Print :Why Modi has to move from good to democratic governance

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Why Modi has to move from good to democratic governance

by Apr 9, 2013 #Democracy #Good Governance #Narendra Modi #WhyNow Share Email Print Share Share Share Comments Most of what Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said at the Think India Dialogue Forum on Monday on his government's achievements and his vision for India could have got into international best practice documents on governance, but for his 2002-taint and his limited worldview on rights. The lingo that multilateral institutions such as the UN, donors and western think-tanks currently use is democratic governance, whereas Modi - consciously or not - stuck to its predecessor good governance which in the past had not been explicit on the principles of democracy. Globally, the terminology had transitioned from governance to democratic governance about a decade ago, of course not without criticism and debates on the politics behind it. However, if one disaggregates Modi's speech, which was essentially about minimal government and efficient governance, and the principles that his examples embodied, it resonated well with most of the universal principles of governance. Most of the ideas that he sought to communicate were practical examples of good governance and efficiency that are worthy of replication elsewhere. Broadly, the overarching principles of democratic governance are participation, consensus, strategic vision, responsiveness, efficiency, accountability, transparency, equity and rule of law. Modi seems to have done well on strategic vision, responsiveness, efficiency, accountability and transparency, as he presented his strategic vision for Gujarat and the country. On the other four? Well, that is what makes good governance also democratic. Perhaps that is why Modi prefers good governance to democratic governance as he focusses primarily on efficiency and results.

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Print :Why Modi has to move from good to democratic governance

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] Narendra Modi needs to move from good to democratic governance. Reuters In his speech, Modi covered an entire gamut of sectors ranging from agriculture to heavy industries and touched upon intricate details of how his government transformed the rules and practice of business. The most striking was his focus on three elements: responsiveness, efficiency and accountability, a lot of which in the Indian context depended also on innovation. His examples such as enrolling engineering students into paid internships in civic bodies that were struggling with a shortage of technical manpower, and doing away with the government undertaking silly exercises such as boiler and lift examination were about innovation. Use of technology, that he repeatedly referred to, for efficiency was evident in examples such as a one-day governance centres where people got a number of services delivered in a single day, and his investment on alternative energy. His example of a replenished Sabarmati enhancing availability of water to people and reducing direct and indirect costs in monetary terms, as well as preventing epidemics demonstrated his practical idea of multisectoral impact or multi-sectoral governance. The efficiency angle was also evident when he said the governments in India were growing in size without adequate technical resources. For instance, what civic governance required was not a bloating bureaucracy which bred red-tape and inefficiency, but people with technical skills. Government was about outlay and not outcome, he said indicating that conventional bureaucratic milestones such as building a facility was not enough for demonstrating good governance. The indicator for efficiency was a desired outcome, a word international development institutions use. An outcome is a measurable result that arises out of a certain intervention. Modi also said the same thing. He said, his government was focussed on outcomes and they were measured using socio-economic impact studies. We haven't heard any other politician in India saying this before. This results-based-management or RBM, as it is called in international development parlance, is essential in avoiding wastage of public money through politically expedient fancy projects. And he did mention that a lot of government decisions are influenced by politics and frequent elections. Coming to power has become a priority in this country. Then, there were interesting one-liners: Government is file, governance is life; government is all about power, governance is about empowerment.

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Print :Why Modi has to move from good to democratic governance

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Another overarching principle of democratic governance globally is decentralisation. It's now an established fact that decentralisation leads to more efficiency, transparency and participation by people. At Think India Dialogue, Modi was a strong advocate for decentralisation as well. He used the example of how government of India prevented him from laying gas-pipelines in his state, citing jurisdiction, and how he had to approach the Supreme Court. Within the state, he said his local governments were free to do anything they wanted until they had additional financial requests. He also focussed on participation by people and consensus building - the elements that ensure inclusion. In this context, he proposed a new model for PPP (public private partnerships). He said it should be PPPP (People-Public-Private-Partnerships). As far as possible, people'c consent should be sought on policy decisions and they should have a role in decision-making processes. Perfect! So far so good. It's great governance one-on-one. But is that enough? Unfortunately not. What make his wicket sticky are the principles of equity and rule of law. He may have his own interpretation, but right to equality and an enabling legal and ethical environment were conspicuously missing in Modi-speak. Rule of law is not just about tough law enforcement, but also about an enabling and equal environment. If efficiency and results alone meant good governance, some of the world's worst autocrats will fare well on the governance chart. That is where democratic governance is important. Equal rights to all, or equality in the eyes of law, respect for human rights and participation by people in the real sense of the term are the elements that will make democratic governance qualitatively different from simple good governance. Democratic governance should be good and inclusive. Participation should provide people with the right to question and socially audit the government's decisions, whether it is the construction of a big dam or a police-crackdown. A leader has to be a real democrat for these principles to work, let alone flourish. In summary, Modi has an interesting best practice compilation of good governance that's bordering on democratic governance. It's time that he worked on the missing elements because democracy is our lifeline.

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