Governance in India – Political Science Notes for UGC NET Exam

Introduction

In contemporary world governance has become a prominent area of discussion. Governance now not only occupies centre stage in the development discourse but is also considered as the crucial element to be incorporated in the development strategy. The onset of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation has led to significant changes in the roles of individuals, institutions as also the State. It has widened the process of governing. From a doer the State has become a facilitator and regulator. Instead of government being the sole agency to discharge the tasks of governance, need for participative and consultative modes of governing has become strong. The welfare state has been transformed to a corporatist state. It favours a dominant presence of market forces over the State, for effective governance and efficient delivery of goods and services. This along with gradual blurring of distinction between public and private sectors has given rise to the concept of governance and over time gained a wider connotation.

Government and Governance

The words ‘government’ and ‘governance’ are often used interchangeably, though they are not the same. Government is a group of people who rule or run the administration of a country. It is the body of representatives that governs and controls the State at a given time. It is the medium through which the power of the State is employed. Governance, on the other hand, is the act of governing or ruling. It is the set of rules and laws framed by the government that are to be implemented through the representatives of the State. Simply put, governance is what the governments do. Governance is the physical exercise of the polity while the government is the body through which this is done.

Government includes the regularised body of people who run the administration of a country. While there can be various forms of government like, democracy, autocracy etc., they all serve the same purpose i.e., to drive the national wheel. On the other hand, governance is the act of ruling that comes after the government is formed. So, it could be termed as the effective implementation of the rules by the ruling government. It is a function of a government. A government is a body entrusted with the power to make and enforce laws to govern a country. While governance involves not just these but has features such as efficiency, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, equity and many more.

The terms government and governance have been very well explained by James N. Rosenau. According to him, both refer to purposive behaviour, to goal-oriented activities, to system of rule of law; but government suggests activities that are backed by formal authority, by police powers to ensure the implementation of duly constituted policies, whereas governance refers to activities backed by shared goals that may or may not derive from legal and formally prescribed responsibilities and that do not necessarily rely on police powers to overcome defiance and attain compliance. Governance in other words is a more encompassing phenomenon than government. It embraces governmental institutions, but it also subsumes informal, non-governmental mechanisms whereby those persons and organisations within its purview move ahead, satisfy their needs, and fulfil their wants (Rosenau & Czempiel, 1992).

Thus, we can say that the concept of governance is more encompassing and broader in nature than government. Government conventionally refers to the formal institutional structure and the location of authoritative decision making in the modern state. Governance is much more than this. It focuses more on collective action and the networking of various stakeholders. In government, the exercise of authority is of utmost importance. In governance, it remains significant but is not its single focus. In governance, the power is much more shared than wielded and the authority is defined much by the consent and participation of the governed than by the control of the ruler. Governance is not only about government but about reworking the relations between the state, market, and civil society. Government and governance, both are ideal types and there exists a continuum between the two, the broad features of which can be qualified (Bagai, 2016).

Concept of Governance

The concept of governance has been in use at least since the fourteenth century. It was first used in France. It meant ‘seat of government’. It has been derived from Greek word ‘Kybernan’ which means ‘to steer and to pilot or be at the helm of things’ (Medury, 2010). Governance, in simple terms, means “the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as an “act or manner of governing” and “the office or function of governing”. Governance has also become a term used to describe a particular set of changes. It signifies a set of elusive but potentially deeply significant shifts in the way in which government seeks to govern (Pierre & Peters, 2000).

The term ‘governance’ was first used by Harland Cleveland (1972). He used it as an alternative to public administration. According to him, what people want is ‘less government and more governance’. He identified governance with a cluster of concepts. According to him, “the organisations that get things done will no longer be hierarchical pyramids with most of the real control at the top. They will be systems – interlaced webs of tension in which control is loose, power diffused and centres of decision plural…. Because organisations will be horizontal, the way they are governed is likely to be more collegial, consensual, and consultative. The bigger the problems to be tackled, the more real power is diffused and the larger the number of persons who can exercise it – if they work at it” (Frederickson, 2008).

Governance refers to a process of exercise of authority to govern people or regulate public affairs. In the simplest terms, governance relates to the effective management of the affairs of a country at all levels, guaranteeing its territorial integrity, and securing the safety and overall welfare of people. It is about the rules of collective decision-making in settings where there are plurality of actors or organisations and where no formal control systems can dictate the terms of relationship between these actors and organisations (Chhotray & Stoker, 2009). Governance introduces the private sector, the civil society including the local government system as participants in the process of governing through changes in their subsidiary roles and direct involvement in areas hither to kept exclusively in the public domain.

According to R. A. W. Rhodes (1997), ‘governance signifies a change in the meaning of government, referring to a new process of governing; or a changed condition of ordered rule; or the new method by which society is governed’. Governance denotes the development of ways of coordinating economic activity that transcend the limitations of both hierarchy and markets. It highlights the role of the State in ‘steering’ action within complex social systems (Jan Kooiman, 2000).

Governance can be interpreted as the undertaking of activities, management of resources, organisation of citizens, communities, local government bodies, business organisations and the branches of the State (legislature, executive and judiciary) through social, political, administrative, and economic arrangements that meet the daily needs of the people and ensure sustainable development. Though the conventional constituents of State namely, parliament, judiciary and executive, government may encompass this diverse area of governance at some particular point of time, changes often take place subsequently, that make a combination of these constituents of the State and other actors, as collaborative partners in governance with clear cut and sometimes overlapping jurisdictions. Governance is a participative system in which those who are called upon to govern on behalf of the people are motivated with a will to give their best, serve the people, solve their problems, and make their lives more liveable, satisfying, and enjoyable.

Public administration is no longer confined simply to a discussion of government agencies, processes, and procedures. It encompasses governance which is broad in nature that includes all processes and individuals in the execution and operations involved in policy implementation.