REFORMS IN GOVERNANCE: IN THE ERA OF

GLOBALISATION

DEEPALI SINGH

Governance is that separate process or certain part of

management or leadership processes that makes decisions
that define expectations, grant power or verify
performance. In a developing country like India,
governance concerns necessarily have a wider ambit. The
recognition that it takes place in domains other than that
of exclusively formal institutionalised political and
administrative structures means that governance concerns
encompass a variety of spheres. The Government of India
has paid special attention to governance reforms. The
agenda of reforms has been clearly stated in the recent
official documents and reports of the government,
governance issue is at the forefront of the development
agenda and state, 'good governance' is one of most crucial
factors for development.

GOOD GOVERNANCE refers to the ability to deliver goods to the

stakeholders, which also refers to the elimination of mal-governance
and the establishment of good governance through democratic processes
and rule of law so that citizens of a country and members of a society
do not suffer. It also means to make the various agents of a political
system work for the betterment of all the citizens, especially of the
marginalised and the vulnerable communities. It is of seminal significance
to note that governance is wider than government, though government
being the most powerful and coercive institution continues to be the
major element of any system of governance, according to political
theories, refers to three sectors - executive, legislative and judiciary.
But this seems to be only the operational principle of government.
Because, if it is accepted that government is for the people, by the
people and of the people, then it is the people of the citizens who become
the central focus of governance. To talk about good governance means
ensuring the responsibility and accountability of various stakeholders
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like the community, the government, the civil society and the corporate
sector.
The term 'good governance' has also been coming by the West for
Third. The development aid to Third World countries in post - cold war era
has given rise to the Western concept of good governance entering the
vocabulary of public administration since the 90s. The World Bank in one
of its documents in 1989, highlighted the concept of good governance.
Governance here is not only confined to political governance but would
include all types of governance, such as international governance, national
governance, state or provincial governance or local governance. It is
recognised that governance is about how an organisation steers itself and
the process and structures that are used to achieve its goal. Governance is
authoritative allocation of values by those in power through decision-making.
Since governance is the process of decision -making and the implementation
of those decisions, governance focuses on the actors who make decisions
and the structures that are involved in decision - making. The World Bank,
for the first time in 1989, highlighted the concept of good governance: Public
Sector Management Accountability, Legal framework for Development
and Information and Transparency. In 1992, the Bank's document on
governance and development said, "Good governance is central to creating
and sustaining an environment which fosters strong and equitable
development and it is an essential complement to sound economic policies".
The document identified three aspects of governance: the form of political
regime, the process by which authority is exercised in the management of
country's economic and social resources: and the capacity of governments
to design, formulate and implement policies and in general, to discharge
government functions. In essence to World Bank, good governance consists
of:
• Political accountability
• Regular elections to legitimise the exercise of political power.
• Participation by various social, economic, cultural and professional
groups in the process of governance.
• Rule of law
• Independence of judiciary
• Bureaucratic accountability
• Freedom of information
• Transparency
• Efficient and effective administrative system
• Co-operation between government and the civil society.
Good Governance has eight major characteristics. It is participatory
consensus - oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and
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DEEPALI SINGH

efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that
corruption is minimised, the views of minorities are taken into account and
that voice of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It
is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.
Governance is that separate process or certain part of management or
leadership processes that makes decisions that define expectations, grant
power or verify performance. Frequently a government is established to
administer these processes and systems. As a process, governance may be
carried out for any purpose, good or evil, for profit or not. A reasonable or
rational purpose of governance is to see to it (assure), sometimes on behalf
of others that the organisation produces a worthwhile pattern of good results
while avoiding an undesirable pattern of bad circumstances. In a developing
country like India, governance concerns necessarily have a wider ambit.
The recognition that it takes place in domains other than that of exclusively
formal institutionalised political and administrative structures means that
governance concerns encompass a variety of spheres. These include the
political (equal application of rule of law, accountability and transparency,
the right to information, and corruption in public life); the economic (corporate
governance, the regulation of private sector and financial markets); the
civil society (in its various manifestations, not excluding uncivil associations).
It is these aspects that would lead to long-term sustainability of communities,
societies, nations and the universal at large.
The new challenges created by globalisation are compellingly illustrated
by the international financial system. Liberalisation and integration into global
capital markets has dramatically increased the vulnerability of countries
to. volatile movements of capital across borders. Globalisation has also
affected domestic politics and thereby the capacity of governments to
manage these new forces. Economic liberalisation and integration has led
to greater income inequality within countries without strong welfare states
as the incomes of increasingly demanded skilled workers rise while those
of unskilled labour drop. The twentyfirst century began with a wide set of
reflections on the need for more effective international cooperation and
coordination. Policy-makers the world over have begun to ask what kind of
institutions are needed to manage the challenges associated with
globalisation. Good governance being value-oriented is a subjective concept.
It has different meanings for different people. Good governance is a dynamic
concept. It encompasses fast changing political, social and economic milieu
along with the international environment and conditions of operational
governance. The concept of good governance is a value - laden subjective
concept. Modern concept of good governance is participatory, consensus-
oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient,
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equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. Good governance is
associated with efficient and effective administration in a democratic
framework an administration considered to be citizen-friendly, citizen-caring,
responsive and respecting human rights at large. Indian democratic structure
of governance, which is the largest democracy of the world, badly fails on
the count of good governance. Although people have got the right to
participate in governance directly as well as indirectly but particular situation
is that this characteristic of good governance is partially realised.
The Government of India has paid special attention to governance
reforms. The reforms in economic governance started in the country under
fiscal stabilisation and SAP over a decade ago with the World Bank I IMF
loan conditionalies to improve the balance of payments and fiscal discipline,
and the reorganisation of economy, polity and society, as in several other
Third World countries. The measures for administrative reforms also
followed. The country could overcome the BoP problems, but has continued
apace on it own with governance reforms in a comprehensive manner. The
agenda of reforms has been clearly stated in the recent official documents
and reports of the government. These new political circumstances present
unique challenge to a world order designed in accordance with the
Westphalia principle of exclusive sovereign rule over a bounded territory
and its associated geopolitical mechanisms for governing world affairs.
The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) of the government has a full
chapter on 'governance and implementation'. It categorically states that
governance issue is at the forefront of the development agenda and state/
good governance is one of the most crucial factors for development. Here,
the notion of governance is broad and comprehensive, and not confined to
just the administrative sphere. This is similar to the agenda of governance
reforms of the major multilateral and bilateral agencies. The Tenth Plan
states, 'Governance relates to the management of all such process that, in
any society, define the environment which permits and enables individuals
to rise their capability levels, provide opportunities to realise their potential
and enlarge the set of available choices. These processes, covering the
political, social and economic aspects of life impact every level of human
enterprise, be it the individual, the household, the village, the region or the
national level... It covers the state, civil society and the market, each of
which is critical for sustaining human development. The governance issues
and strategies identified in the Tenth Plan (chapter 6) include : people's
participation, decentralisation, right to information, civil society involvement,
civil service reforms (rightsizing, transparency, accountability,
professionalism), procedural reforms (single window clearance. investor
assistance cell), judicial reforms (speedy delivery of justice). using
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DEEPALI SINGH

information technology, empowerment of the marginalised, etc. These issues

largely relate to administrative reforms and partial political reforms. But at
the core are the reforms in economic governance in terms of increasing
privatisation/disinvestments/corporatisation, liberalisation/deregulation, and
social sector reforms (growing entry of private sector and NGOs) as evident
from other sections of the plan document and the actual policy change in
the recent years. Good governance is regarded as helpful in achieving human
well-being and sustained development. Moreover, it is equally important to
recognise that poor governance could well erode the individual capabilities
as well as institutional and community capacities to meet even the basic
needs of sustenance for large segments of the population.
Thus, the new governance package, popularly known as 'good
governance' is advocated by the major multilateral and bilateral development/
financing agencies. They share the view that better quality of governance
would promote development. So, there is an urgent need to introduce
governance reforms: Here, good governance is not confined only to
traditional civil service/public administration reforms; the agenda ofrefonns
is very comprehensive in nature; It covers economic, social, administrative
and political reforms. The essence of good governance is the capacity to
envision the opportunities that lead to a better future, to build a broad
consensus in support of that vision, to take the bold decisions and
perseverance is also required for overcoming obstacles and resistances
that arise along the way. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has introduced
the Department of Personnel and Training to exempt file noting on identifiable
individuals, groups of individuals, organisations, appointments matters relating
to inquiries and departmental proceedings from the purview of the Right to
Information (RTI) Act. In June 2005, the Government of India enacted the
Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI Act) making a watershed in this nation's
democratic development. The right to information has long proven to be a
key component of a healthy democracy because it empowers citizens with
the right to demand what activities and decisions are being made in their
name.
It is observed that comprehensive agenda of governance reforms has
been operational in India for about one -and -a -half decades. The Indian
state has adopted a largely favourable stance towards the processes of
globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation. It has embarked on the path of
reorienting and restructuring its governance system. A whole new set of
policies and programmes has been put in place. The canvas of reforms
covers both the centre and the states. It encompasses reforms In economic,
social, administrative and political spheres. The agenda represents nothing
but the neo-liberal capitalist model of development which is vociferously
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advocated by the major multilateral and bilateral development agencies

dominated by the hegemonic capitalist countries in the world. As reflected
in the new governance package, reforms in the economic sphere cover
both the public sector management and private sector development.
Moreover, the social sector reforms involve important policy changes meant
for increasing penetration of the private sector I market in areas like health,
education, etc.
In the era of globalisation, there are many streams of discourses doing
the rounds within the realm of political economy and political sociology at
the national and international levels. Development, democracy and
participatory governance is one such stream. Governance, reforms and
development are another stream. So is the discourse on the state, civil
society and collective action. These discourses bring to the fore, the
innumerable issues that are surfacing in the arena of political economy
and political sociology. In a special way, these delibeiations highlight the
relationship that exists between development paradigms and actual
development, government and governance, common people and the state.
Governance, reforms and development are terms extensively used in the
current economic and political debates. But they mean different things to
different people. Since governments continue to play a central role in the
lives of its citizens, governance is being equated with government.
Development and reform also constitute the functions of governments.
Hence, they too are far removed from the citizens of a country. Now,
when one talks of governance, one refers to participatory governance
which works towards development of individuals as well as the society I
nation.
The role of government is changing as we witness a fragmentation of
policy responsibility in society, we must also recognise that the traditional
mechanisms of government control are no longer workable or even
appropriate. Traditional hierarchical government is giving way to a growing
decentralisation of policy interests. Control is giving way to interaction and
involvement Good governance could only be delivered by good
administrators. The institutions of good governance always operated at the
macro level. Electronic governance (e- governance) is fast emerging as an
important tool for achieving good governance especially with regard to
, improving efficiency, transparency and making interface with government.
User friendly e-governance is to bring about better governance which has
been termed as SMART (simple, moral, accountable, responsive and
transparent). So far the emphasis has been on providing connectivity,
networking, technology, upgradation, selective delivery systems for
information and solutions.
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DEEPALI SINGH

Good governance should basically mean balanced governance.

Government, private sector, non-government organisations and cooperatives
should harmoniously share the responsibility of governance by protecting
the interests and meeting the needs of the people. The two elements -
honesty and transparency are needed to ensure governance for development
but one single factor that has jeopardised the whole process of planned
economic development is the rampant corruption in our system. The
corruption is any anti-economic development. The challenge of good
governance would certainly require government to be re-invented,
bureaucracy to be re-positioned, non -government business sectors to be
re-invigorated with a social motive. Government has played a vital role in
the life of man throughout the period of recorded history. Any government
worth its name and having responsibility of governing a polity must develop
and promote as its seminal core, the parameters of good governance. Good
governance will be the engine for development in a liberalised economy.