What is Good Governance Index?
The Good Governance Index (GGI) has been brought out by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions to determine Governance status in the country as it exists today and the reference level for the future will also be set.
It was launched on the occasion of Good Governance Day. The Good Governance Day is celebrated every year on 25 December. The Good Governance Index (GGI) is a standard State-wide instrument for evaluating the governance status and effect of various initiatives taken up by the State Governments and Union Territories.
- The objective of GGI is to provide quantifiable data to compare the state of governance in all states and UTs.
- It also enables the states and UTs to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving governance.
- It encourages shift to result-oriented approaches and administration.
The Good Governance Index was conceived scientifically on various governance parameters.
GGI takes into consideration the following 10 sectors:
- Agriculture and Allied Sectors,
- Commerce & Industries,
- Human Resource Development,
- Public Health,
- Public Infrastructure & Utilities,
- Economic Governance,
- Social Welfare & Development,
- Judicial & Public Security,
- Environment and
- Citizen-Centric Governance.
These 10 Sectors of Governance are assessed against a total of 50 indicators. Different indicators are given different weightage under one Governance Sector to calculate the value.
While choosing the indicators, various concepts have been kept in mind,that is, it should be simple to understand & quantify, citizen-centric & outcome oriented, leading to better results and relevant to all states and UTs.
The states and UTs are split in three categories:
- Big States
- North-East & Hill States
- Union Territories
Depending on these measures, the states and UTs are ranked separately on all criteria, while composite rankings are also determined for those states and UTs within their respective categories.
Key Findings of the First GGI Report
- Tamilnadu, Himachal Pradesh and Pondicherry topped in the Composite Index in the Big States, North-East & Hill States and UTs
- Sectors and Top performers
| Big States | North-East & Hill States | UTs | |
| Agriculture and Allied Sectors | Madhya Pradesh | Mizoram | Daman & Diu |
| Commerce & Industries | Jharkhand | Uttarakhand | Delhi |
| Human Resource Development | Goa | Himachal Pradesh | Pondicherry |
| Public Health | Kerala | Manipur | Pondicherry
A&N Islands Chandigarh |
| Public Infrastructure & Utilities | Tamilnadu | Himachal Pradesh
Uttarakhand |
Chandigarh |
| Economic Governance | Karnataka | Uttarakhand | Delhi |
| Social Welfare & Development
|
Chhattisgarh | Meghalaya | Daman & Diu
|
| Judicial & Public Security | Tamil Nadu | Himachal Pradesh | Pondicherry |
| Environment | West Bengal | Himachal Pradesh | Chandigarh |
Positives of the Report
- GGI is a comparative study of States on governance and is a welcome exercise to incentivise States to competitively deliver on public services to the citizens.
- What’s more significant about the GGI is that the dubiously named “BIMARU” states are trying to catch up with other developing countries.
- The key message is that these northern States can catch up with their southern counterparts in due course of time, if the political leadership shows the will to overcome historical obstacles and stays focused on development.
Shortcomings of the Index
- Some indicators, for instance – farmers’ income, prevalence of micro irrigation or water conservation systems and inflow of industrial investment – have been left out.
- The indicator, “ease of doing business”, has been given disproportionate weight in the sector of commerce and industries, where as the growth rate of major and micro, small and medium enterprises have been excluded.
- Given that this is the inaugural report, it is bound to have certain shortcomings and requires fine-tuning and improvements in the subsequent rounds.
Conclusion
Notwithstanding the shortcomings, the report is a good attempt to address the problem of the absence of a credible and uniform index for an objective evaluation of the States and Union Territories. The index is a step in the right direction and commendable, keeping in mind India’s size and complexity
