Aspects of governance of India
Aspects of governance of India
Governance (as opposed to “good” governance) can be defined as the rule of the rulers, typically within a given set of rules. One might conclude that governance is the process – by which authority is conferred on rulers, by which they make the rules, and by which those rules are enforced and modified. Thus, understanding governance requires an identification of both the rulers and the rules, as well as the various processes by which they are selected, defined, and linked together and with the society generally.
None the less, within this concept of governance, the obvious second question is: What is good governance? Again, the debate on the quality of governance has been clouded by a slew of slightly differing definitions and understanding of what is actually meant by the term. Typically, it is defined in terms of the mechanisms thought to be needed to promote it. For example, in various places, good governance has been associated with democracy and good civil rights, with transparency, with the rule of law, and with efficient public services.
In other cases, the definition of good governance goes further than mechanisms and proposes that good governance be equated with specific outcomes – in a Rawlsian sense of assuring that everyone, irrespective of social or economic status, has a voice in governing and receives just, fair, equitable treatment. For example, the UNDP notes that: “Good governance is, among other things, participatory, transparent and accountable. It is also effective and equitable. And it promotes the rule of law. Good governance ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources.”
The five dimensions of good governance that was developed in the World Bank’s Corruption study are public sector management, competitive private sector, structure of government, civil society participation and voice, and political accountability. This definition goes well beyond effective delivery of public services. And it can also go well beyond the notion of “economic governance” which is typically the focus of most World Bank work on governance.
Features Of Good Governance
The distinctive features of good governance are: participation, accountability, consensus oriented, transparency, responsiveness, effectiveness, efficiency, equitableness, inclusiveness, and following the rule of law.
The OECD (1.992) delineated the key features of good governance in the following words:” it is the promotion of democracy and open pluralistic societies; the strengthening of transparent accountable, efficient and effective national and local government; the promotion of respect for human rights; the reinforcement of rule of law, including fair and accessible legal and judicial system, the promotion of independent media and the dissemination of information; anti corruption initiatives and efforts to reduce excessive military expenditure.”
Challenges Of Good Governance
Some of the challenges of good governance could be as follows
- Corruption at various levels
- Centralisation of power and authority
- Criminalization of politics
- Violation of human rights
- Weak legislators with criminal records, poor knowledge about development issues and low level of education
- Poor people’s participation in development processes
- Less active civil society
- Poorly empowered grassroots democratic institutions
- Poor coordination among the political, administrative and community level organization and institutions
- Delay in delivery of judicial decisions
- Poor participation of disadvantaged in decision making process.