GOOD GOVERNANCE - ETHICS
News: Good
governance beyond motherhood and apple pie
Good Governance:
● The
World Bank, in 1992, in its Report
'Governance and Development' defined Good Governance as "The manner in
which power is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social
resources for development."
● The
concept of Good Governance is not new to Indian Society. In ancient India, the
King was bound by 'Rajadharma'. Even epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana speak
of principles of Good Governance followed by the king.
● Good
Governance, thus, remains the key to a participatory
form of government wherein those called upon to rule on behalf of the
people are driven by a desire to give their all to make their lives more
livable.
Features of Good Governance:
● Provision
of good education facilities that
offers greater employability.
● Infrastructure
development like roads, railways, telecom, etc.
● Ensuring
safety of public life as well as
property.
● Provision
of citizen centric services.
● Reducing inequalities
in society.
● Enlarging
the sphere of freedom of speech and expression, religion and employment.
● Creating
a healthy business environment.
● Maintaining law and
order.
● Providing
choices to the vulnerable sections
of the population to lead a dignified life.
Stakeholders of Good Governance:
The
stakeholders involved in ensuring good governance are as follows.
● State
- It comprises the different organs of the government such as legislature,
judiciary as well as the executive. It also comprises the other actors like
political executive and bureaucracy.
● Market -
It includes the corporate sector, the organized as well as the unorganized,
ranging from large corporate houses to small scale businesses.
● Civil society
- It includes NGOs, pressure groups, trade associations, media associations.
Principles of Good Governance:
The 8 good governance principles
ensure that every individual has a rightful say in the decision making and the
government is responsive to the present as well as the future needs of the
society. The principles of good governance are:
1. Participation:
● Participation
remains the key cornerstone of good governance.
● It
can be ensured directly or through some intermediate institutions.
● It
provides an opportunity to every
individual to voice their opinion in the decisions of the government.
2. Transparency:
● The
principle of transparency ensures that information related to the policy
decisions are equally accessed by
everyone.
● It
also means that not only the information is accessible but is also provided in
an easily understandable form through accessible media.
3. Rule of law:
● Rule
of law implies that the legal framework in the country be enforced impartially.
● It
also means protection rights of the
vulnerable sections of the population.
4. Accountability:
● Accountability
is the answerability of the
government for its decisions.
● It
facilitates the responsibility of the government to the public. Not only the
government, but civil society and corporate groups too should be accountable to
the public.
5. Responsiveness:
● The
principle of responsiveness ensures that the services of government and
institutions are available to the public within a reasonable time frame.
6. Consensus oriented:
● It
ensures that decisions arrived at takes into account the interests of every
stakeholder in the society.
● This
ensures that the decision is accepted by
everyone and is in the best interest of the whole community.
7. Equity and inclusiveness:
● Good
governance should ensure justice, be it in terms of political, economic or
social, for the community.
● It
strives to bring about an inclusive society where everyone has the
opportunities to climb the ladder of growth.
8. Effectiveness and efficiency:
● Good
governance ensures that the processes and institutions produce results which
meet the needs of the society by ensuring optimal utilization of the available
resources.
Effective operation of the government remains the key
to the success of everyone. In recent times when
India is the third largest economy in the world, in PPP terms, and striving to
achieve its goal of $5 trillion economy, there is a need to reformulate our
national plan to give prominence to the Gandhian
ideal of "Antodaya" in order to reestablish good governance in
the country. Only when the institutions and processes become efficient and
corruption free, can the country enjoy better per capita income, widespread
literacy, decent health care, and a longer average life.