Day 60 – Q 5.With the help of suitable examples, discuss the various components of ethical governance.

5. With the help of suitable examples, discuss the various components of ethical governance.  

उपयुक्त उदाहरणों की मदद से, नैतिक शासन के विभिन्न घटकों पर चर्चा करें।

Introduction:

Ethics is grounded in the notion of responsibility and accountability. In democracy, every holder of public office is accountable ultimately to the people. Ethics provides the basis for the creation of such laws and rules. Our legal system emanates from a shared vision of what is good and just which forms the basis of ethical governance in India.

Body

• Ethical governance denotes administrative measures, procedures and policies that fulfill criteria required for the ethically good or acceptable handling of public affairs, such as in public administration, public health care, education, and social security. 
• In the context of public administration, ethically good or acceptable behavior is often defined in terms of justice, fairness, equality, and integrity. Thus, ethical governance is a normative expression and not a purely descriptive one.
• The minimalist concept of ethical governance states absolute prohibitions that public authorities and civil servants are forbidden to violate in all circumstances. They include prohibitions of all forms of corruption (e.g., bribery, graft, and nepotism), extortion and coercion, deception, theft, and discrimination.
• The maximal concept of ethical governance additionally invokes positive commands, such as ‘Be fair and impartial’, ‘Safeguard the well-being of citizens’, and ‘Take good care of the administrative tasks entrusted to you’.
• The trusteeship relationship between the public and the officials requires that the authority entrusted to the officials be exercised in the best interest of the people or in ‘public interest’.

Some of the components of ethical governance are :

• Accountability – Decision-makers in government, the private sector and civil society organizations should be accountable to the public as well as to institutional stakeholders. This accountability differs depending on the organization and whether the decision is internal or external to an organization. For example, Citizen charter is one of the ways through which ethical governance can be upheld.
• Transparency – Transparency in governance basically means people should be able to access public information when they want it. They should be able to know what public officials are doing and how the policies are being implemented. Citizens demand greater transparency from governments and require information on who, why and how of decision making. For example, Right to Information is the foremost tool to maintain transparency.
• Rule of Law – The rule of law primarily means that everything must be done according to law. Applied to the powers of government, this requires that every government authority which does some act which would otherwise be a wrong or which infringes on a man’s liberty, must be able to justify its action as authorised by Law and in nearly every case this will mean authorised directly or indirectly by legal provisions. For example, following the letter and spirit of law during riot situations.
• Citizen’s Participation – Citizen’s Participation in governance is fundamental to democracy as the ultimate power vests with the people. Interaction is one important aspect in governance. There are complex ways in which public, private and social organizations interact and learn from one another. It is also the manner in which citizens contribute to the  ethical governance system, directly and indirectly through their collective participation in civil, public and corporate institution. For example, Social audit is one of the prime examples of Citizens participation.

The role of civil society institutions in ethical infrastructure of public life is very often compared with the position of the watchdogs on the behavior of public officials. Their effectiveness is determined by the level of public criticism of government tolerated in the particular society and the position of free and independent media as an important factor of exposing corruption and other unethical actions. 

Conclusion

Ethical governance is a continuing focus, starting with the administration and extending to all citizens. With transparency and unwavering ethics, people will seek to earn the trust of those they partner with, forge lasting service relationships and strengthen business over the long term.