Growth and Good Governance

When there is good governance in states in the union of India, there is much growth. Good governance can come about when there is coordination between the institutions and the people running them. Firstly, politicians have to be committed to the goal of good governance and they have to make sure that the bureaucracy under them is functioning smoothly; secondly they have to make sure sufficient funds are allocated in different organisations under them; and thirdly, they have to make sure that the funds reach the people. The results are not seen immediately, not within the next election. Only in retrospect we can judge good governance because the resultant growth comes much later.For the benefits to reach the people, and for the average voter to mature and realize the resultant growth would take a long long time.

However some trends can be seen. If there is private investment in growth, there is corruption. There is really no way to avoid it. The theory is that, if there is healthy competition in procurement and  in allocation of projects, there will be less corruption. But this always does not work here.Influence of power changes the way open competition adopts to Indian exigencies.No amount of vigilant media can expose the incongruity in the effect of power in private investments.

 Can we really measure growth and development? Literacy rates rise if there is prosperity. Infant mortality or public health cannot be measured and cannot reflect growth. There are correlations; like higher school attendance occurs when there is reduced crime rates.Few states which have industrialised show poor health index for the people.There is 99% literacy in one of the states, but crime rate is very high in the same state. Can wealth be used as an index of progress of the people? There are states where male population has migrated to different parts of the world and is remitting wealth to their respective families; so they are wealthiest. But the wealth generated is not result of progress within the state. People as individuals are create wealth for themselves and the country.Some states which are far away from New Delhi, are doing very well. Because they do not expect anything from the union government, and carry on with development within their state by themselves. With less dependence on approvals and funds, they can perform well. With good leaders, many states have evolved good governance; when leaders have found a solution to protection of property rights with good land records(computerized); where tax rates are regularised; where there is increased tax compliance because of simple methods of e-filing; where wage regulation gives the option to make deals with workers; where employment has been generated.Those states which have incorporated greater computerisation in their bureaucracies have greater chance of prospering. Greater computerisation can bring about transparency efficient and speedy implementation of policies. The option to opt out of corruption is present now.Let us take it.