Good governance can reinforce democracy

Laimayum Bashanta Sharma *

In India, the 25th of December is designated as Good Governance Day, coinciding with the birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 2014, Good Governance Day was instituted as a way to raise awareness of Government accountability among Indians and pay tribute to Prime Minister Vajpayee.

On December 23, 2014, the late President Pranab Mukherjee of India announced that Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, both 90 years old, had been awarded India's highest civilian award for merit, the Bharat Ratna.

After the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's newly elected Government declared that Good Governance Day would now be observed on the former Prime Minister's birthday every year in India. Both the decision to declare Good Governance Day a Government working day and the fact that it falls on Christmas Eve have drawn criticism.

The Good Governance Index was introduced by the Modi administration in 2019. It is described as "a scientifically prepared tool based on various parameters of good governance which assess the level of any State at a given point in time and help in shaping future development."

The Good Governance Day's significance

Educate People on Governance : The purpose of Good Governance Day is to educate the public about the responsibility and management of their Government.

Fair Treatment of Citizens: The day guarantees that citizens of the Nation receive a variety of Government services promptly and that they are treated equitably by the authorities.

The National Good Governance Day aims to raise awareness of e-governance, and its official slogan is "Good Governance through e-Governance" to be realised through the application of sound governance principles.

The Way Ahead : Enhancing Good Governance

Right to Information : This initiative seeks to combat corruption, empower citizens, and achieve democracy's real objectives by encouraging transparency and accountability in Governmental operations. The Good Governance Index is a scientific tool that evaluates a State's level of governance at a particular moment in time and aids in directing future development. It is based on a number of good governance parameters.

E-Government : It uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide the general public with Government services.

Local Body Governance : By creating local bodies, the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution decentralized decision-making. The Citizen Charter is a written document that outlines the steps taken by the service provider to concentrate on their dedication to meeting the needs of the clients/citizens. The process of analyzing and assessing how social and economic policies and programs affect societal welfare, with an emphasis on beneficial results, is known as social auditing.

Obstacles to India's Effective Governance

Woman Empowerment: Women are under represented in the Government and other key positions. To redress this issue On 21 September, Indian legislators passed the first legislation considered in the country’s new Parliament building : the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023.

The Bill, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament almost unanimously—with just two votes against—will ensure that women occupy at least 33 per cent of the seats in State legislative Assemblies and the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Parliament.

Corrupt practices : It is difficult to improve things when there are too many bad actors.

Justice Delayed : Although assistance should be provided promptly, there are instances when it is not.

Administrative System Centralization: More authority is necessary for lower-level governments to function effectively.

The criminalization of politics: Public welfare is negatively impacted by certain politicians, labor unions, and corporate collusion.

Additional Difficulties: Encouraging growth, preserving the environment, and adapting to global changes are examples of challenging tasks.

Good Governance Day has been annually observed by the government since 2014. The day is commemorated to make sure that everyone in the nation receives equitable treatment from the government and has access to various government services. The purpose of Good Governance Day is to increase public participation in government processes and services by promoting good governance. "Good Governance through e-Governance" was the slogan used when it was founded.

The robust e-Government system has prevented money from being embezzled to fictitious recipients. In the current fiscal year, or 2022–2023, the effective transfer of subsidies to the beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has reached approximately Rs 5.5 trillion thus far.

How the Direct Benefit Transfer program has changed India's social welfare system

In the current fiscal year, 2022–2023, the amount of subsidies transferred to beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has amounted to approximately Rs 5.5 trillion.

About the DBT Program: Goals, Objectives, Methods, Outcomes, Accomplishments, etc.On January 1st, 2013, the Indian government introduced the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) program. Through the DBT program, GoI hopes to eliminate any irregularities from the current system, like diversions and duplicate payments, by paying end beneficiaries directly into their bank accounts linked to their Aadhaar.

Transparency and the elimination of theft from the distribution of Central Government-sponsored funds are the main goals of the DBT program.

DBT procedure

The Public Financial Management System (PFMS) registration process is one of the primary checkpoints in the Direct Benefit Transfer process. The steps or subsections that follow are this process.verification of the recipient's eligibility. verification of the Aadhar number and bank account of the recipients enabled the bank account.

Beginning of the payment The Central Plan Monitoring System of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, is called the Public Financial Management System, or PFMS.For the DBT program, it serves as a common platform for e-payments made using both Aadhar and non-Aadhar accounts.

Success of the DBT Initiative

In January 2013, a mother in Puducherry received the first payment for the Janani Suraksha Yojana. From that point on, DBT has contributed to the reform of the government delivery system by re-engineering the welfare schemes' current procedures to facilitate an easier and quicker flow of grants and information.

The advantages include reduced fraud, de-duplication, and precise beneficiary targeting.DBT payments under all central sector/centrally sponsored schemes through Public Financial Management System (PFMS) amounted to Rs 27,442 crore in the accounts of 11.42 crore beneficiaries through schemes like PM-KISAN, MGNREGS, NHM, etc. between March 24, 2020, and April 17, 2020, during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has 47 crore beneficiaries, 6.5 lakh Bank Mitras are providing branchless banking services, and over 120 crore people have mobile subscribers by 2022. Additionally, over 135 crore Aadhaar cards have been created.

With 318 schemes from 53 central ministries spanning various sectors, the DBT program is based on this extensive network. With fewer transaction costs, DBT has made it possible for the Government to finance farmers in rural India in an efficient and transparent manner.With focused delivery, the DBT system has allowed the Government to drastically reduce the amount it spends on social sector welfare.

As of the end of FY21, the Government had saved 2.23 trillion in expenditures overall because of the DBT. Based on an estimate provided by the Central government, the Aadhaar-enabled DBT platform assisted in the removal of millions of fraudulent LPG connections, 39.9 million duplicate ration cards, and 10% wage savings due to the removal of non-existent MGNREGS beneficiaries. Thus far in the 2022–2023 fiscal year, an estimated Rs 5.5 trillion in subsidies have been distributed to beneficiaries via the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

It is anticipated that DBT transfers will exceed the Rs 6.3 trillion realized in FY 2021–2022 because many dues are paid off in the final month of the year. So far in the current fiscal year, farmers have received fertilizer subsidies totaling Rs 1.9 trillion.

Because input costs and fertilizer prices doubled globally in the last year or so, this is 53% more than the Rs 1.24 trillion for the entire FY22. Through foodgrains, beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) have received subsidies totaling Rs 1.5 trillion thus far in FY23. Approximately Rs 2.2 trillion will be spent on food DBT through PDS by the end of the year, same as in FY22 and FY23.

Food DBT has increased because the National Food Security Act (NFSA) allows the Indian government to give free rations to 81.35 crore poor people. The benefits of DBT under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana-Rural (PMAY-R) have also reached Rs 38,638 crore. It is important that we avoid politicizing this admirable effort to increase public trust in the adminis- tration.

It is not appropriate to turn the coincidence of the Christmas festival falling on the same day into a national problem. There is no requirement for Christians or any other citizens to attend the good governance event. That day (i. e. 25th of December) is a public holiday.

It takes checks and balances to hold the Government accountable. The transparency needed to gain the public's trust has been made possible by technology. Good governance allows public servants to provide flawless and efficient services to the public, something that was considered insignificant prior to this initiative.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, good governance pertains to the institutional and political procedures and results required to accomplish development objec- tives. The degree to which "good" governance fulfills the promise of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights—is the real litmus test.

The crucial query is: Do the institutions of government successfully ensure that people have the right to good health, sufficient food, housing, and justice as well as personal security? Unlike any other Indian or global government in history, the Modi administration is exerting enormous effort to address these issues.