Only Ias Gs Paper-III Prahaar Governance 2021

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RAHAAR
The final hit to UPSC Exam
Comprehensive, Integrated and Current Linked Notes for CSE Mains 2021
GS PAPER - I I
INDIAN GOVERNANCE
Summary
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PRAHAAR- Summary of Governance (GS 2) OnlyIAS Nothing Else
• Necessitates a wide range of skills
GOVERNMENT POLICIES & INTERVENTIONS IN • Future-oriented
VARIOUS SECTORS MEANING, ISSUES AND • Participatory and consultative
WAY FORWARD
General Process of Policy formulation
PUBLIC POLICY
Public Policies are governmental decisions that are the

result of the efforts undertaken by the government to
achieve specific goals and objectives.
TYPES OF PUBLIC POLICY:

• Substantive policies: It is concerned with the overall
welfare and development of society. It provides
education and employment opportunities,
economic stabilisation.
o For example, Right to Education Act.
• Distributive: It is intended for a particular section of
society. It ensures for provision of goods, public
PUBLIC POLICY IN INDIA
welfare, or health care services. • India chose planned economic growth just after
o For eg: AAYUSHMAN BHARAT mission. independence.
• Redistributive: It is reorganisation of policies that • The Planning Commission was mainly responsible for
are concerned with attempting to bring about formulating policies.
fundamental social and economic changes. Certain • The Five-Year Plans (FYPs) in India based on main
goods and services that are distributed inequitably development elements.
are streamlined. • Economic growth, agricultural productivity, defence
o For example, JAM trinity and DBT scheme. expenditures were among the focus areas in
• Capitalization: Governments provide financial subsequent plans.
assistance to state and local governments.
Achievements of Planned policy making of India
o For e.g: Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana
(PMMY). • Economic Infrastructure Growth.
• Social Infrastructure.
• Regulatory: It is concerned with the regulation of
• life expectancy has increased significant.
trade, business, safety precautions, and public • According to the 2011 census data the crude death
utilities such as the LIC and the RBI. rate at all India level has declined significantly from
9.8 to 6.3 during 1991 to 2017.
Nature of Public policy : • Increase in national and per capita income.
• India is now the world's third largest economy.
• Goal Oriented • Higher growth rate: The growth rate increased
• Collective actions rather than their discrete and dramatically after the LPG reforms.
segregated decisions. For example, Swatchh Bharat • India became a self-sufficient economy.
Mission nudging society as whole to improve
cleanliness. FLAWS IN PLANNED DEVELOPMENT
• It can take many forms, including legislation, • "Jobless development."
ordinances, court decisions, executive orders, and • Inequality.
decisions. • And after seven decades of democracy, over 22% of
• It has the backing of the law and authority. the population lives in poverty.
• Agriculture production.
Characteristics of Public Policy Formulation: • The annual growth rate in real terms in agriculture and
• Guided by a larger public interest its allied sectors was 2.88 per cent from 2014-15 to
• Connected by contact and feedback loops. 2018-19.
• It also evolves over time. • Per capita income has remained stagnant.
• Slums have proliferated in urban areas.
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Lacunas in India’s Public Policy: Measures Needed To be Taken
ISSUES WITH POLICY FORMULATION FOR BETTER POLICY FORMULATION

• Over-centralization.
• Lack of assessment data analysis. • Decentralizing policy making exercise and separating
• Policy making is often carried out by a few senior policy-making from implementation.
bureaucrats and politicians who are unaware of • Improving the flow of information from outside the
current ground realities. government and participation of all stakeholders and
• Politically motivated policies. civil society in policy making.
• example is loan waivers by various Indian states on a
• Increase the budgetary allocation to social security
regular basis.
• Lack of non-governmental participation and schemes.
informed debates. • Continuous Policy Monitoring and Evaluation.
• lack of systematic research and integration. • Collect real time empirical data.
• Rigorous legal and constitutional scrutiny before law
ISSUES WITH POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: and policy formulation.
• Weak administrative machinery at the ground level. • Building linkages among government agencies and
• Poor identification and targeting of eligible academic institutions.
beneficiaries.
• Delivery agencies' operational skills are lacking. FOR BETTER IMPLEMENTATION:
• People's lack of knowledge.
• The neo-liberal paradigm of developmental planning
• Building a sound delivery mechanism.
in INDIA.
• Transferring control of economic factors from the • Convergence of scheme.
public sector to the private sector. • Awareness on the part of people.
• Provisions of social auditing should be ensured.
ISSUES RELATED TO NEO-LIBERAL ERA: • evaluating policy effectiveness.
• Increasing Inequalities. • It should rest upon sound institutional basis in which
• Creation of Monopolies. there is both continuity and change over time.
• Unsustainable Economic Growth.
• The ‘globalisation’ phenomenon has led to Conclusion
the exploitation of the developing world. • The future of governance in India is bound to become
• The sustainability of neo-liberal economic order got more complex leading to disputes and disagreements
exposed during the 2007-2008 Global financial crisis. over different visions of growth and development.
• In responding to these challenges, the urgent need is
NITI AAYOG AND SHIFT IN PLANNING IN INDIA for public policy-based analyses in which every
stakeholder has a voice and where every voice adds
dimension and meaning to the development
• NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming
discourse. The need for ensuring public policy
India) was formed to replace the erstwhile Planning
effectiveness is essential to achieve good governance.
Commission in order to better serve the needs and
aspirations of the Indian people. ANALYSIS OF FEW SCHEMES
CHANGE IN POLICY FORMULATION AFTER NITI BETI BACHAAO BETI PADHAAO:

AAYOG : • The trend of decline in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR),
has been unabated since 1961. The decline from
• Decentralisation of planning. 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and further to 918 in
• Ground level study conducted by experts. 2011 is alarming.
• Long term vision. • The decline in the CSR is a major indicator of
women disempowerment.
• Provide a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative launched to
and inter-departmental issues. address these issues.
• Idea of cooperative federalism and competitive
federalism being promoted in decision making. The objectives of this initiative are:
• Prevention of gender biased sex selective • Work provided to few: in this fiscal year, 8.07 crore
elimination. workers demanded work, but work was provided
• Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child. only to 6.25 crore workers.
• Ensuring education and participation of the girl • CoVID and Migrant Crisis: The virtual shutdown of
child.
all economic activities due to Covid-19
pandemic has resulted in a massive loss of
ACHIEVEMENTS OF BBBP SCHEME:
livelihoods. Thus, a significant part of this
workforce has reverse migrated from cities to rural
• Improved sex ratio at birth : 422 districts have
areas and demand for work under MGREGA
shown improvement.
increased.
• Percentage of Institutional Deliveries has shown an
• New “skill mapping” required
improving trend : from 87% in 2014-15 to 94% in
• Delay in payment of wages:
2019-20.
• Inadequate Financing.
• GER of girls in the schools at secondary level has
• The inspection of projects has been irregular issue
improved : Improved from 77.45 (2014-15) to 81.32
(2018-19). of quality of work and asset creation under
MGNREGA.
MAJOR ISSUES WITH ITS IMPLEMENTATION:

MEASURES OR WAY AHEAD:
• Underutilization of funds. • The cap of 100 days should be removed to
• Lack of proper monitoring. expand it to at least 200 days.
• Unemployment allowance should be
• High dropout rates.
guaranteed.
• Unbalanced expenditure patterns:
• The government must ensure the release of
o majority of the expenditure, i.e. about 43%
funds on an emergency basis.
on average, is allocated for media
campaigns at the national level, with • Social Auditing creates accountability of
another 4% for campaigns at district level. performance.
o However, only a small proportion, i.e.
about 5% each, is allocated for education PRADHAN MANTRI AWAS YOJANA (URBAN) OR
and health-related interventions. HOUSING FOR ALL BY 2022 MISSION
• The ‘Housing for All by 2022’ under the scheme of

MEASURES OR INTERVENTIONS REQUIRED:
“Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All
(Urban)” launched by the central government
• Increase planned expenditure allocation for
education and health related interventions. aims to provide housing to all urban people by
2022.
• Partnership with private sector: such as local non-
• The programme has following objectives
governmental organisations (NGOs).
o Slum rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers.
• Effective monitoring through greater use of mobile
o Promotion of Affordable Housing for
technology and ICT tools.
weaker section.
• Stricter enforcement of the policy guidelines.
o Affordable housing in partnership with
Public & Private sectors.
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT:
MAJOR ISSUES WITH ITS IMPLEMENTATION
• The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one
• Housing and Inflated Land Prices.
hundred days of employment in every financial
• Artificial jacking up of price.
year to adult members of any rural household
willing to do public work-related unskilled manual • Stringent land conversion rules.
work at the statutory minimum wage. • Restrictive FSI.
• Faulty Tenancy laws and regulations.
Issues related to it:
Way ahead: • Agitator
• Service provider
• Timely delivery of houses.
• Watchdog
• Improving laws and regulations.
• Advocate: of the weaker sections’ point of view.
• Promoting sustainable Urban development.
• Improving land use pattern through transit-
CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
oriented development.
ORGANISATIONS IN INDIA:
• Increasing assistance sanctioned.
MEANING, ISSUES AND CHALLENGES • 2nd ARC, based on the laws under which the civil
society operate and the kind of activities they take
ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
up, classified them as:
Development o Registered Societies formed for specific
purposes.
o Charitable organisations and Trusts.
• Development is described as "the process of
o Cooperatives.
bringing about social change that enables people
o Bodies without having any formal organisational
to realise their full human potential." Amartya
structure.
Sen has given the term "development" a whole
o Government promoted Third Sector
new meaning. Development, he believes, is a
organisations.
political process. Sen defines development as the
o Local Stakeholders Groups, Microcredit and
elimination of various forms of unfreedoms that
Thrift Enterprises, SHGs Student Government
leave citizens with limited options and
promoted Third Sector organisations.
opportunities to exercise their reasoned agency.
o Professional Self-Regulatory Bodies.
DIMENSIONS OF DEVELOPMENT:
NATIONAL POLICY ON THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
• Human development 2007
• Political development:
• Economic growth OBJECTIVES OF THE POLICY
• Social Growth • Creating an enabling climate for Voluntary
• Sustainable Development Organizations that promotes their effectiveness
while also safeguarding their identity and
autonomy.
CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENT:
• Voluntary Organizations would be able to
legitimately mobilise the requisite financial
• Poverty: This hinders effective participation of
capital from India and elsewhere.
people in development process and they have • Identifying mechanisms in which the government
limited choices to exercise. and the voluntary sector will collaborate.
• Unemployment. • Promote good governance: Encourage Voluntary
• Inequality of income & wealth. Organizations to implement open and
• Flawed Implementation of land reforms. accountable governance and management
processes.
• Inter-regional disparity.
• Education and Health remained neglected.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ORGANISATIONS
• NGO is defined by the World Bank as a not-for-
• Social capital allows a group of people to work profit organization that pursues activities to
together effectively to achieve a common purpose or
relieve suffering, promote the interests of the
goal. It allows a society or organization, such as a
corporation or a non-profit organisation to function poor, protect the environment, provide basic
together as a whole through trust and shared identity, social services, or undertake community
norms, values, and mutual relationships. Generally, development.
such organisations refer to as a civil society.
Constitutional provisions related to NGOs:
The functional contribution of civil society to society is:
• Article 19(1)(c) which allows the right to form
associations,
• Educator
• Article 43 to promote cooperatives in rural areas, efforts gathered pace during the second wave, if
• Concurrent List mentions charitable institutions, CoVID-19 Pandemic in India.
charitable and religious institutions. • Child rights: Bachpan Bachao Andolan have
liberated more than 90,000 children in India
Registration of NGOs:
from child labour, slavery and trafficking.
NGOs in India are divided into three categories: Societies, • Protecting environment: Greenpeace is an
Charitable Companies and Trusts. environment-friendly international organization
• Societies: The Societies Registration Act of 1860
requires societies to register. Challenges:
• Charitable corporations: These corporations are
formed under Section 8 of the Companies Act of • Corruption and Misuse of Funds
2013. They are also required to pay income tax • Lack of Professionally Trained Personnel:
under the Income Tax Act of 1961. NGOs in urban areas are more developed than in
• Trusts: Private trusts are registered under the rural areas
Indian Trusts Act of 1882, whereas public trusts
• Lack of Volunteerism/Social Work among Youth:
are registered under the relevant state legislation.
• Lack of Funds
Role and Impact of Non-Governmental • Gaining momentum for civic initiatives is difficult
Organizations:
Measures needed:
• Welfare scheme implementation.
• Effective monitoring
• Capacity building: fostering independent
• Cooperative approach
dialogue with civil society to assist people in
leading more sustainable lives. • Concentrating on remote regions
• Fighting social evils and protecting human rights: • Technology intervention
• key players and collaborators in the region's • Applaud NGOs' contributions
growth efforts.
• Function in areas where the government is
Concern related with their Legitimacy and
unable to help. Accountability:
• Work in areas where state services are
insufficient. • According to the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI), there is one non-governmental organisation
Impact of NGOs: Understanding through case (NGO) for every 600 Indian people. However,
there is a lack of transparency among NGOs in
studies.
India.
• Imparting education: Kerala Sastra Sahitya • In 2017, the Supreme Court ordered the
Parishad, a massive NGO, is largely responsible government to conduct an audit of 30 lakh NGOs.
for the state's 100 percent literacy rate. • Thousands of non-profits and volunteer groups
• Securing interest of poor’s: NGOs in cities like receive government grants but neglect to specify
how they use them.
Mumbai, such as YUVA and SPARC, have
consistently protested the demolition of huts. • Just 10% of NGOs filed annual income and
• Raising voice for minorities. expenditure statements.
• Role in disaster management: After the tsunami • In a study, the Intelligence Bureau accused
of 2004, NGOs did an amazing job of "foreign-funded" NGOs of funding anti-nuclear
rehabilitation. and anti-coal fired power plant protests as well
• International collaborations. as anti-GMO protests across the world, accusing
• NGOs can bring in global deals, such as reforms them of "acting as instruments for foreign policy
to combat hazardous waste controls, landmine interests of western governments.
bans, and greenhouse gas and pollution control
on a global scale. Steps taken by the Government:
• Protecting health and life : Aid India had worked
on welfare initiatives during the first wave, its
Recently, New accreditation guidelines for NGOs had been • Effectiveness of NGOs as a social service delivery
formed based on recommendations of the Vijay Kumar agent
Committee.
• NITI Aayog has been appointed as the nodal Way forward:
agency for registration and accreditation of NGOs
seeking funding from the Government. • Better cooperation between the government and
NGOs is needed.
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA)
• NGO regulators should ensure that laws are
amended in 2020:
followed in a fair, open, and non-partisan manner.
• Aadhaar, passport and OCI card is required for
registration for getting foreign funding by NGOs.
• International contributions must be earned only
SELF-HELP GROUPS (SHGS)
in an account designated by the bank as a "FCRA
account" in a State Bank of India. • A Self-Help Group is defined as a "self-governed,
• Limit on Spending. peer-controlled information group of people with
• government can limit the use of unutilized similar socio-economic background and having a
foreign. desire to collectively perform a common task."
Contributions
Objectives of SHGs
NGOs and CoviD-19: • Members' savings and banking practises should
be instilled.
• To protect them against financial, technological,
• Civil society actors are rising to the pandemic
and moral threats.
challenge in myriad small and large ways.
• To allow for the use of a loan for constructive
• They are filling in gaps left by governments to provide purposes.
essential services • Obtaining economic stability by the use of a loan
• spread information about the virus or credit.
• partnering with businesses and public authorities to • To profit from mutual experience in terms of
support local communities strapped for economic organising and handling their own finances, as
well as sharing the proceeds among themselves.
relief.
• To raise awareness among women in the target
• Assisting and supporting the local administration area about the importance of SHGs and their role
• Extending support for distribution of Personal in their empowerment.
Protective Equipment • Encourage women to save and make it easier for
• Identifying hotspots and deputing volunteers and them to build their own capital resource base.
care givers to deliver services to the elderly, persons • To encourage women to take on social
responsibilities, especially those related to
with disabilities, children, transgender persons, and
women's growth.
other vulnerable groups.
• prevention, hygiene, social distancing, isolation, and Origin of SHGs in India:
combating stigma.
• Vaccine distribution. • During the 7th Five-Year Plan, SHGs were
introduced.
RTI and NGOs: • MYRADA (Mysore Resettlement and
Development Agency), an NGO, pioneered the
Following a Supreme Court decision, non-government
creation of SHGs.
organisations (NGOs) that receive government funding are
• The Government of India launched the
now subject to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY) in
April 1999 as part of its poverty alleviation
Benefits of putting NGOs under RTI act
efforts, with a focus on SHG development.
• Upholding Accountability, Independence and
reliability of the organisational structures of
Need of Self-Help Group (SHG) in India:
NGOs.
• Access to information
• The very presence of SHGs is critical in making • Government should act as a facilitator and
people living in poverty optimistic and self- promoter.
reliant. • Increasing the number of SHGs in credit-deficient
• Women play an important role in the Indian areas.
economy • Rapid expansion of financial infrastructure.
• Indian women devote a much greater share of • Extension of Self-Help Groups to Urban/Peri-
their earnings to basic family maintenance than Urban Areas.
their male counterparts • Monitoring – In each state, a separate SHG
• SHGs bring together very vulnerable people who monitoring cell must be created.
do not have access to the formal financial system.
e-Shakti Project of NABARD
Benefits of SHGs:
• Women living in poverty have received special E-Shakti, or SHG Digitisation, is a project of NABARD's
attention as part of the National Rural Livelihood Micro Credit and Innovations Department. NABARD
Mission (BPL). launched a project to digitise all Self Help Groups (SHGs)
• The programme also focuses on strengthening in the country, in line with the Government of India's goal
and institutionalising SHGs. to create a digital India. Across the country, the project is
• Economic self-sufficiency. being implemented in 250 districts.
• Improves women's status in the family and
society. Case Studies
• Improves health and living standards. Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM) in
• lower maternal mortality rate and lower neonatal Maharashtra
mortality rate.
• Women from rural areas are mobilised. • SHGs in Maharashtra required skilled assistance to
deal with increasing volume and financial
Challenges: transactions. MAVIM established a community-run
• Penetration of SHGs in Rural Areas Faces Socio- resource centre (CMRC) to provide financial and
Cultural Obstacles livelihood services to SHGs.
• SHG members lack the necessary expertise Kudumbashree in Kerala

• Poor Infrastructure
• It began in Kerala in 1998 with the aim of eradicating
• Lack of training and capacity building:
total poverty through collective action. It is the
• Politicization
country's largest women's empowerment initiative
• In SHGs, political affiliation and intervention has
become a major issue
o Affiliation with a political party is another COOPERATIVES
significant source of group dispute.
o No security – The SHGs depend on the • Agriculture and related sectors gave birth to India's
members' shared trust and confidence. The cooperative movement.
SHGs' deposits are not stable or safe. • The problems of rural indebtedness and the
resulting conditions of farmers provided an
Weaknesses of SHGs atmosphere for chit funds and cooperative
• A group's members are not always from the societies toward the end of the nineteenth
same socio-economic backgrounds. century
• Activities carried out by SHGs are still dependent • The Cooperative Credit Societies Act of 1904 was
on primitive skills. enacted as a result of the experience gained in the
• Scarcity of trained resource personnel. operation of cooperatives.
• Poor accounting practises and instances of funds
misappropriation. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF COOPERATIVES IN
INDIA
Measures to Make SHGs Effective: • Constitutional Reforms in 1919 and the
recommendations of various committees such as
Royal Commission on Agriculture (1928),
Committee on Cooperative Planning (1945), MEASURES OR WAY FORWARD
during the British regime contributed a lot in
• cooperatives must provide financial services for
shaping the organisational structure of
construction of houses and purchase of consumer
cooperatives in India.
durables in the digital form.
• Cooperatives need to adopt digital technologies
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
and computerisation.
• Article 19 states that the Right to form co-operative • Participation and empowerment of Society
societies is a fundamental right. members.
• THE CONSTITUTION (97th AMENDMENT) ACT, • Improve Governance and professionalism.
2011.
• The weak and inefficient cooperative societies
should either be abolished or merged with
NATIONAL POLICY ON CO-OPERATIVES, 2002 strong and efficient ones.
• The Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act and the Red-Tapism, political interference, administrative
National Policy for Cooperatives were both enacted bottlenecks etc. have to be done away with
by the Indian government in 2002 to provide
funding for the promotion and creation of SUCCESS STORY OF AMUL:
cooperatives.
• Amul began the dairy cooperative movement in
• The policy also sought to reduce regional India and formed an apex cooperative
imbalances and improve cooperative education, organization, Gujarat Co-operative Milk
training, and human resource development. Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which today
• Ultimate objective of the National Policy is to- is jointly owned by some 2.2 million milk
producers in Gujarat, India.
o Provide support for promotion and development
of cooperatives. Conclusion
o Reduction of regional imbalances.
o Strengthening of cooperative education, training • Principle of the cooperative movement is to unite
and human resource development. everyone, even while remaining anonymous. The
cooperative movement has the capacity to solve
people’s problems. New areas are emerging with
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN THE COOPERATIVES the advancement of technology and cooperative
SECTOR: societies can play a huge role in making people
• Lack of spontaneity. familiar with those areas and technologies.
• Neglecting the demand aspect.
o Cooperatives have approached the issue of SOCIETIES
agricultural credit from the perspective of • A society is a group of seven or more people who
"supply." The element of "demand" is have come together to promote literature, fine
arts, science, and other things. There may or may
overlooked.
not be a common asset to begin with, but the
• Negligence of non-credit aspects. Society may accumulate assets over time. The
• Horizontal and vertical linkages, though, Societies Registration Act of 1860 governs their
structurally established, have not yet registration
operationally become effective.
• Defective management. TRUST
• Political interference.
• Trust is a unique type of organisation that arises
• Lack of coordination. from a will. The creator of a will passes exclusive
possession of a property to be used for a specific
CONTRIBUTION OF COOPERATIVES SECTOR IN reason.
• If the aim is to help specific people, it is referred
INDIA’S GROWTH STORY
to as a Private Trust; if the purpose is to benefit
• The prevention of economic power the general public or the society at large, it is
accumulation, wider dispersal of ownership of referred to as a Public Trust.
productive capital, active participation of citizens
in development programmes, and elimination of
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRUST AND SOCIETY
poverty and unemployment are all important
objectives of cooperative sector development.
RELIGIOUS ENDOWMENTS 1992 as "the way power is exercised in the
development management of a country's economic
Religious Endowments and Waqfs are religious trusts
and social resources."
established for particular religious purposes, such as
supporting Hindu and Muslim deities, charities, and Core Characteristics of Good Governance:
religions.
• Participation: People may participate in the decision-
• Unlike Public Trusts, they are not required to be
making.
registered, and they do not place a strong
emphasis on a triangular relationship between o E.g: MyGov
the donor, the Trustee, and the beneficiary. • Consensus oriented: To achieve a broad consensus
• Religious endowments are created when about what is best for the entire group.
property is dedicated to religious purposes. o Ex - decentralization of decision making
process through Gram Sabha
WAQFS • Rule of Law
• Under Muslim rule in India, the idea of Waqf became • Transparency
more commonly understood as associated with the o E.g: RTI Act
Quran's spirit of charity. Waqf refers to a Muslim's • Accountability
gifting of property to God, whether it is movable or
o E.g: RTI Act, Citizen charter, E-governance
immovable, tangible or intangible, with the intention
initiatives
of benefiting the poor. A Waqf deed is irrevocable and
eternal because it entails the submission of property • Responsiveness
to God. • Effective and Efficient
• Equitable and Inclusive
Cooperatives are the most effective means of preserving
the spirit of collectivism and democracy. They play a vital
FEATURES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
role in encouraging collectivism and sustaining the
country's social capital basis.
• Creating new employment opportunities.
• Effectiveness and efficiency of working of
government and its staffs.
GOOD GOVERNANCE • Good business environment.
• Reducing inequalities.
Mahatma Gandhi advocated the concept ‘Ram Rajya’ for
• Providing total freedom of speech.
India basing upon the principles of good governance which
• more concessions to citizens.
necessarily meant for dreaming India as a welfare state
• Good business environment.
where the necessities of the down-trodden, the welfare of
• Citizen centric services.
the commoner and their progress through indigenous
industries would become the hallmark. Barriers to Good governance
Definition of governance • Lack of Accountability.

• Red Tapism.
• The United Nations Development • Low levels of Awareness of the Rights and Duties of
Programme (UNDP), 1997, defined Citizens.
governance as “the exercise of economic, • Ineffective Implementation of Laws and Rules.
political and administrative authority to
• Continuing with archaic laws: The traditional outlook
manage a country’s affairs at all levels. It
cannot satisfy modern market oriented citizens.
comprises the mechanisms, processes and
• Limited digitalisation of government offices and
institutions, through which citizens and
groups articulate their interests, exercise inadequate infrastructure.
their legal rights, meet their obligations and • Change in the mindset of the government employees
mediate their differences.” is necessary as it becomes a great hindrance in the
process of ensuring transparency and accountability in
GOOD GOVERNANCE: governance structures in India.
The World Bank described good governance in its
study "Governance and Development" published in
INDIA’S CENTRIPETAL STRUCTURE IMPEDING • Public Services Bill, Citizens Charters, e-
THE GOVERNANCE: Governance, e-Bhoomi, e-Choupal, e-
procurement, Centralised Public Grievance
• Local governance institutions need to be Redress and Monitoring System
empowered. (CPGRAMS) (please refer E-governance).
• Lacking Electoral reforms and decentralisation of
power. SOME OTHER STEPS TAKEN TOWARDS GOOD
• Institutions are subject to damage and erosion. GOVERNANCE:
• The internal organisation of the judicial system
• Good Governance Index
remains largely unreformed, as does the
bureaucracy. • Criminal justice reforms
• Ease of Doing Business
• MCA21, online Income tax return, Pro-Active
NECESSARY PRE-CONDITIONS FOR GOOD
Governance and Timely Implementation
GOVERNANCE: (PRAGATI), Digital India mission etc.
• A sound legal system.
• Institutional mechanisms that are sound and ROLE OF PRI’S IN BRINGING GOOD
efficient. GOVERNANCE:
• Policies that are effective and competent. • Bringing services at doorstep: The 2.5 lakh Gram
• Delegation, decentralisation, and Panchayats in the country have been entrusted to
transparency strategies that work. provide basic services in the villages and plan for
local economic development.
HOW TO ENSURE GOOD GOVERNANCE: • Practice of direct democracy.
• Ensuring resource efficiency.
• Promoting transparent decision-making systems • Pimpri Gavali in Maharashtra state achieved
and openness. water security in short span with participation of
• Encourage use of RTI. Gram Sabha.
• Being responsive. • Inclusive growth and poverty reduction:
• Public accountability vital for ensuring good • Gariba is a Gram Panchayat in Bihar. The
governance. Panchayat has played a pioneering role in
• Compulsory enforcement of citizen charter improving the infrastructure of the village while
and provisions of social audit. engaging the local. It resulted into an all-inclusive
and structured growth of Gariba village.
MAJOR INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE GOOD • Women empowerment.
GOVERNANCE:
COVID MANAGEMENT AND PANCHAYTI RAJ
• Right to Information: The Right to Information INSTITUTIONS:
Act, 2005 which marks a significant shift in the
Indian democracy and ushered a new era of Panchayat as Nodal coordination agency: Many states
empowerment of common man in India. have made panchayats the nodal agency for coordination
• Greater responsiveness – from ensuring health activities, information
• Promote openness dissemination, and determining that all vulnerable
• E-Governance : E-Governance effectively delivers communities have access to food supplies
better programming and services in the era of
newly emerging information and communication CASE STUDY
technologies (ICTs), which herald new • Odisha state delegated sarpanchs with the
opportunities for rapid social and economic powers of a district collector to impose
transformation worldwide quarantine at a village level.
• Andhra Pradesh, came up with village volunteer
SOME OF THE INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES TO system.
ENSURE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
HEALTH GOVERNANCE AND COVID-19:
IN GOVERNANCE:
• Healthcare crisis: The ongoing COVID pandemic • Need for a coordinated national plan at the
has showcased how a healthcare crisis can get central level to fight the pandemic.
transformed into an economic and social crisis • Distribution of constrained resources (medical
and how it is inter-linked with other key sectors of supplies, financial resources).
the economy. • A decentralised management.
• In a country like India, social distancing is a • Potential of telemedicine to provide healthcare
middle-class luxury. access in remote areas.
• The national lockdown had provided two choices • India’s healthcare policy must continue focusing
to the labours: a spectre of death due to hunger on its long-term healthcare priorities.
and joblessness versus the possibility of death
through the coronavirus. Conclusion:
ABYSMALLY NATIONAL HEALTH PROFILE AND Mortality under all circumstances should be avoided by
COVID-19 ramping up healthcare infrastructure, availability of
• World Bank data reveal that India had 85.7 oxygen, ventilators besides required logistics, and ensuring
physicians per 1,00,000 people in 2017 (in that clinical management protocols are followed across all
contrast to 98 in Pakistan, 58 in Bangladesh, 100 hospitals as well as for those in-home care.
in Sri Lanka and 241 in Japan).
• 53 beds per 1,00,000 people.
Stagnant expenditure: E- GOVERNANCE

• Driven through technology, e-Governance is
• Health is a State subject and State spending
transforming citizen services by providing access
constitutes 68.6% of all the government health to information, integrating various systems and
expenditure. This has been stagnant for years: services between government and citizens,
1% of GDP 2013-14 and 1.28% in 2017-18 thereby empowering and enhancing citizen’s
(including expenditure by the Centre, all States social, environmental and economic values.
and Union Territories). • The world bank defines “E Governance as the use
by government agencies of information
• The economic survey 2020-21 has backed the
technologies (such as Wide Area Networks, the
“National Health Policy – 2017” framework for
Internet, and mobile computing) that have the
more than doubling public spending on
ability to transform relations with citizens,
healthcare, arguing that it can halve the out-of-
businesses, and other arms of government”.
pocket (OOP) expenditure on healthcare for
Indians.
SMART FEATURES OF E-GOVERNANCE
High out of pocket expenditure:
• S-Simple
India has among the highest out-of-pocket (OOP)
• M-Moral
expenditures of all countries in the world. The World
• A-Accountable
Health Organization estimates that 62% of the total
• R-Responsive
health expenditure in India is OOP, among the highest
• T-Transparent
in the world.
Models of e Governance and initiatives
INTER- STATE DISPARITY
• GOVERNMENT TO CITIZEN (G2C): This e-
• among States, Bihar is poorly equipped to deal governance model applies to government services
with the COVID-19 crisis.
that are shared by people. This model strengthens
• Most of the State is still under-equipped to
the government-citizen relationship improves the
detect cases as one testing centre is available for
1.02 crore people. credibility of government.
• According to WHO, there should be one doctor o For example- Aarogya Setu, Digilocker,
for 1,000 people. However, in Bihar, one ePG PATHSHALA, COVID-19 Vaccine
allopathic doctor serves 43,788 people. Intelligence Network (Co-WIN).
• GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT (G2G): Use of
Way ahead:
ICT improves the flow of Information and services
within and between the different stakeholders • Paper Work Reduction
involved in government for example between • Quality of Services
different Ministries or between different • Elimination of Hierarchy
departments the interaction can happen in both
horizontal and vertical way. LIMITATIONS OF E GOVERNANCE
o The Office of the Controller General of
Accounts created and introduced the • Technological limitations
Public Finance Management System o Lacking support in vernacular language.
(PFMS), which is a web-based software o Interoperability issues.
programme. o The privacy and protection.
o E–Samiksha o of an individual's personal data.
• GOVERNMENT TO BUSINESS (G2B): It improves o Lack of quality human resource.
the Information sharing infrastructure between o Data handling.
Government and business. It is critical in ensuring o protect data in adherence to rules and
ease of doing business regulations without compromising on data
o The Central Board of Excise and Customs privacy.
has begun implementation of the Single • Economic limitations:
Window Project to promote Trading Across o Cost of developing e-governance infrastructure
Borders in India as part of the "Ease of
and its maintenance is one of the most
Doing Business" initiatives.
important obstacles in the path of
• GOVERNMENT TO EMPLOYEES (G2E) : implementation of e-governance projects.
improves the relationship between the • Social challenges and limited digital literacy.
government and its workers by increasing • Proper cyber security remains a concern.
accountability.
o Sandes messaging application Measures needed to tackle these challenges
• Business Process Re-engineering (BPR

POTENTIAL OF E GOVERNANCE: o Technologies provide a unique opportunity to
redesign government processes not only to
• Reduces corruption and ensures accountability
provide better services and reliable information
and transparency.
to citizens but also to improve efficiency and
• Citizen's empowerment through information.
effectiveness within government institutions.
• Expanded Governance: The expansion of the ICT
• Capacity Building and Creating Awareness
tools and the strengthening of other
o Government came with Digital Saksharta
communications technology will make it easier to
Abhiyan (DISHA) with objectives to enable the
provide a variety of public services.
CSCs to become Digital Financial Hubs.
• Time bound delivery of services.
• Developing Technological Solutions.
• Plug loopholes and leakages.
• Effective and efficient implementation.
o For example, by implementation of DBT in
• Monitoring and evaluation organization during
LPG subsidies, the government has saved
implementation.
over ₹50,000 crore through direct benefit
transfers. o The PRAGATI platform is unique in that it
• Simplification of process and rules and monitors the progress of ongoing
regulation. developmental works and will ensure
• Improve the interaction with industry and horizontal and vertical accountability.
business.
o For example through extensive use of ICT to FACTORS PUSHING FOR E GOVERNANCE:-
provide single window clearance, states are
• Increasing digital population
improving on Ease of doing business scale.
• Increasing digital services
Apart of these few other significances of e governance: • Rising digital economy
• COVID-19 accelerating Digitalisation
• Automation of Administrative Processes
RECENT IMPORTANT E-GOVERNANCE revolution coupled with rapid advances in
INITIATIVES BY GOVERNMENT: communication have proved to be a powerful tool
for citizen-centric governance. India, being the
largest democracy in the world, has much to gain
PRAGATI (PROACTIVE GOVERNANCE AND from e-Governance, especially when citizen
TIMELY IMPLEMENTATION): participation in governance is one of the features
of the fully evolved stage of e-government.
• Objective: Grievance Redressal, Programme
Implementation, Project Monitoring.
• Benefits of PRAGATI CITIZEN CHARTER
• Promotes cooperative federalism.
• e-transparency and e-accountability. • 2nd ARC in his 12-report defined the Citizen charter as
• a forward-thinking project in e-governance and “The Citizens’ Charter is an instrument which seeks to
good governance. make an organization transparent, accountable and
citizen friendly. A Citizens’ Charter is basically a set of
NATIONAL E-GOVERNANCE ACTION PLAN (NEGP) commitments made by an organization regarding the
standards of service which it delivers.
Objectives:
• Providing digital technology as a useful resource EVOLUTION OF CITIZEN CHARTER

for all people.
• On-demand governance and facilities. The United Kingdom was the first country to introduce the
• To ensure that every person has access to the Citizen charter in 1991
internet.
• Making technology a key enabler of • In India:
transformation. o Legislative step: In 2011 a legislative
• To help India plan for a knowledge-based future. step was initiated to give statutory
backup to citizen charter in India
PMGDISHA (PRADHAN MANTRI GRAMIN DIGITAL through The Citizens Charter Bill of
SAKSHARTA ABHIYAN) 2011.
• The programme aims to usher in digital literacy in Government platform:
rural India and to make six crore rural households
digitally literate. • The Indian government has created and launched a
detailed platform for citizens' charter
CASE STUDY ON E-GOVERNANCE: (www.goicharters.nic.in),
• Ministry of Panchayti Raj released a Model
How e-governance projects are empowering citizens in
Panchayat Citizens Charter
Telangana?
Components of Citizen charter:
• Telangana is one of the leading states in India for
implementing e-governance projects. There is a • Vision and Mission Statement of the
plethora of initiatives rolled out for citizen
Organisation.
empowerment as well as the smooth running of
• Details of Business transacted by the
the various government departments in the state.
Organisation.
• M-governance delivered through an App called T
• Details of 'Citizens' or 'Clients'.
App Folio, is a recent release of the Telangana
Government and aims to radicalise how services • Statement of services including standards,
are being delivered in the state quality, time frame etc. provided to each
• T Wallet, is a digital wallet which citizens can use Citizen/ Client group separately and how/
to make payments for both government and where to get the services.
private transactions to avail services • Details of Grievance Redress Mechanism and
how to access it.
CONCLUSION • Expectations from the 'Citizens' or 'Clients'.
• Additional commitments such as compensation
• Citizens are being perceived as customers and
in the event of failure of service delivery.
clients rather than beneficiaries. The internet
Six principles of Citizen charter: Apart from these measures following things need to
be done:
1. Quality: Improving the quality of services
• Statutory guarantees: Citizen charter needs
2. Choice: to be offered wherever and whenever to include statutory guarantees for the right
possible to delivery of services
3. Standard of service delivery: clearly specifying • “A citizen’s charter in every department will
what to expect and how to proceed if send a clear message that the government is
expectations are not fulfilled determined to prevent and control
4. Value: of the public’s purse corruption”.
5. Transparency: Citizen Charter clearly explain
procedure and grievance redressal mechanism
CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF IMPLEMENTATION
6. Accountability: of individuals as well as of
OF CITIZEN CHARTER IN INDIA
Organisations.
India’s experience with Citizen charter
• In October 1998, DARPG and Consumer
FEATURE OF CITIZEN CHARTER: Coordination Council, New Delhi, an NGO,
conducted an assessment of the Citizens'
• Set of standards for service delivery. Charters of different government agencies.
• Openness and information about service delivery. Given the nascent stage of this initiative in
India, the findings were very promising.
• Choice' and communication with users.
• Fairness and supportiveness in service delivery. According to the Agency's assessment report, major
• Provision of redress of complaints and grievances of findings included:
citizens.
• Charters were not formulated through a
Shortcomings of Citizen Charter: consultative process in most cases;
• Service providers are generally unfamiliar
• Poorly designed and organizational incapacity.
with the ideology, aims, and key features of
• Lacking public awareness. the Charter; and
• Adequate groundwork in terms of assessment • Charters were not given adequate publicity in
and reforms in internal processes, while any of the Departments examined.
formulating and revising the citizen charter is • No funds have been expressly earmarked for
lacking. raising knowledge of the Citizens' Charter or
• End-users and civil society and other stakeholders are for workers briefing on different components
not consulted when charters are drafted. of the Charter;
• Lack of knowledge on the philosophy, goals and main • The Charters are only in the early or middle
features of the Charter among service providers. stages of implementation in most
• Efficient and adequate grievance redressal Departments;
mechanisms lacking an aggrieved party generally not • No funds have been set aside to raise
provided information in vernacular language. awareness of the Citizens' Charter or to train
workers on the different components of the
MEASURES TO MAKE CITIZEN CHARTER Charter.
EFFECTIVE:
SEVOTTAM MODEL
• Making Citizen Charter effective • The Sevottam model is intended to serve as a
• Wide consultation process structure for achieving excellence in public
• Adequate grievances redressal mechanism service delivery. The need for the Sevottam
• One size does not fit all model emerged because of the Citizen
• Firm Commitment to be made Charter failing to produce the required
• Periodic evaluation: The citizen’s charters should be results in terms of enhancing the quality of
reviewed and revised regularly public services on its own.
Significance of Sevottam model
•The Sevottam model aims to evaluate an • Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
organization's ability to: launched the first grassroot movement for
o Enforce the Citizens' Charter, the implementation of RTI in 1994.
o Implement a grievance resolution • National Campaign for People's RTI
mechanism, and Established in 1996, drafted the first draft of
o Provide services. RTI legislation for the government.
Conclusion: • In 1997, Tamil Nadu became the first Indian state
• Citizen charters are a vital aspect of public to enact RTI legislation.
administration because they are the best way • Parliament passed the Freedom of Information
for people to be aware about the services (FOI) Act in 2002, but it was never enforced.
they will receive while also providing input to • On the advice of the National Advisory
help service providers improve. Council (NAC), the bill for the current RTI Act,
2005 was passed in May 2005, and the RTI
Act, 2005 went into effect on October 12,
2005.
MEANS TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY &
ACCOUNTABILITY
SALIENT FEATURES OF RTI ACT, 2005
• It applies to the entire country of India.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION • It talks about the means of information.
• RTI Act requires suo motu disclosure of
“Information is the currency of democracy,” Thomas information by each public authority.
Jefferson. • The Act also provides for appointment of
Information Commissioners at Central and State
• Year 2020 marks 15 years of the enactment of the level.
Right to Information (RTI) law. • In normal course, information to an applicant
• The right to information has been upheld by the is to be supplied within 30 days from the
Supreme Court as a fundamental right flowing from receipt of application by the public authority.
Article 19.
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION
RTI help formulates opinion:
OF RTI
• RTI law has been used by people to seek
• RTI is crippled by rising backlog: more than 2.2
information to actively participate in decision-
lakh cases are pending at the Central and State
making processes and hold governments
Information Commissions,
accountable.
• High pendency: Maharashtra had the highest
• In recognition of the need for transparency in
number of pending appeals
public affairs, the Indian Parliament enacted the
• Slow disposal
Right to Information Act in 2005.
• Most Commissions are functioning at reduced
• It is a path breaking legislation empowering
capacity
people and promoting transparency.
• Functioning without chief:
• Defunct commissions : Jharkhand and Tripura
EVOLUTION OF RTI IN INDIA have no commissioners at all, and have been
defunct for months.
• In 1986, Supreme Court ruled in the case of Mr.
• Reluctance to impose penalties: ICs imposed
Kulwal vs. Jaipur Municipal Corporation, that the
penalty in an extremely small fraction of the cases
right to freedom of speech and expression
in which penalty was imposable” and
guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution
“commissions appear to be reluctant to even ask
specifically includes the right to information
the PIOs to give their justification for not complying
• Prime Minister of India, Shri. V.P. Singh, proposed
with the law.
the RTI Act in India.
The actual penalties were only imposed in several pieces of restrictive legislation, such as
3.8% of cases where they could have been the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
imposed.
15 YEARS OF RTI A CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
• Lack of transparency : 25 out of 29 ICs (86%) did
not publish their annual report for 2019. 19% of More than 2.2 lakh cases are pending at the Central and
Information Commissions had not made their State Information Commissions.A report card brought out
latest annual report available on their website. by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan found that -
• No valid reason stated for rejection of RTI plea
• Denial of information. • Maharashtra had the highest number of pending
appeals.
• Exemptions from sharing information.
• Non-imposition of penalties : violating the law
• Killing of RTI activists
will not invite any serious consequences.
• Lack of diversity in appointments : 84% of CICs are
• On average, the CIC takes 388 days (more than
from bureaucratic backgrounds, including 65%
one year) to dispose of an appeal from the date
retired IAS officers.
that it was filed before the commission.
• Constraints faced in inspection of records.
• Vacancies in Information Commissions
• Constraints faced in filing applications: There has
• Long delays in the disposal of cases, effectively
been non-availability of user guides.
frustrating the people’s right to know.
• Poor Quality of Information: Due to lack of
• Eight State Information Commissions are
infrastructure and adequate processes to comply
functioning without a chief.
with the RTI Act, the quality of information
provided is very low. Why RTI should be Strengthened ?
Supply side challenges • Every year nearly six million applications are
filed under the RTI Act, making it the most
• Lack of Behavioural Training
extensively used transparency legislation in the
• Lack of monitoring and review mechanism world.
• inadequate processes and records available with the • A large proportion of these are filed by the
Information Commissions to monitor and review the poorest and the most marginalised
working of the various Public Authorities
• During the COVID-19 crisis too, the law has
been widely used to seek information about
WEAKENING OF CIC OFFICE availability of government
departments accountable.
The RTI Act (Amendment) Act, 2019 :
• If the poor and marginalised affected by the public
health emergency are to have any hope of
• It gives the central government the power to fix the
terms and the service conditions of the obtaining the benefits of government schemes,
Information Commissioners both at central and they must have access to relevant information.
state levels.
o By vesting excessive powers with the RECOMMENDATIONS AND WAY FORWARD
central government, this amendment
has hampered the autonomy of CIC. • Ensure prompt and timely response.
• Ensure relevant information of its functioning.
USE OF OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1923 AND • Ensure submission of annual reports.
DENYING INFORMATION ON PRETEXT OF • Mechanism for online filing.
NATIONAL SECURITY: o online portals should also provide facilities for
• Recently the Ministry of Electronics and Information electronic filing of first appeals, and second
Technology refused to answer queries over notice appeals/complaints to the information
given to twitter citing that Section 69A of the IT Act commissions.
and its matters “are related to National Security,
• Balancing with Privacy Right.
sovereignty and integrity” of the country, it attracted
the provisions of Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act. • Open Data Policy : Put all disclosable information on
• The free flow of information in India remains severely their respective websites.
restricted by the legislative framework including
Conclusion • Lack of Compliance: Weak state responsiveness to
social audit findings and lack two major obstacles to
• The RTI Act has laid out a mission statement of sorts social audits.
by stating that it is essentially a practical roadmap,
• Lack of awareness: Thus, effective participation is
detailing how citizens of India can gain access to
information which in turn will promote good being hindered.
governance. • Complacency of the overall framework: Social audit
units continue to face resistance and lack of access to
SOCIAL AUDIT primary verification records.
Introduction
LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL AUDIT
• Social Audits (SA) are democratic tools whereby grass
roots people themselves participate in assessing the • Social audits are often intermittent and ad hoc,
efficacy of scheme implementation in their area". So it their coverage is extremely localised and includes
is a tool to ensure accountability and transparency. only a few selected aspects.
• Monitoring is informal and unprocessed.
EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL AUDIT IN INDIA • Social audits are often erratic and haphazard.
• Inaction in response to audit reports and results.
• The first initiative of conducting social audits was
taken by Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited Measures required to strengthen the framework of social
(TISCO). auditing :
• In the mid-1990s, the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathan (MKSS) experimented village-based Jan • Enact a model act on the line of Meghalaya’s social
Sunwais (public hearings) on development audit legislation.
expenditure RTI as form of social audit. o Meghalaya's experiences with this law:
• people demanded hamaara paisa, hamaara hisab” • The audits were designed to serve as a
(our money, our accounts) — succinctly encapsulated springboard for discussion.
the concept of a social audit. • The audits were purposefully designed to
• Social audit helps to increase efficiency and raise public consciousness about people's
effectiveness of an organisation.
rights.
• Identifying eligible beneficiaries.
• People's testimonies are being
SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIAL AUDITING registered, and grievances are being
filed.
• Accountability and transparency. • Identifying the most important inputs for
• Improves professionalism. preparation.
• A mandated performance audit not only
increases the efficiency and effectiveness of • Integration of social auditing for public
a scheme, but also creates a positive impact awareness.
on governance. • Independent social audit units in states for
• It uncovers irregularities and malpractices in example, In Andhra Pradesh.
the public sector and maintains oversight on • Strengthening the propriety auditing of CAG.
government functioning. • Implementing guidelines of CAG on social auditing
• Promote democracy at grass root level Social audit units should have an independent
Impediments in reaping the benefits of social audits in governing body and adequate staff.
India :
CONCLUSION
• Not institutionalized : At present, not all States in • Social audit is a tool for social empowerment,
India have created independent social audit units as particularly for the most vulnerable groups in
there is no obligation to institutionalization of SA. society. It helps to distribute the benefits of
• Lack of stringent penalty: Flouting of Social Audit economic growth to all. It also allows the
principles and norms does not attract any penalty. government to be accountable to its people and
allows for better policy formulation and ISSUES WITH WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION
implementation. ACT, 2014
WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION ACT • The implementation of the Whistle Blower
Protection Act has been delayed.
• Whistleblowing is the act of exposing the alleged
• Lack of faith in the investigative system.
bribery, incompetence, corruption, fraud, or unethical
behaviour within public, private, or third-sector • Organizational execution is ineffective.
organisations by an authority figure or the public. • The whistle blowers have very little protection in
India.
• Cases are on rise.
WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION ACT, 2014:
Issue with Whistle-blower amendment bill 2015:
EVOLUTION
• In 2001, the Law Commission recommended that a • It dilutes the several provisions of earlier act for
law protecting whistle blowers be enacted in order example-
to combat corruption. o Disclosures cannot be made under the Bill,
• In 2003, the Golden Quadrilateral project in Bihar if it is prohibited under the OSA.
was exposed to corruption by Satyendra Dubey, a o Incorporates provisions to keep issues of
project engineer with India's National Highway national security out of its purview.
Authority. o Too many exemptions: It makes a lot of
o In November 2003, he was shot dead in information inaccessible to the public on
Gaya. For the murder, three people had various grounds.
been sentenced to life in 2010. • But the bill failed in Rajya Sabha and lapsed when the
o In the wake of his murder, calls came for a
16th Lok Sabha got dissolved in May 2019.
law to protect whistle-blowers.
• In 2004, the Supreme Court of India, in response to MEASURES NEEDED

a petition, ordered the Central government to put in
law is enacted." • Appropriate legislation must be enforced to protect
• Second Administrative Reforms Commission also innocent whistle blowers.
suggested • Legislation should be enacted immediately to
o whistle blowers be protected by enacting a provide protection to whistle blowers.
new legislation. • The legislation should cover corporate whistle
blowers unearthing fraud or serious damage to
• The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill was introduced
public interest by wilful acts of omission or
in 2011 and became an act in 2014.
commission.
o SEBI recently introduced tipping
SALIENT FEATURE OF THE ACT
mechanism
• Protecting whistle-blowers
• Limited time frame for complaint filing: A complaint
CASE STUDY
can be filed within a span of seven years. 1. Arvind Gupta, the activist in the ICICI loan fraud:
• Criminalise false claims he exposed the alleged loan fraud and quid pro
quo between Chanda Kochhar, who was then
• Appeal to high court
CEO, and her family. Following the accusations,
• The Whistle Blowers Act supersedes the Official
Kochhar stepped down.
Secrets Act of 1923, allowing a claimant to make
public interest disclosures to competent authorities Best international Practices:
even though they are in violation of the latter act but
do not jeopardise the nation's sovereignty. 1. UK: Likewise, the UK has a Civil Service Office to
• The Companies Act of 2013 requires publicly listed promote honesty, integrity and impartiality in the
public sector.
companies to establish an audit committee to
investigate whistle blower allegations.
CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX 2020:
• Transparency International's Corruption autonomous authorities, one at the federal level and
Perception Index (CPI) has lowered India's ranking the other at the state level
to 86th out of 180 countries. • The Lokpal bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in 1968,
• The index ranks 180 countries based on the but it lapse.
perceived level of public sector corruption. • The Commission to Review the Working of the
Constitution proposed the appointment of the
CORRUPTION, HEALTH & COVID-19 Lokpal and Lokayuktas in 2002.
• The Second Administrative Reforms Commission in
• Corruption diverts public funds away from critical 2005 recommended that the Lokpal office be
services created as soon as possible.
• Corruption is associated with lower universal • Anna Hazare's "India Against Corruption"
health care coverage and higher rates of infant and movement placed pressure on the government at
maternal mortality, as well as deaths from cancer, the Centre, resulting in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas
diabetes, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases.
Bill, 2013, being passed by both Houses of
• Insufficient oversight: The Covid-19 response
Parliament.
exposed the flaws of insufficient oversight and
transparency.
Measures suggested:
SALIENT FEATURES OF LOKPAL ACT 2013
• Strengthen oversight institutions to ensure that
resources reach the most vulnerable people. • Wide Jurisdiction
• To combat wrongdoing. • Composition of Lokpal
• Defend democracy and civic space. • Autonomy in enquiry and prosecution:
• by empowering civil society organisations. • Appointment of Lokpal
• Publish relevant data and ensure information • The president appoints
access.
POWERS OF THE LOKPAL
LOKPAL & LOKAYUKTAS ACT 2013
• Wide Jurisdiction: The Prime Minister, Ministers,
• The massive public campaign in 2011 demanding an
Members of Parliament, Groups A, B, C, and D
independent anti-corruption ombudsman resulted
officers and officials of the Central Government are
in the passage of the Lokpal law.
all subject to Lokpal's jurisdiction.
• The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 established a
• Pro Active Disclosure.
Lokpal for the Union and a Lokayukta for the States.
These organisations are statutory entities with no • Act requires all elected officials to disclose their
constitutional standing. assets and liabilities.
• It has the authority to supervise and direct CBI's
operations.
NEED OF SUCH INSTITUTION
• Power of civil court.
• Fair investigation and prosecution • Ensure neutrality.
• Independence is lacking : They act as an • Lokpal has the authority to recommend the transfer
"ombudsman" and investigate charges of or suspension of a public servant accused of
misconduct against some public officials corruption.
• Preserve evidences: Lokpal has the authority to
Evolution in India: issue orders to avoid the destruction of documents.
• The first institution of ombudsman Sweden in 1809.

ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH LOKPAL ACT:
• idea of a constitutional ombudsman was first
suggested in parliament in the early 1960s. • Lacking Constitutional backing
• The First Administrative Reforms Commission • Politically motivated appointments
proposed in 1966 the establishment of two • Delay in appointments
• Not covering Judiciary
• Lacking adherence with Act • Lack of Governance.
o Lokpal is required to present annually to the • Less Powers.
President a report on the work done by it. • Inadequate Staff.
But “No such report has been laid • Measure need to be taken.
• Information accessed under the Right to • Power to Punish for Contempt of Lokayukta Orders
Information Act has confirmed that the inquiry and • Increased Commitment.
prosecution wings of the anti-corruption o The Lokayukta should be given the power
ombudsman are yet to be set up, as mandated by to prosecute under Section 17 of the Goa
the Act of 2013. Lokayukta Act.
• Whistleblowers were not granted any specific
protection under the 2013 act.
• The legal veracity of the decisions of the Lokpal
ROLE OF CIVIL SERVICES
could potentially be challenged in a court of law.
• Overlap in Lokpal, CVC probe may cause confusion. Introduction
• Issue with Lokpal amendment Bill 2016: It Amends
section 44 of parent Act that deals with provision of • Civil service refers to the body of government
furnishing of details of assets and liabilities of public officials who are appointed to Civil occupations;
servants within 30 days of joining the government other than political and judicial. It is the body of
service. permanent government officials who are appointed
o The amendment has removed the period to run the country with the mandate to serve the
of 30 days. Now the public servants will nation with public Interest
make declaration of their assets and
liabilities in the form and manner as Constitutional provisions related to civil services:
prescribed by government
• Articles 53 and 154: the executive power of the
Union and the States vests in the President or
MEASURES REQUIRED TO BE TAKEN Governor directly or through officers’ subordinate to
him
• Need to remove anonymity in Appointments of
Lokpal. Paradoxical relation between Democracy and Civil
• Greater accountability. services:
• Functional autonomy and availability of manpower
• Lokpal has also not appointed the Director of • Democratic institutions are assumed to be open to
Inquiry or Prosecution. popular expectations.
• Early disposal of cases. o Civil services, on the other hand, are
• Ensure Active participation of opposition in legalistic and generally unconcerned.
appointment. • Civil services are often aligned with traditional,
bureaucratic, and sometimes authoritarian forms of
government.
ISSUES IN GOA LOKAYUKTA:
o They work on the foundation of
• Recently, Goa's retired Lokayukta has highlighted institutionalising a system of governance
the issues related to the state office and the that aims to ensure that people are treated
proceedings. equally.
• Whereas, participation, consensus-building, and a
Goa Lokayukta Act: flexible mindset are all characteristics of democracy,
without being constrained by a plethora of laws and
• Even much before the enactment of the Lokpal and
regulations
Lokayuktas Act, 2013 itself, many states had already
set up the institution of Lokayuktas
CIVIL SERVICES AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR
Challenges Highlighted by ex-Lokayukta: GOOD GOVERNANCE:
• Overloaded
• The civil servants have always played a pivotal role in AILMENTS/ISSUES AFFLICTING INDIAN CIVIL
ensuring continuity and change in administration. SERVICES:
However, they are dictated by the rules and
procedures which are formulated taking their • Lack of Professionalism & Poor Capacity Building.
advice into account. • Inefficient Incentive Systems.
• It is the ‘rule of law’ rather than the ‘rule of man’ • Outdated Rules & Procedures.
that is often blamed for widespread abuse of power • Systemic Inconsistencies in Promotion.
and corruption among government officials. • Lack of Adequate Transparency & Accountability
• The issues of accountability of civil servants in Procedures.
service delivery have come to the Forefront. • Arbitrary & Whimsical Transfers.
• The credibility of civil service lies in the conspicuous • Administrative Acquiescence.
improvement of tangible services. • Gradual Erosion in Values & Ethics.
• Conceptually, the civil servants are accountable to • Red Tapism.
the minister in charge of the department , but in • Elitist in Nature.
practice, accountability is vague and of a • Lack of dynamism.
generalised nature.
• There is no system of ex ante specification of REFORMING BUREAUCRACY TO STRENGTHEN
accountability DEMOCRACY
o relationship between the minister and the
civil servants is only issue-sensitive. • Insulating Civil Servants from Undue Political
Interference.
INSTANCES OF FAILURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY • Professionalization with Stability of Tenure &
• The 2G case, coal and mining scandals, the Competition.
Commonwealth Games have clearly demonstrated • Citizen-Centric Administration.
that there has been considerable erosion of fair • Accountability.
processes in the last decade. • Outcome Orientation.
• Promoting Public Service Values & Ethics.
RECENT INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE EFFICIENCY
AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN CIVIL SERVICES: CIVIL SERVICE RELATED ISSUES IN NEWS
• Robust Vigilant Mechanism. MID-CAREER PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

• There is a need to strengthen System (CPGRAMs).
• Implementation of e-Office. • Mid-career Performance appraisal is meant to be a
• Prompt delivery of services. joint exercise between the Government servant
• Promoting Mid-career training. reported upon and the Reporting Officer
particularly after every fixed period for taking note
Role played by Civil services : on performance.
• Advisory Role in Policy Making: They Importance of Mid-Career Performance appraisal

Institutionalise Socio-economic change
• Continuity in Governance • Enhance efficiency and knowledge
• Agent of development o Good hardworking civil servants will
• Discharge Delegated Functions: Administer Law of get rewarded.
o Clear performance standard shall be fixed.
the Land.
• Will help to develop competencies for changes in
• Watchdogs: They act as the primary contact the job profile.
between people and the government • Reduction in political interference due to fixed
• Continuity in times of Political Instability targets.
• Record-Keeping : civil servants keep record of day- • It would compel bureaucrats to put more
to-day functioning. diligence to score a better review.
• Channel of Communication • Induce professionalism in the departments.
• Weeding out of the inefficient lot would make place
for better candidates.
LATERAL ENTRY ISSUE: • Internal tussle: A vote of no confidence in the
government personnel management system will
• Rather than nominating traditional civil servants by result from a large-scale lateral induction.
promotion, lateral entry applies to the direct
recruitment of domain experts at the middle or senior CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH LATERAL ENTRY
levels of administrative hierarchy.
• May face resistance from the Bureaucracy:
• It is difficult to maintain transparency and
Recommendations of various expert groups/committees
accountability for decisions made by private
regarding lateral entry: individuals during their service, particularly given
the limited tenures of 3 to 5 years.
• 1st ARC: It recognised the need for specialisation • Lack of field experience
as the functions of the government had become
• Reservation: It is unknown whether there will be
diversified.
reservations for recruitment through Lateral
• Surinder Nath Committee in 2003 and Hota Entry.
Committee in 2004 also recommended for
• Transparency in recruitment: Discretion on
domain expertise in civil services.
lateral entry could lead to accusations of being
• In 2005, the second Administrative Reforms "politically motivated," degrading the system
Commission (ARC) recommended lateral entry at
both the Central and state levels. Way forward
EARLIER INSTANCES OF LATERAL ENTRANTS: • Instead of pursuing leadership from outside, a

strong management structure encourages and
• Nandan Nilekani, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Vijay nurtures creativity from within.
Kelkar, Arvind Subramanian, and Raghuram
• The government can consider lateral entry for
Rajan have all been brought in from outside the
services to lead various committees and some mission-mode projects and public-sector
organisations. organisations where private-sector expertise is
critical. It should be a combination of the private
NEED OF SPECIALIST OR DOMAIN EXPERT: sector and government employees.
• Technical knowledge. CIVIL SERVICES AND COVID-19:

• Lacking field knowledge.
• traditional bureaucrats are not aware of reality in • Worse phase of 2nd wave of pandemic is outcome
the field. of grossly inadequate response of government to
• Improvements in governance and performance. the Covid crisis compounded by failure of
• Fill the officer vacancy gap. bureaucracy at the Central and State levels.
• Entry and retention of talent in government.
SYSTEMIC FAILURE
ARGUMENTS AGAINST LATERAL ENTRY
• Lack of understanding between the different
• Lacking Field Experience. wings of the government.
• Issue with execution. • Failed to utilise resources.
• Instances of failure. • Neglecting approach: Need to target crowded
o The private sector, which operated Air urban clusters to stem the spread of the virus is
India, Indian Airlines, and Vayudoot, all neglected.
failed miserably. • Cumbersome process: In last few months’
• Non -conducive milieu. government came with more than 400 rules and
• Motivated interest: People have different regulation, making situation for citizens more and
motivations and interests. Thus, lateral entry of more documentation based.
officers for a short period can lead to unethical
practises.
• Centralised tendency: Epidemiologists • Insulate civil servants from political pressure
had accused the government of listening to • Promote sense of objectivity
modelers and bureaucrats in deciding the Covid- • Promote sense of term security
19 strategy.
Covid and Bureaucracy
• A doctor-turned-bureaucrat, Dr Rajendra Bharud, the collector of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar has managed to keep
the district running with adequate supply of medical oxygen, hospital beds, isolation wards for Covid-19 patients
and a well-planned vaccination drive at a time when the entire country struggled to meet the logistical challenges
that a gasping healthcare system posed.
• To ensure better patient management and quick decision-making, 10 IAS officers have been appointed as nodal
officers for Delhi govt Covid Hospitals. Each officer shall be stationed at their respective hospital and ensure robust
and effective public grievances system also.
• The ‘Bhilwara model’ has been so successful in curbing the spread of Covid-19 in a hotspot that the central
government has asked states to replicate its mantra of “ruthless containment”. Bhilwara’s district magistrate, who
was in charge of implementing the plan and has been credited with its conceptualisation.
Railways coaches converted into Isolation ward
• The Railways has deployed a fleet of nearly 4000 Isolation coaches with almost 64000 beds to serve as Isolation
Units. These Isolation Coaches can be easily moved and positioned at places of demand on the Indian Railways
network. Quick memorandum agreement of shared responsibilities and rapid action plans are being worked out by
Railways with the respective District Authorities.
CIVIL SERVICES BOARD: THE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD'S LIMITATIONS
• For transfers and postings of Indian • Lack of Compliance

Administrative Service (IAS) officers in Punjab, the • Conflict of Interest: The board would be led by
state government has formed a three-member bureaucrats who may have a vested interest in
Civil Services Board (CSB). the outcome of the process.
• Interference of political class
Evolution of Civil Services Board in india
• Insecurity in the political executives believe their
• In 2013, the Supreme Court, in in T S R control has been diminished by the fixed tenure
Subramanian and others v. Union of India case, clause
2013, ordered the Centre and states to establish a
Other measures taken by government to deal with
civil services board
transfer and posting :
• To consider promotions and postings of
bureaucrats, among other things, to protect the • The All India Services (AIS) Rules have been
bureaucracy from political interference and to revised
put an end to frequent transfers of civil servants
• The Indian Administrative Service (Fixation of
by political bosses.
Cadre Strength) Regulations, 1955, were
amended in 2010, establishing a minimum
NEED FOR CIVIL SERVICES BOARD
tenure for civil servant postings in all States.
• Recurrent and unreasonable promotions of
officers before completing a satisfactory term on Conclusion
any post have long been blamed for the
deterioration of administrative standards.
• Parliament may also introduce legislation in this
• Lack of transparency and corruption result from
region. This will ensure the independence of civil
frequent transfers and postings.
services, allowing them to act impartially and
without bias, which is essential for good
SIGNIFICANCE OF CIVIL SERVICES BOARD governance in India.
MISSION KARMYOGI: Challenges associated with the programme
• In September 2020, the Union Cabinet gave its • Conservative outlook of Indian bureaucracy.
approval to ‘Mission Karmayogi,' the National Civil • Distance self-learning can help frontline workers
Service Capacity Building Programme (NPCSCB). gain complementary skills but it isn't always the
best option for developing core knowledge.
Why is the mission Karmayogi needed? • Overcentralisation of the system.
• Intended benefits of mission Karmyogi.
• As the Indian economy develops, it will become • Accountability and Transparency in service
more difficult to govern; as a result, governance delivery.
capacities will need to be strengthened • Citizen-Cantered Approach.
proportionately, which is what this reform aims to
accomplish Conclusion
• In the bureaucracy, there is a need to improve The ultimate goal of Mission Karmayogi is to bridge the
domain expertise in addition to administrative divide between the government and the people. By
capability. providing them “Ease of Living” for the common man, as
Aim:- well as Citizen-Centricity and “Ease of Doing Business”,
• It aims to create a future-ready civil service with which bridges the divide between the government and the
the right mindset, skills, and expertise, in line with people.
New India's vision.
Salient features
• The scheme would cover 46 lakh central

government employees at all levels and will cost
Rs. 510 crores over five years.
• Change from a 'rules-based' to a 'roles-based'
approach.
• To build a common training technology
environment.
• To apply a Framework of Roles, Activities, and

Competencies (FRACs) approach to all Civil
Service positions.
Programme module and institutional structure:
• The Integrated Government Online Training-iGOT

Karmayogi Platform will be used to deliver the
programme.
• Special Purpose Vehicle.
• It will govern the iGOT Karmayogi platform.
• Human Resources (HR) Council of the Prime
Minister will act as the apex body for providing
strategic guidance to the mission of Civil Services
Reform.
• Capacity Building Commission
o It will create and track annual capacity-

building plans, as well as audit the
government's human resources.
o Exercise functional oversight of all
Central Training Institutions.

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Public Policies are governmental decisions that are the

TYPES OF PUBLIC POLICY:

ISSUES WITH POLICY FORMULATION FOR BETTER POLICY FORMULATION

CHANGE IN POLICY FORMULATION AFTER NITI BETI BACHAAO BETI PADHAAO:

MAJOR ISSUES WITH ITS IMPLEMENTATION:

• The ‘Housing for All by 2022’ under the scheme of

• SHG members lack the necessary expertise Kudumbashree in Kerala

Definition of governance • Lack of Accountability.

Stagnant expenditure: E- GOVERNANCE

• Business Process Re-engineering (BPR

• Providing digital technology as a useful resource EVOLUTION OF CITIZEN CHARTER

Significance of Sevottam model

• In 2004, the Supreme Court of India, in response to MEASURES NEEDED

• The first institution of ombudsman Sweden in 1809.

• Robust Vigilant Mechanism. MID-CAREER PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

• Advisory Role in Policy Making: They Importance of Mid-Career Performance appraisal

EARLIER INSTANCES OF LATERAL ENTRANTS: • Instead of pursuing leadership from outside, a

• Technical knowledge. CIVIL SERVICES AND COVID-19:

Covid and Bureaucracy

Railways coaches converted into Isolation ward

CIVIL SERVICES BOARD: THE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD'S LIMITATIONS

• For transfers and postings of Indian • Lack of Compliance

• The scheme would cover 46 lakh central

• To apply a Framework of Roles, Activities, and

Programme module and institutional structure:

• The Integrated Government Online Training-iGOT

o It will create and track annual capacity-

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