Initiatives for Good governance

Published on 29 Jan 2025

Initiatives taken to ensure good governance in India 

• Legislative Measures 

• Right to Information: promotes openness, transparency and accountability in administration by making the government more open to public scrutiny.

• Example: Right to Information Act, 2005 allows citizens to access information held by public authorities and promotes transparency in government operations.

• Decentralization and participatory government: A major step towards decentralization was taken in 1992 and the Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy powerful and effective.

• Example: It is achieved through decentralization of power as per the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment acts.

• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013: This law establishes the institution of the Lokpal at the central level and Lokayuktas at the state level to investigate allegations of corruption against public officials, thus enhancing accountability.

• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988: The act declares that offences such as taking bribes, misappropriation etc and criminal misconduct are punishable by 1-7 years of imprisonment.

• Administrative Measures 

• e-Governance: E-Governance, empowered by emerging ICTs, optimally enhances service delivery, promising swift global social and economic progress.

  

• Example: Through PRAGATI platform Prime Minister discusses the issues with the concerned Central and State officials with full information and latest visuals of the ground-level situation. 

• Ease of Doing Business: NITI Aayog with the objective of improving business conditions initiated various programs for ease of doing business.

• Example: MCA21 is an online portal launched by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs that serves as a single window platform for accessing various information as well as electronic filing of various documents.

• Equity and inclusiveness: Design and implement policies that address social inequalities, promote gender equality and address the needs of marginalized communities.

• Example: To achieve this, the constitution has provisions for affirmative action (Articles 15 and 16), which prohibits discrimination and gives reservations to vulnerable sections of society.

• Effectiveness and efficiency: good governance implies processes and institutions that meet social needs while using resources efficiently. 

• Example: The government came up with the LiFE mission to encourage youth to promote energy and resource efficiency.

• Rule of law: Good governance requires unbiased legal systems and it demands thorough protection of human rights, especially minorities.

• Example: The government enacted the Fugitive Offenders Act and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to enforce the rule of law in the financial and banking sectors of India.

• Citizen’s Charter: It increases the participation of the common man in the efficient working of an organisation by making the citizens aware of the aims and goals of the organization.

• Institutional Measures 

• Regulatory Institutions: They act as watchdogs, regulators, and oversight bodies to promote accountability, transparency, and justice in government operations.

• Example: The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) has been set up to assist in bringing about governance reforms through training, knowledge sharing and promotion of good governance.

• Social Audit: The 2nd ARC committee recommendations on citizen-centric administration suggested mandatory social audits for all programs and women’s participation in economic programs.

• Example: Meghalaya became the first state to pass a Social Audit law, the Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act.

• Minimum government and Maximum governance: It focuses on simplification of procedures, identification and repeal of obsolete/archaic laws/rules, leveraging technology to bring in transparency in public interface and a robust public grievance redress system etc.

• Example: mygov@nic.in is a citizen citizen-centric platform to empower people to connect with the Government and contribute towards good governance.  

• Robust Vigilant Mechanism: Strengthen institutional mechanisms for prevention and detection of corruption. Thus, there is a need to review existing vigilance mechanisms.

• Example: There is a need to strengthen the implementation of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMs). 

Recommendations of ARC related to Good Governance

• Transparency and Accountability: Enhance transparency and accountability in government functioning to promote good governance.

• Citizen-Centric Services: Ensure citizen-centric services by making government processes more efficient, accessible, and responsive to public needs.

• E-Governance: Implement e-governance initiatives to leverage technology for efficient service delivery, transparency, and accessibility.

• Decentralization: Promote decentralization of power and decision-making to empower local governments and increase citizen participation.

• Strengthening Public Institutions: Strengthen public institutions through reforms in recruitment, training, performance management, and promotion policies.

• Ethics and Integrity: Foster a culture of ethics and integrity within the public administration, including clear codes of conduct and stringent anti-corruption measures.

• Reducing Bureaucratic Delays: Streamline administrative processes and reduce bureaucratic delays by simplifying procedures and using technology.

• Grievance Redressal Mechanisms: Establish robust and accessible grievance redressal mechanisms to address citizen complaints and ensure timely resolution.

• Capacity Building: Invest in continuous capacity building of public officials to enhance their skills, knowledge, and professionalism.

• Performance Evaluation: Implement effective performance evaluation systems to assess and reward the performance of public officials based on merit and competence.

Tags:
Polity

Keywords:
Governance Good governance Initiatives for good governance ARC recommendations

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 2