In relentless solemn pursuit of good governance – Daily Pioneer

The best part of good governance under Prime Minister Modi is that the country suffers neither inertia nor ignorance, nor incompetence, nor dishonesty. Consequently, good governance during last seven years has yielded changed mindset of people within the country and globally about how governance is conducted amid probity and transparency

During 1978-80, I was doing my Masters in Economics from Gorakhpur University. Head of the department late Dr BK Singh, a learned no-nonsense person, used to teach Public Finance, and Richard and Peggy Musgraves magnum opus Public Finance in Theory and Practice that handled allocative, distributive and stabilisation functions of governments became soft clay in experienced hands of Dr Singh. For instance, he mixed pure, abstract theory with Indian economic scenario reducing indecipherable, semi-mathematical concepts to simple, plain narratives students of above average calibre could easily grasp. One day a fellow student asked him, Why India all along has problems in all the three areas: resource allocation, distribution of goods and stabilisation of economic activities? Dr Singh, with absolutely no demur and looking straight at that students face, responded, Because either you are incompetent or you are dishonest or you are both. Then finding the student nervous, he explained by you he did not mean that student but clusters of politicians and bureaucrats in charge of governance. Dr Singhs response holds key to this article.

Realities are inseparable part of governance. More so of both bad and good governance. One may wonder what good governance is. One can think of endless indices: rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, equity and inclusiveness, effectiveness, economy and efficiency, accountability, etc. Still more refined approach to understand good governance is given by Gunnar Myrdal in terms of indices that he summed as instrumental value premises incorporating elements as varied as per capita income, democracy at the cross-roads, gender equity, power to vote, etc. In common parlance, good governance in the context of fast developing nations like India may be defined as a form of governance characterised by a system of democratic government sponsored welfare offering a guarantee of collective social care to its citizens, while maintaining capitalist system of production. Myrdals belief was in continuous evolution of welfare state resulting from good governance ultimately leading to formation of what he called, the peoples home. He further desired a created harmony and social convergence to come into existence due to governmental interventions. Ultimately good governance is all about good politics and good policies, properly executed.

One of the areas of political economy explored variously is the relationship between politics, economics and policies. Only good politics where political processes are sorted out quickly and with gusto and determination produce enduring policies. A former Prime Minister once asserted that only fifteen paise of every rupee meant for downtrodden reached them. With such state of affairs during much of the period before Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country in 2014, good policies were few and far between. If significant allocations dont reach the targeted groups and disappear in between, it is as much a reflection on bad policies as on bad politics. Corruption pollutes good politics. Jeffery Sachs rightly observes corruption as a poverty trap: poverty causes corruption and corruption causes poverty. That is the fundamental cause of bad politics and bad policies. Added to that, dereliction of duty at various stages, absence of transparency, lack of accountability, inflexibility, circuitous decision-making processes, weak internal evaluation systems and lax and lazy political leadership in various ways hinder smooth working of economy and good governance. There were instances of inefficient expenditure and manpower management in various departments. If prescribed infrastructures in primary schools are not available or doctors/nurses as per norms are not adequately placed in hospitals, or costly equipment is either not installed or if installed, not put to use, or huge time/cost overruns characterise projects both big and small, short and long term, or health sector suffers absenteeism of health workers, how good governance would be delivered is a question none can answer. Good governance cannot be a reality unless at the micro level transparent evaluation of utilisation of allocated resources occurs. To begin with dereliction of duty of those in charge of governance needs to be tackled at the lowest level. It will unravel trails about how higher hierarchy behaves.

As Accountant General in charge of audit of departments of the government of Gujarat during 2008-2009, I noticed peoples tremendous faith in administrative skills and self-discipline of then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Officially, I came across prompt and responsible response to audit requirements from very high positions like that of Chief Secretary/ACS (Home), etc. Responding to requirements of institutions by governmental functionaries is yet another trait of good governance and it was amply evident in Gujarat. Those who believe in self-discipline believe in discipline in society and transparency. Its a corollary. Gujarat under then Chief Minister Narendra Modi became a totally transformed state. The same spirit now extends to India. Let us take a few examples. In less than ten months, 100 crore vaccine doses have been administered. It is largely because of vaccine self-reliance and comprehensive institutional approach to problem solving something the Prime Minister has been supporting whole-heartedly. Look at the collective involvement of doctors, health workers, academia, administrators, scientists, entrepreneurs and government but for whose coordinated efforts this feat would have been impossible. In general, Sabka Ka Saath, Sabka Ka Vikas, Sab Ka Viswas, Sab Ka Prayas apart from being at the root of good governance is also an amalgamation of micro and macro approach of economics to good governance. Constantly guiding hands of the Prime Minister are visible everywhere.

Good governance as current ongoing process in India involves apart from transparency at every level, accountability, emphasis on new technology, flexibility, mass participation, government being pro-poor, etc, to name a few. None interested in good governance can evade market discipline or aging and inefficient enterprises where forthright governmental intervention justifies itself.

Economists like John Kenneth Galbraith believe that the distinction between microeconomics and macroeconomics should blur and ultimately disappear. This distinction being a legacy of Keynes, on the one hand gave responsibility for overall economic performance to the state while on the other hand left the traditional role of the classical market to the individual sectors of the economy. That segregation ran contrary to good governance. The undoing of it is the sine qua non for good governance. And this is what Prime Minister Modi has achieved. Recently addressing a joint conference of the CVC and the CBI at Kevadia in Gujarat, the Prime Minister stressed that earlier governments had maximum control which led to many wrong practices. Maximum control anywhere is inimical to enhancement of welfare. We believe in minimum Government and maximum Governance, the Prime Minister reiterated.

Power to the people paves the way for good governance. Under Prime Minister Modis guidance, the concept has become a reality. Initiatives like JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity are watershed schemes in empowering the poor. These have resulted in the elimination of middlemen and corrupt practices, and thereby direct benefits reach households without any interruptions. Institutional complexities of socio-economic development - allocation of resources, distributive justice, welfare theory, public economics, ease of business, etc - are resolved at reasonable speed and aggressively. It has led to success felt by men in the street. In 2019, while travelling in Gorakhpur, I asked the driver of the auto- rickshaw, a fifty-five year old man, How the present government compares with previous ones?

The driver was clear in his mind, Now people have expectations. They expect betterment. They are hopeful. Previously activities were negligible. We never sensed hands of governance. Thus there were no expectations. Earlier I used to go to my village in Bihar to hand over cash to my family. Now I send it through mobile monthly. I save my wages for the days that were wasted earlier when I went to my village. Saved wages are my savings. The driver indicated, in his own ways, his understanding of psychology of savings. Electronically transferred money systems like mobile transfers and using Aadhaar cut the cost of transferring savings to families. Such savings coupled with the present governments resolve to deliver have converted low level of expectations into higher ones. High expectations stem when socio-economic activities favourably affect peoples life at the lowest ebb in general.

Similarly coming to health sector, Ayushman Bharat: a comprehensive need-based health care service which aims at undertaking pioneering interventions to address the healthcare system (covering prevention, promotion and ambulatory care) at the primary, secondary and tertiary level in a holistic manner, adopts a continuum of care approach: yet another feat on the road to good governance. Digital empowerment of citizens of the country is amazing and citizens across the country can now access electronic and digital services of the Government.

Anyone looking at the website of any scheme realises the presence and value of crucial information about that scheme. People need not run around knocking at different doors for different information. Good economics believes in revealing maximum information to the beneficiaries. Thus at present poor people dont lack critical information about work done by the Government and hence they are sure of what the Government is doing for them under Prime Ministers directions and guidance and what are their rights and how to avail of the services. People believe they cannot be fooled. Earlier these people could be easily led to believe untruths and guided by factors like caste, region, and dominance of certain families in politics, used to place their votes in wrong baskets. But now they know the picture is clear: they vote for honest, transparent, development-focussed government rather than someone of their ethnic group even if voting for ethnic groups enhances chances of corruption and bigotry. People see the focus has been on infrastructure development and structural reforms.

Organisation is one of the most inescapable facts of democracy and contemporary life and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a big organisation. Democratic style of functioning of the BJP since its inception has permeated into society in the form of good governance. Only a disciplined party can throw disciplined leaders who hand over to the most-needy and the most neglected ones fruits of good governance through democratic means.

Critics and their criticism of one of the most prominent leaders of the world Narendra Modi clearly establish how attempts are being made to malign such a courageous and far-sighted leader like him with his novelty of thinking, application of mind and approach. Absence of holistic perception required for judgment about the background against which decisions are taken after serious scrutiny at different levels really needs to be looked into and reassessed by critics. A proper appreciation of good governance as a concept and in practice requires that. Criticism based on far-fetched assumptions results in irrational conclusions which is the root cause of confusion. The best part of good governance under Prime Minister Modi is that the country suffers neither inertia nor ignorance, nor incompetence, nor dishonesty. Consequently, good governance during last seven years has yielded changed mindset of people within the country and globally about how governance is conducted amid probity and transparency.

The Prime Minister has a sound understanding of the processes of economic expansion and required structural changes through which peoples life can be improved. Now policies are better designed because of careful appreciation of constraints and motivations of all segments like poor people, taxpayers, industrialists, farmers, etc. Changes resulting from such good governance may look incremental but soon they will sustain and flourish. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with his highly innovative mind and unparalleled leadership qualities, good governance as a discipline is a relentlessly solemn pursuit. A rosier future gets reflected in the rosy present.

(The writer is a former Additional Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General from office of Comptroller & Auditor General of India. He is a poet, writer and columnist. Author of three volumes of poetry, his poems have been translated into Hindi (Andhere Se Nikli Kavitayen -VANI PRAKASHAN (2017) and his book Shadows of the Real into Russian by veteran Russian poet Adolf Shvedchikov. His fourth book Soliloquy of a Small-Town Uncivil Servant: a literary non-fiction published in March 2019 by Rupa Publications, New Delhi, has received international acclaim in literary field. His next book: a collection of Essays & Critiques is expected shortly. Views expressed here are his personal views.)

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In relentless solemn pursuit of good governance - Daily Pioneer