Good Governance Day

Good Governance Day

News: On 25th December, India commemorated Good Governance Day, coinciding with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Background:
• Three new features on the iGOT (integrated government online training) Karmayogi platform: My iGOT, blended programmes, and curated programmes, were launched on this occasion.

What is Good Governance?
• Good governance refers to the process by which public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources, and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard for the rule of law.

What are the United Nation’s 8 principles to implement Good Governance?
• Participation – People should be able to voice their own opinions through legitimate immediate organizations.
• Rule of Law – Legal framework should be enforced impartially, especially on human right laws.
• Consensus Oriented – Mediates differing interests to meet the broad consensus on the best interests of the community.
• Equity and Inclusiveness - Ensuring that all members of the community feel included and that their rights are promoted and protected.
• Effectiveness and Efficiency - Processes and institutions should produce results that meet the needs of the community while making the best use of resources.
• Accountability - Governmental institutions, private sectors, and civil society organizations should be accountable to the public and to their stakeholders.
• Transparency - Information should be freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by decisions.
• Responsiveness - Institutions and processes should serve all stakeholders and respond within a reasonable timeframe.

What are the challenges to Good Governance in India?
Challenges to Good Governance in India are several such as Corruption, under-representation of women in polity, inequality, social exclusion, pendency of cases, dearth of accountability, ineffective distribution of resources etc.
• In Corruption Perception Index 2022, India was ranked 85th out of 180 countries.
• A 2022 Oxfam report revealed that the richest 1% in India held more than 40% of the country\'s wealth, while the bottom 50% had just 3%.
• A total of around 4 crore cases are pending across levels of Judiciary in India.
• Criminalization of politics in India.
• India faces major challenges like air pollution, water scarcity, and deforestation.

What are the Government of India’s initiatives to promote Good Governance?
• To promote Transparency and accountability the Government has initiated several reforms such as Right to Information Act, 2005, Citizen charters, Faceless tax assessment, CPGRAMS, e-Samiksha.
• Aspirational District Programs to improve socio-economic indicators in 112 geographically disadvantaged districts.
• Various steps taken towards e-Governance such as Digital India Initiative, MyGov, PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation), Common Services Centres 2.0 (CSC 2.0), e-Courts.
• Direct Benefits transfers, Aadhar, Bhim etc

What is the need of the hour?
• Streamlining administrative processes, reducing red tape, and enhancing professionalism and accountability within the public service is also crucial. VIKAS (Variable and Immersive Karmayogi Advanced Support) will be a crucial step in this direction.
• Address the backlog of cases, improve infrastructure and efficiency within the court system, and ensure speedy access to justice for all. E-courts and live streaming of court proceedings is a significant step in this direction.
• Developing an AI-driven system that analyzes public complaints, identifies patterns, and automatically directs them to the relevant authorities for swift resolution.