Good Governance for the convenience of people

In News

Second “Sushasan Saptah”(Good Governance Week) being observed from December 19-25, 2022.

• Over 3,100 new government services will be added for online delivery during the five-day good governance week 

About Good governance

• Governance in simple terms means the process of decision-making and its implementation in collective problem situations.
  • The term ‘governance’ had become popular, especially since the 1990s with the usage of the term by international donor agencies such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), etc
• Good governance is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law.
•  It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account, and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. 
• It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.

Characteristics of good governance

Challenges in Good Governance:

• The political dominance on bureaucracy goes unchallenged by the bureaucracy.
  • On the contrary, many bureaucrats willingly or meekly submitted to this dominance because of this good governance has suffered
• The lack of ethics and fairness in governance was felt by the common people as well as those in high offices.
• Today, government servants are used to ‘cushy’ postings which is a gift of the political bosses.
• Corruption had been identified as the biggest hurdle to economic development
  • Corruption undermines the public’s trust in its government. It also threatens market integrity, distorts competition, and endangers economic development.
• Criminalization of Politics
•  Gender Disparity
• Delay in Justice
• Low levels of Awareness of the Rights and Duties of Citizens etc.
• The rising gap between urban and rural areas, 
• The use of technology is critical in engendering good governance. 

Various Initiatives of Government 

• Recently, The National Centre for Good Governance began its two-week capacity-building programs for civil servants from Maldives and Bangladesh.
• The mantra of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” has improved the ease of living of citizens.
• The government has undertaken various citizen-centric initiatives including redressal of public grievances, online services, disposal of service delivery applications, and good governance practices. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government (thanks to the stellar work of economist Bibek Debroy) has repealed an estimated 2,000 Acts, statuettes and subordinate legislation which include dozens of Appropriation acts, the Excise Act 1863, Foreign Recruiting Act 1874, Elephants Preservation Act 1879, and Bengal Districts Act, 1836 to name just a few

• Enterprise DigiLocker, compliance portal: Another possible small step towards good governance is the DigiLocker (an integral part of the India stack) now has more than five billion documents and 100 million users. 
• Right to Information Act, 2005: It plays an effective role in ensuring transparency in governance.
• Other Initiatives: E-Governance, Vigilance Awareness Week, Decentralization, JAM Trinity for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), PRAGATI Platform, SVAMITVA Scheme, Mission Karmayogi, etc
• A big boost to the infrastructure sector has been undertaken through Bharatmala, Sagarmala, National Asset Monetisation Pipeline, agriculture infrastructure fund, etc
• The implementation of GST, labour codes, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, New Education Policy, Mudra, PM Awas Schemes, PM Kisan, and seamless faceless resolution of tax disputes are initiatives that have strengthened transparency, responsiveness and other dimensions of good governance.

Suggestion and Conclusion 

•  Good governance can be provided by public servants if they realise their duty to the people and do not think of themselves as masters.
  • Transferring officials is not and should not be the prerogative of political bosses. 
    • It is a potent weapon by which one can control the honest bureaucrat or reward a dishonest one.
• The vision should be to expand the outreach of service delivery mechanisms, making them more effective.
• The focus should be on eradicating poverty and preventing gender discrimination.
• We should cut red tape in the country”, and “we should use more e-governance in India”.
• Good governance is also the responsibility of enlightened citizens not just only to demand good governance but also to contribute to it.
• To ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality.