Good governance is the key to any nation’s progress says Guv

Ranchi: Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu said that good governance is the key to any nation’s progress and pointed out that “Citizen-First” should be the mantra and guiding principle for achieving good governance.

Speaking during the lecture organised by IIM Ranchi at the Aryabhata Auditorium here over Leadership and Good Governance in Indian Context she said that Good Governance refers to the process of decision-making and its implementation free from abuse and corruption. She said that in recent years, the issue of good governance is largely considered as one of the key ingredients for poverty reduction and sustainable development.

"We must strive towards a participatory, consensus-oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive way of administration. The idea of good governance is not new to India," she said adding that in ancient India, the rulers were bounded by the raj-dharma which precisely meant to ensure the good governance to the people.

She said Rashtrapita Mahatma Gandhi ji too advocated the concept of “Ram Rajya” for India based upon the principles of good governance only. In modern India too, the governments in the past and present too have been trying hard to make India as a welfare state where the necessities of the down-trodden, the welfare of the general public must be kept in mind in framing and implementation of policies, she said.

However, the governor pointed that there are certain challenges, which need to be tackled such as women empowerment, corruption, delay in justice, empowerment of socially and economically weaker sections need to be addressed to facilitate the delivery of good governance to the people at large.

She said that she is quite sure that these challenges can be handled with the active participation of all the stakeholders including the educational institutes such as IIM Ranchi.

The governor said that she was immensely pleased to be present on the occasion of a lecture on the theme ‘Leadership and good governance’ by none other than Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.

She pointed out that it was a pleasant co-incidence that this lecture is being delivered under the aegis of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre for Leadership, Policy and Governance set-up by IIM Ranchi. She said Atal Jee’s birthday (25th December) is being celebrated as the “Good Governance Day”.