The Union Government of India has announced plans to launch a nationwide event dubbed ‘Good Governance Week’, running from the 20th to the 26th of December. The primary aim of this initiative is to redress and handle public grievances, improving service delivery down to the village level.
A series of events named “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur” are scheduled throughout the week, with a strong focus on being citizen-centric. Significant events include the Ease of Living and Next Phase of Reforms for Reducing Compliance Burden, Experience Sharing Workshop by DARPG on Best Practices, and Mission Karmayogi – The Path Ahead.
As part of the celebrations, the Exhibition on Good Governance Practices will also be inaugurated. The 25th of December was selected as ‘Good Governance Day’ to honor the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Meaning of Good Governance
Governance refers to the process of decision-making and the execution (or lack thereof) of these decisions. It can apply to various sectors such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance, and local governance.
United Nations’ Eight Principles of Good Governance
The nine principles of good governance outlined by the United Nations incorporate:
1. Participation: Giving people a say in decision-making, either directly or through legitimate institutions representing their interest.
2. Rule of law: Ensuring legal frameworks are fair and impartially enforced, especially relating to human rights.
3. Transparency: Promoting free flow of information where processes, institutions, and information are directly accessible to stakeholders, with adequate information provided for understanding and monitoring them.
4. Responsiveness: Ensuring institutions and processes serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.
5. Consensus orientation: Mediating different societal interests to reach a broad consensus on the community’s best interest and methods for achieving it.
6. Equity: Ensuring all groups, particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well being.
7. Effectiveness and efficiency: Delivering results that meet needs while optimally utilizing resources.
8. Accountability: Holding decision-makers in government, private sector, and civil society organizations accountable to the public and institutional stakeholders.
Challenges to Good Governance in India
Various challenges pose threats to achieving good governance in India, such as women’s under-representation in government institutions, rampant corruption perceived as a major barrier to improving governance quality, and delay in justice. The centralisation of the Administrative System is another challenge, as lower-level governments can only function efficiently if empowered appropriately.
Indian Initiatives to Improve Good Governance
Several initiatives aim to enhance good governance in India. The Good Governance Index (GGI) was launched by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions to assess governance status in the country and the impact of different State Government and UT interventions. The National e-Governance Plan envisages making all government services accessible to the common man locally through common service delivery outlets. Other measures include the establishment of NITI Aayog, Make in India programme, Lokpal, etc.