<div>One of the key issues being discussed by industry and civil society leaders is future of India's growth model. Will this be driven by crony capitalism or will it be driven by a transparent rule based system that is far to all?<br /><br />India is still struggling with creating its own model of economic reforms and growth. The growth debates are increasingly about inclusion and governance and transparency. So the India Council at the World Economic Forum. decided to assess the efforts taken by the government to strengthen these three pillars of public policy.<br /><br />Written in partnership with PwC, the Indian Council realised that there is more to transparency than the Right to information Act. There are several other efforts like the National E-governance Plan and the Policy of social media engagement that ensures that civil society gets a generous look inside the working of the government. The report can be accessed <a href="http://www.weforum.org/reports/transparency-inclusive-governance-assessment-india"><strong>here</strong></a>.<br /><br /><img width="140" height="128" align="right" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=cebeb20b-0633-43fd-a009-f8c90ebaa5f9&groupId=36166&t=1352208204948" alt="" />A lot of legislative time and effort has gone into creating new laws by central and state governments to enhance transparency and inclusion. Despite much effort, the public perception has not changed.<br /><br />The debate around the Lokpal or Ombudsman has reached a crescendo. Lokpal is not strictly about inclusion, transparency or governance. It is about creating another penal institution to police governance. AT the core of the articulated need for Lokpal is the need to combat corruption. I believe improved transparency and inclusion in governance would automatically reduce if not remove systemic graft.<br /><br />Government decision making should follow a simple path. First, include civil society in debating and deciding a policy. Second, create transparent laws and procedures so that all decision making is accessible and open. Third, improve the effectiveness of the decision by enhancing governance capability and reducing red tape.<br /><br />The road to a government decision should ideally begin with inclusion. As far as possible government decisions should include the views of the public. And it should be done in a way that is demonstrably open. Transparency should be genuine. If the decision is in good faith, sharing the arguments with civil society will not undermine the authority of the government. Finally, the best decisions die at the altar of weak implementation. Therefore government must put a serious effort in reducing needless processes and deploy technology to bring the impact of the decision to the people.<br /><br />It is easy to say that a certain law has been passed and therefore change will necessarily follow. But often the fine print takes away from the effort.<br /><br />A law is as good as its implementation. Nothing is truer than this in India. Despite great rules and laws, governance remains poor. Changing processes does not always lead to a change in attitude. There is severe and stiff resistance to any attempt to improve. The central and State governments have enacted several laws and initiatives to improve transparency and governance.<br /><br />Some of these laws remain victims of the same inertia, neglect and inefficiency that they aim to reduce. As a result the changes are not as effective as they can be and should be. There seems to be a fear of transparency.<br /><br />There are pockets of excellence and islands of competence. But the pace of change is so slow, that it is testing the patience of civil society. When a change is enforced, officials and department accept it, but do not embrace it.<br /><br />The steps to involve technology could be the key to improving governance in India. If technology is allowed to play its role, unfettered by archaic rules, government departments will become more responsive, open and efficient.<br /><br />Truly transparent, inclusive governance will then be a reality. <br /><br /><br /><em>(Pranjal Sharma is a senior business writer. He can be contacted at pranjalx@gmail.com)</em><br /><br /> </div>
_20241014134707_original_image_42.webp)