Why in News?

The Good Governance Index (GGI) was launched on the occasion of Good Governance Day (25th December).

What is GGI?

• GGI is a nation-wide comparative study of States on governance which is carried out by the Government of India.
• It is a welcome exercise to incentivise States to competitively deliver on public services to the citizens.

What are the findings of the index?

• Tamil Nadu has ranked first in this index.
• Its strength has been the ability to ensure stable and smooth delivery of services without much ado.
• Three of its neighbours are among the top 10 of the big 18 States.
• These three are one of the 3 groups formed for the study with the north-east and hill States and Union Territories being the other two.
• Traditionally, the south has been ahead of others in several parameters of development.

What does the index say about BIMARU states?

• BIMARU States - Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• The dubiously-labelled BIMARU States are seeking to catch up with others in development is more significant about the GGI.
• Of the nine sectors, Rajasthan has finished within the top 10 in 5 sectors, Madhya Pradesh in 4 and Uttar Pradesh in 3.
• In agriculture and allied sectors, almost all these States are within the top 10 and in human resources development, U.P. and Bihar figure.
• In the composite ranking, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are ranked 4th and 9th, respectively.
• The key message is that these northern States can catch up with others in due course of time, if the political leadership shows the will to overcome historical obstacles and stays focused on development.

What are the shortcomings with this index?

• Some indicators — farmers’ income, prevalence of micro irrigation or water conservation systems and inflow of industrial investment — have been left out.
• The “ease of doing business” indicator has been given disproportionate weight in the sector of commerce and industries, to the virtual exclusion of growth rate of major and micro, small and medium enterprises.
• There will always be an unending debate over which indicators (process-based or outcome-based) should get more importance in the design of such a study.

What could be done?

• In spite of these shortcomings, the Centre has made an attempt to address the problem of the absence of a credible and uniform index for an objective evaluation of the States and Union Territories.
• The GGI requires fine-tuning and improvement.
• But that does not take away the strength of the work that has been accomplished, keeping in mind India’s size and complexity.