Literally speaking, the qualitative aspect of governance is referred to as good governance. Essentially, it fulfills the criteria or carries certain essential attributes which are pictorially represented below:

Nevertheless, the concept of “good governance” assumed significance since 1990s with the publication of two reports by the World Bank. In the first report entitled “Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth” (1989), the Bank emphasized upon the need for good governance. While in the second report entitled as “Governance and Development” (1992), the Bank identified a number of aspects of good governance. These are political, legal and administrative in nature.

Features of Good Governance

Good governance has eight features (or characteristics or attributes). These are explained below.

1.   Participation: Participation by both men*and women is a cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other h and.

2.   Rule of law: Good governance requires fair legal frame works that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force.

3.   Transparency: Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement is done in a manner that is as per rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. Information needs to be leveraged as a core strategy for monitoring implementation.

4.   Responsiveness: Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.

5.   Consensus oriented: There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in the society to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development, This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community.

6.   Equity and Inclusiveness: A society's well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being.

7.   Effectiveness and Efficiency: Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.

8.   Accountability: Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only government institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law.

Determinants of Good Governance

1    Political accountability including the acceptability of political system by the people and regular elections to legitimize the exercise of political power.

2    Freedom of association and participation by various religious, social, economic, cultural and professional groups in the process of governance.

3    An established legal frame work based on the rule of law and independence of judiciary to protect human rights; secure social justice and guard against exploitation and abuse of power.

4    Bureaucratic accountability ensuring a system to monitor and control the performance of government offices and officials in relation to the quality of service, inefficiency and abuse of discretionary power.  The related determinants include openness and transparency in administration.

5    Freedom of information and expression needed for formulation of public policies, decision-making, monitoring and evaluation of government performance.  It also includes independent analysis of information by the professional bodies, including the universities and others needed for a civil society.

6    A sound administrative system leading to efficiency and effectiveness.  This in turn, means the value for money and cost effectiveness.  The effectiveness includes the degree of global achievement as per the stated objectives and also the administrative system which is able to take secular and rational decisions and the system which is self propelling to take corrective measures.

7    Cooperation between the government and civil society organizations.

8    Concern for human rights.

Good Governance Initiatives in India

The following initiatives were taken in India to promote/ensure good governance in the country:

1.   The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992) provided for the participation of people in the governance process.

2    Rights-related statutory bodies such as the National Commission for Women (1992), the National Commission for Minorities (1993), the National Human Rights Commission (1993) etc., have been Setup.

3.   The Government of India commenced the exercise to formulate Citizen's Charters in 1996.

4.   A Commission on Review of Administrative Laws was set up in 1998 to recommend, inter alia, the repeal of dysfunctional laws.

5.   A Computerised Public Grievances Redressal and Monitoring System was installed in 2001.

6.   The 89th Constitutional Amendment (2003) bifurcated the combined National Commission for SCs and STs into two separate bodies.

7.   The Central Vigilance Commission was accorded a statutory status in 2003.

8.   A committee on Civil Service Reforms was set up in 2004 to examine the whole gamut of civil service reforms. .

9.   The Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration was instituted in 2005.

10. Laws were enacted giving certain rights to people like the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005), the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (2006) and so on.

The Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) document has identified the several other good governance initiatives taken during the Tenth Plan (2002-2007). These are mentioned below:

1.   The Right to Information Act, 2005 was brought into force. This applies to Union and State agencies, local governments and societies which receive public funds, and empowers citizens.

2.   The All India Service Rules were amended, providing a certain fixed tenure for specified posts to be notified by the state and Central Governments. It will help promote accountability.

3.   A new Value Added Tax regime was introduced which simplifies the tax systems and has enormous positive implications for major reforms in the tax structure.

4.   Electoral funding reforms were introduced, promoting transparency and fairness and creating tax incentives to donors and disclosure of antecedents of candidates contesting for public office.

5.   Ari e-Governance Plan for 27 major areas was adopted. This is designed to assist, improve delivery of services and digitisation of information.

6.   Initiatives on participatory governance were introduced under the National Rural Employment Guarantee. Programme, National Rural Health Mission and other measures.

7.   A policy for voluntary organisations was announced by the Central Government, reflecting the importance of the voluntary sector in promoting participatory systems.

8.   A National Disaster Management Authority was established to bring more focused attention to this important area and to initiate preparatory work to make responses to disasters more effective.

9.   In 2005, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission was constituted to prepare a detailed blue-print for revamping the public administration system. It was asked to suggest measures to achieve a proactive, responsive, accountable, sustainable and efficient administration for the country at all levels of government.

10. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances proposed a framework for good governance in the form of a Code of Governance. The main components of this Code are:

(i)   improving service deli very

(ii)  development of programmes for weaker sections and backward areas

(iii) technology and system improvement

(iv) financial management and budget sanctity

(v)  accountability and transparency

(vi)       public service morale and anti-corruption and

(vii) incentivising reforms

Barriers to Good Governance

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission in its report entitled ''Citizen Centric Administration: The Heart of Governance" (2009) identified five barriers to good governance in India and explained them in the following way:

1.   Attitudinal Problems of the Civil Servants: There is a growing concern that the Civil Services and administration in general, have become wooden, inflexible, self-perpetuating and inward looking. Consequently, their attitude is one of indifference and insensitivity to the needs of citizens. This, coupled with the enormous asymmetry in the wielding of power at all levels, has further aggravated the situation..The end result is that officers perceive themselves as dispensing favour to citizens rather than serving them and given the abject poverty, illiteracy, etc., a culture of exaggerated deference to authority has become the norm.

2.   Lack of Accountability: A common reason usually cited for inefficiency in governance is the inability within the system to hold the Civil Services accountable for their actions. Seldom are disciplinary proceedings initiated against delinquent government servants and imposition of penalties is even more rare. This is primarily because, at most levels, authority is divorced from accountability leading to a system of realistic and plausible alibis. Cumbersome disciplinary procedures have added to the general apathy towards discipline in Government. Moreover the safeguards provided to civil servants—which were well intentioned have often been misused. Another reason for lack of accountability is that performance evaluation systems within the government have not been effectively structured. The complacency that the system breeds has resulted in employees adopting an apathetic or lackadaisical attitude towards citizens and their grievances.

3.   Red Tapism: Bureaucracies the world over are expected to adhere to rules and procedures which are, of course, important for good governance. However, at times, these rules and procedures are ab-initio ill conceived and cumbersome and, therefore, do not serve their purpose. Also, government servants sometimes become overly pre-occupied with rules and procedures and view these as an end in themselves.

4.   Low levels of Awareness of the Rights and Duties of Citizens: Inadequate awareness about their rights prevents citizens from holding erring government servants to account. Similarly, low levels of compliance of Rules by the citizens also acts as an impediment to good governance; when citizens do not adhere to their duties they infringe on the freedom and rights of other citizens. Thus, awareness of rights and adherence to duties are two sides of the same coin. A vigilant citizenry, fully aware of its rights as well its duties, is perhaps the best way to ensure that officials as well as other citizens discharge their duties effectively and honestly.

5.   Ineffective Implementation of Laws and Rules: There is a large body of laws in the country; each legislated with different objectives—maintaining public order and safety, maintaining sanitation and hygiene, protecting rights of citizens, giving special protection to the vulnerable sections, etc. Effective implementation of these laws creates an environment which would improve the welfare of all citizens and at the same time, encourage each citizen to contribute his best towards the development of society. On the other hand, weak implementation can cause a great deal of hardship to citizens and even erode the faith of the citizenry in the government machinery.

How to Operationalise Good Governance

It is not only sufficient to discuss the determinants of ‘good governance’.  We should also know how to operationalise the concept of ‘good governance’. Since the formal conception of the ideal of ‘good governance’ by the World Bank in 1992, a large number of countries have amended their constitutions, enacted laws, set up institutions for running governments leading to good governance.  This has been especially true in countries like Canada, New Zealand etc.  Even in India, the concept of good governance is being talked about by everyone and everywhere e.g. 5th Pay Commission, 2^nd ARC, Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Indian independence, National Agenda for governance, Constitutional Review commission all talk of good governance.  Good governance has become a buzzword in present times.

Operationalising good governance requires the following things:

1    Empowerment:  meaning giving power to the people in the form of legal, constitutional or other wise measures, so that people share the fruits of good governance.  The idea of empowerment is based on the thinking that development has no meaning unless it empowers people for whom it is meant.The concept of empowerment to people was well developed in Balwant Rai Committee recommendations (1958), and even Riggs talks of this.Empowerment should be particularly targeted at the socio-eco-politically-culturally deprived strata of the society e.g. SC, ST, BCs, Women etc.  Thus there should be a protective discrimination in favour of the traditionally deprived classes of the society.

2    Right to Information: This is based on the logic that civil servant have been exploiting citizens out of their sheer ignorance.  Thus citizens should be empowered to ask for information.  It would reduce secrecy, will empower people (because information is power these days), reduce exploitation and correspondingly increase openness and transparency.The right to information to people has been talked over worldwide.  It has gained a lot of momentum even in India.  We are on the verge of passing the Right to Information Act.

3    Citizens Charter: means implied contract between administration and citizens.  It lists out the people’s rights or entitlements in the activities of the stat/ administration.  It gives the philosophy of the state which now envisages the duties of the state as the rights of the citizens.

4    Use of information technology or e-governance: It will bring speedier disposal of cases, certain degree of openness and transparency, access to information.

5    Grievance Redressal machinery:These have been set up in almost all countries in the form of Ombudsman.  In India, Lok Pal, Lok Ayuktas etc.

6    Bringing the concept of ethics and morality in public services: It means increasing concern for democratic values and public purpose. It calls for evolving of professional code of ethics and various other measures as will reduce public corruption and bring greater discipline in resource use.

7    Creation of institutional mechanism to protect the rights of the people: e.g. NHRC, National Comm. for women, SCs, ST.  Even judiciary is talking of increasing rights of the people. In this context, there have been talks of setting up a standing Administrative Reforms Commissions (SARC).  It will review various rules/ regulations of the Union on a permanent basis as adhoc approach to administrative reforms is not good.

8    Reforming Administrative law for good governance: this includes:

a)   Reform in the administration of judicial system

b)   Judicial review. The political and administrative class should be held accountable for what they do.  The above instruments to operationalise Good Governance cal also be stated as:

• Decentralization: Political empowerment
• Delegation: Administrative empowerment
• Democratization: Governance should be broad based and should include private sector, NGOs, civil society, professional organization, consumers associations, social groups, co-operatives, media etc.
• Debureucratisation:  it means two things: a) reducing bureaucratic role in some of the non – vital functions of the state. b) Dismantling bureaucratic way of functioning of the government and bringing New Public management.

Alternatively stating, the instruments of bringing good governance can be:

• Technology            :IT
• Techniques           :Modern methods of managements
• Transparency: Openness
• Training: Capacity and capability enhancement.

Thus all the necessary instruments for Operationalising good governance cumulatively focus on the greater orientation of the political and administrative system to the people’s needs and make it more sensitive, pro-active to their demands and aspirations