25th December - Good Governance Day

India commemorates Good Governance Day on December 25th, also known as Sushasan Divas in Hindi. On this day, the nation remembers former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary. The government has designated Good Governance Day as a working day in keeping with this philosophy.

Knowing the special days marking India’s rich past is critical for your current affairs quiz for competitive exams. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise when you’re asked, ‘when is good governance day?’

There are other important days and dates of national and international importance, integral to the UPSC prelims and other government exams.

IAS aspirants can learn about Good Governance, its definition and characteristics at the linked article and get polity notes for UPSC GS paper II.

Aim of Good Governance Day

Good Governance Day aims to increase Indian citizens’ knowledge of government accountability.

Following 2021’s Good Governance Day celebration, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the pilot District Good Governance Index (DGGI) – a governance performance SOP – for Jammu & Kashmir. Shah said in the coming years, the DGGI will be rolled out to every district across the subcontinent.

History of Good Governance Day

On December 23, 2014, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were awarded the highest civilian honour in the country, the Bharat Ratna. Following the declaration, Narendra Modi, the then newly elected Prime Minister of India, declared December 25th Good Governance Day.

“Good Governance Day” is one of the most critical topics in UPSC. Therefore, you must study this topic thoroughly in your UPSC 2022 preparation. There are various quizzes and notes available for UPSC and IAS practice. Some of the key points to consider are discussed below:

What is governance?

• Governance is the process of making decisions and putting those decisions into action.
• Examples of governance include cooperation between international, national, and municipal governance.

India’s first District Good Governance Index (DGGI) for Jammu & Kashmir has 58 governance performance indicators 116 data points spanning 10 governance sectors.

Also, refer to the following links for IAS preparation:

Eight characteristics of good governance identified by the United Nations

These are the eight indicators of good governance as determined by the United Nations:

1. Participation: People should participate in decision-making directly or through appropriate intermediary entities representing their interests.
2. The constitutional rule of law: Legal frameworks, notably human rights laws, should be fairly and impartially enforced.
3. Transparency: Transparency is built on the open flow of information. Individuals interested in processes, institutions, or information have direct access to them, providing adequate information to understand and monitor them.
4. Responsiveness: Institutions and processes strive to provide timely service to all stakeholders.
5. Orientation of agreement: Good governance necessitates the mediation of many societal interests to create a broad consensus on the best interests of the entire community and how to achieve this.
6. Equity: All people, especially the most vulnerable, can improve or preserve their health.
7. Efficacy and effectiveness: Processes and institutions provide outcomes that meet demands while maximizing resource utilization.
8. Accountability: The public, as well as institutional stakeholders, hold decision-makers in government, the commercial sector, and civil society organisations accountable.

Challenges to good governance in India

These are some of the most glaring challenges facing good governance in India:

• Women’s Empowerment: Women are underrepresented in government institutions and other related industries.
• Corruption: India’s high level of corruption is commonly regarded as a significant impediment to improving government quality.
• Hindrance to exercise the Right to Prompt Justice: A person has the right to prompt justice, yet various factors prevent the average person from exercising it. One of these factors is the court’s personnel and logistical deficiency.
• Administrative system centralisation: Lower-level governments can only function effectively if given authority. This is especially important for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), which are now suffering from a lack of funding and functionaries to carry out their legally mandated responsibilities.
• Politics as a criminal offence: The criminalisation of politics, as well as the unholy alliance of politicians, civil servants, and commercial interests, is harming policy making and governance.
• Environmental security and long-term development are often used interchangeably, which is problematic.
• Globalisation, liberalisation, and the market economy present challenges.

Initiatives that are taken concerning good governance

These are some of the initiatives taken by the Government of India to enforce good governance and stall the opposite:

• The Good Governance Index: The Good Governance Index (GGI) was created by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions to assess the country’s governance. It evaluates the impact of various initiatives undertaken by state and local governments.
• National e-Government Strategy: The organisation’s mission states: “Make all government services accessible to the common person in their locality, through common service delivery outlets, and ensure efficiency, transparency,” and the organisation’s vision reads, “reliability of such services at low costs to realise the basic demands of the common man.”
• The 2005 Right to Information Act plays an important role in promoting governance transparency.
• Other initiatives include the establishment of the NITI Aayog, the Make in India program, the Lokpal Bill, and others.

For the best preparation strategy for competitive exams candidates can visit the linked article and get detailed study material and preparation tips to excel in the examination.

Aspirants can visit the linked article and get details about the upcoming government exams that comprise current affairs and general awareness as an important topic in the syllabus.