Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

Excerpts of PM's speech at Inter-State Council

"It is indeed a matter of great satisfaction for me to have Chaired this meeting of the Inter State Council. It was heartening to note the collective resolve of all of us to promote Good Governance and I am confident that the State Governments would carry forward this Agenda of Good Governance.

The last few decades have seen a phenomenal increase in the size of government, in terms of both its physical size as well as its financial size. From being principally a regulator of law and order and a few other areas at the time of independence, the government and its agencies, rules, laws and personnel are now all pervasive, visible in every sphere of human activity. The nature of tasks and functions performed by government varies from field to field; but it cannot be denied that government has a role in all fields. Even with the changes in our economy over the last decade, during which period government has reduced its role as a licensor or controller in many sectors, government continues to play a role as an umpire.

At the same time, the size of government in absolute terms has grown. The size of our I Five Year Plan is miniscule as compared to the X Plan, indicating a massive increase in the resources consumed by government.

This is but natural. As our economy grows, and becomes more broad based, government takes on many developmental and welfare functions. This is a phenomenon seen even in the most advanced countries where government expenditure is between 25% - 50% of GDP.

Given this secular rising trend in the size of government and the consequent increase in government expenditure, it becomes essential that governments function in an efficient, effective and accountable manner. They need to have institutional structures which are able to meet the tests of efficiency, effectiveness and accountability while managing large programmes and schemes involving huge outlays. Only such institutional mechanisms can ensure that outlays turn into desired outcomes.

There is another level at which there is a need for good governance. If we ask the question as to what are the fields where a common citizen has an interface with the government, the natural responses are either the police and other law enforcement machinery or the service delivery wings of government. It is in these spheres that a citizen runs into the brutal, insensitive side of government and hence, the need for good governance. There is a need to ensure that our police forces and criminal justice systems are responsive, sensitive, caring and humane. They need to be not just efficient or accountable but also responsive to citizen's needs. In the same manner, the service delivery wings of government - such as those providing electricity, water supply, health care, education, municipal services - are wings which have a high degree of public interface. Here too the principle of good governance can ensure that government-citizen interactions are pleasant and responsive.

Good governance requires efficient institutions. The efficiency and effectiveness of institutions, in turn, depends on the delivery mechanism and the supportive framework of rules and procedures that are adopted. All these have to work in harmony in order to generate the desired outcomes. Good Governance aims at achieving these desired objectives by bringing together people knowledge and technology. It also aims to periodically alter institutional structures to meet emerging needs.

We have embarked on a very ambitious programme of 'Bharat Nirman'. Under 'Bharat Nirman', we have aimed at a target of providing 100% connectivity to India's villages through roads, electricity and telecommunications and ensuring 100% coverage of safe drinking water supply by the year 2009. In addition, we aim to create one crore hectares of additional irrigation and provide 60 lakh houses for the rural poor. We have equally ambitious programmes for universal elementary education for improvement of rural health through the National Rural Health Mission, for universal coverage of the mid-day meal, for expanded coverage of the ICDS Programme, for agriculture transformation through the National Horticultural Mission and for addressing food security through an expansion of the 'Antodaya Anna Yojana'.

All these programmes have been allocated large funds and they have to be managed at the state and district levels. The success of these initiatives in meeting their goals depends heavily on the service delivery mechanism of Governments. I am certain that, given the concern for good governance we all share, we can implement these initiatives effectively and realize our development objectives.

I hope the work of the Inter-State Council Secretariat and this meeting will reinforce our common desire for good governance and enable all governments to take practical, meaningful steps for achieving this goal.

Our country is vulnerable not only to natural calamities like floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, cyclones, tsunami, etc. but also to man-made calamities. In our federal polity, State Governments are primarily responsible for taking preparedness and mitigation measures and for responding to disasters. However, the central Government plays a key role by supplementing the efforts of State Governments. The response to the recent tsunami bears testimony to the ability of the Central Government, State Governments, NGOs and local communities to work together for providing succour to affected people. I must say that State Governments have done a commendable job.

However, there is a need to move away from a purely relief-centric approach. The Government is already moving in this direction. Necessary institutional and coordination mechanisms are in the process of being set up by bringing a Bill on disaster management, constituting a National Disaster Management Authority and putting in place a National Policy on Disaster Management. Pending enactment of the law, the National Disaster Management Authority has been constituted through an executive order.

The role of the community and Panchayati Raj Institutions is very significant in these endeavours. While the community is always the victim of a disaster, it is also the first responder. Therefore, capacity building of the community is essential and should receive top priority under any disaster management framework. Disaster Management requires a multi disciplinary approach and, therefore, Central and State Governments, elected representatives, the corporate sector, youth organizations and the community have to work together for a safer India.

While the Central Government has initiated various mitigation and preparedness measures, it is necessary that State Governments also take up similar measures and integrate disaster management into development planning. State Governments should develop state plan schemes for mitigation and preparedness in consultation with the Zila Panchayats and include it in their five year plans and annual plans. I assure you that we will provide all possible assistance to State Governments for capacity building efforts in the field of disaster management. Recurrent disasters are a grave threat to the economy of the country; economic development cannot be sustainable unless adequate attention is paid to all facets of disaster management. Hence, the centrality of this subject.

This Council provides us an active forum for free and frank discussion on issues that have a bearing on Centre-State Relations or have inter-state dimensions. The Council and its Committees have done a laudable work during the last 15 years by dispassionately deliberating on various complex issues raised by the Sarkaria commission and have succeeded in building a consensus. I am quite confident that this healthy institutional framework and practice of consensus building will continue to help us in future and would add to strength of our national polity.

Our Constitution is a living guide which is supreme and we all are duty bound to uphold it. The values of our Republic are sacred and we must work together to protect and preserve these values. The more I read the constitution, the more I am struck by the great reservoir of wisdom possessed by the founding fathers of our Republic. I think those values have stood the test of time. We all have to live by them and work in harmony to ensure that this value system continues to guide us in our endeavours in the 21st century as we work towards emerging as a great nation on the world stage."