creation. E.g., Make in India and Ease of Doing Business initiatives attract investments and boost growth.
• Strengthens the Rule of Law: Ensures consistent application of laws, protecting citizens’ rights and maintaining order. E.g., e-Courts initiative reduces judicial delays and enhances access to justice.
• Enhances Public Service Delivery: Improves efficiency in delivering essential services like healthcare and welfare. E.g., DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) system ensures subsidies directly reach beneficiaries, reducing leakage.
• Builds Trust and Social Cohesion: Fosters trust between the government and citizens, encouraging collective social initiatives. E.g., Swachh Bharat Abhiyan promotes community involvement in sanitation and cleanliness.
• Promotes Stability and Crisis Management: Ensures political stability and effective crisis management, enabling timely responses during emergencies. E.g., COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccination campaigns managed public health during the pandemic.
• Strengthens Democratic Processes: Encourages public participation and ensures policies reflect citizens’ interests. E.g., MyGov platform allows citizens to give feedback, fostering participatory governance.

Challenges to Good Governance in India

• Economic and Social Insecurity: Persistent inequality and insecurity lead to diminished citizen trust and participation. For instance, the unemployment rate in India stood at 7.3% in 2023, which hinders the success of schemes like PMJDY aimed at financial inclusion.
• Ineffective Policy Making: Non-participatory, top-down policies often fail to address grassroots needs. A prime example is the National Health Policy, which faces challenges in addressing local healthcare demands, as evidenced by the regional disparities in health outcomes.
• Institutional Constraints: Weak institutions with inadequate resources hamper service delivery. For example, the World Bank reports that corruption costs India around 0.5% of its GDP annually, undermining institutional efficiency.
• Ineffective Legal System: India’s legal system is overwhelmed with a backlog of over 4.7 crore pending cases, resulting in delayed justice and eroded public trust in governance.
• Poor Accountability Mechanisms: Weak accountability structures promote corruption and inefficiency. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has faced delays and fund misuse due to a lack of strong monitoring.
• Ethical Degradation and Corruption: Corruption at multiple levels undermines governance. India ranked 93rd out of 180 countries in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, illustrating widespread governance issues.
• Lack of Political Will: Political resistance to decentralising power and implementing reforms slows down governance processes. Resistance to measures like local-level empowerment and transparency in decision-making hinders effective policy outcomes.
• Trust Deficit: A lack of transparency in spending and welfare distribution, such as delays in subsidy transfers, fosters a growing trust deficit between the government and citizens.

Way Forward

• Fostering Citizen Participation: Build alliances with civil society and citizens for people-centered policymaking and implementation. Shift from ‘Jan Andolan’ (people’s movement) to ‘Jan Bhagidari’ (people’s participation), ensuring active involvement of the public in governance.
• Uplifting the Marginalised: Focus on the upliftment of underprivileged groups such as women, children, SC/ST/OBC, farmers, elderly, and those from aspirational districts. Promote ‘From Antyodaya to Sarvodaya’, ensuring social and economic justice for all.
• Ensuring Transparency and Efficiency: Strengthen transparency in administration, civil services, judiciary, and elections. Use tools like RTI, social audits, and grievance redressal systems. Adopt e-governance to improve service delivery and accountability.
• Empowering Local Governance: Implement democratic decentralisation by empowering local governments with more financial and functional authority. Strengthen local bodies to improve governance at the grassroots level.
• Simplifying Governance Processes: Re-engineer and simplify processes, such as single-window clearances, SEVOTTAM Model, and data governance. Focus on capacity building and official sensitization to improve efficiency.
• Promoting Ethical Governance: Ensure zero tolerance to corruption and uphold high standards of integrity, morality, and accountability in public service. Foster ethical governance to rebuild public trust and promote the welfare of all citizens.

Transitioning from a ‘Chalta Hai’ mindset to a ‘Seva Bhaav‘ (Service Mindset) is crucial for achieving good governance in India. By prioritizing service, inclusivity, transparency, accountability, and efficiency, India can empower citizens, promote equitable development, and move towards a Viksit Bharat.

Reference: Indian Express | PIB

UPSC Mains PYQs – Theme – Good Governance

1. What do you understand by the term ‘good governance’? How far recent initiatives in terms of e-Governance steps taken by the State have helped the beneficiaries? Discuss with suitable examples. (2022)
2. “Recent amendments to the Right to Information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission”. Discuss. (2020)
3. Hunger and Poverty are the biggest challenges for good governance in India still today. Evaluate how far successive governments have progressed in dealing with these humongous problems. Suggest measures for improvement. (2017)
4. What do you understand by the terms ‘governance’, ‘good governance’ and ‘ethical governance’? (2016)

PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 23

Q. What defines good governance? What are the major challenges to its effective implementation in India? How can overcoming these challenges enhance efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity in governance, and what measures can be taken to strengthen the governance framework? (250 Words) (15 Marks)

Approach

• Introduction: In the introduction define good governance and its relevance.
• Body: Discuss the key challenges to good governance and the impact of addressing these challenges.
• Conclusion: Write a way forward & conclude by highlighting the need for a holistic approach.