Good Governance Index 2021

Government officials published the Good Governance Index 2021 on Good Governance Day (December 25th). In order to prepare the index, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, provided assistance. 

State rankings can be based on GGI, which is comprehensive and implementable. Using it allows states and UTs (Union Territories) to assess their governance levels. GGI aims to provide a uniformly applied tool for calculating the impact of various initiatives undertaken by the Central Government and state governments, including UTs. This Index provides comparative information among the states and fosters competition and improvement through its implementation of the GGI Framework. According to GGI 2021, 20 states improved over GGI 2019 in their composite GGI scores. It is intended to take place every two years.

58 indicators and ten sectors make up the index. The sectors are

• Agriculture and Allied Sectors
• Commerce & Industries
• Human Resource Development
• Public Health
• Public Infrastructure & Utilities
• Economic Governance
• Social Welfare & Development
• Judicial & Public Security
• Environment
• Citizen-Centric Governance

Objective of The Good Governance Index:

The purpose of this project is to provide quantifiable data to allow comparisons between the state of governance across all states and all union territories, thereby enabling the establishment of suitable strategies for improving governance and transitioning to a more results-oriented approach and administration.

Limitations of the Good Governance Index

• In general, the index is limited by the availability of data, but as data from authentic and reliable government sources becomes available, these limitations will be addressed.
• Despite its focus on only outcome- and output-based indicators, the framework acknowledges the importance of input and process based indicators.

The District Good Governance Index

There are 58 indicators and 116 data points included in the District Good Governance Index (DGGI), a framework document that measures performance across ten governance sectors. As part of the Rajiv Gandhi Regional Conference on Replication of Good Governance Practices held in Srinagar on July 2, 2021, DARPG prepared a District Good Governance Index for Jammu and Kashmir in collaboration with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The First Union Territory to have a District Good Governance Index:

In July 2021, the exercise of preparing a District Good Governance Index began; now it has been accomplished, and Jammu & Kashmir has become the first Union Territory in the country to have a District Good Governance Index. In its efforts to benchmark good governance at the grassroots level, the Jammu and Kashmir government has implemented a District Good Governance Index. This represents a significant step forward for the timely publication of statistics at state and district levels. 

The District Good Governance Index represents an important milestone and will serve as a framework to assess all districts in Jammu and Kashmir on their performance based on evidence. Sectors such as commerce and industry, agriculture and allied services, public infrastructure and utilities, and judicial and public safety demonstrated strong results. Business accessibility, tax collection, skill training, connectivity to rural habitations, women’s economic empowerment, health insurance coverage, and affordable housing were all significantly improved. There were improvements in conviction rates, disposal of court cases, and the proportion of female police personnel. The citizen-centric governance sector witnessed a strong performance. A higher proportion of female police officers was hired, and conviction rates and court dispositions improved. Citizen-Centric Governance showed strong results.

Conclusion

In partnership with the National Centre for Good Government (NCGG) and the Centre for Good Governance (CGG), Hyderabad, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) of the Government of India developed the Good Governance Index 2020–21. The goal of developing GGI is to establish a tool which can be adopted uniformly across the States to measure the effectiveness of various government initiatives, including those taken up by the Central and State governments. 

The Index uses the GGI Framework to provide a comparative overview among the states in an effort to promote a competitive spirit. The 2020–21 GGI monitors the progress made by the states and UTs in the wake of the 2019 GGI. Additionally, the index is further enhanced by the inclusion of inputs from various states about GGI 2019.

The District Good Governance Index provides a roadmap for future improvements in district level governance by identifying the impact of various governance interventions at the district level.