Belonging to India, which has witnessed great rulers like Chandragupta Maurya, who were not only known for their courage but also their unparalleled governance skills and initiatives, good governance is not a new concept.
Bhagavad Gita gives various concepts for good governance, which include, initiatives, devotion (dutifulness) and self-acknowledgement, which are re-interpreted in the cutting edge setting.
In Kautilya's Arthashastra, providing assistance to the common man was considered fundamental in the job of the King.
What Does Good Governance Mean?
Basically governance means that a variety of actors participate in and cooperate in governing.
The United Nations characterizes governance as a process of decision making and the process by which decisions are implemented. It can be thought of as a process in which not only the governments, but also citizens, society and businesses settle on choices together to create a better society and a better country.
For example, while governments can take the lead to solve problems such as waste disposal, pollution, housing; citizens , communities and businesses can come together to set the best policy
Good governance is a process of drawing in various actors in decision making of public administration. It should include the areas of education, infrastructure , licensing and dealing with global warming among others.
The idea of governance arose in international community during 1980s
The World Bank defined governance as the manner in which power is executed in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development. They proposed this idea to apply a reasonable norm in lending aid to developing countries.
Since world war II, many countries have implemented state led economic policies however these policies frequently flop because of corruption, absence of appropriate execution and injustice and thus, there has been growing criticism that more diverse actors should participate in the national decision making process. In response to this criticism, the concept of good governance emerged to distinguish the countries with fair policies.
The concept of good governance applies not only to the developing countries, all together for all humanity to live in harmony , all countries, societies, and citizens must pursue good governance.
Governance in contrast is the process of decision making and implementation. For example, when a public servant implements the PM Awas Yojana effectively, he exercises governance. But when an old man, who does not have required documents or is not aware, helps them, he exercises good governance. Here increasing participation of people and easy access to information are essential. It makes public servants more accountable to the people, it makes administration more transparent and reduces chances of secrecy, corruption etc. it makes people more aware and empowered and renews their trust in government. Tools like RTI, citizen characters, e-governance, and institutions like police, courts, etc can help in ushering in good governance.
Principles of Good Governance
Effectiveness
We expect the government to achieve results and use resources wisely and in a sustainable manner
No money should be wasted and importance should be given to all areas of human development including education, social welfare and medical care.
Transparency
All citizens should be able to see why and how the government makes decisions and have access to explanations about government votes, policies, budgets and campaign finance information.
Transparency in government is ensured by the rights like right to information where citizens are empowered to actively seek information about government functionalities and outcome of various schemes.
Transparency as a pre condition in good governance empowers the citizens, makes government citizen centric, increases participation and sets accountability.
It increases the efficiency of the government and helps it in achieving goals of democracy .
Builds up a governance with less corruption and better or rather improved policy making .
therefore , transparency is a precondition to good governance and it is ensured in the present system through various laws and acts like RTI, POCA etc. which helps in achieving ideals of the constitution like empowerment of citizen and government- “of’ the people, by the people, for the people”
Participation
We should all have a voice in public decisions even if we are not well connected or have the loudest voice. We ought to have the option to voice our concerns and aspirations through voting, public meetings and discussions.All sections of the society; men, women, minorities, the economically backward sections, should get equal opportunities for participation. This aspect may lead to the belief that a representative government ensures participation by all the sections but this is not the case and this is where the concept of good governance becomes important.
Accountability
Is essential for good governance because it makes it necessary for public servants to fulfill their duties diligently. It reinforces the faith of the public in the administration. It reduces chances of corruption and nepotism making governance based on rule of law, more inclusive and consensus based.
For example, if people have the right to recall then a politician will perform his best and look after public welfare, since he can be recalled, if not accountable. This results in good governance.
Responsiveness:
Responsiveness entails that institutions should serve all stakeholders in a reasonable period of time. This empowers the citizens and ensures timely solutions.
Equity and inclusiveness:
This is a key characteristic of good governance, which gives an opportunity to each member of a society, irrespective of their position, to participate in decision making and ensure the formation of a better environment for themselves and the entire society.
Consensus oriented:
There are numerous conflicting opinions in a society and the objective of good governance is to reach a consensus where the best interests of the society are met ensuring overall development and peace among all the factions.
Rule of law:
Within a good governance system, law should prevail and all stakeholders must be treated equally. Substantial measures should be taken to preserve the basic human rights. This is paired with an independent judiciary and an impartial and conscientious police force.
Challenges to Good Governance:
Several factors act as a barrier in the development of good governance as an international entity,
these include:
Criminalisation of politics:
According to a report from Association of Democratic Reforms, 43% of the Members of Parliament have faced criminal charges.
Corruption:
This is a factor which prevents the society from moving forward and only those people who have resources like money and power, are able to achieve their goals.
Gender disparity:
Women are an important part of the society and no development is possible until women are given equal rights and opportunities.
Centralisation of the Administrative System:
This prevents the governments at lower levels to function independently.
Marginalization of socially and economically backward people
Good Governance, Expectations vs Reality:
In recent times, the idea of good governance has become increasingly popular in discussions on international platforms, with all the nations talking about it, but in reality, no country has yet been able to achieve the true essence of good governance. Minorities are being suppressed, women's rights thrashed and even the developed countries have not been able to create a model where the citizens come first, every opinion is valued and overall human development is the ultimate goal.
Will Good Governance Ever Rule the World?
Former UN General secretary observed that "Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development".
This shows that this concept is being given importance at the global level and institutions like the United Nations, Amnesty International, do strive to establish international peace and improvement in living conditions, but a world consisting of an international network of good governance systems with all the countries a part of it, is far from reality. We need to bring changes at all levels of decision making and establish international harmony and cooperation to form a global institution which works on the principles of good governance.
The Next Big Thing in Good Governance
The world is taking steps towards achieving good governance and India too is not far behind,
This year the government gave Good Governance Week the theme, 'Prashasan Gaon ki Aur'.
A nationwide campaign has been started for redressal of public grievances and improvement in service delivery.
The government has created a portal and each District Collector would submit one case of successful good governance and public grievance redressal in his district.
A 'Good Governance Index' was launched to measure the state of governance in all the states and Union territories and work on improving it.
Information Technology has ensured that a policy decision taken by the government can be quickly executed and implemented at multiple locations, across the length and breadth of the country, especially in developing countries that have limited resources at their disposal.
Finally,
As lessons from history show, an absence of skillful government disables the government. And once the government is incapacitated the lives of citizens become challenging and the existence of a better world becomes impossible.
Good governance is a worldwide talk and at the same time, it can be our story in our own country.
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