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Summary
Governance Class 06

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PREVIOUS CLASS (5:03 PM)

  • Faculty summarises all the issues which he has taught in previous classes with respect to  RTI.

ISSUES WITH RTI (5:08 PM)

  • 1. Oath of secrecy:
  • People elected representatives as part of their swearing-in ceremony take the oath of secrecy.
  • They will make the promise that they shall keep the entire information at their disposal in a highly secretive manner. However, the objective of RTI is to ensure complete transparency in governance. 
  • In order to realise this objective 2ARC suggested that this oath of secrecy should be replaced with the oath of transparency i.e. they must make sure that the entire administration is carried out in a transparent manner. 
  • 2. Vigilance mechanism:
  • As observed by 2ARC transparency has led to the unearthing of corruption within the administration unfortunately this transparency has not resulted in accountability due to the absence of effective accountability mechanisms. 
  • 2ARC suggested that separate vigilance cells should be set up from the district level onwards this institution must receive complaints of WRT corruption and investigate the matter within a time-bound manner. so that transparency can also result in accountability.

CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATION (CSO) (5:26 PM) 

  • Why do we need CSO? 
  • The Industrial Revolution resulted in the emergence of two powerful institutions which influenced the lives of ordinary citizens for a very long period of time. They are the market and the state. 
  • The market has gained legitimacy because of rational decision-making.
  • They are guided by the principles of demand and supply. 
  • On the other hand, the state has gained legitimacy due to the emergence of democratic systems of governance. 
  • Democracy is based on the principles of participation, representation and accountability. 
  • It is also based on rational choices made by the people at the time of elections. 
  • But over a period of time, both these institutions which had come into existence to maximize the welfare of people have become exploitative in nature. 
  • The functioning of the market led to the emergence of a monopoly wherein consumers suffered due to low quality of services and very high price charges by monopolists.
  • The state had become a 'leviathan' wherein powers were used by rulers to take away the freedom and independence of citizens rather than to maximise their welfare. 
  • With both these institutions becoming exploitative in nature, ordinary citizens had no option but to come together to protect their interests, resulting in the emergence of civil society organisations. 
  • History of CSO: 
  • CSO had their origins in Europe during the world wars. These wars were fought by imperial powers to protect their colonies there were wars of aggression rather than of defence. 
  • People in these European countries had come together in a voluntary manner to protest against these wars fought by their rulers. 
  • It led to the emergence of CSO. 
  • What is CSO?
  • CSOs are formed when two or more people come together in a voluntary manner to protect and promote their rights from exploitation by others in society. 
  • Feature of CSO:
  • 1. Entry and exit into a CSO is completely voluntary in nature. 
  • 2. CSOs have neither structure nor form.
  • 3. Any organisation which is not part of either market or state is part of CSO. 
  • 4. CSOs are non-profit organisations i.e. their objective is to work for the welfare of people but to maximise their profits. Examples: NGOs, Pressure groups, voluntary associations, caste-based organisations, religious institutions, self-help groups and so on. 
  • 5. They create awareness among the people about their rights. 
  • 6. They try to bridge the gap between citizens and the state. 
  • 7. They provide key inputs to the government in policy formulation so that public policies can reflect ground-level realities. 
  • 8. They also assist the government in policy implementation. For example: major flagship schemes of the government at present are implemented mostly with the help of NGOs only. 
  • 9. They also provide unbiased feedback to the government regarding the implementation of developmental and welfare schemes 
  • 10. CSOs also help in fixing the accountability of the state towards the citizens with the help of instruments like citizen charters, social audits and so on. 
  • 11. Ultimately they help in transforming our representative democracy into participative democracy. 

PRESSURE GROUPS (6:53 PM)

  • A pressure group may be defined as" a group of people with similar interests coming together to put pressure on the government to formulate and implement policies that would benefit their interest." For example: caste panchayat,  trade unions, farmers associations, regional organisations, religious institutions and professional bodies like CII and FICCI etc. 
  • In a parliamentary democracy, public policy formulations are always the outcome of the interests and pressures exerted by pressure groups. 
  • With limited resources, it becomes almost impossible for the government to satisfy diverse interests through public policies.
  • Electoral compulsions would force the governments to cater to the demands of pressure groups if their demands or not met by political parties fear that it can result in adverse electoral outcomes.
  • Pressure group plays a very important role in policy formulation in countries like the USA. 
  • Corporates openly donate money to political parties and demand public policies that would benefit their business interest for eg successive governments have not taken any decision to ban arms in spite of many deaths due to gunfire incidents.
  • Arms industries, and donate heavily to both political parties in the USA. 
  • In India also pressure group plays a very important role in influencing public policies. For eg trade unions have strongly opposed the implementation of labour reforms, and farmer associations have forced the government to withdraw three farm bills. 
  • Instrument used by pressure groups:
  • Pressure groups used both formal and informal means to influence governments.
  • They include electing those who are willing to implement their demands after reaching positions of power. 
  • Through petitions and prayers: these pressure groups will approach both political executives and bureaucracy and create awareness among the ruling class about their problems. 
  • They also used media to create awareness among other sections of society regarding their problems so that they could get support from all sections of society. 
  • They also used instruments like public rallies, meetings, hunger strikes, Bandhs and Hartals to get their demand met by the ruling class. 
  • Another important instrument used by pressure groups is lobbying. We can see corporate lobbying as an effective instrument to influence public policies. 
  • Should Corporate lobbying made legal in India?
  • Corporate lobbying means corporate acting as a powerful pressure group and lobbying with the government to influence public policies. 
  • Those who argue in favour of corporate lobbying have the following arguments: 
  • 1. It takes place in an informal manner on a large scale in the country. 
  • 2. It has also resulted in crony capitalism.
  • 3. Political parties spent around 60 thousand crore in the 2019 elections to Lok Sabha it is mostly unaccounted money if corporate lobbying is made legal it can benefit the economy in the form of the huge amount of increase in tax revenue.
  • 4. It will also result in more transparency in the functioning of political systems in India. 
  • 5. It also can create awareness among citizens about the nexus between the politicians and the businessman. 
  • 6. It can ultimately help citizens to decide their electoral choices in a more rational manner. 
  • Argument against making corporate lobbying legal: 
  • In the USA corporate lobbying is legal wherein pressure groups can influence public policies in a decisive manner.  The corporation donates money to political parties and political parties in turn frame policies that would benefit these corporations.
  • However, it must be noted that the USA is a developed country with high per capita income. The average American does not depend upon government policies to survive but India has a different society maximum amount of the population in the country depends on the government for their survival. For example - 67% of our population receives free of cost from the government. 
  • If corporate lobbying is made legal there is every possibility of corporates influencing public policies in such a manner that results in taking away all the benefits given to poorer sections of society. It can only result in widening inequality between the rich and poor. It cannot be made legal. 
  • Solution: 
  • 1. Instead of making corporate lobbying legal, the government must focus on removing corruption in the political systems. Amendment can be made to RPA, 1951 wherein political parties should be allowed to receive funds only in the forms of bank transfers or checks. 
  • 2. Similarly, the entire expenditure of a political party should only be in the form of bank transactions. 
  • 3. Political parties should also be brought under RTI. 
  • 4. Public policy formulation should be made more inclusive and transparent 
  • Faculty gave various examples of the CSO movement since the independence in a sequential manner. 

THE TOPICS FOR THE NEXT CLASS: NGO