Good Governance Day

Context:

• “Good Governance Day” is celebrated on December 25 marking the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party doyen Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• Firstly, the day is meant to pay homage to the visionary and reformer who fast-tracked all-round development.
• Secondly, it was to use the day as a way to increase awareness of government services and accountability among people and inculcate “good governance” as a habit for civil servants.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: a foundational figure for the BJP

• Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on December 25, 1924 in Gwalior, present-day Madhya Pradesh.
• A poet-politician, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1939, becoming a pracharak (full-time worker) in 1947.
• He held his first major national position as the External Affairs Minister in Morarji’s post Emergency government in 1975.
• While that government soon fell (in 1977), Vajpayee had earned major plaudits for his tenure, with his UN General Assembly speech in Hindi drawing praise from all quarters.
• Books written includes – National Integration – 1961, Dynamics of an Open Society – 1977, Kucha Lekha, Kucha Bhashana – 1996,  Rajaniti ki Rapatili Rahem – 1997, etc.

An able administrator

• While he first became Prime Minister in 1996 (for 16 days) it was his 1998-1999 and 1999-2004 terms that left a lasting impact on the nation.
• Under his tenure, India formally became a nuclear power despite significant criticism from the West and ably faced war and peace with Pakistan.
• India undertook massive public welfare projects including Sarva Shikshya Abhiyaan and PM Gramin Sadak Yojana, and ushered in a new era of foreign investment and international relations, especially with the US.

Good governance

• Governance refers to all processes of governing, the institutions, processes and practices through which issues of common concern are decided upon and regulated.
• Good governance refers primarily to  the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realisation of human rights.
• This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them
• Six Indicators for Promotion of Good Governance

• Transparency & Accountability
• Non-violence and constancy in Political system
• Effectiveness of Government long and short Policy
• Eradication of Corruption
• Quality of Governance
• Rule of law

Benefits of good governance:

• Efficient Processes – To start, good governance ensures consistency and repeatability in a corporation. In turn, the overall productivity and efficiency of the organization are boosted.

• Visibility of Errors – when the organization adopts the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability become the watchword.
• Public trust and Goodwill –  The overall output of good governance is the right products and services.
• Accountability and responsibility can be ascertained and right course of action can be taken easily.
• Financial Sustainability – Good governance significantly reduces unnecessary expenses and spend more on progressive needs.

Good Governance through e-Governance

• Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) with their emergence have led to development, growth and opportunities throughout the world.
• The main objective of e-governance is to simplify and improve governance and enable people’s participation in governance through internet.
• E- governance is applied in following ways:

• Putting government laws and legislations online.
• Putting information relating to government plans, budgets, expenditures and performances online.
• Putting online key judicial decisions like environment decisions etc. which are important to citizens and create precedence for future actions.
• Making available contact addresses of local, regional, national and international officials online
• Making available the reports of enquiry committees or commissions online.

• According to the Good Governance Day Report published in 2014 by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology – Highlights the key achievements and activities of the ministry that have played an instrumental role in furthering the cause of Good Governance.

Challenges of good governance:

• Capacity Building – Access to information, participation, innovation and accountability are needed to build an environment for capacity building.
• Administrative Responses – people seeking access to healthcare or livelihood facilities are required to pay several visits to multiple government offices located in different parts of the district headquarters.

• Karnataka, for example, has made available land records for some 20 million farmers by placing them online under its Bhoomi Initiative.

• Corruption at various levels such as arising due to centralization of power and authority
• Criminalization of politics and consequent violations of human rights.
• Weak legislators with criminal records, poor knowledge about development issues and low level of education
• Poor people’s participation in development processes and less active civil society
• Poorly empowered grassroots democratic institutions, poor coordination among the political, administrative and community level organizations and institutions.
• Delay in delivery of judicial decisions and poor participation of disadvantaged in decision making process.

Way forward

• Public sector modernisation and good governance is no longer an option, but a necessity.
• It will help governments respond to changing societal needs and maintain competitiveness in an uncertain international environment.
• This can be achieved through initiatives such as Good Governance Index 2019; which is a scientifically prepared tool based on various parameters of good governance which assess the level of any state at a given point of time and help in shaping future development.

Source: Indianexpress