Good Governance

The political and institutional actions and results required to accomplish development objectives are referred to as good governance.

• Good governance has 8 important features. It is participatory, accountable, transparent, responsive, consensus-oriented, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law.
• It ensures that corruption is reduced, minorities’ perspectives are considered, and the voices of the most marginalised are heard in decision-making. It is also open to society’s current and future needs.

Characteristics of Good Governance given by UNESCO:

As given by UNESCO, Good Governance has the following characteristics:

• Participation: Participation of citizens is the foundation of good governance. The means of participation could be direct, or it could also be through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It suggests freedom of association and expression on the one hand with an organised civil society on the other hand. Example – Members of civil society and government agencies came together in Meghalaya for strengthening social audits in the state.
• Rule of law:  A fair legal framework is needed by good governance which is enforced impartially. It is important to ensure that human rights (particularly those of minorities) are fully protected. Apart from this an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force are obligated for impartial enforcement of laws.

• Transparency: Transparency is referred to the decisions taken with their enforcement done in a way that abides by the rules and regulations. Information is freely accessible to those people who will be impacted by those decisions and enforcements. Also, the provided information should be easily understandable. Example- Draft policies are put online for people to give their feedback and suggestions.

• Responsiveness:  Institutions and processes must strive to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe as part of good governance. For example- IAS officers in Chhattisgarh sent bike ambulances to tribal areas so that they get timely health services.

• Consensus oriented: A society contains many actors and hence many viewpoints. This is the reason that various interests need to be mediated by good governance in order to reach a broad consensus. The focus has to be the best interest of the whole community and the process of achieving it.

• Equity and inclusiveness: Members in the society must feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel alienated or excluded from the mainstream. For this, it is required that all different groups and particularly the most vulnerable like women, tribals, disabled etc have an equal opportunity to improve their well-being.

• Effectiveness and efficiency: It is the responsibility of the institution and the processes to make use of the resources at hand in order to produce the results that fulfil the needs of the society. The efficiency also implies protection of the environment and sustainable use of natural resources.

• Accountability: It is a crucial precondition of good governance. The governmental institutions, private sector and civil society organisations should hold the accountability to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. In general, an organisation or an institution holds accountability to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. It is not possible to implement accountability without the rule of law and transparency. Example: PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation)

Steps taken by the Government: 

• The Central Government has scrapped around 1,500 obsolete rules and laws intending to bring about transparency and improve efficiency.
• Various programs were launched under the e-Governance Programme like, Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI), Digital India Program, Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), Common Service Centres (CSC), online filing of Income-tax return, etc.
• The Planning Commission, in which the role of states was limited, was abolished. NITI Aayog has been constituted to actualize the important goal of cooperative federalism and to enable good governance in India to build a strong nation state.
• The Good Governance Index (GGI) Was launched in 2019 on Good Governance Day (25 December).
• On the 25th of December, which happens to be the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Good Governance Day is observed.

In order to achieve good governance, administrative virtues must be established and administrative transgressions must be eliminated. It improves the efficiency, legitimacy, and citizen-friendliness of government operations and promotes a culture of compassion and cooperation.