Good Governance has four elements:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Transparency
Accountability
Predictability / Responsiveness
Participation
Rule of Law
Effectiveness i.e. choosing the right public policy or action
Efficient i.e. implementing the public policy or action in aright way
Equity i.e. people who devised public policy are chosen on meritocracy
not sycophancy
9. Decentralization i.e. devolution of powers ( for local bodies)
Ethics & Public Life
Committee on standards in Public Life in the UK popularly known as the
NOLAN Committee outlined principles
1.
2.
3.
4.

Selflessness / Public Interest

Integrity
Objectivity: Choices on Merit
Accountability / Responsibility
a. Accountability - Based on directives
b. Responsibility Based on position
i. In car accident, driver is accountable but both driver &
minister are responsible
c. Civil servant act on the basis of directives so he is not held
responsible for accident. This is known as condition of anonymity
5. Openness
6. Honesty
7. Leadership
Ethics & Civil Servant
1. Highest stand for probity, integrity & conduct
a. Integrity Honest & consistent in thought, speech & actions
i. 2nd ARC suggests Civil Servants should be guided by public
interest in the official decision making
ii. Integrity is integral to health nation Gandhi
b. Dedication
c. Conduct Perform the duty in accordance with law
i. Issues: Political & Religious Constraint
d. Values
i. Means Value
ii. End Values
iii. Issues: Debate between Means & End Value

2. Objectivity
a. Ability to judge fairly without bias & external influence &
prioritize accordingly
b. Issues:
i. Conflict of Interest
ii. Economic Constraint
iii. Absence of precedent
3. Neutrality i.e. Impartiality and non-partisanship
a. Political impartiality no need to always be guided by politician
b. Public impartiality Commitment to equality & diversity i.e.
consistency of treatment to public
c. Non partisanship Civil servant should remain non-political in
nature
d. Far from being a neutralist, the public servant of the day and still
more of tomorrow should be one rich in human sympathy and
with fully awaken social conscience N R Pillai 1st Cabinet
Secretary
4. Commitment to citizen concern & public welfare
5. Empathy, tolerance and compassion for the vulnerable & weaker
section
a. Tolerance is fair, objective permissive attitude towards those
opinions, religion, nationality differs from ones own
Issues in implementation of policies:
1. Building Institutions: these institutions will implement the objectives of
the policies
a. Commissions
2. Data Record: Proper infrastructure to keep the records and information
3. Guarantee Reach i.e. Capacity Building & Awareness Generation ( All
below programs should be in local language)
a. Training Programs
b. Proper Guidelines to remove ambiguities
c. Awareness / Media Campaign E.g. All India Radio & Doordarshan
Campaign for Sarva Siksha Abhiyan & Nation Rural Health
Mission
d. Social Marketing
4. Guarantee Outcomes i.e. Monitoring / Feedback Mechanism
a. Time bound response / resolution to reported issue to be
provided
b. Conducting a base line survey / social as well as account audit
Indians have always valued a world beyond the material and have embraced
spiritualism as a way of life. Instances abound in our epics of good

behaviour, of the triumph of good over evil, of the wisdom of sages. Stories
of the honesty, generosity and piety of legendry kings such as Vikramaditya,
are told to our children even today. There is no reason why Ram Rajya cannot
be attempted.
Aptitude: Natural or inherent talent to acquire a certain skill or ability in the
future through proper training.
Skill: Things an individual has learned in the past.
Ability: Things an Individual can do now.
Intelligence: Capacity of an individual to act purposefully & think rationally
& deal effectively with his environment.
Ethics and Human Interface:
1. Essence
2. Determinants
3. Consequences of Ethics in human actions
Dimensions of ethics
Ethics in private and public relationships
Human Values
Lessons from the lives and teachings of
1. Great leaders
2. Reformers
3. Administrators
Role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating
values
Attitude:
1. Content
2. Structure
3. Function
4. its influence and relation with thought and behavior
Moral and political attitudes
Social influence and persuasion
Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service
1. integrity
2. impartiality and non-partisanship

3. objectivity
4. dedication to public service
5. Empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weakersections.

Emotional intelligence1. Concepts

2. Their utilities and application in administration and
governance
Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and
world
Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration
1. Status and problems
Ethical concerns and dilemmas in
1. government
2. private institutions
Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical
guidance
Accountability and ethical governance
Strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance
Ethical issues in international relations and funding
Corporate governance
Probity in Governance:
1. Concept of public service
2. Philosophical basis of governance and probity;
Information sharing and transparency in government
1.
2.
3.
4.

Right to Information
Codes of Ethics
Codes of Conduct
Citizens Charters

Work culture
Quality of service delivery

Utilization of public funds

Challenges of corruption

RTI
The law commission recommended consolidation of all laws dealing with
national security and suggested National Security Bill.
Need to change these attitudes:
1. Prevailing culture of secrecy to a new culture of openness
2. Personalized despotism to authority coupled with accountability
3. Unilateral decision making i.e. centralization to participative
governance i.e. decentralization
Recommendations:
1. Changes in Laws & practices involving state secrets, civil services
conduct rules and classification of documents.
2. Capacity building for implementation of RTI on large scale.
3. Accountability of governance, including protection of whistleblowers,
decentralization of power and fusion of authority with accountability as
all levels.
4. Large, illegal & illegitimate expenditure in elections

Corruption & Abuse of Powers:

Reasons:
1. Colonial legacy of unchallenged authority and propensity to exercise
power arbitrarily
2. Enormous asymmetry of power in our society
3. India after Independence in early decades chose a set of policies
whose unintended consequences was to put citizen at the mercy of
state.
4. Over centralization
World Bank has declared that it will not fund projects which are tainted by
corruption.

ADB OECD Anti-Corruption plan which is also signed by India for inter-region
cooperation in the matter of corruption.
Ethics vs Politicians
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Disclosure of antecedents of candidates

Disqualification of person with criminal offence
Enforcement of code of conducts
Fair & Fearless polling
Reduction in size of council of ministers
a. 1st ARC recommended 10 % of lower house
b. The Constitution(95th) Amendment Act made 15%
6. Tightening anti-defection Law
7. Party Funding: 3 pattern followed internationally
a. Minimalist Pattern: elections partially subsidized through specific
grants & state rendered services
b. Maximalist Pattern: State funding not merely for elections but
other party activities also.
c. Mixed Pattern: involving partial reimbursement for public funding
of elections on matching grant basis
i. Indrajit Gupta Committee recommended partial funding
ii. National Committee for Review of the constitution denied
state funding of elections