FM Washington

by National Assembly For Wales / Cynulliad Cymru

Good Governance Initiatives in India

The concept of Good Governance has received heightened impetus by multilateral and bilateral aid-giving agencies as precondition for providing aid. In 1989 , a World Bank document mentioned four key dimensions of good governance as(1) Public Sector Management (2) Accountability(3)Legal Framework(4) Information and transparency.World Bank in it’s another document in 1992 defined governance as “the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development.”According to World Bank , “Good Governance is central to creating and sustaining an environment,which fosters strong and equitable development and it is an essential complement to sound economic policies.”

Political governance requires rule of law,accountability ,transparency in the working of government etc.Economic governance requires macro economic stability ,guaranteeing property rights ,removing market distortions,eliminating rent-seeking opportunities,investment in people and basic infrastructure,protection of natural environment and progressive and equitable fiscal system to promote economic growth with social justice.Civil governance requires securing fundamental political ,economic and human rights,empowering and protecting women,poor ethnic and religious minorities etc.

In a democratic system of government ,the citizens and the public servants are not two separate entities.Much of the success of Public Administration depends on its capacity to enlist public participation in the administrative process.These may include ,constant contact of legislators with their constituents,change in the attitude of bureaucrats ,competent administrative leadership,constructive role of Political parties and restructuring of administration so as to make it more democratic and responsive.If this happens ,then we can say with a measure of confidence that we have good governance.

 The strategy identified in the Eleventh Plan to achieve good governance included the following:-
• Decentralisation and strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions ;
• Critical assessment of performance of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and removing deficiencies and altering the architecture of these schemes;
• Development and strengthening of District Planning;
• Participation and harmonisation of community-based organisation with voluntary organisation;
• Shift in focus from inputs to outputs and ultimately to outcomes;
• Strengthening of the monitoring and evaluation mechanism;
• Promoting e-governance for better service delivery;
• Measures to reduce corruption;
• Civil services reforms Strengthening the accountability of regulators and promoting their autonomy; and
• Strengthening the rule of law with reforms in police and judiciary.

]]>

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) has given 15 Reports covering all facets of administration, viz. Right To Information, unlocking human capital, crisis management, ethics in governance,public order, local governance, capacity building for conflict resolution, combating terrorism, social capital, refurbishing personnel administration, promoting e-governance,citizen centric administration, organizational structure of Government of India, financial management systems and State and District Administration. This is the Second Commission after Independence to take a comprehensive look at an entire range of administrative issues. Its implementation in the coming years would strengthen the governance structures.

The Law on Right To Education has been enacted. This mandates right to free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6 – 14 years and standards of services to be made available is also being prescribed. This will ensure further strengthening of the primary education system and reinforce the process of social inclusion.

The Right To Education Act has been gradually gaining support and effective implementation in most of the States. An independent Study (June, 2009) has shown the following outcomes:
• The basic tenets of the Act have been implemented and the institutional mechanism is in place and is in use by citizens.
• The institution of Information Commission has assumed a pivotal position.
• Civil Society organisations have been,and continue to be, active in ensuring the implementation of the Act in letter and spirit.
• Civil Society organisations and the media have started using the Act for bringing in transparency and objectivity.
• Centre and State Government departments have initiated training of key functionaries to assume the responsibilities of Public Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities.
• Government employees/Public Authorities are aware of the basic elements of the Act.
• Various State Governments have taken up initiatives, which go beyond the stipulations of the Act, and further the spirit of the Act.
• The judiciary has also taken several steps to provide information under the Act, including publication of assets of Judges. This infusion of transparency will gradually help the process of governance.

A Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System (PMES) is being set up for Central Ministries and Departments to make sure that work is more result-oriented. As part of this, each department will provide a Results- Framework Document (RFD) consisting of the priorities set out by the concerned Ministry. After six months, the achievements of each Ministry/Department will be reviewed by a Committee on Government Performance and the goals reset, taking into account the priorities at that point of time. At the end of the year, all Ministries/Departments will review and prepare a report listing the achievements against the agreed results in the prescribed format.

Some of the defined areas of Eleventh Five Year Plan,where progress has been slow:
(a) The change in the architecture of the continuance of new Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) so that the resources fund flow and the implementation at the local level is strengthened.
(b) The process of Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) and land issues related to it need to be further strengthened to meet the twin objective of making land available for development of Projects and R&R measures getting strong footing.
(c) Issuing of Smart Card for service delivery. This process, however, may become feasible as UID is implemented.
(d) Re-engineering of processes to make the availability of services simpler even where these services are not being provided through e-governance. This is critical for efficient delivery of services to citizens and reducing corruption.
(e) The civil service reforms and judicial reforms need to be on a faster track.

The content is copyrighted to Vivek Kumar Singh @ viveksingh.in/blog  and may not be reproduced on other websites.

 

Bookmark To

Tags: Good, Governance, India, Initiatives