Governance, Welfare Schemes and Social Justice

What "governance" means

Good governance, as the World Bank and UNDP describe it, is:

• participatory;
• rule-based;
• transparent;
• accountable;
• responsive;
• equitable and inclusive;
• effective and efficient.

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2005–09, Veerappa Moily) gave 15 reports. Topics included RTI, ethics in governance, citizen-centric administration and e-governance.

Transparency and accountability tools

• Right to Information Act, 2005:
  • Information must be supplied within 30 days, or 48 hours where life or liberty is involved.
  • The first appeal goes within the department. The second appeal goes to the Central or State Information Commission.
  • Section 8 lists exemptions, such as security, cabinet papers and personal information.
  • The 2019 amendment let the Centre fix the tenure and salary of Information Commissioners.
  • The DPDP Act 2023 amended Section 8(1)(j) on personal information.
• Citizens' charters: introduced in 1997, on the UK model of 1991. Sevottam is the 2nd ARC's framework for service standards and grievance redress. CPGRAMS is the central online grievance portal.
• Social audit: made mandatory for MGNREGA works under Section 17 of the Act.
• Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014.
• Lokpal, CVC and CAG: see the unit on constitutional and statutory bodies.

E-governance

• National e-Governance Plan (2006).
• Digital India (2015), built on three pillars: digital infrastructure, services on demand, and digital empowerment.
• Aadhaar: the Aadhaar Act, 2016. The Supreme Court upheld it for welfare in Puttaswamy (2018) but struck down private use under Section 57.
• JAM trinity: Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and Mobile phones.
• Direct Benefit Transfer (2013).
• Platforms: UMANG, DigiLocker, e-Courts, GeM (public procurement), PFMS, and UPI, which is India's best-known piece of digital public infrastructure.
• Problems: the digital divide, exclusion errors when biometric authentication fails, and data protection, now covered by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

Civil services in a democracy

• Role: carry out policy, advise ministers, give continuity, and deliver services. They must stay neutral and anonymous.
• Constitutional safeguards: Article 311 bars dismissal by an authority subordinate to the appointing authority and requires an inquiry. Article 312 provides for All India Services.
• Reforms:
  • lateral entry;
  • Mission Karmayogi (2020), for capacity building through iGOT;
  • performance appraisal through the APAR;
  • Prakash Singh (2006) directions on police reforms: fixed tenure, a State Security Commission and a Police Establishment Board.

Development partners: NGOs, SHGs and cooperatives

• NGOs:
  • They raise awareness, deliver services, and advocate on rights; examples are RTI and MGNREGA campaigns.
  • Foreign funding is regulated by the FCRA, 2010, with stricter amendments in 2020.
• Self-help groups:
  • The NABARD SHG–Bank Linkage Programme began in 1992.
  • DAY-NRLM (2011) is the national rural livelihoods mission.
  • Bihar's JEEViKA and Kerala's Kudumbashree are model programmes.
  • The "Lakhpati Didi" target aims at 3 crore SHG women earning ₹1 lakh a year.
• Cooperatives:
  • Article 43B and Part IXB, added by the 97th Amendment, 2011. The Supreme Court in 2021 struck down Part IXB for state cooperatives.
  • A separate Ministry of Cooperation was set up in 2021.

Welfare of vulnerable sections

Group	Key provisions
SC / ST	Articles 15(4), 16(4), 17, 46, 330, 332, 338, 338A. SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, amended 2018. Forest Rights Act 2006. PM-JANMAN (2023) for PVTGs. Eklavya Model Residential Schools
Women	Article 15(3). Domestic Violence Act 2005, POSH Act 2013, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (2015), Mission Shakti, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (2023, one-third legislative seats)
Children	Article 21A, 24, 39(f), 45. RTE Act 2009, POCSO Act 2012, Juvenile Justice Act 2015, Mission Vatsalya, PM POSHAN (mid-day meal)
Persons with disabilities	RPwD Act 2016: 21 disabilities, 4% reservation in jobs, 5% in higher education. Accessible India Campaign
Elderly	Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007; Ayushman Bharat cover for all aged 70+ (2024)
Transgender persons	NALSA (2014); Transgender Persons Act 2019
Minorities	Articles 29–30; National Commission for Minorities Act 1992

Health, education, poverty and hunger

• Health:
  • National Health Mission.
  • Ayushman Bharat: PM-JAY gives ₹5 lakh per family per year, and there are Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (health and wellness centres).
  • The National Health Policy 2017 targets public health spending of 2.5% of GDP.
• Education:
  • NEP 2020: 5+3+3+4 structure, mother tongue up to Class 5 where possible, a multiple entry and exit system, and a public education spending goal of 6% of GDP.
  • Samagra Shiksha.
• Poverty:
  • The Tendulkar (2009) and Rangarajan (2014) poverty lines.
  • NITI Aayog's Multidimensional Poverty Index: about 24.8 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty between 2013–14 and 2022–23. Bihar and Jharkhand are still among the highest-MPI states.
• Hunger and nutrition:
  • The National Food Security Act 2013 covers 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population.
  • PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: free grain, extended for five years from January 2024.
  • POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018).
  • NFHS-5 (2019–21) found stunting in children under 5 at 35.5%.

Exam tip: In Mains, link each scheme to a constitutional provision and to data. For example: "Article 47 + NFHS-5 stunting 35.5% + POSHAN 2.0". In state papers, use state examples such as Bihar's JEEViKA, the Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana, or Jharkhand's Sarvjan Pension Yojana.