Governance by M.

Puri
Notions of accountability, Transparency 2

01 Citizen's Charter 2

02 Right to Information - Introduction 8

03 RTI Act 2005 10

04 CIC, Issues and Challenges, Impact of RTI and 2nd ARC Recommendations 16

05 Problem of Corruption - Introduction, Implications and Consequences of

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Corruption

06 Factors Contributing to Corruption and Measuring Corruption 24

07 Central Bureau of Investigation and Central Vigilance Commission 28

08 Tackling Corruption and Social Audit 34

09 Lokpal in India 43

NGOs, SHGs and Pressure Groups 49

10 Civil Society and NGOs (Part-1) 49

11 NGOs (Part-2) 57

12 Self Help Groups 62

13 Pressure Groups (Part-1) 69

14 Pressure Groups (Part-2) 73

E-Governance 79

15 E-Governance 79

16 Data Protection and Privacy in India 86

 CITIZEN'S CHARTER

Transparency & Accountability (Citizen's Charter): 0 [Link]

• Citizen's Charter (CC) as an initiative was launched in 1991 by John Major government (UK).
• Citizen's Charter (CC) is a declaration of commitment of an organization towards its clients in terms of
qualitative & temporal entitlements. Citizen's Charter (CC) doesn't create any new rights but seeks the
enforcement of existing rights.
• It also includes redressal of grievances that a citizen expects from service providers for further
preserving the trust between citizen and service provider.

Key Elements of Citizen's Charter (CC) in the UK: 0 [Link]

• Standards: Setting up & monitoring standards, publishing the standards & measuring performance
against them.
• Information & openness: Full & accurate information on who's in charge & how they'll perform.
• Choice & consultation: Provision of choice wherever applicable & systematic consultation with
stakeholders. When a citizen approaches any public agency for some kind of service. The first question
from the citizen charter of the UK is that public agency has to answer 'is there any choice that they can
give to the particular citizen in terms of services he can avail? It further helps in realising the needs
citizen seeks to meet by those services.
A citizen charter is a list of commitments and the beneficiary of those commitments are citizens. When
public agency or government frames the citizen charter, they should engage the people, stakeholder
and key section of the population who is availing of the services. Also, consults with the ground level
key people who help in implementing those commitments.
• Courtesy and helpfulness: Every civil servant with whom a citizen interacts would be courteous and
demonstrate helpfulness.
• Putting things right: If things go wrong then
o AnApology
o An Explanation
o An Effective & Quick remedy
Even when service is rendered as per charter commitments, there are chances of an error or mistake.
One of the features of the British charter program is that "if an error or mistake occurs then the citizen
has entitled to an unconditional apology and then an explanation about the same along with an
effective and quick remedy."
• Value for Money:
o Economic & efficient delivery of services from the perspective of both the government and citizens. c::
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The concept of the Citizen's Charter (CC) worked very well in the UK. This initiative was replicated in
many other European countries as also in Australia & Canada. Govt. of India introduced CCs in 1997. <t
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DARPG (department of administrative reform and public grievances) was made the nodal agency
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for this exercise.
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 Purposes served by Citizen's Charter: 0 [Link]
• Clarify w.r.t expectations from the government.
• Enables the government to become more responsive.
• Could create service orientation as opposed to a master mindset.
• People's participation: The good charter program is built on consultation with the participation of
client groups and citizens. It is a key element of democracy.
• Strengthens accountability: If w.r.t delivery of services no timeline and standards put in place then it
is hard to hold the person accountable for his performance. But if there are quality standards and a
quantifiable timeline then it's possible to measure performance and also can distinguish between civil
servants who are performing and non-performing. Thereby strengthening the accountability.
• Symbolizes a pro-active approach toward Good Governance: As it is an initiative by the government
side, it indicates the pro-active approach toward good governance.
• Improves the image & credibility of government & its officials: If civil servants as a result of these
charters commitments can deliver upon those commitments, then the citizens are satisfied and happy.
If citizens get good services as per charter commitments from the public agencies, this could help in
building and restoring the trust in government agencies.
• A tool for people's empowerment & tool for strengthening democracy: The citizen charter is a tool
for people's empowerment when people are participating and people can holds them accountable for
services. Further, it enables the government to be more responsive.
• Viewed as an instrument for achieving various development goals: if citizen charters are prepared
for every scheme and programs of government which are based on entitlements given to citizens.
Also, the proper timelines are there and civil servants are required to adhere to those timelines. Then
the citizen charter can also become an important instrument of human development and economic
growth.

Element of Indian Citizen's Charter programme: 0 [Link]

• Vision & mission statement: While preparing the citizen charter commitments, every agency should
prepare the positive view side to deliver the services on-time and on a quality basis.
• Details of business transacted by the organ: All kinds of services should be mentioned in the citizen
charter. So that citizens can get the clarification of work from the agency.
• Details of clients served: While performing their duty, every department or agency should maintain
the details of the clients they serve.
c:: • Details of services provided to each client group: Also the agency or department should maintain
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the details of services that clients availed from the department along with the timeline procedure
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• Details of grievance redressal machinery & how to access it: If the service is not delivered as per the
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charter commitments, the charter should contain the grievance redressal process.
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N • Expectations from clients: When any citizen applies for the service benefits, they also have to fulfill
i= some obligations. Citizens should produce all the documents and pay the requisite fee on time.
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 • Details of compensation, if any: If at the end of this entire exercise, the citizen is not able to get the
service as per the commitments from the organisation. Then citizens may be entitled to compensation.
Besides, the involvement of consumer organizations, citizen groups & other stakeholders in the
formulation of the Citizen's Charter (CC) has been emphasized to ensure that the charter reflects the
needs of users.
Regular monitoring, evaluation & review of charters by both internal & external agencies have also
been mandated. By 2011 end, the central govt. Departments had formulated 131 charters & 729
charters had been framed across the states. Government of India has also launched a dedicated
website:-[Link]

The problem in the Indian Charter Programme: 0 [Link]

• The problem of Bureaucratic Mindset
• Limited consultation (tendency to degenerate into managers' charter): Before drafting the charter,
the government should consult stakeholders or client groups and street-level bureaucrats who help in
implementation. Limited consultation leads to a tendency to degenerate it as a manager's or
secretary's charter.
• No Penal provisions: When any commitments of citizen charter remain unfulfilled then there should
be penal provision. In the absence of penal provision, civil servants would not be pushed to work
which lead to overburden on the department. By implementing the penal provision, time-bound and
qualitative delivery of services will come into force.
• Citizens are hardly aware of this programme
• Standards of the Citizen's Charter are sometimes too lax or too strict & in either case, they become
unrealistic & thereby eroding public confidence in the programme. To keep the public confidence of
citizens in government agencies, a stepwise timeline should be mentioned for every service a citizen
wants to avail. If the timeline is too long that will erode the public confidence and also if a short
timeline is mentioned under which it's impossible to deliver service, then also it will erode the public
confidence.
• Some Citizen's Charter are too detailed, and some are too brief: Charter should be long enough that
convey the information and short enough to encourage the citizen to read it.
• Many charters don't provide details of names & addresses of Grievance Redressal Functionaries:
If the charter commitments are not honored then a citizen can ask for support by addressing grievance
redressal functionaries. To avail the support on time, the charter should provide the names and
addresses of grievance redressal functionaries. But many charters don't consist of grievance redressal c::
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functionaries' details as investigated by external agencies or NG Os.
• Lack of incentivization either at the individual level or the organization level: When all civil servants <t
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at all levels performing, then to encourage competition intra departmentally or at the organization
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level, incentivization provision should be there for their exemplary job. In England, the charter mark
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program is in force to foster inter-departmental competition. DARPG also hired an outside N
professional agency to help them in implementing this concept of incentivization citizen charter

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 program to foster competition between public officials at the micro-level and at the macro level
between the various ministries.
• In many departments the charter exercise got delayed as existing brochures & manuals were
taken to be Citizen's Charter: The reason for the delay in implementation of citizen charter is
misinterpretation by senior officials that the brochures and manual are the citizen charters. And
instead of preparing separate commitment lists, they kept them the same. But now the DARPG
directed all departments to draft separate citizen charter commitment lists.
• Needs of a senior citizen, disabled and other such categories have not been taken into account in
Citizen's Charter: Citizen Charter is prepared to keep all citizens on the same base excluding all kinds
of preferential treatment to any such group of peoples. But there should be a subcategory for senior
citizens and disabled people, to get their service done as soon as possible.
• Review & Updation of the Citizen's Charter has been very poor: Citizen Charter is not a one-stop
exercise it should be reviewed and updated on regular basis. All kinds of review and update points
should be based on complaints and suggestions received from the grievance redressal desk.
• Inadequate devolution of powers to street level Bureaucracy to enable them to deliver upon
Citizen's Charter commitment: Before implementing the citizen charter, government or senior
officials should evaluate the workload and workforce available in the office. Further, enough powers
and resources should be given to the officers at the micro level to provide the services on time without
countersigning from above.
• Technical jargon used in Citizen's Charter and Citizen's Charter is often not prepared in vernacular
languages: In many citizen charters, technical language is used which sometimes can't be understood
by people as the education levels of different people is different. That is why it should be prepared in
vernacular language.
As multiple services are provided by the same ministry, they use the same format for all the services.
This also hampers the functioning timeline and quality of work in the different service categories.

Suggestions: 0
[Link]
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• Hand holding exercise concerning 1st charters: DARPG should do a hand holding exercise w.r.t 1
charter of departments. Officials of DARPG should be posted in every department temporarily and
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help them to prepare their 1 charter step by step starting from the initial framework, including also
the consultation with stakeholders and citizen groups. Then implementing the charter on an ad-hoc
basis, learning from the experiences and updating them accordingly. Finally, prepare the charter for

c:: implementation.
w • Concerted efforts to generate awareness: The government should spend more money on awareness
< of citizen-centric programs which have the effect of empowering and democratizing our society. Also,
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the Credible NGOs should be given money to encourage them to spread awareness about these
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programs.
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N • Persistence efforts to bring about attitudinal change in Public Services
i= • Involvement of user groups & staff should be made mandatory: This will help in getting the views of
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 citizen groups and street-level bureaucracy to keep better updates in the citizen charter.
• Charter initiatives should have a built-in mechanism for monitoring, evaluation & review
preferably through an outside agency: By hiring the outside agency to review the mechanism of the
citizen charter will help in getting an unbiased evaluation. Whether the department working
according to commitments or not that will further help in considering the incentivization or improving
the grievance redressal process.
• Manner in which some departments implemented Citizen's Charter programme made their task
difficult as they tried to cover all services simultaneously. All departments must prioritize these
services & prepare charters accordingly.
• lncentivize the programme at both organizational & individual levels. In the UK a charter mark
scheme has been introduced to incentivize the programme. This will encourage the civil servants to do
their work with more enthusiasm. It also develops the factor for competitiveness intra departmental or
between the ministries.
• Showcasing & replicating best practices: Some departments and ministries whether at the centre
level or state level, do an exemplary job in terms of the formulation of the charter and also delivering
upon commitments enshrined in the charter.
• Simplified language & the charters shouldn't be too detailed: This will help every citizen in
understanding his/her rights w.r.t charter commitments. The long detailed form of the citizen charter
encourages citizens to avoid them.
• Each organization should prepare a master plan for formulation & implementation of CCs over 5 years
& develop appropriate budgetary projections for it.
ARC-II Recommendations:
• One size doesn't fit all: Prepare a separate charter for each independent unit & each independent
service.
• Widest possible consultation.
• Commit to what you can deliver: Time delivery commitment should be fixed after proper evaluation
of resources and workload so that there will be no delay in delivering the services. If there is an over­
commitment to the delivery of services, then citizens will lose faith in the department.
• Internal structures & processes should be reformed to bring them in line with the charter
commitments: Whenever some internal process, procedures, some obsolete, arcade rules or
distribution of power etc. come in the way of implementation of charter commitments, reform is
needed to bring them in line with charter commitments.
• An appropriate redressal mechanism: Wherever the charter commitments are not adhered to, there c::
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has to be a redressal mechanism that helps the citizens in correcting the errors and mistakes.
• Periodic evaluation including end-user feedback: When public service is delivered, periodic <t
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feedback should be done by taking the response from citizen groups or consumer organizations. This
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will further help in improving the points in the citizen charter.
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• Holding officers accountable for results: Penal provisions have to be there w.r.t non-adherence to N
charter commitments. So that the officer will become accountable for the result.

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 Alongside, ARC-II recommended a 7 step model for Citizen's Centricity:
1. Define: All services you provide & identify your clients
2. Set: Standard for each service
3. Develop: Capabilities to meet standards.
4. Perform: To achieve standards.
5. Monitor: Performance against standards.
6. Evaluate: Impact through an independent mechanism.
7. Continuous improvement based on monitoring & evaluation.
This model has also been incorporate by Government in the form of SEVOTTAM FRAMEWORK. It is
derived from two words i.e. 'seva' means service and 'uttam' means 'highest quality'.

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RIGHT TO INFORMATION
INTRODUCTION
1 country to implement Right to Information was Sweden which provided this right in 1766. USA was the
nd
2 country which provided this right in 1966. India has Lokpal and Lokayukta, it was based on an institution
that was initially established in Sweden only. In Sweden it is called Ombudsman. Sweden was the first
country to appoint an ombudsman in 1809 and India appointed an Ombudsman in 2013 at the central level.

Constitutional locus of RTI: 0 [Link]

• Not categorically codified.
• The principles mentioned in Preamble like [Link], democracy etc. amply supports the ideas of
Right to Information.
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o James Madison (American statesman and 4 President of USA) said that 'popular Government,
without popular information,or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy;
or,perhaps,both'.
• Supreme Court has read RTI into Art 19 (1) (a),Art 21,Art 39 (b) and 39(c).

DATA is the new oil: 0 [Link]

One can read the RTI in 39(b) and 39(c) also. Article 39 provides certain principles of policy to be followed
by the state:
The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing-
(a) That the citizens,men and women equally,have the right to adequate means of livelihood.
(b) That the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best
to subserve the common good;
(c) That the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of
production to the common detriment;
(d) That there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;
Today resource and wealth must also be seen in terms of data and information and not only just
material resources. Thus RTI can be read from Article 39 which mentions equitable distribution of z
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resources.

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Reference cases: 0
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• Rajnarain Case 1975 �
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• S.P. Gupta Case 1982

Increasing demand for RTI: 0 [Link]

• Increasing democratization of the world: There are much greater countries are democratic today
than that of 3 - 4 decade before. After interdependence several of the ex-colonies adopted democracy
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in the 20 century.
• Domestic and International advocacy: Advocacy done by international organizations like the World
Bank, International Monetary Fund, Transparency International (Berlin-based NGO which comes out
with an annual Corruption Index) and domestic organizations like National Campaign People's Right

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 to Information (1996) (lead by Aruna Roy), People Union for Civil Liberty, Association for Democratic
Reforms etc.
o During the same period, there was a moment that is associated with bringing the transparency to
grass-root panchayats i.e. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. The famous one was which was
organized at Janawad Village of Rajasthan and the punch line was 'Humara Paisa, Humara
Hisab'.
• Increased awareness about perceived benefits of RTI:
o Check corruption:
► Monopoly+ Discretion - Transparency= Corruption
► By adding an element of transparency through RTI, corruption can be checked.
o Corrects power asymmetry: There is a giant gap between government power and citizen power
that makes the power asymmetry. At some point, citizens feel helpless to tackle them and make
them accountable. To tackle this situation or make them accountable to citizens, the Right to
information is the most important tool to get the status of all the developments.
o Can help in the realization of other rights: Unless and until a citizen knows about the benefits he
can get from the government, how can he get those services for himself. That is why to get detailed
information about the government schemes the right to information plays a significant role. E.g. If a
person doesn't know about the food security act, then he can't get the information about his
entitlements by RTI.
• Promotes citizen participation: RTI makes the citizens aware of the government developments,
which enables them to comment, give feedback, and give inputs on the improvement of service
delivery.
• Corrects trust deficit: Because of the bad image of some civil servants, the perception created in the
mind of people is that all are corrupt. Also, citizens are unable to get transparent updates about the
development works done by them. But after the introduction of the Right to Information Act, it helps in
z building the lost trust as now citizens get a status of development that too within the time limit of 30
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days.
::> • Improving the quality and pace of decision making in government: If RTI gets implemented,
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0 departments have to maintain the records properly because, under the RTI Act, they have to answer
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within the time limit otherwise monetary or departmental action can be taken. After the proper
management of records, it is easy for government officials also to retrieve the records on time and take
z timely decisions.
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• Helps civil servants in warding off unwarranted interferences and pressures: Sometimes the civil
� servants are under the pressure of senior officials and minister to the work with illegality. After the
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introduction of RTI, there is the compulsion of maintaining the documents for the order as at any time if
z someone asks about the orders or developments, they have to answer with documentary proof.

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E-. RIGHT TO INFORMATION - RTI
11:-iACT, 2005
RTI in India
• In 1997, for the first time in India, the government set up a working group, set up under HD Shourie
that brought a draft bill namely the Freedom of Information Bill, 2002 that was enacted but not
implemented or notified. Most critics termed it as a feeble piece of legislation.
• Then several states went ahead and enacted their own RTI laws with Tamil Nadu being the first state
in 1997.

RTI Act, 2005

• This bill was not prepared by the government bureaucrats but by the National Advisory Council.

Criteria for a sound RTI Regime

• Wide Access: It was envisaged that this right is widely accessible with minimal fees, free for BPL, and
easily perceivable information.
• Penalties for denial of access to information: Rs 250 per day up to a limit of Rs 25000, along with an
option of disciplinary action by the department.
• Independent appeal: Information Commissions are set up to take up grievances like Central
Information Commission, and State Information Commissions.
• Maximum disclosure and minimal exemption: While some information cannot be made public, but
this exemption should be minimal.

Philosophy of RTI 0 [Link]

(Preamble to RTI Act)
• RTI Act supports transparency, checks corruption, enforces accountability, citizen's empowerment,
and then promotes democracy, balancing it all with genuine concerns of confidentiality of the
government, without seriously compromising the efficiency of the government.

Transparency
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Efficiency Accountability �
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Confidentiality Democracy 1-
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 Main Features of RTI Act 0 [Link]
• All citizens have the right to information.
• The act defines information in a very broad manner. It includes any material in any form including
records, documents, memos, e-mail, opinions, advice, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks,
contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form, and
information relating to any private body which is held by a public authority under any other law for
the time being in force.
• Right to information means the right to information accessible under this act, which is held by or
under the control of any public authority and includes the right to:
o Inspect work, documents, or records
o Takes notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records
o Take certificate samples of material, and
o Obtain information in the form of disketters, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other
electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other
device.
• Public authorities means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or
constituted
o By or under the constitution
o By any other law made by the Parliament
o By any other law made by the state legislature
o By notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government and includes any
► Body owned, controlled, or substantially financed
► NGOs substantially financed directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate
government. The term substantially has not been defined in the Act. But some
recommendations have been given in ARC recommendations.

Issues of Public Authority 0 [Link]

LO • President/Governors: A long-term issue was pending whether President or Governor was a part of
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N the definition of public authority under the Act or not.
• State Federations: State federations are financed substantially by the Government. They were
arguing against being declared a public authority. Through many judicial pronouncements, many state
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I federations came under the definition of public authority. Law Commission gave the recommendation
z to declare BCCI a public authority which was affirmed by the CIC too in 2018.
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• PPP projects: Another issue was whether PPP projects were covered in the Act. In a DoPT circular of
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a:: 2013, it directed that information was to be made public even though many PPP projects were
substantially financed by private firms. Similarly, the Delhi International Airport Limited issue came up
in 2010. The CIC ruled that DIAL came under the definition of public authority since it was a typical
I­ PPP project, but Delhi HC stayed the order.
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C) • Judiciary: Whether the judiciary is covered was also a question. In 2009, Subhash Agrawal filed a

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 petition in 2009 whether they were adhering to a resolution taken in 1997 of the Judges declaring
their assets. The Apex court stated that the apex court was not covered under the RTL Later the CIC
ruled against the Supreme Court in its 2019 judgement. Later Supreme Court appealed to the Delhi
HC against the decision and the HC sided with the CIC verdict. Since it was the administrative side of
the SC which was filing petition, it could appeal in HC. Eventually, the Apex Court in 2019 termed
that the judiciary by and large is covered under the RTI Act. Yet some of the observations of SC are
problematic.
o For example, Apex Court termed that all the information available under the RBI about the
Scheduled Commercial Banks under the RBI act are subject to disclosure. In 2019, the courts said
that if the RBI doesn't want to disclose the risk evaluation reports of the banks, financial inspection
reports of the banks, it may not do so. Since so many banks across the country are mired in financial
mess, scams, scandals, etc.
o Similarly, the SC has also stated that extensive use of RTI has created fear psychosis and
paralysis in the government. It also recently termed that the personal status of the civil servants
like their name, address, their physical and mental status are beyond the paradigm of the RTI Act
and privacy should be maintained.
o It has also termed that the professional records are also beyond the RTI, their assets and liabilities
are also beyond the RTL The SC has also termed the names of the interviewers responsible for
recruitment need not be disclosed.
• Political Parties: The money that political parties raise through electoral bonds are not subject to
disclosure, any money raised over and above that through proper channels are given to Election
Commission and are in the public domain. Then questions regarding the reason for selection of
candidates etc. have the usual answers like winnability, information like criminal background,
educational background, etc. are already subject to disclosure. In 2013, the CIC said that recognized
political parties are subject to RTI because they fulfill the criteria of substantial financing from the
government like IT exemptions, free air time on state media, land on subsidized prices etc.
• Issues
o Political Parties are free associations of people Ill
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o They also do not use tax money directly N

o They lack the infrastructure to implement RTI

o This will be used by political parties against each other
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• The decision of CIC has not been stayed or nullified by the courts. But the political parties are still not I

implementing the decision citing that the matter is still sub judice but the courts have not nullified the
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decision.
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Main Features of RTI Act (continued) z
• RTI advocates proactive disclosure of information by a public authority. RTI carries additional
obligations of public authorities like: 1-
::r:
o Maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and form that facilitates the right

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 to information and computerized within reasonable time.
o Publish within 120 days within the enactment of the law to publish 16 types of information and
update their publication every year
o To provide as much information Suo-moto to the public through various means so that as much
information is available to the public so as to reduce RTI requests.
o Within 100 days of enactment, designate PlOs in all administrative units as may be necessary.
o To transfer misdirected requests within five days from the receipt of the application.
o Non-government organizations substantially financed
• Implementation Mechanism of RTI: If the RTI request is sent to PIO, the decision is supposed to be
taken within 30 days, 35 days if sent toAPIO, 48 hours in case it deals with life and liberty, and 10 days
extra if it deals with third-party information, thus the 30 days and 35-day period become 40 and 45
days for PIO and APIO respectively. If the PIO rejects the application or doesn't give a decision within
the specific period, the applicant can file an appeal in the First Appellate Authority who is the
immediate senior of the PIO in the government. This appeal can be filed within 30 days of rejection and
the authority gets 30 days to decide regarding the appeal. If the authority also rejects the application,
the applicant can file an appeal at the State Information Commission in case of State level information
and CIC in case of Central Level information. The SIC and CIC are not organized vertically as SC and
HC. lf the applicant is not satisfied with the decision of CIC and SIC, he can approach the appropriate
High Court and after that the Supreme Court. Information Commissions have not been given a specific
time period to deal with the cases and hence there is huge pendency at this level.
• It prescribes the process for obtaining information and disposal of requests. The application under RTI
can be submitted in writing or electronically in English, Hindi, or the official language of that area in
which the application is being filed with the prescribed fee to the Public Information Officer or
Assistant Public Information Officer. All states have not created the electronic process yet and have
yet to cover the whole of the country.
• Information has to be provided within 30 days. If it concerns the life and liberty of a person, it is
bound to furnish the information within 48 hours. The period is extended to 35 days where the
LO request is given to APIO. If no action is taken within the stipulated period, the application is deemed
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N rejected.
• It specifies the information can be exempted from disclosure in Section 8 of the Act:
o Information that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security,
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I strategic and scientific, the economic interest of the state, the relations with a foreign state or
z lead to incitement of offense.
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o Information that has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or
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a:: that constitutes the contempt of court
o Information the disclosure of which lead to a breach of privilege of parliament and state
legislatures
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o Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets, or intellectual property, the
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disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless a competent

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 authority is satisfied that a larger public interest is served by disclosure.
o Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship unless the competent authority is
satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.
o Information received in confidence from a foreign government
o Information, the disclosure of which would endanger the physical safety of any person or identify
the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security
purposes.
o Information that would impede the process of investigation, apprehension, or prosecution of
offenders.
o Cabinet papers, including records of deliberations of CoM, Secretaries, and other officers.
Provided that the decisions of the Council of Ministers, the reasons for those decisions, and the
material on the basis of which decisions were made, shall be made public after the decision has
been taken and the matter is complete or over. Provided further that those matters which come
under the exemptions specified in this section shall not be disclosed.
o Information that relates to the personal information and the disclosure of which has the no
relationship to any public activity or interest or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the
privacy of the individual unless a larger public interest justifies the disclosure.
o Notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act 1923 nor any of the permissions of the
exemptions permissible in accordance with section8(1), a public authority may allow access to
information in the public interest if disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.
o Information can be denied if it would involve infringement of copyright subsisting in a person
other than the state. This is the only absolute exemption in the Act.
o The laws say when you are denying the information to the citizen; the information should not be
disclosed to the Parliament. It also means that information that cannot be denied to the Parliament
can also be not denied to the citizens.
o The act will not apply to intelligence and security agencies specified in the second schedule of the
act but information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations is to be
provided all the same. However, the information regarding allegations of violations of human Ill
0
0
rights shall be provided after the approval of the concerned information commission. It did not N

mention investigating agencies, but CBI and NIA have been added to this list through an executive
order.
�
o Third-party information is to be released after giving notice to and hearing of the third party. The I
z
notice period is 10 days. 0
o The Act's provisions shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent with the Official
�
Secrets Act 1923 or any other law. No court can entertain any suit regarding any order made under 0::
0
LL
the act other than by way of an appeal under the Act. z
o One unique aspect of the Act is that it is wholly, retrospective. It does not apply only to information
created or held by the public authorities after it has come into force, it also applies to all information 1-
::r:
held by public authorities before it came into force. It applies to all information held by public

13
 authorities regardless of date.
• All the information under the exempted categories has to be released after 20 years since the
information has been created except the ones related to Cabinet decisions, information relating to
breach of legislature, or information that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity
of India, the security, strategic and scientific, the economic interest of the state, the relations with a
foreign state or lead to incitement of offence.

Rights conferred to citizens under the RTI Act, 2005 0 [Link]

• The right to information
• Choosing medium of request for obtaining information
• Choosing the language of request in English, Hindi, or local language in which the application is filed
for obtaining information
• Seeking help in writing request
• Not stating any reason for requesting information or providing any other personal details except those
necessary for contacting the applicant
• If the request for information is transferred to another public authority, the applicant has the right to be
informed immediately of the transfer
• Assistance in accessing records if the applicant is disabled
• All fees are waived for Below Poverty Line applicants
• All fees are waived if a public authority fails to supply the information within specified time limits
• Knowledge of reasons for rejections, the period within which an appeal can be made, and the
particulars of the appellate authority.
• Making complaint to CIC/SIC as the case may be if:-
o Unable to submit request to PIO/APIO
o Refused access to information
o Not given response within the time limit
o Required to pay unreasonable fee
LO o Provided incomplete, misleading information or false information
0
0
N o In respect of any matter relating to accessing record.

�
I
z
0

�
a::

I­
I
C)

14
.. RTI - CIC, ISSUES AND CHALLENGES, IMPACT
Ii.a OF RTI AND 2ND ARC RECOMMENDATIONS
Central Information Commission
Composition: 0 [Link]
• The CIC shall consist of
o The chief information commissioner
o Such a number of central information commissioners not exceeding ten as may be deemed
necessary.
• The chief information commissioner and information commissioners shall be appointed by the
president on the recommendation of a committee consisting of
o The prime minister who shall be the chairperson of the committee
o The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha
nd
o A union cabinet minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister (2 ARC has recommended this to
be replaced by O I)
• The CIC and IC shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law,
science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media, or administration and Ul
governance. z
0
• The CIC or an IC shall not be a member of Parliament or Member of the Legislature of a State or Union
0
territory as the case may be or hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or z
w
carrying on any business or pursuing any provisions �
�
0
u
w
Tenure: 0 [Link] [Link]
u
• The CIC shall hold the office for a term of 5 years from the date on which he enters his office and [Link]
<(
shall not be eligible for reappointment. The amendment act in 2019 has replaced these provisions 0
z
N
with a provision that the CIC shall be appointed for tenure as notified by the government and has 0
not been codified in law as in the original law. z
<(
• Provided that no CIC shall hold the office as such after he has attained the age of sixty-five years �
• Every Information Commissioner shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he LL.
0
enters upon his office or till he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier and shall not be t
eligible for reappointment as Information Commissioner. �
�
• Provided that every IC shall on vacating the office under this sub-section be eligible for appointment
w
as Chief Information Commissioner. All provisions of five-year tenure have been amended and c:,
z
replaced with the tenure notified by the government. w
...I
...I
• Provided further that where the IC has been appointed as the CIC, his total tenure shall not be more <(
:I:
than five years in aggregate as the IC and the CIC. u
0
• The salary and conditions of service of CIC and IC will be equivalent to the Chief Election z
<(
Ul
Commissioner and the Election Commissioners respectively. Similarly, in the states, the salary and w
:::,
the conditions of service of the CIC and IC will be equivalent to the Election Commissioner and Chief Ul
�
Secretary of the State. While this was codified in the law earlier, they have been modified now and u
will be decided by the government.
u I

15
 Removal:
• The CIC or/and IC shall be removed from his office only by order of the President on grounds of proved
misbehavior or incapacity after the Supreme Court on a reference made to it by the president, has on
inquiry reported that the CIC or IC as the case may be ought on such grounds be removed.
• Notwithstanding anything contained in the above section, the President may by order remove from
office the CIC or IC, if he:-
o is adjudged an insolvent
o Has been convicted of an offense which in the opinion of the President involves moral turpitude
o Engages during his term of office in an any paid employment outside the duties of his office or
o is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by the reason of infirmity of mind or body
o has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially the functions as the
CIC or an IC.

(/)
Issues and Challenges:
z RTI Act is a means to get access to information. There is a gap between the right to information as a means
0
and access to information as an end.
0
z
w
• Bureaucratic Mindset: Since RTI is an accountability tool, there is resistance in the bureaucracy to
� fully embrace it.
�
0 • No specific budgetary allocation: There have not been separate funds allocated for RTI
u
w
[Link] implementation. 2nd ARC had suggested 1 percent of funds from flagship schemes for the
u
[Link] upgradation of RTI infrastructure.
<(
0 • Absence of Political Will: The bill was well-drafted and appreciated across the globe. But hesitancy
z
N
in bureaucracy and later in politicians led to the weakening of political will to empower the act and its
0
z success. There were also many scams being exposed and that harmed the existing government.
<(
• Limited Awareness: A PWC study found that only 12% of women, 26% of men, and only 13% of rural
�
u. and 33 % of the urban populace were aware of the RTI law.
0
t • Usage of vague terms and phrases in the law leads to issues in implementation.
� • IC dominated by retired bureaucrats affects the impartiality of the commission.
�
• The penal provisions are rarely applied: A report by Satark Nagrik Sangathan found that a penalty
w
C) was not imposed in 95% of the cases where a penalty should have been imposed and it has been
z
w
....I alleged that retired bureaucrats have a soft corner for the government machinery .
....I
<( • No organic relationship between CIC and SIC: Ideally a national platform should be created for
:::c
u collaboration, but as of now nothing as such has happened.
0
z • Additional responsibilities to PIO without additional incentives: A separate person is not hired;
<(
(/)
w rather a person with existing principal duties has an extra burden. This leads to lack of motivation and
::,
(/) incentives to carry out duties diligently.
u • Juniors appointed as PIO to interpret the law. Officers with sufficient seniority should be appointed.
uI • Poor record keeping: One of the key reasons for the delay of information is the lack of record keeping.

� Hence a suggestion for a specialized record keeping agency to advise and train in this aspect has been

16
 suggested.
• Abuse of Schedule II for exempting information to be provided. Many bodies have been included in
this schedule against the spirit of the law.
• The orders of the Information Commission have not been implemented. There are no contempt
powers with the ICs.
• Pendency of Cases: An estimated 40 to 60 lakh requests of RTI are filed annually. A delay in
obtaining the information under RTI violates the spirit of the law since RTI are filed for contemporary
needs. An inordinate delay would harm the implementation of the act. The pendency of cases in 26 ICs
is 2.55 lakh cases. There is also vacancy in posts of IC leading to additional delay and pendency. The
estimated time or disposal of requests on an average is 1 year 11 months. COVID has further the
exacerbated this problem.
• Every IC has to prepare and submit an annual report to be submitted later in the legislature. Several
ICs have delayed filing the reports. 21 out of 29 ICs have not submitted report in 2019-20. The SIC of
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have not published reports since 2017 and Odisha since 2015-16. Ul
• There is also a waning of interest in the RTI movement. Media, social activists and civil society has to z
0
continually generate awareness among the public regarding the benefits of the act and the
0
empowering nature of the act. But of late, there is a waning of interest in media and activists. z
w
�
�
Impact of RTI: 0
u
w
• In addition to being a tool for transparency, it has also become a tool for seeking grievance redressal. [Link]
u
Many citizens have benefitted from this. [Link]
<(
• It has helped in exposing corruption, wasteful expenditure, scams, junkets, false narratives, 0
z
N
recruitment results, marks etc. 0
• Several sections of rural population have gained access to the information but largely on account of z
<(
the help given by the NG Os. �
• It has transformed into a national movement and has aided other rights-based movements like the LL.
0
Right to Food, right to education etc. t
• The RTI movement has been more successful with respect to obtaining personally relevant �
�
information. In cases where controversial information dealing with large public interest is involved,
w
the movement has fallen short. c:,
z
w
...I
...I
Second ARC Recommendations <(
:I:
• Repeal of the Official Secrets Act. u
0
• Oath of secrecy to be replaced by oath of transparency. z
<(
• There should be a periodical review of second schedule to prevent inflation in the list and Ul
w
:::,
organization that are deemed necessary should be removed. Ul
�
• Classification of confidential documents: u
o Top Secret: The exposure of information that would lead to exceptionally grave damage, u I

o Secret: Serious damage, �

17
 o Confidential: Simple damage,
o Restricted: For official use only.
o The norms for classification have been laid down by the Ministry of Home and are not available in
the public domain. The Public Records Act, 1993 mandates a 5 year review of top secret, secret and
confidential information with regards to their declassification or downgrading of their classification
status. The procedure and norms for declassification are also not in public domain. Thus with
respect to classification of confidential documents, the discretion of the government has to be
checked.
• There should also be changes in the process for the selection of Information Commissioners. The
selection committee to include CJI instead of Union Cabinet Minister. At least half of the members of
the IC should be from non-civil service background.
• To improve access to information
o 4 regional offices of CIC should be setup.

(/)
o All organisations with more than 1 PIO should designate a nodal PIO to help in assigning request
z to the appropriate PIO.
0
o Pl Os in the central secretariat to be of the level of at least Deputy Secretary or Director.
0
z
w
o Payment process to be made more flexible through stamps or postal orders.
� o Single window agency in districts to receive request on behalf of all Pl Os in the district. It will act as
�
0 a nodal point for information requests.
u
w
[Link] o Suo moto disclosure should be available in the print form and should be available free for reference
u
[Link] • Professionalize record management: Set up public record office as an independent authority in both
<(
0 central and state governments to serves as a repository of technical expertise in the management of
z
N
public records.
0
z • Funding: As a onetime measure, Government of India should earmark 1 % of funds of all flagship
<(
� programmes for Syearsfor improvement of infrastructure and preparing manuals for RTI.
u. • Training: Training for civil servants and not only Pl Os in respect of RTI.
0
t • Awareness: Awareness Campaigns to be entrusted to credible NGOs. The CIC and SIC should come
� out with ready reckoners for public.
�
• Set up a National Coordination committee chaired by the Central Information Commissioner to
w
C) provide for an organic relationship between CIC and SIC.
z
w
....I • Bodies substantially funded by the government should be brought within the ambit of RTI. Any
....I
<( organization that receives 50 % of its operating costs for 3 years from the government or at least 1
:::c
u crore in government funding shall be considered as substantially financed organization by the
0
z government.
<(
(/)
w • Takes steps for checking frivolous complaints.
::,
(/)

u
uI
�

18
El PROBLEM OF CORRUPTION
Introduction 0 [Link]
• Corruption has been a part of human history since the dawn of human civilization. Kautilya in his work
Arthashastra has enumerated many ways in which a civil servant can engage in corruption and has
mentioned specific measures to contain corruption.
• Spatially, it is a part of governance everywhere only varying in degree. Sector-wise, there is hardly any
arena of human endeavor that has not been touched by the experience of corruption and has
contributed to the decline of empires, reforms in religion, etc.

Defining Corruption: Issues 0 [Link]

There are many dilemmas regarding defining corruption
• ls a gifta bribe?
o The intent of the donor should be a factor to consider while examining corruption.
o Another factor should be the expectation of the recipient.
o Another factor should be the timing of the gift received.
o Another factor is the value of the gift.
o The legal framework in the country is also a factor in determining if a gift is corrupt.
o The social acceptability of a gift and how it is seen in society is also a factor if it constitutes
corruption.
• Cultural Differences: Perception of what constitutes corruption varies from culture to culture
o Old School ties with respect to universities were used to leverage favors in the UK and they were
culturally accepted.
o In the USA, lobbying and networking are regulated by law, are considered legal, and are not seen
as corrupt.
o Blat is a practice associated with Russia that was inherited from the Soviet Union where a system
of favors and reciprocal favors was practiced and was culturally accepted.
o Guanxi is a practice from China where a favor done by a person has to be returned.
• Should we limit corruption to only public bodies or also the Private Sector?
o While many may argue that corruption should include both sectors, but the counterargument is
that if we cast the net too wide, the focus gets diluted and what constitutes corruption enlarges and
becomes unmanageable.
o Another argument is that if the government is incorruptible, the corruption in the private sector will z
0
come down naturally.
:::>
Due to the varying interpretations of Corruption, Transparency International defines corruption as 'private [Link]
[Link]
abuse of public office'. They also advocated the use of the Elephant Test. It means that corruption may not 0
u
be easy to define or describe, but in a society, if some civil servant engages in some behavior that is u..
0
unethical, the society will know it. It is easy to point it out rather than define and describe it. ::E
w
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0
[Link]
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19
 Types of Corruption 0 [Link]
• Black, White, and Grey Corruption
o Black Corruption: It refers to a phenomenon where every section of the society feels unanimously
that certain behavior is corrupt and should not be tolerated.
o White Corruption: It refers to a kind of corruption where it is recognized by society as corrupt
behavior, but is tolerated. A common phenomenon is Speedmoney corruption.
o Grey Corruption: Whether a behavior of public officials, government or state is corrupt or not, if
there are wide-ranging differences between various sections of the population, it is termed as grey
corruption.
• Grass Eating vs Meat Eating corruption
o Grass Eating Corruption: It refers to a public servant who would not seek bribes, but he/she would
not refuse it, if offered one.
o Meat Eating Corruption: This refers to a public servant who is actively seeking opportunities to
benefit himself through corrupt means.
• Coercive (extortive) vs Collusive (transactive) Corruption:
o Coercive Corruption: It is widely faced by the common man. It refers to a kind of corruption where a
common citizen has to bribe a public official to just get his due. Here, the public servant extorts
bribes from the citizens.
o Collusive Corruption: In this type of corruption, the public official and the bribe giver have colluded
to benefit themselves at the cost of public interest. Here both the parties have colluded together to
get illegal gains.
• Retail (Petty) Corruption vs Policy (Grand) Corruption:
o Retail Corruption: It is small corruption that one normally finds at the street level bureaucracy with
which the common man comes in contact on a regular basis. A common example is speedmoney
corruption.
o Policy Corruption: It is commonly identified with crony capitalism where business houses indulge
in state capture to get something which is not their due. They influence the government to frame
policies that will benefit them illegally. This is policy corruption that happens at the highest levels.

Behaviour that harms the public interest

Corruption goes beyond the act of giving and receiving bribes. Corruption in the strictly wider term goes well
z beyond that and includes any kind of behaviour that harms public interest like:
0
• Lethargy in the discharge of assigned duties
::::> • Dereliction of duty or negligence of duty
0::
0::
0 • Repeated carelessness
u
LL • Non-punctuality of duty
0
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• Subjective interpretation of public interest
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CD • Favoritism and nepotism
0
0:: • Communalism, casteism, Lynching, and Regional Bias
a.

20
Implications of Corruption 0 [Link]
Social
• It creates divisions in society both vertical and horizontal. It creates a condition where rich or well­
connected people get their due while the poor do not get their due in the society and thus creates a
vertical division. In some cases, favoritism with a particular caste group or class group and negligence
of others creates a horizontal division in the society.
• It can also increase a sense of insecurity in society. An example would be that due to high levels of
corruption, people do not report crimes; not cooperating with the police and that would further boost
the morale of criminals and lead to increased criminalization of the society and thus the increased
insecurity in the society.
• It can also endanger lives. We often hear news of building collapse, fire disasters due to substandard
materials, and false certificates due to collusive corruption.
• It erodes the social fabric of society. Due to corruption, there is a general distrust in society.

Economic Consequences
• It can lead to reduce in aid to poor countries. In African countries, due to the huge amount of
corruption, most of the aid was going into the pockets of dictators, warlords, corrupt officials, and their
cronies. This led countries giving aid to revise their stance and stop giving aid to such countries even
though they were poor.
• It can reduce the investment in the country. Investors are wary to invest in corrupt countries. Paulo
Mauro, an economist has said that the investment differential between a relatively less and relatively
more corrupt country can be as high as 12 %.
• They act as an additional tax on the investment. It is due to the illegal bribe or extortion that is
imposed on businesses.
• It also reduces government revenues because government officials collude or extort while collecting
revenues and enriching themselves.
• It can also divert public expenditure to non-priority sectors. It is done to create an opportunity to carry
out corrupt activities in an easier manner.
• It compromises the efficiency of the government in carrying out the development or other activities.
• It distorts the policy of fair competition of markets through collusive corruption, crony capitalism,
etc.
• It also leads to brain drain and flight of capital out of the country. z
0
• It also leads to difficulties in getting into international clubs. Since countries of Eastern Europe had
:::>
higher levels of corruption as compared to Western Europe, they had difficulties in getting admitted [Link]
[Link]
into European Union. 0
u
• They cause environmental damage due to collusion with public officials leading to flagrant u..
0
environmental violations. ::E
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0
[Link]
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21
 Political and Legal Consequences
• It enhances the power of public servants because in a fair system, public officials have to behave in a
fair manner and it reduces their discretion. But in a corrupt system, a public official can act in a corrupt
manner and enrich himself by exercising his discretion in violation of public interest.
• It increases the role of money power.
• It can lead to pork-barreling. It is a phenomenon where the government launches a public project by
showing that it serves the public interest, but on deeper examination, it is found out that the project is
not required and it also doesn't lead to public interest being served. The project is carried out to serve
the private interests of the corporate house, public officials, and politicians and not the public
interest.
• The despair of citizens can increase the attractiveness of extremist politicians. It leads to xenophobia,
radical solutions, radical populism, etc.
• High level of corruption can also create mass unrest as seen in India against Corruption campaigns
and other such unrests all over the world.
• It generates radical tendencies in society if corruption goes unabated. The left extremism problem,
the insurgency in the North-East part of India, etc. is also fueled by the rampant levels of corruption
that lead to poor development and give impetus to the vicious cycle of violence in that part of the
country.
Security implications:
• It compromises the security of the nation if corruption is carried out by security forces by aiding in
money laundering, drug, human trafficking and arms smuggling, etc.
• It can compromise the quality of defense contracts due to the corruption in defense procurement.

International Implications
• Magnitsky Act, 2012: Magnitsky was a lawyer in Russia who was prosecuted for exposing corruption
in Russia. US Congress passed an anti-corruption law naming it the Magnitsky Act thus souring ties
with Russia.
• Car Insurance premiums in Germany (1990s): Many high-end cars in Germany used to get stolen and
would end up in Central European countries after getting smuggled out of the country in collusion
with corrupt public officials. This led to the car insurance premiums skyrocketing in Germany and led
to a diplomatic row with other European countries.
z
0
Revisionism in Corruption Studies: 0 [Link]
::::> • This is a school of thought, but there are not many takers. It states that some corruption in civil
0::
0::
0 services is not bad.
u
LL • Their hypothesis is that civil servants by and large are lethargic in nature, less motivated to work,
0
w prone to red tape, have low salaries, etc. and this leads to less efficiency. A presence of corruption
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CD increases the efficiency of the bureaucracy in doing public work
0
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22
� PROBLEM OF CORRUPTION - FACTORS CONTRIBUTING
11:.1
TO CORRUPTION AND MEASURING CORRUPTION

Factors behind Corruption: 0 [Link]

• Psycho Social Factors
Human behavior is a function and result of something inside the person and something outside the
person. Thus, human behavior is an amalgamation of two sets of factors, the attitudes or
predispositions of the person and the environment around the person.
o Need for THYMOS (Greek word for 'respect' or 'recognition'): Studies have shown that high
levels of corruption can be correlated to levels of low self-worth. To increase self-worth, people
resort to materialism which results in corruption. Low self-esteem leads to the locus of control of a
person being outside the person and thus he/she derives his self-worth based on how the society
values him. z
0
o Societal attitude: The societal attitude towards the government is of a highly corrupt entity. The ii::::::,
persistent labeling and shaming of government organizations and employees serve as a 0::
0::
disincentive for even government employees, to be honest since even honest employees are seen
through a corrupt lens by society. C)
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o Squirrel Nuts Syndrome: Bureaucrats are more liable to become more corrupt as they are close to i:i::
:::::,
retirement to continue the benefits that they enjoyed during their service.
o Opportunity Theory: The majority of civil servants do not actively look for opportunities, only a few ::E
Cl
do it that way. But when opportunities come their way they commit corruption. So, a major way of z
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curbing corruption is to reduce opportunities that create corruption. z
0
o Religious Context: In many of the studies performed in European countries, the areas where there ii::::::,
are more Protestants, the level of corruption was less since Protestant Christianity was born as a 0::
0::
reaction to the corruption in the Catholic Church. Thus, there is a role of religion too. 0
u
o History: India has a long history of corruption. Lower levels of bureaucracy in India have been
�
corrupt since ancient times as seen in Kautilya's works. This long history of corruption makes the C)
z
society becoming more tolerant to corruption. i=
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o Popular sanction: There is some degree of societal sanction regarding corruption. There is no i:i::
1-
popular sanction against corruption. There is the victimization of honest people. z
0
o Social Evils: There are also some social evils like excessive expenditure on marriages, dowry, etc. u
1/)
that provoke public servants to become corrupt and indulge in corrupt activities. 0::

• Economic Factors:
o Poor Salary: The poor salary at the upper levels of bureaucracy is also blamed as a reason for I
corruption. But simply increasing the salary levels may not make a significant dent in corruption. z
0
o Culture of Consumerism: An increasing culture of consumerism is also contributing to a culture of ii::::::,
low self-esteem and thus the consequent culture of corruption. 0::
0::
o License Permit Quota Raj to Clearance Raj: From a license permit quota raj, we have committed to 0
u
a situation where there are so many clearances and NOCs required before a person can start any u..
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venture. This level of red tape gives incentives to be corrupt. ::E
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bribe their way to a favorable policy. 0::
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23
 o Lack of cooperation from Business houses: If all the business houses decide that they will not pay
any kind of bribe, corruption will decrease significantly. But business houses try to outbid and
outdo each other and thus indulge in corruption to gain favorable results from the government
• Legal Factors
There is excessive legal protection for public servants to prosecute them on the count of corrupt
behavior.
o Article 311 talks about the reasonable opportunity to the public servant before any action can be
taken against him. This has made it very difficult for the government to dismiss corrupt public
servants on the account of corruption. It has become a source of excessive protection for civil
z servants.
0
� o Section 19 of PCA, 1988 talks that before a public servant is prosecuted, sanction of the
::::,
a:: appointing authority should be required.
a::
0 o Section 197 of CrPC says that if a civil servant is to be prosecuted for any offense apart from
u
I.!) corruption in relation to the discharge of his public duties, then the permission of the appointing
z
ii: authority is required. These sections have been placed to protect honest public servants from
::::,
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spurious corruption allegations. But these sections have also been misused to protect the corrupt.
� o Section GA ofDSPEAct, 1946:The first stepthat a body does is a preliminary inquiry, after which a
0
z full-fledged investigation is started. Prior sanction is required for investigation but not for
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z preliminary inquiry. A single directive rule was brought that stated any such action against an
0
� officer of the rank or equivalent of joint secretary and above, sanction of appointing authority is
::::, required for both preliminary inquiry and investigation. The apex court struck down this single
a::
a::
8 directive in the Vineet Narain Case in 1997. Then, the DSPE Act was amended and was made into
a law in Sec 6A in DSPE Act. Eventually, Section 6A was struck down by the apex court in 2014 on
�
I.!) grounds that it violated the principle of equality by officers of joint secretary and above having
z
special protection. Eventually, PCA 1988 was amended in 2018, and section 17 A was added
IIl which stated that permission for preliminary inquiry would be needed for all public servants
ii:
.....
z except in cases where the public servant has been caught red-handed.
0
u o Inadequacy of Judicial Process due to delay in prosecution.
(/)
a:: o There is an absence of effective whistle blowers' laws to protect honest public officials
o There is inadequate autonomy of anti-graft bodies such as CBI, CVC that have become politicized

I bodies.
z • Administrative factors:
0
� o There are so many procedural complexities that would lead to the need for middlemen that act as
::::,
a:: conduits through which all the corrupt money flows.
a::
0 o There is a presence of red-tapism that leads to increased corruption.
u
LL o There are weaknesses in the internal grievance redressal mechanisms and machinery.
0
� o There is peer pressure and indoctrination making honest officials afraid regarding pursuing anti­
w
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0
a:: o Bureaucratic resistance to administrative reforms and hence the corruption levels remain high.
a.

24
 o Politicization of civil service management through transfers; key postings, plum postings, etc. has
perpetuated the system of corruption.
o The general culture of secrecy in administration also creates a system that perpetuates
corruption.
• Political Factors
o Absence of political will as seen in multiple attempts to pass the Lokpal bill and further delay in
appointment of Lokpal.
o Criminalization of politics leads to criminals becoming a part of the system and perpetuates his ill
actions and simultaneously protecting himself.
o Political system does not encourage neutrality, and creates a system where public servants take z
0
sides when a particular political dispensation is in power. ii::::::,
o Lack of voter maturity where voters continuously reelect parties that were ousted earlier due to 0::
0::
misdeeds during the next election cycle. A reason for this is the TINA factor [Link] Is No 8
Alternative. C)
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o The excessive use of money power in elections also incentivizes the need to indulge in corrupt i:i::
:::::,
activities. There are also weak disclosure norms with respect to the functioning and funding of
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political parties that lead to corrupt politics ::E:
Cl
z
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Measuring Corruption 0 [Link] z
0
• Official Statistics: The official statistics can be used to measure corruption. But when the prosecution ii::::::,
and investigation mechanism is ineffective, thus official statistics may not give a comprehensive idea 0::
0::
about the corruption in government 0
u
• Perceptual and attitudinal surveys: Especially by International NGOs like Transparency International
�
which releases their Corruption Perception Index released annually since 1995, where a score of 0 C)
z
means most corrupt and 100 means least corrupt. i=
:::::,
00
i:i::
1-
India's rankings and scores z
0
u
Year Index Score Rank 1/)
0::

2014 38 85/175
I
2015 38 76/168 z
0
2016 40 79/176 ii::::::,
0::
2017 40 81/180 0::
0
u
2018 41 78/175 u..
0
::E:
2019 41 80/180 w
...I
00
0
2020 40 86/180 0::
a..

25
 countries varying every year. Thus, the appropriate indicator to watch out is the index score.
• Other countries too have interesting findings. New Zealand and Denmark were ranked the least
corrupt in the 2020 rankings released in 2021. Somalia and South Sudan ranked last in the survey.
In South Asia, Bhutan was ranked 24
th •

• Other interesting rankings include the USA ranked 25'\ Botswana an African country ranked 35'\
China ranked 78 and Pakistan ranked 124
th th •

Issues in Corruption Perception Index

• The survey is based on questionaries issued to country experts, business leaders rather than the
z common man.
0
� • The scores are based on perception rather than any objective assessment.
::::,
a:: • The sources keep on changing year to year through which the surveys are created.
a::
0 • Comparing ranks over years is not appropriate since the number of countries surveyed varies year to
u
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z year.
ii:
::::,
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Measuring corruption (continued)
� • Experiential Surveys: There can be experience surveys that are based on the actual experience of
0
z corruption rather than the popular perception-based surveys. Thus, transparency international also
<(
z releases the Global Corruption Barometer that is based on experiential surveys, but it is not released
0
� on an annual basis and is done on a regional basis. In the Asia region, Japan was found to be the least
::::, corrupt and India the most corrupt among the 17 surveyed countries.
a::
a::
8 • Tracking Surveys: PETS of World Bank is a popular tracking survey regarding corruption. It refers to
Public Expenditure Tracking Survey. This is a system where the World Bank demands transparency
�
I.!) in tracking funds and their flow at different levels while public expenditure is being carried out by
z
§ using funds of Donor agencies.
IIl • Content Analysis: It refers to corruption being surveyed by analyzing content in media with respect to
ii:
..... corruption. Though it is a crude technique, it is an interesting way of tracking corruption.
z
0
u
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I
z
0
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a::
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IIl
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26
 PROBLEM OF CORRUPTION - CENTRAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION AND CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION

Legal Framework
• Sec 169of IPC: It makes civil servants acquiring property illegally an offense
• Section 409oflPC: It makes criminal breach of trust by a public servant an offense
• DSPE Act, 1946: It establishes CBI for anti-corruption investigation.
• Section 123 of RPA Act, 1951: It deems what practices can be considered corrupt practices in
elections.
• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988: A law to tackle corruption in general.
z
• Benami Properties Act, 1988: It has been enacted to prosecute Benami properties. 0
v;
• Vl
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2003: It is nodal law to tackle money laundering.
:E
:::E:
• CVC Act: It is the central vigilance organization to tackle corruption in the country.
8w
• Right To Information Act, 200 5: To ensure transparency and accountability. u
z
• Lokayuktas Act of states ::5
• Lokpal Act, 2013
a
5
...J
• Whistleblower Act, 2014 �
1-
• Various Time Bound Delivery of Services Laws that can tackle speed money corruption z
w
u
0
z
Institutional Framework 0 [Link] <(
z
0
• Central Bureau of Investigation
• Central Vigilance Commission
�
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• Anti-corruption bureaus and vigilance wings in states >
z
• Comptroller and Auditor General LL
0
• Lokayuktas ::::>

• Lokpal a::
::::>
cc
• Enforcement Directorate to implement principally the PMLA and FEMA ...J
• Banking Sector Ombudsman
�
1-
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• Consumer Courts u
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• The 3-tier judiciary z
0
ii:::::>
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Central Bureau of Investigation: 0 [Link] a::
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It was initially set up as the Special Police Establishment in 1941. Then it was given statutory backing in
u
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Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, and acquired the popular name CBI in 1963. :::E:
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27
 Principal Divisions:
• Anti-Corruption Division: Handles corruption cases
• Special Crimes Division: Covers serious, sensational, organized crimes, etc.
• Economic Offences Division: Covers economic offenses like cheating, Ponzi schemes, counterfeit
currencies, etc.
• Banking and Security Frauds Division: It covers economic offenses related to the banking and
security markets
z
0
vi
U) Issues in Functioning:
�
:E • Politicization of CBI: A former SC judge has called the CBI a 'caged parrot'. Every ruling party at the
0
u Centre has used such organizations to target their political opponents and hence doesn't function in
w
u
z an impartial and autonomous manner.
• Shortage of Staff: There is a vacancy of staff to the tune of around one-third of posts being vacant.
>....I
CJ
• Conviction Rate: The conviction rate of CBI is 67% which is relatively high as opposed to 30-40% of
� other agencies. But the problem is that there is a low rate of conviction in high-profile cases.
1-
z
w • Sanction for the prosecution: Too many delays in disposal of cases, a reason is due to shortage of
u
C staff. After the investigation is complete, there should be prosecution. But for prosecution, there is
z
<t protection for civil servants under laws like Section 19 of PCA, Section 197 of CrPC which provide
z
0 undue protection to the government servants where the sanction to prosecute has to be provided by
CJ the state government. If there is a delay in sanction, it leads to a delay in prosecution.
f;;
w • Jurisdiction: CBI has no Suo-moto jurisdiction in cases and deals with cases that are transferred to it.
>
�
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0 Vineet Narain Case, 1997:
::,
0:: The apex court gave directions relating to the functioning of the CBI.
::,
00 • CVC should superintend or supervise CBI. CVC deals with the anti-corruption cases largely and
....I
� violations of civil services discipline. CVC through its statutory CVC Act is authorized to exercise
!z
w
general or broad superintendence over the functioning of CBI so far as the works related to the cases
u related to the Prevention of Corruption Act.
I
z • There should be a minimum guaranteed tenure to the Director and other important positions in the
0
� CBI. Under the DSPE Act, the minimum tenure is 2 years for the Director. There was an ordinance to
::,
0:: extend this up to 5 years, after the two years in tranches of 1 year each.
0::
0
u • The apex court also said that the position of CBI director is too important and its appointment
LL
0 cannot be left to the sole discretion of the government but by a committee. Such a committee has
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w been constituted with the PM, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha or the Leader of the largest
....I
00
0 opposition party if the Leader of opposition is not recognized, and the CJI.
0::
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28
 • Single Directive was struck down.
• CBI is under the broad direction and control of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). But
it means that DoPT is only allowed to the extent to decide the overall policy framework under which
the CBI has to function and not the day-to-day workings and investigations.
• The transfer of the Director of CBI has to be also done by the same committee as seen in the
appointment.

Even after this judgement, the functioning of CBI today is still marred by the usual allegations of being
politicized and being termed a caged parrot. z
0
v;
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Central Vigilance Commission: 0 [Link] :E
:::E:
• It was set up by the central government as an executive body in 1964. Today it is a statutory body 8w
under the CVC Act, 2003. u
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::5
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Santhanam set up in 1962. The CVC was set up to advise and guide central government agencies in 5
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the field of vigilance. �
1-
z
w
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Background: 0
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• It is conceived as the apex vigilance institution free from control of any executive authority, monitoring <(
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all vigilance activities under the Central Government and advising various authorities in central 0

government organizations in planning, reviewing, and reforming their vigilant work.

�
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>
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Present Status:
LL
• It was made a statutory body in 2003 through the CVC Act. It consists of a Central Vigilance 0
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Commissioner as a chairperson and not more than two vigilance commissioners as members.
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Selection of members: �
1-
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w
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those persons who are or have been in All India Services or Central Services. Another category is I
officers of various Central Public Sector Undertakings. From both the categories, not more than two
z
0
people can be selected, thus ensuring at least one selection from each category. ii:::::>
a::
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0
leader of the largest opposition party. As visible, the government enjoys the final say in selection u
LL
through two of its representatives. 0
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• To counter this, an interesting case came up in 2011 namely the PJ Thomas Case. In this case, the apex w
...J
cc
court ruled that the majority representation of the government made the membership of the leader of 0
a::
a..

29
 the opposition pointless. Thus, the selection of the members has to be on the principle of consensus
of all members rather than the principle of majority. The judgement was made to only this
appointment and not all other appointments as done through committees.

Term of Office:
• The term of office is 4 years for both the eve and theVC and the retirement age is 65 years. There is
no reappointment at the same post but there can be elevation, that is a vigilance commissioner can be
z appointed as the CVC subject to the condition that his/her total stay in the commission should not
0
vi exceed 4 years.
U)
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:E
0 other appointment where the appointment is made under the warrant and seal of the President. They
u
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u
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:5
>....I
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Salary and conditions of service:

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• The salary and conditions of service are equal to the UPSC Chairperson for the eve and the
1-
z
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members of the UPSC in the case ofVCs. Their salaries and conditions of service cannot be altered to
u their disadvantage after their appointment.
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z • Their salary is drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India.
<t
z
0
� Removal Process:
CJ
f;;
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> Supreme Court.
�
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0 • There are other grounds like insolvency, moral turpitude, private employments, infirmity of body and
::,
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0::
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Functions and Powers of the eve 0 [Link]

!zw • Exercise superintendence over the functioning of CBI in cases related to the investigation of
u corruption as directed inVineet Narain Case, 1997 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
I
z • Give directions to the CBI in cases related to the investigation of corruption as directed in the Vineet
0
� Narain Case, 1997 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
::,
0:: • To inquire or cause an inquiry or investigation to be made on a reference made by the Central
0::
0
u Government.
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0 • To inquire or cause an inquiry or investigation to be made into any complaint received against any
:E
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....I official belonging to such category of officials specified against to such category of officials specified in
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0::
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30
 officials, All India Service officials and equivalent officials in Central PSUs.
• Review the progress of investigations conducted by the DSPE into offenses alleged to have been
committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• Review the progress of the applications pending with the competent authorities for sanctions of
prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988.
• Tender advice to the Central Government and its organization on such matters as may be referred to it
by them.
• Exercise superintendence over the vigilance administrations of the various Central Government z
0
Ministries and organizations of the Central government ministries, departments, and organizations of v;
Vl
the central government. :E
:::E:
• It shall have the powers of a civil court while conducting any inquiry. 8w
• Respond to the central government on mandatory consultation with the commission before making u
z
any rules or regulations governing the vigilance or disciplinary matters relating to the persons ::5
appointed to the public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or to members of
a
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All India Services.
�
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• The Central Vigilance Commissioner is the chairperson and vigilance commissioners are members of z
w
the committee, on whose recommendations the central government appoints the Director of u
0
Enforcement Directorate. z
<(
• The committee concerned with the appointment of the director of Enforcement is also empowered to z
0
recommend after consultation with the Director of Enforcement, appointment of officers to the level of
Deputy Director and above in the Directorate of Enforcement.
�
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• The Central Vigilance Commissioner is also the chairperson and vigilance commissioners the >
z
members of the committee empowered to recommend after consultation with Director CBI the LL
0
appointment of officers to the post of the level of SP and above, except Director, and also recommend ::::>
the extension and curtailment of such officers in the CBI. a::
::::>
cc
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Other things with respect to eve �
1-
• CVC has to report an annual report regarding its work to the President who places it on the floor of the z
w
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houses of the Parliament. I
z
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Issues in functioning of eve 0 [Link] a::
a::
• They have overwhelming dependence on the CBI for the investigation that is already politicized and in 0
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control of the government. LL
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No independent powers of prosecution and the sanction to prosecute needs the permission of the w
...J
government, which is often delayed. cc
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31
 • There are also cases of non-cooperative attitude of government.
• There is also very poor engagement with civil society, citizens and NGOs that are working in the same
field.

Previous Year's Questions

[Link] of the. Central [Link] of Investigation (CBI) regarding lodging an FIR and conducting
z a probe. within a particular state. is being q [Link].d by various States. However. the. power of the.
0
vi States to withhold consent to the. CBI is not absolute.. Explain with special reference. to the. federal
U)
� character of' India.
:E
0 (2021)
u
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32
1'!W TACKLING CORRUPTION AND
1:.- SOCIAL AUDIT
Tackling corruption 0 [Link]
Numbers of laws and legal frameworks having intended effects to reduce corruption are very wide in India.
More number of laws in a country doesn't mean the country would be less corrupt. On the other hand, this is
an indication that there would be high levels of corruption in that country. There are so many institutions and
laws concerning this issue, yet corruption still exists.
Most experts use an interesting term to describe corruption as they call it a wicked problem. No matter
what kind of efforts one make in the direction of checking corruption, one can reduce it but this problem can
never be 100% eliminated in any society. There will be some odd individual who has the propensity to take
bribes. That's why it's called a Wicked Problem. According to some experts following measures can be
taken:

Stick Measures 0 [Link]

• Legal system
o In any country, to reduce corruption there has to be a higher rate of prosecution of the corrupt.
Officials cannot go unpunished for their corruption. Botswana ranked 35th rank in the corruption
perception index is least corrupt country in Africa. The corruption levels are so low because it has
very high levels of prosecution. But it's not sufficient in itself. There should be convictions also and
that should lead to some deterrent punishment which is severe enough so that in the future other
civil servants are scared and fearful.
o But harsh penalties are exceptions in most parts of the world, not the norm. Most civil servants in
India also, are let off with lenient penalties and rarely face criminal prosecution. Lenient penalties
mean they are simply dismissed or removed from service; rarely will they face criminal prosecution.
Even if they do face it, it goes on for years.
o Countries like China have extreme and harsh penalties. Punishment in certain cases is punishable
by death something which can't be implemented in India given that rule of law is not properly
implemented in the country. Sometimes, Honest people are victimized and if some innocent person
is subjected to some fabricated case and finally the court convicts him also, it will end up
C
sentencing to an honest person. Thus, harsh penalties are not implementable here in India. =>
<(
Secondly, high rates of conviction and punishments for corrupt people should be served as a -I

deterrent for other serving public officials. But in most countries' punishments are lenient. There u0
<(

Vl
are around 10 countries in the world that have death sentences for corruption. Victimization of C
honesty in India would lead to disturbing circumstances for India.
z
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• Sting operations/entrapment: z
0
o The problem with sting operations is that very often they are contrived or staged. Most countries
=>
0::
lack a proper legal framework as to whether the evidence collected from Sting operation should be
0::
admissible in a court of law. A natural sting operation by common citizens, if the servant is asking 0
u
C,
for a bribe for giving you your legitimate due or legal entitlement, then the citizen can record that z
transaction. This should be admissible in the court of law and the court should follow up on that.
u
o But if someone is going to entrap the public official as a media person posing or acting as an

33
 applicant by forcing the bribe then this is entrapment. In countries like Sweden, little weightage is
given to evidence collected through sting operation or entrapment in Swedish courts. Scandinavian
countries don't face the problem of corruption to the extent as developing countries.
o The legal framework should be clear cut because there is lots of dubiousness and ambiguity as to
what will be the admissibility and weight given to evidence collected through Sting Operations
especially entrapment through sting operation. On this, the law is sketchy in most parts of the
world including India and this air of ambiguity has to be cleared.
• Tightening the anti-corruption laws: Many people mentioned that the 2018 amendment had the
effect of diluting the law. The political will needed to tighten these anti-corruption laws is
conspicuous by its absence. Whatever loopholes and weakness exist in these laws as seen with
respect to the Whistleblower Protection laws, Prevention of Corruption act, CVC Act, Delhi Special
Police Establishment Act or Lokpal Act have to be tightened and loopholes have to be plugged.
Politicians responsible for tightening the laws, don't have the will to carry out such progressive
amendments.
• Proper declaration of Assets/Liabilities: Even if country has this norm (which is there in the Lokpal
Act) and if a public servant has disproportionate assets, they are never fully disclosed. One
suggestion made in this regard is to observe a civil servant, especially if there's a suspicion that he
could be corrupt. If he is found to be having a lifestyle, which is disproportionate to his known sources
of income this clearly indicates that the particular civil servant is leading a lifestyle disproportionate to
his level of income. Then everything that person has, should be audited and subjected to a rigorous
investigative audit, then possibly this provision of declaration of assets and liabilities can actually
work.
• Effective anti-corruption bodies: Problem with most of such bodies is that they are poorly funded,
and having inadequate staff. In CBI, a third of positions are vacant, especially at the officer level, they
also lack independence with respect to Indian anti-corruption bodies. There are also as many bodies
with overlapping jurisdictions like Lokpal, Enforcement Directorate, CBI and CVC. Corruption in other

o
l­ countries like Singapore, Hong Kong or Botswana is low because they have single dedicated anti­
corruption agency, and no other agencies are involved. Thus, there should be just one focused body
with the focused mandate. In Singapore, they have a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, in Hong
u0
<(
Kong, an Independent Commission against Corruption. In Botswana, there is a single Directorate of
V)
0 Corruption and Economic Crime.
z • Shaming of corrupt officials: Those that are corrupt, publicly shaming them in newspapers, websites,
<(
z social media, etc. can also be a good tool. This has been used with some degree of success in South
0
Africa. People would be varying in developing ties or relations with them.
:::>
a:: • Blacklisting of firms: If a company is found to regularly bribe a public agency to get a contract, that
a::
company should be blacklisted. This company should not be allowed to bid for any government
l!)
z contract for a specific time period.
• Future penalties also must be there for public servants. Not only dismissal or jail, the penalty should
also include forfeiture of his pension/social security, and financial security rights. This will inject fear as

34
 financial security is going away.

Carrot Measures 0 [Link]

• Substantial pay increase: 3rd pay commission was correct in saying that measures like substantial
pay increase may not check corruption but influence new entrants into public service to fall prey to
corruption. This measure can be successful if there is an adequate improvement of stick measures with
carrot measures (salary scale). Only then, it will have a significant effect. A substantial pay can be
successful as an instrument of checking corruption if complemented with the adequate improvement
of stick measures.
• Financial rewards to officers: This option to give financial rewards to officials who report on citizens
offering bribes and prosecute them was tried in Hungary with disastrous results. In Hungary, public
servants knew they'd get financial rewards if they report on citizens offering bribe. To earn money and
financial reward, they stopped doing the work of the citizens, forcing them into a position where they
were tempted to offer a bribe because public servants weren't doing their work. Entrapment and
victimization of citizens started happening. This led to a lot of uproar in Hungary.
• Financial rewards to honest officials who report on corrupt colleagues: The officials who report
corruption will be labeled as a snitch. A good carrot measure for citizens who find it difficult to report
corruption as they fear that the officials to whom the complaint is being made could also be corrupt.
Delhi government did a reasonably successful program by instituting anti-corruption hotlines. The
moment a civil servant is found to be taking bribes, call the hotline, ask what should be done, someone
will come to the citizen's help and give them a small camera and get them caught red handed. In
presence of such helplines a citizen can immediately report without the fear of intimidation, reprisal or
attacks on him by the department. To protect the citizen who fear that the agency will harbour a
grudge against the citizen, an effective framework for witness protection and whistleblower
protection should be there but such framework is not there as of now. These measures can serve as a
carrot measure for citizens to report corruption and get involved in this crusade against corruption.

C
Administrative and Technical measures =>
<(
• Job rotation: Corruption networks take time to build and develop. If a civil servant is posted in strategic -I

bureaucratic position, he/she should not be posted to the same place for a longer period of time or for u0
<(

Vl
the entire career. The expectation is that if the next person comes, even if he is corrupt, it takes time for C
corruption networks to develop. Job rotation, shifting and transferring people who are in key strategic z
<(
positions, and getting new individuals, can help. The experience the officer gain from spending 2-3 z
0
years at the same job is lost since the new person starts from a clean slate. This job rotation as a step to
=>
0::
measure corruption was also advocated by Kautilya in Arthashastra. The studies conducted on 0::
regular job rotation with respect to corruption in Germany found that the job rotations are very 0
u
C,
effective but in India, they're not as effective. In many cases, it is found, that the outgoing person or z
officer who might be corrupt, has already developed a corruption network and informed the new
u
incumbent of the existing network.

35
 • Improving the Quality of Auditing: If the quality of the auditing process of government expenditure at
all levels is improved it can have a very appreciable and significant impact on the problem of
corruption. Under CAG, one of the aspects is that there are 2,50,000 auditable entries and in a given
year, CAG's entire department can investigate no more than 25% or 1/4th of the total 2,50,000 entries
because of lack of staff, lack of IT tools, lack of infrastructure etc. World over, the quality of auditing is
globally recognized as an effective tool to check corruption appreciably.
• Setting norms with respect to Government Contracts: When a government agency wants to give
out a contract, many companies fill up tender and bid. Before bids are evaluated, the public agencies
coming up with the tender should on their own set norms as to minimum bid and max bid. It should be
done internally and not disclosed. Companies have a sense of minimum and maximum bids, to decide
viability. So if the bid is higher than the set range or above the upper set limit, it is possible that the
agency is factoring the amount of bribes that will have to be paid to officials etc., which makes it
suspicious. It also means they could be factoring in costs for getting clearances and permits. If the bid
is lower than the internally set range, suspicion should be that they might use substandard materials,
and engineers can be bribed to get approvals. This is one way of identifying companies looking to gain
a bribe with respect to the outsourcing activity in terms of contracts for the public sector being given to
the private sector.
• Transparency in public procurement: Procurement is done mostly through the private sector and this
area is most vulnerable to corruption. There should be a comprehensive public procurement law
laying down all the tasks and norms of probity so that all procurement processes for government's
outsourcing and getting supplies of goods and services from the private sector become streamlined
and open to public view so that there is less possibility of the procurement process to be corrupted.
This is important because of the Central, State, District and Local government relationship. The total
amount of expenditure from apex level union government to the local body level, these state bodies
and entities spend on public procurement is equivalent to annually 30 per cent of the nation's GDP,
which is why there is a need for a comprehensive legal framework in the form of public procurement

o
l­ law. So far, only the public procurement bill was introduced in 2012, but it couldn't be passed in 2012
or 2015. So far the bill has been introduced multiple times but has not seen the light of day.
• Online service: Technical measures can be taken to tackle corruption as well. Since there is a physical
u0
<(
interface between the civil servant and citizen, there's a possibility that if the public servant is corrupt,
V)
0 he may charge a bribe. With the online availability of services, the human interface is removed,
z Individuals can access the concerned website of the department, upload documents and submit fee
<(
z online, and within a few days, he will be delivered the service. Not all services can be digitized but
0
technical measures can be taken wherever possible and practical.
:::>
a:: • CCTV Camera at strategic locations: Use of CCTV cameras for corruption can be used at critical
a::
points where there is a higher likelihood of corruption like Police Stations, Border Crossings, Ports,
l!)
z and Vulnerable strategic points. They should also be made functional, which is currently a major issue.
It's not just sufficient to have the CCTVs but also to make sure that there's an audit of the functioning of
the camera. One should also try to prioritize the most vulnerable departments where the level of

36
 corruption is much higher, and then gradually other departments can be looped in. Instead of a
comprehensive anti-corruption policy covering all departments, the most vulnerable departments
and agencies can be targeted. This is also done in places like America.

Radical approach 0 [Link]

• Disband the entire department (Example- Georgia 2004): If a department has always been on the
receiving end of corruption, in spite of repeated efforts to combat or check corruption, disband the
whole department. Recruit fresh people, train them, give them a good salary and make sure
appropriate steps are taken so that the same behaviour may not be repeated. Appropriate norms, and
appropriate technical administrative measures should be taken from the beginning and it should be
hammered into the new entrants mind that they were recruited primarily to ensure that the
department works in an honest manner. In Georgia, in 2004, traffic police were highly corrupt so the
Georgian government disbanded and dismissed the entire traffic department and went for fresh
recruitment in the way suggested.
• Gender Balance (Example-Peru): If we assume that women are better human beings than men and
that they tend to trust men less, then we should appoint more and more women in the civil services.
The number of women appointed in public services is far less than the number of men, so restore
gender balance, and get more women into civil service as opposed to just men. The results of this
suggestion were very encouraging in Peru where this was tried and it was found corruption levels and
allegations came down. When studies were conducted, they found the tendency of women to form
corruption networks is less and even if a woman is found to be corrupt, she will be a part of a network
in which the majority will be men. So results in India could yield the same result, although it can't be
said for sure, which is why it falls under the radical approach.
• If you can't beat them, join them: In Romania in the 1990s, there was conscription (compulsory
military service), and many youngsters didn't want to do it. If such people were able to secure
certificates of being medically unfit and get the stamp and sign of a public official responsible for
conscription, by bribing authorities, they could avoid getting conscripted. The Government came to
C
know of this and announced a new policy that said those who don't want to go for compulsory =>
<(
conscription could pay some money directly to the government. This money would end up in the -I

public treasury. There were allegations that people who could pay were the ones who could afford to u0
<(

Vl
pay, leading to a class bias, as only the richer would be able to pay. C
• General Amnesty to all corrupt: Everything that can be done and should be done has been largely
z
<(
done in India yet corruption is still persistent. This radical approach says that Government must z
0
announce a policy for people who have been corrupt should come out in the open and also announce
=>
0::
that nobody will be prosecuted. This might generate a lot of general public backlash which will be
0::
very difficult for the government to handle. After asking those people to reveal their disproportionate 0
u
C,
assets, 50% will have to deposit with the government, and the rest of the money those people will be z
allowed to keep. Comprehensive laws, strict laws, and stick measures must be rigorously
u
implemented after the general amnesty scheme is implemented. This approach is debatable as one

37
 would have to choose the lesser of the two evils.

International measures 0 [Link]

• Foreign Corrupt practices Act 1977: One problem with incorruptible countries like Sweden, Norway,
Denmark etc. are that many MNC headquarters are not internally incorruptible. It is when these MN Cs
engage in economic activities especially in developing countries where democratic systems are weak,
they openly engage in corruption. In 1977, the American government came up with the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act, if an American company headquartered in America is engaged in corruption
activities outside and it is discovered and established, some action by the American government can
be taken against them domestically. UK's has a similar act, the anti-bribery act, 2010, which carries
similar provisions. Many people who have swindled taxpayers abscond the country, before
prosecution, and have to be extradited. Not having an extradition treaty becomes more painful. So, at
the international level, there should be some agreement between nations about extradition and
people accused of corruption should be made easier to be prosecuted. But doing this is complicated as
it involves international relations and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
• Check on banking havens: Many people, politicians and dictators have Swiss bank accounts that have
illicit earnings parked in such banks. Privacy laws in countries are such that they don't disclose any
details. So keeping a check on such banking havens is difficult to do, but money laundering is should be
dealt with.
Western nations have been the principal drivers since the 1990s against globalization. Before that, they
weren't bothered due to cold war strategic interests. When liberalization and globalization took place, the
major American companies wanted the American government to pressurize the allies to become less
corrupt. Western leaders became serious about corruption in developing countries. The World Bank and
IMF also started becoming serious about their interests, the interest of corporates and the capitalist class
required such a transformation to take place.
• OECD came out with an anti-bribery convention in 1997.
• G-7 set up FATF in 1989 to check money laundering and terror financing. It has a number of lists too.
o
l­
• The UN in 2003 came out with the UN Convention against corruption, which came into force in 2005
and India ratified it in 2011.
u0
<(
• Interpol has a body called Interpol Group of Experts on Corruption (IGEC) which has evolved a set of
V)
0 global standards principally to check the corruption of the police services.
z • The role of WTO was to remove non-tariff barriers, gradually dismantle them, and reduce tariffs over a
<(
z period of time so that global trade can be facilitated. A high level of corruption should also be labeled
0
as non-tariff barrier but the WTO didn't do this, so its role has been highly disappointing.
:::>
a:: Triple bottom lining: Since 1990's many MNCs have accepted the principle of the triple bottom lining which
a::
is Impact of activities on profits, people and planet. But it doesn't talk about corruption. Governance has also
l!)
z taken into account now. Reporting governance standards have also been starting to get reported. Globally
it should become a norm that companies should bring out Quadruple Bottom Lining report which also
includes Governance.

38
Critique of global Anti-Corruption movement 0 [Link]
This movement involves western countries, governments, NGOs, and social activists. Until 1990, western
countries did not bother about high levels of corruption, now they ask developing countries to emulate their
ways. Till the time the situation suited western countries, they were fine with developing countries behavior.
This raises questions about cultural imperialism i.e. imposing their own ways of doing things on other
countries. The colonizers earlier, are now colonizing institutions, minds, thought processes and intellect.
Increasingly western countries threaten consequences if the developing countries don't fall in line with their
norms, which also have consequences for the sovereign decisions of the developing country.
An anti-corruption industry has also developed where thousands of NGOs are involved in anti-corruption
work, producing extensive data, indexes and work on corruption-related tasks. These NGOs also get
donations from various governments, capitalists, etc. which has given rise to an industry in itself. This has
also resulted in criticism of the global anti-corruption movement. It is debated if the reports produced by the
NGOs have any actual consequence on the ground and make any dent in corruption-related problems, as
corruption levels remain same or only tend to increase in countries year after year. If corruption comes down
and seizes to be a problem, it will also have an effect on the livelihood of those people involved in this
industry. Therefore, this industry has a vested interest in getting more and more funding by preparing
reports and highlighting blunders. They survive year after year only through the funding they receive from
massive corporate structures, businessmen, governments, etc. Some NGOs also may have a vested interest
in not allowing corruption to come down appreciably because then their funding will dry up and their
livelihoods will be affected.
Two other interesting suggestions to check corruption have also been suggested:
• Spiritual education: Corruption is largely a result of materialism, consumerism and low self-esteem.
People should be imparted some spiritual education from a young age, very basic during school years
and advanced in graduation years and more training in any specialized training institutions. With
compulsory course in spiritual training like meditation, etc. the levels of corruption might come down.
• Integrity Recognition certification: On a nationwide basis, in every department, central and state
governments should identify civil servants known for their honesty and hard work, who have never
C
faced any departmental proceedings and are punctual and efficient. Isolate those who have faced =>
<(
allegations of corruption, and against whom some enquiries have been opened up. Once people of -I

integrity are identified, they should be given the designation of IRC. Integrity is officially recognized by u0
<(

Vl
the government with a certificate. These honest officers can thus network by getting together and C
forming a group, making an important pressure group to check corruption. Appointments for critical
z
<(
positions will also be thus made on the basis of IRC certification. It has to be made sure the process of z
0
giving IRC should not be tainted or corrupted itself. The sense of isolation, disappointment and
=>
0::
despair an honest person goes through will be addressed to some extent. The government will have
0::
to doubly explain itself if it appoints non-IRC people in critical positions. 0
u
C,
z
Social Audit 0 [Link]
u
In the evaluation of the performance of schemes, if the local population is involved through public hearings

39
 or Jan Sunwai, then whatever funds, resources, beneficiaries, and records are involved, they will be laid
bare. Then the people can give input and pick loopholes, which can help in checking corruption, increasing
transparency and fixing accountability, thus strengthening democracy. We can trace its origin to CSR in
private companies.
It is a process in which details of implementations of a scheme or program and resources involved therein,
financial as well non-financial are shared with beneficiaries through a public platform like Jan Sunwai,
public hearing etc. Gram Sabha can be called for that, people can hold local bureaucracy and Panchayat
Leaders accountable and evaluate the real impact of those schemes.
Unless there is proper access to the information regime that public agencies are required to fully reveal the
details of everything related to the scheme, the social audit process will be a lost cause. The key to social
audit effectiveness is sound access to the information regime.

Features of a Social Audit:

• Multi-perspective: The benefits of social audit are not only for the beneficiaries but also for the local
leaders and civil servants. They will be given the opportunity to present their side of things if some
loopholes have been detected. Multiple perspectives too are taken into account by the local
bureaucracy, local leaders, and local people.
• Regular: Social Audit is periodic process depending on the nature of the scheme after set periods. So
that issues can be reevaluated and can be addressed continuously.
• Comparative: It also brings out time-based comparison regarding how improvements can be made.
Without comparison, Social Audit may throw up different results in different villages, then
comparative analysis with help in understanding weakness in the implementation of schemes in
villages vis-a-vis what was done well in other villages, comparing both temporally and spatially.
• Strengthens demand side: There is not enough pressure generated on local bureaucracy to
implement schemes in an honest way. A process directly tries to strengthen demand side weaknesses
and indirectly target supply side weaknesses.

o
l­

Significance of Social Audit:

• Improve people's participation in the administration .
u0
<(
• Benefits reach the targeted persons.
V) •
0 Promote development of social capital - collectively synergizes community building in society,
z develop a sense of community and increases the potential of people coming together and bringing
<(
z about changes.
0
• Identifying Human Resources and training needs of civil servants.
:::>
a:: • It highlights development concerns.
a::
• Facilitates transparency and checking corruption.
l!)
z • Helped in the formulation of improved programs in the future.

40
Issues with Social Audit:
• It has not become part of mainstream policy discourse.
• It is a statutory requirement under very few programs- NREGA is one under which it has to be held.
• Lack of trained social auditors.
• Opposition from vested interests.
• Symptom - cause relationship:
o It is sometimes easy to discredit a scheme. For example, if there is an outbreak of plague in a village,
the first obvious reason would be poor sanitation and hygiene. The other possible reason is
congested environments and closed up proximity of people because of living in clusters. Then
there is also a lack of awareness among people about such outbreaks.
o To deal with the problem in the first level of symptom-cause relationship, which is also the most
proximate cause of the problem i.e. poor sanitation and hygiene, one would need a programme for
poor sanitation. The plague problem arises from another issue of people living closely in clusters,
for which a housing program would be needed. This can be attributed to a congested environment,
which will be considered the second level in the symptom-cause relationship. And finally,
awareness schemes would be needed to make people aware of such problems, which is also the
third level in the symptom-cause relationship.
o Now let's say, the government only starts awareness schemes upon the outbreak of the plague, it
will have little effect in the absence of the other two levels of the symptom-cause relationship.
o Therefore, a social audit of just awareness schemes will have no effect and it is questionable if that
should be reason enough for the discontinuation of the scheme. This means that attacking a
symptom at a remote level of symptom-cause relationship has little effect. The schemes should be
such that they address a problem from different levels of symptom cause relationship.
o Thus, it is important to understand if a decision to discontinue the scheme should solely be made on
the basis of that audit. That's why it is important to have trained auditors who understand the
dynamics of the symptom - cause relationship and take decisions appropriately.

C
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41
 PROBLEM OF CORRUPTION
-LOKPAL IN INDIA
Introduction 0 [Link]
• Lokpal is an ombudsman or watchdog of administration. It came into existence for the first time in the
world in Sweden in 1809.
• The Ombudsman is designated as the parliamentary commissioner in the UK set up in 1967.
• In the USA the ombudsman is present in some states like Hawaii, Oregon, and Nebraska but it is not
available at the federal level.
• The first ARC recommended that in India, Lokpal should be a two-tier machinery namely Lokpal and
the Lokayukta at the Union level, and each state should have its own Lokayukta. The Lokpal should
investigate the allegation of corruption of officials of the rank, Secretary and above, at both the Union
and State levels. The Lokayukta at the Union level will investigate the rank below secretary at the
Union level. Similarly, the officials below the rank of Secretary in the state will be investigated by the
respective state's Lokayukta.
• In India the first bill was introduced in 1968, but the present Lokpal Bill was passed in 2013 and the
Lokpal was constituted in 2019 with Justice PC Ghosh being appointed as the Chairperson of the
nine-body institution.
• Maharashtra was the first state in India to appoint Lokayukta in India in 1971.

Experience at the State level

The experience has not been a satisfactory one because of the following concerns:
• The Lokayuktas are flooded with complaints. The efficiency and performance of an apex body like
Lokpal would considerably depend on the efficiency of lower-level departments in handling and
successfully handling petty complaints.
• Poor effectiveness: The powers of Lokpal are not adequate and hence are not able to investigate and
prosecute properly.
• Inter-State differences: The qualifications, tenure, functions, and powers, Suo-moto powers, no <(
0
separate investigation agency, etc. vary from one state to state. z
• Survival depends on the sweet will of State governments: It is created by the State governments z
and in many instances, they have also been abolished by the state government. In 1992, Odisha, it is ..J

abolished by an ordinance, and a similar fate to Haryana's Lokayuktas in 1999.

• Paper Tigers: In most states, the working of Lokayuktas are majorly recommendatory in nature and
hence have been termed as paper tigers. z
0
• Corruption in Lokayuktas: There have been cases where this watchdog of corruption has themselves
involved in corruption like allegations of extortion. :::::,
[Link]
• Setup to intimidate political opponents: The powers of the ombudsman have also been misused to [Link]
0
target political opponents. u
LL
0
�
LokpalAct,2013 0 [Link] w
..J
• Composition: al
0
It is a nine-member organization including the Chairperson. [Link]
a.

43
 o Chairman:
► He is or has been a CJI or judge of SC
► Eminent person with 25 years of experience in vigilance, anti-corruption, law, finance,
administration, and management.
o Members
► There shall be 8 members where half the members shall be judicial members and the remaining
half will be non-judicial members. The qualification of judicial members is that they have to be a
judge of SC or a Chief Justice of a High Court. For the non-judicial members, they have to be an
eminent person with 25 years of experience in vigilance, anti-corruption, law, finance,
administration, and management.
► It also provides for 50% affirmative action. This will provide an opportunity for SC, ST, OBC,
minorities, and woman
• Other Conditions:
o They should not be an MP, MLA, or MLC.
o They should also not be a member of any local body.
o They should be a minimum of 45 years of age
o They should not have been removed/dismissed from government services.
o They shall not hold any other office of profit or should carry out any business activity or engaged in
a profession.
o They should not be affiliated with any political party
• Appointment:
The appointment is made under the name and seal of the President on the recommendation of the
selection committee that consists of:
o Prime Minister as a Chairperson
� o Speaker of Lok Sabha
ci
z o Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. It does not indicate who would replace in case there is no
z recognition of the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha.
...I o CJI or a SC judge nominated by him.
� o Eminentjuristwho would be selected by the first four members mentioned above.
0 The selection committee can also appoint a search committee of 7 members who would be
...I
z responsible for shortlisting suitable candidates. The search committee would also have the
0
provision of 50 % affirmative action of providing reservations to SC, ST, OBC, Minorities, and
:::> Women. The selection committee can still go beyond the names recommended by the search
[Link]
[Link] committee for the appointment.
0
u • Tenure: The chairpersons and members are appointed for a tenure of 5 years or the maximum age of
LL
0 70 years. A person appointed as a chairperson or a member cannot be reappointed except if a member
�
w is to be elevated as the chairperson, provided the total tenure as member and chairman doesn't
...I
al exceed the statutory limit of 5 years.
0
[Link] • Salary: The chairperson's salary and remuneration are equivalent to the CJI and the other member's to

44
 be equivalent to a SC judge. Their terms of service cannot be altered to their disadvantage while being
in the office
• Disabilities after retirement: The disabilities of the members of the Lokpal body are similar in nature
to CVC. In addition to that, they are also ineligible to contest any election in India for 5 years.
• Organizational Structure
o It will constitute an inquiry wing headed by the Director of Inquiry
o It will constitute a prosecution wing headed by the Director of Prosecution
o It will also have a Secretary oflokpal.

Note: They will be appointed from a panel of names recommended by the Government of India.

Should the Prime Minister be covered?

nd
• 2 ARC opposed it citing the following concerns:
o It would cripple the administration when the investigation is going on.
o It may be exploited by foreign powers to malign the Prime Minister.
o The Prime Minister is already covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988
• Arguments against:
o The CBI investigates acts of corruption, and it functions under the Department of Personnel and
Training and thus under the prime minister's direct control. Thus, it will hamper the investigation.
o Prime Minister should lead by example. Some states with Lokayuktas have included Chief Minister
under their ambit.
o Under Article 361, only President and Governors have been given exemption from corruption
allegations but there is no legal or constitutional exemption for the Prime Minister.

Lokpal Act covers Prime Minister partially: <(

• 0
Lokpal shall not investigate any decision of the Prime Minister relating to public order, internal and z
external security, atomic energy, or space. z
• The full bench of the Lokpal with a two-thirds majority must approve the initiation of inquiry or ..J

investigation against the Prime Minister.

Jurisdictions and Functions of Lokpal: z

0
• The Lokpal has jurisdiction to inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been
Prime Minister or a Minister of the Union government, or a Member of the Parliament as well as :::::,
[Link]
officials of Union Government under Groups A. B, C, and D. Also, covered are chairpersons, directors, [Link]
0
members, officers of any board, corporation, society trust, or autonomous body either established by u
LL
an Act of Parliament or wholly or partly funded by the Union and State government. It also covers 0
�
any society or trust or body that receives above Rs 10 lakh per year. w
..J
• A complaint under the Lokpal Act should be prescribed in the form and must pertain to an offense al
0
under the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988 against the public servant. [Link]
a.

45
 • There is no restriction on who can make such a complaint. When a complaint is received, the Lokpal
may order a preliminary inquiry by its Inquiry Wing or any other agency or refer it for the investigation
by any agency, including the CBI, if there is a prima facie case.
• Before ordering of an investigation by an agency the Lokpal shall call for an explanation from the
public servant to determine whether a prima facie case exists. The Lokpal with respect to Central
Government servants shall refer the complaints to the Central Vigilance Commission. The CVC shall
send a report to the Lokpal regarding officials falling under Groups A and B, and proceed as per the
CVC Act against those in Groups C and D.
• The Inquiry Wing or any other agency will have to complete its preliminary inquiry and submit a report
to the Lokpal within 60 days.
• A Lokpal bench shall consider the preliminary inquiry report, and after giving an opportunity to the
public servant accused of corruption for his/her defense, decide whether it should proceed with the
investigation. It can order a full investigation or directly can start departmental proceedings or close
the proceedings. It may also proceed against the complainant if the allegation is false.
• After the investigation, the agency ordered to conduct the probe has to file its investigation report in
the court of appropriate jurisdiction and a copy of the report has to be filed before the Lokpal. A Bench
of at least three members will consider the report and may grant sanction to the Prosecution Wing to
proceed against the public servant based on the agency's charge sheet. It may also ask the competent
authority to take departmental action or direct the closure of the report.
• Previously, the authority vested with the power to appoint or dismiss public servant was the one to
grant sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 19 of the
Prevention of the Corruption Act. Now this power will be exercised by the Lokpal.
• The Lokpal is vested with the power of search and seizure and also the powers under the Civil
Procedure Code for the purpose of conducting a preliminary inquiry and investigation and power of
� attachment of assets and taking other steps for eradication of corruption.
ci
z • Lokpal will have the power of superintendence and direction over any central investigation agency
z including CBI for cases referred to them by the Lokpal
...I

� Removal of Lokpal members: 0 [Link]

0 • On grounds of Misbehavior: It can be done through a reference to the Supreme Court, but only if this
...I
z reference is signed by a minimum of 100 members of the Parliament.
0
• Other Grounds: The President can also dismiss on other grounds on the advice of the Council of
:::> Ministers like insolvency, private employment, infirmity of body or mind, and acquiring prejudicial
[Link]
[Link] financial interest.
0
u
LL
0 Note:
�
w • The act also provides for annual declaration of assets and liabilities of public servants
...I
al • Annual Report is prepared and presented to the President who tables it before the Parliament. This
0
[Link] report must contain a memorandum containing explanations for the rejection of recommendations of

46
 the Lokpal.
• There is a limitation period of 7 years which places the time period till which a complaint can be filed.

Issues with Lokpal

• The jurisdiction of the Lokpal is too wide.
• It has a very convoluted appointment process.
• The Prime Minister is only partially covered under theAct.
• The limitation period of? years places a limit.
• The wide scope of action can lead to intimidation of NG Os.
• There are also delays in appointments.

Functioning of Lokpal since 2019:

• There are allegations of emasculating the body through legislation.
• Government has delayed making the rules prescribing the form for filing complaints.
• The rules regarding disclosure of assets are delayed.
• By 2020 the Prosecution and Investigation Wings were not set up.
• Rules to be made by Lokpal for preliminary Inquiry and investigation have also been delayed.
• Yet the Lokpal has the following status: By September 2019, it has disposed of 1000 complaints out of
1065. But the number of complaints has been falling each year. It fell from 1427 cases in 2019-20 to
110 in 2020-2021 and to just 12 tillAugust in 2021-22.

nd
2 ARC Recommendations:
• The body of Lokpal is a very important body and hence should be accorded Constitutional status from
the existing statutory status, which would add to its independence and respect. This has to be done for
both the Rashtriya Lokayukta at the Union level and the State Lokayukta at the state level. The <(
0
Rashtriya Lok Ayukta will investigate cases of corruption pertaining to Union Ministers, members of z
Parliament, and State Chief Ministers, while the State Lokayukta will consider cases pertaining to z
State Ministers and state legislatures. The CVC should deal with cases of corruption pertaining to civil ..J

servants.
• There should be also a Local Bodies Ombudsman and this ombudsman would deal with both the
political and administrative public officials. z
0

Lokpal not a panacea: :::::,

[Link]
• Corruption is a hydra-headed monster and a single body like Lokpal cannot tackle the problem of [Link]
0
corruption that needs a multi-pronged strategy. u
LL
• The size of bureaucracy is huge, and the Lokpal body will not be able to tackle the complaints of 0
�
corruption from such a large size of the workforce w
..J
• The effectiveness of government bodies in dealing with petty complaints should also be looked into al
0
since these complaints are also being dealt with by the Lokpal. [Link]
a.

47
 • There are also inadequacies in the Judicial Process.
• There is also no ombudsman, empowerment of citizens, willingness to complain as seen in developed
nations thus preventing a multi-pronged strategy to be enabled.

Whistleblower ProtectionAct,2014:
Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Individuals making Disclosure (PIDPIAct),2014:
• Anyone can be a whistleblower with respect to any public body, agency, etc.
• The disclosure has to be made to the competent authority like the Prime Minister in case of Union
Ministers, the Chief Minister in case of State Ministers, the Presiding Officer in case of legislative
members, and the CVC in case of the civil servants.
• No anonymous complaints can be made.
• CVC can issue directions for the protection of Whistleblower.
• If there are frivolous complaints, then there will be penalized with a 2-year jail.
• In 2015, an amendment bill was introduced which lapsed later, it proposed that the Official Secrets
Act of 1923 shall override the Whistleblower'sAct.

Prevention of CorruptionAct,1988
It covers all public servants. Public Servants are defined as
• Anyone in the pay or in the service of the government.
• Public Sector Undertaking employees.
• Local Body functionaries.
• Judges.
• Office bearers of cooperative sector funded by the government.
• Members of the Public Service Commission.
• Employees of Central and State Universities.
• Employees of Deemed Universities via an Apex Court decision of 2020.
� • Any person holding an office by virtue of which he/she is required to perform a public duty. This would
ci
z include MP, MLA too owing to their nature of duties
z
...I
Prevention of CorruptionAmendmentAct,2018: 0 [Link]
� • The act of giving a bribe is categorically recognized as an offense. In case of coercive corruption, if the
0 person files a complaint within 7 days of the offense, the person is not considered guilty.
...I
z • Section 17A has also extended to retired civil servants. Thus, even the sanction of appropriate
0
authority is required to take action against retired civil servants.
:::> • In the original law under section 13 (1) (d), if a public servant has taken a decision that benefits a
[Link]
[Link] commercial organization and if that decision violates public interest. he can be prosecuted. This
0
u provision is diluted under this amendment.
LL • The jail time has increased from 3 years to ?years.
0
� • The trial shall be completed in 2 years up to a maximum of 4 years.
w
...I • Provisions for prosecutions of commercial activities.
al
0 • Provisions for attachment or confiscation of property.
[Link]

48
Em CIVIL SOCIETY AND NGOS (PART-1)
Civil Society and NGOs (Part -1)
• As far as governance is concerned, there are two aspects to it- one is the process of governance
(various institutions, state, markets, NGOs involved in governance, legal frameworks, including
governance for regulatory activities, developmental activities, etc.) and second is the substantive
content of the development process i.e. what we are actually doing in governance, to what extent we
have been able to address the health challenges, educational issues, etc.
• Every community (organized in the form of nation-states) has its own set of problems, issues,
challenges, etc. Especially, in developing countries like India which adopted the welfarist model from
the very beginning, the socialistic pattern of society is based on the enhanced intervention of the state
-the state plays the most principal role in bringing about development, growth, and advancement.
• So, in most of the developing countries, like India we actually relied on addressing all our social and
economic problems almost entirely on the state. State is even today regardless of privatization taking
place, continues to be the principal forum which every community looks upon to address its problems.
• State is basically a problem-solving institution only. State is there to address the issues, articulate
the issues, develop appropriate responses to the problems and challenges, and provide some viable
solutions to the issues.
• State also has some rationale behind its existence and creation and that is to address the issues and
take care of people. So, in a developing country like India, we relied entirely upon the state, thus
private sector had a very limited role to play in India, especially till the economic reform of 1991.
• So, for a long period of time, we depended entirely on the state as the principal problem-solving
agency. But over time, we have also started realizing that even though the state has been the center of
all problem-solving activities, the state has its own inadequacies. In spite of its best efforts, and best
intentions, the state is not able to address all our challenges, issues, etc. So, when the failure of the
state has become evident, in the post-1990s, we started experimenting with a greater role to the
market. So, those goods and services which were monopolistically provided by the state were now
provided by the market.
• But then market failures, imperfections, and inadequacies of the market also started. Market is
always profit-driven, it is exclusionary, and it works on the principle of user-pay (Only those who can
pay for the services and goods-those goods and services are available to them). But there are certain
goods in the society that should be available to every person regardless of the capacity to pay for them
Ii::
•
or not (e.g., health, education, etc.)
Initially, as the state's inadequacies manifested, we tried to give over some of the activities to the
iV>
0
private sector (market). But over time, especially over the last three decades, the inadequacies or the C)
z
exploitative policy of the market have become visible, thus we have started exploring some other 0
z
alternatives. The first forum for problem-solving in society was the state, the second forum was the -ct
market, and the third kind of paradigm or institutional framework is the civil society.
0
0
V>
...I
5
0

49
 State - 1st sector

Governance

Market- 2nd Civil Society - 3rd

sector sector

Communities' problem-solving fora:

• State: The principal problem-solving forum that we focused upon or relied upon was the state. State
is always referred to as the first sector. But over time, we have realized that the state is not adequately
addressing the challenges or other developmental visions. Some of the inadequacies of the state are
as follows:
o It led to the overcapitalization of the state: It means too much money or too much reliance being
placed on the state and yet inadequate benefits going to the people.
o Good politics results in bad economics: Many decisions taken in the state apparatus are not in line
with the actual requirement of the situation.
o Creation of a Nanny state: When people become overdependence on the state, the state actually
becomes a nanny state. Overdependence on the state led to the creation of a nanny state.
o Because there is too much money going to one problem-solving forum, that leads to corruption,
embezzlement, stiffening of the fund, linkages, etc.
o Rule-driven bureaucracy: Adherence to rule became the goal itself whereas the ultimate goals are
achieved or not that was the limited concern of the bureaucrats.
�
i
• Market: Market is the alternative to the delivery of goods and services. It is the second sector.
(/) o Market is profit-driven.
0
C} o It offers services on a user-pay basis.
z
0 o Market is exclusionary.
z
<( o Merit goods like health, and education are neglected for those who cannot pay.
• Civil society: Civil society is the third sector. One of the key factors responsible for the rise of civil
u
0
society as an alternative paradigm of governance is the developmental failure of both the state and
(/)
the market. Civil society is sometimes referred to as the fifth estate, after the legislature, executive,
5
u judiciary, and media.

50
Civil Society: 0 [Link]
• People organizing themselves outside the state and market, is the civil society. NGOs may get some
donations from the state or the market, but they are created by people who are part of it and they are
largely outside the state and market.
• Civil Society is an intermediate space between the state and the market.
• Features of civil society:
o It is voluntary. For example, the formation of NGOs is a voluntary activity. So, the first aspect of civil
society is, that it is organized on the principle of voluntarism.
o They are based in the collective interest.
o They are autonomous from the state and market.

Voluntarism

I
Collective
Autonomous
Interest

• However, there is no universally accepted definition or universally acceptable feature which can
adequately define civil society. For example, we cannot consider any mafia organization as a civil
society, though they satisfy all the characteristics of civil society.
• Civil society is not society in general; it is not just a collection of citizens living in an organized state but
rather an organized social life. It is when the people start organizing themselves around core
common beliefs, common values, and interests. They form organizations like NGOs, Interest groups,
b::
•
advocacy groups, philanthropic groups, social activism-based groups, etc.
It is voluntary, largely self-supporting, and autonomous.
iUl
0
• It is bound by a set of shared values. C,
z
• Citizens acting collectively in the public spheres to express their interests, and ideas, to achieve the C
z
collective goals. <(
• It does not seek to acquire formal power.
o Political parties have to be kept outside civil society. 0
0
Ul
o Media also kept outside civil society. ...J
5
0

51
 Reasons for the growth of civil society as a paradigm of governance:
• Developmental failure of state and market.
• Higher levels of societal learning. With higher levels of societal learning, people tend to acquire the
skill, will, and the ability to mobilize and organize themselves to form associations and
organizations outside the state and market.
• Rise of governance paradigm.
• Rejection of the instrumentalist side of the state. It means the state should not be at the center of
everything or the delivery of public goods and services. The development process should not be
organized in such a way that the state is always at the center. Now we have moved away from state­
centric development to people-centric development.
• Globalization and the advent of the information age.
• Rise of colour revolution, Arab springs, etc. responsible for the growth of civil society.
o Colour revolution is a typical term with respect to those democratic revolutions which took place in
the 1990s. In many ex-Soviet republics, where these revolutions aimed at bringing down dictators
and restoring democracy.

Components of civil society: 0 [Link]

• People serving vs. Member serving: Civil society can be created to serve the interests of the people in
general like the Human rights Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms, etc. Unlike civil society
organizations, pressure groups are generally not people serving, they are members serving i.e.,
pressure groups largely focus on the members of the groups.
• Traditional associations: These associations are based on social workers, social entities, etc. (Caste
associations, religious associations, associations based on religion, ethnicity, languages, etc.)
• Representative associations: In this category are trade unions, students' unions, peasants' unions,
etc.
• All kinds of interest groups such as Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and pressure groups.
• All kinds of philanthropic groups who are engaging in social services (like Rama Krishna Missions),
and advocacy groups (like, PETA).
• All kinds of socio-cultural associations, like sports clubs, recreational clubs, etc.
• Professional associations which are typically members serving civil society organizations like the Bar
�
Council of India (BCI), Indian Medical Association (IMA), etc.
[ • Different social movements like India against corruption.
(/)
0
C)
z
C Significance of a vibrant civil society: 0 [Link]
z
<( • Supplements, compliments, questions, confronts, substitutes (where the government is not actively
involved) the state/market.
0 • Advocates and promotes social change.
0
(/)
• Plays a pro-active role in defending the civil liberties of people.
5 o Human Rights Watch
0

52
 o Amnesty International
o Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
• Helps strengthening transparency and accountability.
o Association of Democratic Reform (ADR)
o Transparency International
• A vigilant civil society ensures that the government does not deviate from its promise.
• Concepts like de-administered, decentralized development can be made workable with the
involvement of civil society organizations.
• Many civil society organizations are also involved in evaluating the impact of government policies
(social audits).
• Many civil society organizations also serve as the training ground for political leaders of the future.
• Many civil society organizations also provide technical support to the government. E.g., Centre for
Policy Research (CPR), IDSA, CSE, FICCI, etc.

Social Capital:
• Social capital is basically the power of the collective. The two key pillars of social capital are trust and
reciprocity.
• Social capital vs. financial capital:
o Social capital is productive, financial capital is also productive.
o Social capital is everywhere, whereas financial capital is confined to financial institutions.
o Social capital is unlimited and infinite, whereas financial capital is finite.

Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) 0 [Link]

rd
Constitutional basis of the 3 Sector:
• Article 19(1)(c) of the Indian Constitution gives the right to form civil society organizations,
associations, unions, and cooperatives.
• Article 43 B of the Indian Constitution talks about the government having to promote the voluntary
formation, democratic and effective functioning of the cooperatives.
• Part IX-8 of the Indian Constitution deals with cooperatives.
• The State List entry 32 also talks about cooperatives. If the activities of the cooperatives go beyond
Ii::
•
one state (in the case of multistate cooperatives), that will be governed by central laws.
Entry 10 in the Concurrent List deals with Trust.
iV>
0
• Entry 28 in the Concurrent List deals with charities, charitable and religious endowments, etc. C)
z
0
z
Features of NGOs: -ct
• NGOs are voluntary.
• NGOs are initiated and governed by their own members, ideally on democratic principles. 0
0
V>
• They are autonomous from the state and market. ...I
• NGOs are legal entities- trusts, cooperatives, charities, trade unions, not-for-profit companies, etc.
5
0

53
 • They usually have their own written constitution.
• Every NGO is supposed to have definite aims and objectives.
• They must have a proper organizational structure.
• They must have the ability to mobilize the resources- locally or outside.
• They must have a well-organized accounting/auditing system.
• There must be a continuous system for the evaluation of performance.

Financial support from the government:

• Gives certainty as to the availability of finances.
• Raising funds requires a lot of energy and time which can be saved.
• Helps in expanding their scope and outreach.
• Regular state-NGO interaction is a mutually beneficial exercise.

Role of NGOs in Development: 0 [Link]

• Mediatory role: NGOs play a mediatory role, almost a link between the citizens and the government
in creating a greater appreciation amongst the government circles of people's problems which has
escaped the notice of the government.
• Mobilising role: They play an important role in organizing and mobilizing Gram Sabha meetings,
many SHGs have been sponsored, promoted, and developed by NGOs only.
• Consultative role: Many of the NGOs including the Think-Tanks, provide a lot of technical inputs. Their
leaders are often consulted by the government; many times they are also put on ad-hoc government
advisory bodies.
• Educational role: Many of the NGOs are actually involved in providing vocational training to poor
people to create self-employment, base income-generating ventures. For example, SEWA which was
started early in the 1970s by Illa Bhat, to provide vocational training to poor women.
• Supplementary role/complementary role of government in various areas.
o In several core developmental areas.
o They provide last-mile connectivity.
o They help to address the trust deficit of the people with the state, by providing a sensitive
approach.
� • NGOs also play a leadership role: They are the principal change agents in certain areas; they also
[ serve as the eyes and ears of the government in such areas. For example, addressing issues of sex
(/)
0
C) workers in the country.
z
C • Innovation role: They provide for innovative and imaginative interpretation of the rules and
z
<( regulations, so as the serve the actual purpose of public welfare. They keep on experimenting, till the
best practice is reached, which then can be shared across government departments to replicate.
0 • Efficiency role: Bureaucracy is rule-driven, but NGOs are goal-driven. If NGOs are used regularly by
0
(/)
the government, funding being adequately given to NGOs, they will help increase the efficiency of
5 government spending.
0

54
 • Help in highlighting the loopholes in the legislature and institutional framework for socio-economic
development.
• They work in areas of enforcing standards of accountability and transparency.
• They represent the voice of informed dissent by way of research, surveys, etc.

Four Generations of NGOs 0 [Link]

First Generations NGOs:
• First-generation NGOs are also called relief and welfare NGOs.
• They defined the problems which they tried to address primarily in terms of shortage of something.
• The scope of their operations was largely to bring some relief and promote some kind of welfare for
individuals or families.

Second Generation NGOs:

• Second generation NGOs that begins in the 1970s are also referred to as community development
NGOs.
• Here the problem was local inertia. So, the role of NGO was, rather than providing momentary
benefits became mobilizing and organizing role.
• The scope of operation became the whole village or possibly the larger areas, i.e., the district.

Third Generation NGOs:

• The third generation NGOs focus on sustainable system development.
• When it comes to the third generation NGOs, there is a certain element of activism that starts. Here,
NGOs started interacting with the government regularly; they started agitation also, writing articles in
the newspapers, using the media for engaging in various debates, etc.
• In the sustainable system development stage, the NGOs started defining problems as institutional
and policy constraints.
• The scope of operation became the region or the nation as a whole.

Fourth Generation NGOs:

• The fourth-generation NGOs are the present generation NGOs. They are hybrid in nature. They are
Ii::
•
organizations but they are also movements.
Hybrid means, they are doers, they provide relief, conduct studies, look at policy constraints, etc.
iV>
0
But over and above they became activists on the ground. C)
z
• They define the problem as people who have not been given an adequate mobilizing vision for the 0
z
future. They talk in terms of an alternative mobilising vision for the world. -ct
• The present-day NGOs are not just organizations, they are movements.
• Their scope is national and international. 0
0
V>
• Hybrid NGOs are activists and organizers. ...I
5
0

55
 Previous Year's Questions

Can civil society and Non-Governrnent Organisations present an alternative rnodel of

public service delivery to benefit the cornrnon citizen? Discuss the challenges of this
alternative rnethod. (2021)

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I

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[
(/)
0
C)
z
C
z
<(

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0
0
(/)
....I
5
0

56
Ill NGOS (PART-2)
Problems in the working of the NGOs 0 [Link]
• Deficiency of the resources:
o In India, till 1991 when the new economic reforms were inaugurated, the private sector started
coming in a big way. Up to that point, the private sector was not a huge presence in the country.
Most of the things were nationalized, a lot of public sectors units were operating in a number of
areas of human development and the country's economy was closed, it was difficult to procure
resources from outside in general.
o Many of the NGOs in those days which started with a very radical agenda in the society, introduced
a socialistic pattern in the society but the problem was that they lacked resources and many of
these NGOs which started with a radical agenda, eventually came to depend on the financial
support from the government only.
o As they started to seek various support from the government, they lost their radical edge. When
the government gives the fund, it would interfere with their functioning regularly. So, they also
became increasingly government-led as their internal operations also became bureaucratized
and rules driven as the government agencies and institutions themselves.
o However, with the rise of the corporate sector, many of the NGOs instead of seeking funds from the
government directly tried to seek funding from business houses, rich donors, big landlords, etc. and
due to this, their dependence on the government has come down. Even then, most of the NGOs lack
financial resources.
• Uneven Presence:
o The uneven presence aspect is that we do not find NGOs and voluntary associations being formed
and operating in all parts of the country. They have limited networks and limited infrastructure.
So, to that extent, they cannot have their presence everywhere.
o The uneven presence argument also goes like this that there are certain so-called fashionable
locations that become overpopulated with NGOs. When the Niyamgiri episode occurred with
respect to the Vedanta mines where the government was about to give a specific amount over
there for the mining of aluminum and eventually the Supreme Court also intervened, Niyamgiri
tribals also got together and finally, tribals were able to ensure that Vedanta was not given the
mining rights over there.
o But that was the time when a lot of NGOs flocked to that place and were still operating in that area.
So, there are several parts of the country where there is no presence of NGOs and also some parts
where they are overpopulated. So, the second problem is the uneven presence across the country.
• Lack of Coordination and cooperation:
o Especially the NGOs who are working in the same areas of human activities. For example, two
NGOs working in the same area as rural housing, providing primary health services, basic
r:i
education, skill development or vocational training, etc. So, if there are two NGOs working in the i-.!-
same areas, they should cooperate, pool their resources, pool the basic staff that would help them
in acquiring economy on a scale, and reduce their housekeeping expenditure. (/)
0
o Once they coordinate and collaborate and pool their resources both human as well as financial C)

57
 resources, they will be able to use them, check duplication of activities, wastage of funds, etc.
o But the problem is that instead of having a cooperating attitude towards their fellow brothers
working in the other NGOs and coordinating the efforts with them, we find there is rivalry or
competition as ultimately every NGO wants to rise in the estimation of the donor and every NGO
does not want to share the credit for its achievements to another NGOs because when an NGOs
success is reported in the various national and international journal, then that catches the eyes of
various donors also. Various international organizations give them awards and prizes etc. So,
because of this fact NGOs do not want to coordinate and cooperate with each other.
• Limited Outreach/networks:
o This is related to a deficiency of resources as it leads to limited outreach and network.
o So, they cannot cover the whole country and that leads to uneven presence as well.
• Shortage of trained and dedicated workers:
o If the NGOs work in the areas of advancement and development, there are some technicalities
involved in the developmental efforts.
o Therefore, we require trained and dedicated workers.
• State's Interference:
o State's interference in those NGOs who are securing and getting funds from the government.
o The moment NGOs get funds from the government, there is government interference, and the
bureaucratic agencies also engage in the management and running of NGOs.
• Corruption in the NGOs:
o Many of the NGOs are accused of or prosecuted for crimes like money laundering activities. Some
NGOs have been created only to secure funds from the government or private corporate sector or
big donors and spend just part of it for the sake of some developmental agenda while pocketing
the rest of the money themselves.
o N. Vittal (former Central Vigilance Commission Commission) used to say that corruption in India is
principally a result of the activities of Neta (political leader), Babu (bureaucrat), the Lala
(businessman), the Dada (criminal activities), and theJhola (NGOs).
• Domination of Elites:
o Many of the NGOs get funds from big corporations, rich donors, big elites, etc. When NGOs get lots
of money from one specific donor, the donor tends to interfere with their work.
o So, when big donors give funds to NGOs, they end up dominating the agenda, the activities, and the
ways NGOs will be run.
• Accountability of NGOs:
o NGOs collect funds from private donors, and corporate houses, maybe from the government. As far
as they are collecting funds from the government is concerned, the NGOs have to submit reports
on a regular basis to the government about the success achieved, and proper evidence as to what
�
i
Ul
assets they able to create, or what kind of work they have done for the rural population and the
developmental outcome.
0
C,
z o On the basis of that assessment and evaluation, the government further extends the finances. If the

58
 NGOs are not getting funds from either of the big donors or the government but they are able to
mobilize a lot of resources from the population in general. It is difficult to secure accountability for
this type of NGO.
• Absence of a common set of norms for the governance of the NGOs:
o Like the resident welfare associations (RWAs) or various societies etc., they are not formally
registered. Self-help Groups (SHGs) are not typical NGOs, but rather interest groups only but they
are also non-formally registered.
o Most serious NGOs tend to get registered. Some NGOs become cooperatives, some are registered
under the trust act, some are charitable, some are registered as not-for-profit companies and each
of the laws governing the specific entities is different.
• Governments Crackdown:
o The governments all over the world, particularly in those countries where democracies are not fully
matured, like India, are not very happy with the working of NGOs.
o This is because NGOs represent the voice of the informed dissents, secondly many of the NGOs in
th
the 4 generation, have acquired a new form of propagating and advocating their agenda, which is
basically social activism.

Activities of the Government to limit the activities of NGOs 0 [Link]

• Original Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 1976: It was enacted by Indira Gandhi amid
the declared suspicion that there are some foreign hands trying to destabilize India.
• Kudal Commission, 1982: When Indira Gandhi came back to power in 1982, she appointed a special
body called the Kudal Commission to investigate the role of these NGOs but the report of the Kudal
commission was not put in the public domain.
• Lokpal Act:
o Any major NGO which is registered under the FCRA Act and getting foreign funds beyond rupees
10 lakh comes under the jurisdiction of the Lokpal Act.
o In 2014, several newspapers reported the content from the leaked 1B report, the report says there
are a number of NGOs working in the country which is getting a lot of funding support from foreign
sources, they are using people-centric issues and engaging in recitation and propaganda which is
creating an environment in the country, which is coming in the way of energy security, food security,
industrial growth, etc.
o Energy security, because at that time several NGOs were agitating due to the opening of the
Uranium mines in the North-East. Several NGOs were also organizing agitation against the
Kudankulam nuclear power project.
o Many NGOs were also opposing and engaging in all kinds of agitation and filing cases in the courts
r:i
against GM Foods. Many NGOs were agitating against industrial growth, and agitating against i,.!.
POSCO, Vedanta, etc.
• FCRA 2010: 0 [Link] (/)
0
C)
o It prohibits contribution of foreign contribution by certain entities like, Indian media houses, civil

59
 servants, political parties, etc.
(After, the judgement of the Delhi High Court, an amendment has been made which allows
political parties to accept donations from Indian subsidiaries)
o It regulates the acceptance of foreign funds by NGOs. In fact, it has made it very difficult for those
NGOs which are receiving funds from outside the country to work comfortably in India.

Issues with FCRA, 2010:

• Registration of NGOs is a highly complicated bureaucratic exercise.
• 5-yearly renewal (under the original law, the license was given perpetually without the need for
renewal every 5 years)
• The law very clearly says that whatever funds they get from foreign sources cannot be used for any
political purposes, the term 'political purpose' is not adequately defined.
• Under the law, not more than 50% of funds can be used for administrative expenses. However,
through the 2020 Amendment, this has been reduced to 20%.
• The registration of NGOs can be suspended or withdrawn by the Home Ministry if it receives some
adverse inputs against the NGOs.
(In the original law, the suspension period was given is 180 days and in the 2020 amendment, it was
increased to 360 days)
• Every NGO is required to file annual returns, apart from the insistence on too many documents and
evidences.
• There is pervasive monitoring of NGOs by the Intelligence Bureau (18).

New Rules under FCRA, 2019:

• Every member has to declare that they have not been prosecuted or convicted for conversion. So, this
talks about all the faith-based charities.
• Every member must certify that he/she has never been involved in diverting foreign funds for
propagating sedition or advocating violent means. (Earlier, this certification had to be done by a
Director level person).
• FCRA not only regulates the receipts of foreign funds but also foreign hospitality.
• This also includes intimation to the government if a member is hospitalized during a foreign visit.

FCRA (Amendment) Act, 2020: 0 [Link]

• It prohibits foreign contributions to be made to NGOs, involving public servants. This makes it very
difficult for a public servant to become a member of a prominent NGO.
• It prohibits the transfer of foreign funds to any other person or entity.
• It lowers the cap on administrative expenses to 20% from the previous 50%.
�
i
Ul
• It expands the power of the Home Ministry to suspend the FCRA registration (180 days to 360 days).
• Aadhar has been made mandatory for persons who are office-bearers of NGOs.
0
C,
z • Foreign funds can be received only in a designated State Bank of India branch in New Delhi only.

60
 o PM CARE was exempted from the FCRA guidelines.
o Since 2011, FCRA licenses of 20,000 plus NGOs have been canceled.

Factoids:
• Around 49,000 plus NGOs are under FCRA regulation.
• Of which around 3,000 plus NGOs received foreign funds to the tune of Rs.22,000 crores in a year.
• Faith-based charities attract the most funding.
• Countries like the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany are the top donors.
• Majority of the funds are used for the various aspects of rural development.

Can Civil Society replace the State?

The core state function that cannot be outsourced are:
• Defense
• Public order
• External affairs management.
• Larger societal problems which cannot be dealt with by either the civil society or the market. i.e.,
developing policies for checking population growth, comprehensive national policies for various
spheres, checking broad problems like communalism and casteism.
• Symbolic function, for example regularly celebrating republic day, Independence Day, etc.
• Framing of monetary policies, fiscal policies, EXIM policies, industrial policies, etc.
So, the civil society can become one of the alternative problem-solving fora but not the
alternative to completely equip the state or the market.

1 Previous Year's Questions

Examine critical!� the [Link] changes in the rules governing foreign funding o+ NGOs
under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act CFCRA). 1,1,. (2015)

r:i
i-.!-

(/)
0
C)

61
Em SELF-HELP GROUPS
Introduction
• Self-help group movement was principally a rural women's movement. Although self-help groups
(SHGs) are not only women-specific organizations, some SHGs also include males.
• SHGs are basically small and informal associations not legally registered, not legal entities.
• SHGs consist largely of poor women, preferably from a similar socio-economic background.
o Typically, between 10-20 women is an ideal size for an SHG. They are asked to save some money
on a regular basis or weekly basis, they also set up some norms to contribute money to the
collected corpus on a weekly basis.
o So, one prime focus of the SHG movement is that every person in the group must save some
amount of money.
o Out of the savings, every week a loan corpus gets created and from that loan corpus money is lent
out to the members of the SHG for various kinds of activities including income-generating
ventures, to face various vulnerabilities, productive needs, etc.
o SHG is basically a microfinance model. When the SHG becomes mature, it is also given a linkage
with the bank after which SHG can deposit its collective corpus in the bank and earn some
interest. Additionally, it can avail a greater amount of loan on that.
o Normally, the banks follow a 1:4 deposit to credit ratio. This means if a SHG is depositing Rs.
10,000 a month as a collected corpus, they are eligible for a loan amount four times that of the
deposited amount.
o So, it is basically a savings-led microfinance model in which women come together to achieve
some collective goals to improve their earnings, improve their savings, and help them develop
some economic base to escape poverty, etc.
• They come together to achieve collective goals on the basis of the principles of self-help and
collective responsibility.

Self help

Collective goals

Collective
responsibility
(/)
a.
:)
0
[Link]
o On the basis of collective responsibility means, if a member of SHG takes a loan, the loan has to be
a.
...J
paid back. The key factor that comes in a way that the poor rural women in accessing loans, w
:::r:
especially from financial institutions is the required collateral. But in these loans, there is no Ll..
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security. They are paid back due to collective responsibility and peer pressure. w
(/)

63
 Types of Self-Help Groups 0 [Link]
Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA):
• ROSCA is more like kitty and committee which is there in urban India also, where women get together
and pool their resources. In this, the collected corpus of a month or week will be given to a particular
person or member and in due course, everybody gets selected for this.
• Every month or week, they save something, and every month or week somebody's name is picked up
through a draw of lots.
• In this, the collected corpus is being rotated from one member to the other till the time the last member
gets selected, then the cycle gets repeated.
Accumulated Savings and Credit Associations (ASCA):
• In ASCA, rotation is not done. There is an accumulated corpus that is based on regular periodic
savings.
• In this, loans are extended out of that collected corpus to those who need, on the basis of collective
decision making and joint approval.

SHG Bank Linkage Programme:

• Many of the SHGs, when they mature up to a certain point, they actually get linked with the bank also.
• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1992, started the SHG
Bank linkage programme (SHG-BLP), which is the principal Self-help promoting agency in the
country.
• There can be two models of bank linkage:
o Microfinance SHGs, set up by financial institutions.
o Microfinance Plus SHGs, set up by government agencies and NGOs. They are not created just
because of financial inclusion but also pushing through other developmental initiatives having
the potential to transform into the full-fledged developmental institution.

SHG as a movement
• It involves the mobilization of poor rural women into small groups with the capacity to interface with
the formal banking or financial structures to meet their collective financial goals, deal with
vulnerabilities, etc. thereby creating an economic base to escape poverty.

SHG Bank Linkage

Panchsutras (Panchsheel) of SHGs: If the SHGs follow these panchsutras, they are considered of a very
V) good quality and banks are willing to lend out to such SHGs. These panchsutras are as follows:
0.
:::,
0 • SHGs should be engaged in regular savings.
a:
CJ • SHGs should be engaged in regular internal lending.
0.
....J • There should be regular payment of loans.
w
:I:I
LL • SHGs should attend regular meetings.
....J
w • SHGs should maintain regular books of accounts.
V)

64
Self-Help Promoting Institutions (SHPls):
• Self-Help Promoting Institutions (SH Pis) are also known as Self-help Promoting Agencies (SHPAs).
• NABARD, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Scheduled Commercial banks (SCBs), NGOs, and
Government agencies are the Self-Help Promoting Institutions.
• More than 100 million households have been covered by the SHG movement and more than 84% of
SHGs are women SHGs.
• SHG movement is largely driven by rural poor women.

Concept of Joint Liability Group: 0 [Link]

• In this, the entire group or all the members of SHGs take upon themselves collectively the
responsibility to pay back the loan even if the loan has been taken by the SHG and a small part of the
loan has been lent to one member.
• Here, the responsibility or the liability to pay back the loan is on the group collectively.
• The concept of joint liability group was introduced by the NABARD in 2005-2006.
• The best way for this concept (joint Liability Group) is to organize women of similar skills into affinity
groups (Affinity SHGs) and develop enterprises for all of them. Here, everybody is like a shareholder
of that enterprise, and the loan which is given by the bank is given to the whole enterprise.

NABFINS:
• NABARD Financial Services Limited has been created by NABARD.
• The idea is to evolve into an ideal microfinance institution to set standards of governance among
Micro Finance institutions (MFls).
• NABFINS would be like a model institution, which would be able to set the standard as to how to
approach the very concept of SHGs, especially when it comes to loaning operations.

Microfinance development programmes:

• NABARD has been organizing programmes like- Microfinance development programmes which
involve skill development if the member does not have the skills to take up income-generating
ventures.
• If the members of SHGs already have skills, then NABARD works to improve their skills or try
optimization of production activities.

Livelihood and Enterprise Development Program:

• Livelihood promotion in clusters: This is a program that NABARD nominally organizes. They identify (/)
Q.
:::,
15-30 SHGs that are located in a cluster of contagious bordering villages and then organize such 0
[Link]
programmes. This is so done because; there is a possibility that what one SHG is producing can be an
Q.
...I
input for the other SHGs. w
:r:I
• Handholding support: Deploying actual representatives to demonstrate and make them understand u.
...I
the activities in the value chain to the SHG for 3-6 months. w
(/)

65
 • Affinity group
• End-to-End support to SHGs.

Collaboration with DAY-NRLM: 0 [Link]

• The objective of the mission as far as the SHGs is concerned, is to bring at least one woman from each
identified poor rural household into the fold of SHGs.
• There is a special emphasis under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) on the most
vulnerable:
o Organize the manual scavengers into SHGs.
o Involve the Disabled
o Particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs).
o Bonded labours
o Those who are the victims of sexual offenses.
• NABARD has helped to promote the whole SHG programme with the National Rural Livelihood
Mission which has its own objective.

Benefits of the SHG Programme:

• Financial inclusion: SHGs play an important role in financial inclusion. Today, the SHG model is
perhaps the best model for extending microfinance, i.e., opportunities for getting savings, credit, and
insurance.
• Physical capital gets replaced by social capital: One of the biggest problems that poor people face
in acquiring credit is the lack of physical collateral. But in SHGs, there is no requirement for physical
collateral, it is basically social capital only. So, here physical capital gets replaced by social capital.
• Capability approach: When the government provides developmental benefits and organizes socio­
economic advancement programmes, those developmental efforts can be of two types - Dole based
and Due based.
o Dole means something that the government is giving due to generosity or political will. It is
addressing only the shortage of certain goods at a particular point in time and not on sustaining
basis ever.
o But when it comes to employment, food security (RTS, FSA, etc.) the government converts these
developmental benefits into legally enforceable rights. Sometimes the due-based approach is
called the Rights Based Approach to development.
o Capability approach says that increasing the autonomy of people to make those choices with
V) respect to their life and what they want to make for them.
0.
:::,
0 o SHG model is not a dole or due or rights-based approach. It rather tries to strengthen the
a:
CJ capacity of people and thereby improve and enhance their autonomy to make choices in their life
0.
....J which they want to make.
w
:I:I
LL • Social and economic transformation of women: SHG movement also carries the potential for not just
....J
w economic but social transformation of women. Whatever incomes they generate, women can take
V)

66
 care of the life cycle needs of their entire family, and can also take care of the production needs of their
families. This improves their economic base. Moreover, their social status also gets somewhat
elevated.
• SHG movement by focusing on poverty-stricken sections of our country helps in bringing a human
face to economic reforms. Moreover, it is also a declared component of the Government of India's
poverty alleviation strategy.
• Impact on demographic and social indicators is positive.
• Political empowerment of women: SHGs also serves as a community platform for women to get
involved in village problems in general. It is also found that many rural women also attend Gram
Sabha meetings regularly and also participate in the Gram panchayat Elections.

Impact of SHG movement:

• There are over 10 millionSHGs in India.
• Collateral free loans of Rs. 87,098 crores to 5 millionSHGs are disbursed by March 2019.
• Inculcation of the habit of thrift.
• Impact on poverty:
o It has reduced dependence on money lenders.
o It has given an economic base to escape poverty.
• Other studies also find that the impact is more protectional and less promotional.
• Impact on women empowerment:
o Women in matureSHGs are stronger and more empowered.
o Patriarchy has led to a situation where women have very less control over decision-making.
o Many studies have seen a limited impact on women's economic activity, skill development, etc.
• Certain SHGs have been able to ensure, organize stronger community action around social issues like
child marriage, child labour, liquor ban, etc.

Issues:
• Outreach: This programme has been more successful in South India. Joint Andhra used to be the
leading state in theSHG formation also. Lots of government support also came forSHGs, especially in
Kerala. Perhaps, the success of SHG in South India can be linked to the higher levels of education also.
But the poorest of the poor are left out.
• Restrictive policies of financial institutions (Fis) and banks are the major issues. Very often we can
find that banks compel the SHGs to work in a manner that suits the banks, not the SHGs. Moreover,
due to the restrictive policies of banks, severalSHGs have been wound up and many of their members (/)
Q.
:::,
go back to the money lenders again. Nowadays, NABARD is providing 100% refinancing facilities 0
[Link]
againstSHG loans.
Q.
• SHG qualities: The success of a SHG depends upon the quality of management and the quality of ...I
w
:r:I
governance. The various issues associated withSHG management are: u.
...I
o Weekly meetings are supposed to be held but they were not held. Moreover, poor attendance is w
Vl

67
 also an issue.
o Book-keeping has been a big problem.
o In certain cases, the membership was too large which made the SHG unmanageable.
o !t is alsofoundthatonlythe leaders of SHG get benefited more from SHG loans instead of all.
o Periodically, the leadership should change but it does not.
o Inability to take up new and productive ventures.
o Securing autonomy from government interference is also a big challenge.
o Unhealthy competitions among the states.
o Inadequate micro and macro-level studies are there. There have to be more studies at the micro
and macro level, assessing the working of SHGs.
o Capacitydevelopment and skill development are still major concerns.
o A new concern is the rising Non-Performing Assets (NPAs)- the outstanding loans of SHGs are
Rs. 423 Cr. (2007-2008) and Rs. 452 Cr. (2018-2019). The NPAs are supposed to rise due to covid
impact.
o SHGs may be creating inequalities based on education; even though it is reducing inequalities
based on social gaps i.e. women with relatively better education benefit more from SHGs.

Some success stories of SHGs: 0 [Link]

KUDUMBASHREE
• It is a SHG-oriented very successful program of the Kerala Government that started in the year 1997.
lt literally translates into 'Prosperityof Family'.
• At the base of the program or at the lowest level, we have Neighbourhood groups of women; at the
ward level there are Area Development Society (ADS), and ADS is federated to Community
Development Societies at the local level, which is the gram panchayat or block panchayat.
• Statistics:
o There are around 3 lakhs neighborhood groups in Kerala under the Kudumbashree program.
o There are around 19, 500 ADS and around 1,064 CDS across Kerala.
o There are around 46 lakhs women are a part of the scheme in Kerala.

Grihalakshmi SHG:
• It was in the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
• It received national award for best performing SHG in the year 2018.
• Notable efforts towards eradicating child labour in the local area.
V)
0.
:::,
0 Didi ki Rasoi Chain:
a:
CJ • It is in Bihar. lt is a community-based canteens providing quality and hygienic food.
0.
....J • Today, a group of women can get affiliated with Didi Ki Rasoi Chain and can start their own
w
:I:I
LL community-based canteen.
....J
w • Initially, the idea was to provide food to hospitals. Now, they are serving food to other institutions, as
V)

68
 well.

Pangi hills brand:

• Pangi is a remote tribal area of Himachal Pradesh.
• Pangi Hills brand SHG is producing exotic forest products like honey, black cumin, walnuts, etc.
• Individual members in this SHG are able to earn up to Rs. 2-2.5 Lakh per year.

SHGs and Covid:

• Many SHGs have got involved in the production of masks, sanitizers, and other protective gear dealing
with covid management.
• Several SHGs were very much instrumental in maintaining social distancing, use of masks, organizing
quarantine facilities, and taking care of elder.
o Kudumbashree network helped in dispelling fake news about Covid through WhatsApp group.
• COVID was an opportunity to push through digitisation as physical activities actually stopped or got
compromised.

I 1 0
Previous Year's Questions

The Sel.f-Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP), which is India's own
innovation, has proved to be one of the most effective poverty alleviation and women
empowerment programmes. Elucidate. (2015)

(/)
Q.
:::,
0
[Link]
C,
Q.
...I
w
:r:I
u.
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w
(/)

69
Ill PRESSURE GROUPS (PART 1)
Pressure Groups vs. Interest Groups:
• Interest group is a group formed by people with shared interests, having no interest in pressurizing
the government for any kind of favorable decisions.
• While pressure groups are organized interest groups with regular interface with the government,
question or connect with the government to get some favorable policy decisions, favoring their
interests.
• A group may start as an interest group with no intention of interacting with or pressurizing the
government, but over time it may morph into a pressure group, as it gets larger with wider
objectives.
• However, the terms interest group and pressure group are used interchangeably.
• Pressure groups are very much inevitable in a democracy.
• Study of pressure groups is intrinsic to
o Understand the dynamics of politics in the country
o Understand the dynamics of policy making

Types of Pressure Groups: 0 [Link]

• Social or Identity Based:
o They can be further divided into two categories-community service (Singh Sabha movement) and
mobilization for political ends (RSS, VHP, All India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF).
• Associational or Professional Groups:
o Peasants, trade unions, business associations.
o Professionals- Bar Association of India, Indian Medical Association.
• Institutional Pressure Groups (operate within the government)
o They exist within the government.
o For example, IAS lobby, IPS lobby etc. use the government machinery to pressurize the
government.
• Adhoc Pressure groups:
o They are created for a specific purpose or issue.
o When that issue is resolved, these groups tend to dissolve.
o E.g. - India against Corruption Movement (or Lokpal Movement)
• Anomie Groups:
;::j"
o These are based on sense of despair, reaches a point, and the frustration level goes to a point and
b:
when it goes beyond that point because the regular methods of resolving the grievances has not �
been able to work so then they come out in the form of Spontaneous outbursts which can often turn (/)
C.
::::>
violent, including destruction of public property, using often extra-legal means etc. 0
0::
o E.g. - Student protests related to RRB exam in Gaya, Patna, Make America Great Again (MAGA) c:>
w
movement in USA, Anti vax'ers in USA against vaccination. 0::
::::>
(/)
(/)
w
0::
C.

71
 Significance: 0 [Link]
• They serve as channel of communication between citizens and government.
• They broaden the scope of political participation:
o As people prefer to join pressure groups due to deep distrust between people and political parties.
o They act as instruments of political socialization (the process through which people become
politically active, acquire political vision, political approach, political values etc.)
• Provide data, inputs, and information for policy making. For example, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, CII, etc.
• Prevents the emergence of any dominant force in the society as there are always countervailing
pressure groups/interest groups demanding opposite things.
• Pressure groups are the informal face of politics as:
o They mobilise and shape public opinion.
o They question and confront the government.
o They engage in agitation and propaganda mode.
o Thus, they keep democracy alive between elections.
o They support political parties and individual candidates; they also give donations.
o They act as legislatures behind legislatures, as the legislators get cues of what is to be discussed
in the Parliament from the pressure groups which hold up the issue.
o They also act as reservoirs of political leadership. For example, emergence of Arvind Kejriwal
from Lokpal Movement etc.
o They check arbitrary use of state power. For example, protests by farmers organizations against
the three farm laws.
o They also help in improving the quality of governance, for example the Human Rights pressure
groups working towards promoting and preservation of Human Rights.

Note:
The key difference between Pressure Groups and Political Parties:
• Pressure Groups do not participate in Elections while the Political Parties participate in elections.
• Pressure groups have smaller social base while the political parties have larger base.

• Help educate the people through campaigns, propaganda, publishing reports, media debates, etc.
For example, environmentalist groups advocating against capitalist growth antithetical to the
;:::;--
environment.
1:i:
i
(/)
• They act as safety valve outlet for grievances and thereby prevent spontaneous outbursts.
• They also help in consensus building so as to present a united face to the government. For example,
a.
::> FICCI, Consensus building under Smyukt Kisan Morcha etc.
0
a::
w
a::
::>
Techniques used: 0 [Link]
(/)
(/) • Sponsoring specific political parties and individual candidates. This is mostly done by Big Corporates
w
a:: or Business Groups.
a.

72
 • Mobilization of public opinion by using a variety of media platforms. E.g., Farmer Leaders, Trade Union
Leaders etc.
• Agitation-propaganda: Used by Labor Mobilization, Trade Unions etc.
• Judicial means like filing Pl Ls.
• Gandhian methods like Satyagraha, hunger strikes, hartals, etc.
• Lobbying, principally by business houses.
• Conducting seminars, workshops. This is largely confined to Business Associations, women pressure
groups etc.
• Getting appointed to adhoc government panels and advisory bodies.
• Present well researched reports e.g., Annual Corruption Perception Index Report by Transparency
International etc.

Lobbying 0 [Link]
• It is called lobbying as big business leaders were roaming in the lobbies of US Congress to get their
work done by influencing public policies.
• Contemporarily it means formally trying to connect with the government, interfacing with it,
regularly meeting government officials and ministers, to present the interests of the sections that the
organization or person represents and thereby get a favorable policy outcome for the concerned
section.
• Principally, it is deployed by organized corporate groups, business houses, business associations, etc.
• Lobbying is not bad per se. In India, it is neither legal nor illegal.
• Problems with lobbying in India:
a) Paid Lobbyists
o Nira Radia and her 'Vaishanvi Corporates Communications', lobbying with the government of
India to get some specific leaders in the ruling party placed in some specific Ministries.
o DeepakTalwar Associates, accused of bribing civil servants.
b) Politicians/Legislators acting as lobbyists
o H.G Mudgal was disqualified from the provisional parliament after independence, as he was
found lobbying for a private organization (Bombay Bullion Organization).
c) Lobbying by bureaucrats (serving/retired)
o Advising the Minister to tweak some rules for certain organizations.
;::j"
o Pushing through files to accommodate the interests of a private player.
• Santhanam Committee, 1962 said that there should be a proper system of accreditation of these
b:
�
lobbyists in the country. It also said that no civil servant in the government should have any interaction (/)
C.
::::>
with any representative of a business organization or a business group, unless that representative has 0
0::
been fully accredited with the government. c:>
w
0::
::::>
(/)
(/)
w
0::
C.

73
 Lobbying in USA: 0 [Link]
• Woodrow Wilson said that "The masters of US government are the combined capitalists and
manufacturers. The US government is a foster child of special interests; it is not allowed to have a will
of its own."
• Two laws with respect to regulating lobbying in the USA:
o Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, 1946
o Lobbying Disclosure Act, 1995
• Under these Acts, the professional lobbyists have to register themselves with both the houses of US
congress, disclose the name of their employer, period of employment, etc.
• However, lobbying still takes place behind the doors.
• For Example, National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbies for non-stringent gun laws, American Israel
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbies for pro-Israel policies with the Congress.

7> Previous Year's Questions

·Pressure groups play a vital role in influencing public policy in making in India: Explain
how the business associations contribute to public policies. (2021)
J

;:::;--
1:i:
i
(/)
a.
::>
0
a::
w
a::
::>
(/)
(/)
w
a::
a.

74
Ell PRESSURE GROUPS PART 2
Problems of Pressure Groups: 0 [Link]
• Disproportionate influence of certain pressure groups
o Caste and community pressure groups
o Trade unions, peasant unions
o Business associations like FICCI, CII etc. post 1991
• Subversion of democratic institutions
o When Legislators/political parties are largely influenced by the pressure groups then they lose
their ability of independent thinking.
o Unorganized interests remain neglected, for example educational development in the country etc.
• Use of extra-legal methods by several pressure groups
o Bandhs, hartals, rail roko, chakkajam, destruction of public property
• Certain pressure groups are politically and socially divisive
o They prevent the emergence of a true national identity.
• Often come in the way of progressive initiatives
o For example, some Khap Panchayats sanctioning honour killings in case of inter-caste marriages
etc

Note:
• A p ex c o u r t r u l i n g on Khap Panchayats i n 2011 - if any Khap P a n c h a y a t i s
advocating/sanctioning honour killing, i t should b e banned altogether under Unlawful Activities
Prevention Act.
It also stated that if an officer in that area does not check the Khap Panchayat's illegal decisions,
then that officer would also be penalized.
• As the victim is generally from the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled tribes, the accused can also be
prosecuted under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989.
• Some states like Rajasthan have also proposed laws against honour killings. However, regular
provisions of the IPC, if they are rationally enforced, are sufficient to check any kind of criminality.
For example, I PC Section 302 etc.
Khap Panchayats thrives due to:
• Weak local bodies
• Inadequacies ofjudicial system �
• Political patronage �
(/)
However, it must be understood that some Khap Panchayats on many occasions have been involved C.
::::>
in consensus building, engaged in socially oriented works, social and community service, etc. 0
0::
c:>
w
0::
::::>
(/)
• Many of the Pressure Groups also lack a lot of transparency in their internal functioning. For (/)
w
example, working of RSS etc. 0::
C.

75
 Effectiveness of Pressure Groups:
• Sectional vs. Promotional
o Sectional- RSS, Khap Panchayats, caste associations, etc. These are more effective in India.
o Promotional- Human rights organizations, PETA, etc.
• Extent of Funding
o As lobbying requires a lot of money.
• Political Branding
o Certain pressure groups are indelibly linked or associated with certain political parties, their
effectiveness depends on the role of that political party in the government.
• Membership
o Quantity and quality of members also matters in determining its effectiveness.
• Extent on which the government relies on them for implementing its agenda
o For example, if the government's agenda is 'Make in India', it has to rely on business associations
and their pressure groups to ensure a successful policy outcome.

Business Associations: 0 [Link]

• Examples are FICCI, ASSOCHAM, CII, etc.
• Methods:
o Lobbying
o Political Donations via electoral bonds
o Critical Assessment of government economic policies/legislations
► Commissioning studies
► Regularly conduct Workshops/conferences
► Give Technical inputs to the government
o Getting appointed to advisory/adhoc panels
o Consensus building
o Interactions with analogous institutions abroad like WTO and other similar institutions etc.

Governance: 0 [Link]
• It has an inverse relationship with more research i.e., the more the research has taken place on this
topic, the more ambiguous it becomes. Hence, with more research, our understanding of governance
and good governance has become more confused, instead of becoming more refined.
� • Governance is the comprehensive delivery of goods and services.
�
(/) • There is consensus among researchers on three basic meanings/models of governance:
a.
::>
0
a::
1. Triangulation Model
w
a:: • In this model, governance as a process is untied from the apron strings of the government and placed
::>
(/)
(/) right in the middle of the society.
w
a:: • Hence, towards governance, market and civil society can also contribute, apart from the State.
a.

76
 • It is also known as the notion of third-party governance, where State is the first party, market is the
second and civil society is the third party.

State

Market Civil Society

• It is also known as 'network governance' as the State, market and civil society will contribute to
governance, not in isolation but in various kinds of combinations. The State can work with the market
or the civil society, the market can work with the civil society, or all the three can work in conjunction.
For example, the State makes policies, its implementation is outsourced to the market, while the
evaluation of its impact is given over to some credible NGOs and that evaluation is used as a feedback
to the State to improve the policy.

2. World Bank Model

• It is based on market ascendancy.
• It was elaborated first in a World Bank paper on Sub-Saharan Africa in 1989.
• This model rests on the premise that market plays the dominant role in governance, the government
plays merely a facilitatory or a peripheral role and the civil society is marginalized. Market is the key
entity around which the world societies should be organized.
• According to the World Bank, good governance is defined as the exercise of political power to
manage a country's resources efficiently.
• World Bank's features of good governance:
o Accountability to market in terms of predictable policies and reduced deficits of the government.
�
o Transparency with respect to business i.e., promoting ease of doing business.
�
o Empowerment not through entitlements and rights, but through concepts like e-governance, m­ (/)
a.
governance (mobile governance) for the market to earn huge profits. :::>
0
0::
o Citizen Participation in market as producers and as consumers, not as citizens. l!)
w
o In reality, such a perspective on governance would entail substitution of politics with management, 0::
:::>
(/)
a democracy without politics and citizenship without rights. This is a kind of 'soft (/)
w
authoritarianism'. 0::
a.

77
 State vs. Market Debate
Market Problems:
• Consumers vs. citizens: Market responds to consumers i.e., those who have the ability to pay i.e., the
user pays principle. But the government always responds to citizens.
• Markets not keen to run loss making ventures, but the government does not consider it as loss
making activity but as a part of its socio-economic justice. For example, running a train to a remote
area, opening bank branches in the remote areas etc.
• Market failures: The 2008 financial crisis was caused by unregulated markets especially the financial
institutions.
• Crony Capitalism where certain business houses are able to bribe their way into certain favorable
policy decisions, which naturally distorts the level playing field with other companies.
• Environmental Issues: Market is so profit oriented that if it is not properly regulated, then it can lead to
the environmental degradation.
• All State activities cannot be outsourced, for example external affairs of the country, defense
management, law and order, etc.
• Decentering the State and replacing it with the market:
o However real issue is replacing the bourgeoisie-feudal-bureaucratic state with a genuine
democratic state.
• In fact, strong market also requires a strong state
o To manage public order
o To manage social conflicts
o To create a level playing field
o To enforce sanctity of contract

3. Governance as Good Governance Model 0 [Link]

• It means an environment that enables all to live fulfilling, healthy, innovative and productive lives i.e.,
democratic growth with human development.
• Features:
o SocialJustice
o Rule of law with equitable access to justice
o SMART (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, Transparent) Government
o Greater space for community based organizations
�
o Empowerment of local bodies
�
(/)
a. o Sustainable Development
::> o Socially Responsible Market Economy
0
a::
o Popular participation
w
a::
::>
(/)
(/)
w
a::
a.

78
People's Participation (Popular Participation): 0 [Link]
• It goes beyond voting.
• A person feels liberated when his issues truly get addressed by the government and the authorities
responsible. In a sense, a person truly participates in the government functioning. E.g. in case of
Mohalla committees. In this case, people's participation becomes the mainstream paradigm of
governance in the country.
• It is almost like a re-birth of the society. The right to participate in governance should be a
fundamental right, especially in those aspects of governance which have an impact on daily lives of
citizens.
• Benefits:
o More information at all stages
► Check whether project is in line with ground realities
► Less likelihood of policy failure
o Greater social acceptance and sense of ownership
o Sustainable project management
► Two-way learning process as government learns from the people and people also learn from
the government about the technical aspects of the project. With time, the government's
responsibility with respect to that project would come down and people's involvement would
increase.
► It also leads to capacity building of people.
o Better vigilance, less pilferage, less corruption, less wastage of funds etc.
o Building of community feeling and social capital as all would derive benefit from the project.
o Additional resources as people would be willing to volunteer, in order to make sure that the
project is successful.
• Pre-requisites for people's participation:
o A basic rudimentary level of social capital must exist before people's participation can even take
place.
o Degree of equality of wealth and power, gives a fillip to people's participation as it widens the
social base of effective participation.
o Institutional environment (local self-government).
o Procedural reforms in government to involve people's participation.
• Barriers in People Participation:
�
o Caste barriers:
�
► Upper castes dominate in gram panchayat, local bodies, etc. (/)
C.
::::>
o Class barriers: 0
0::
► Wealthy people, landed aristocracy, practically control everything, especially in rural areas. c:>
w
o Gender inequity: 0::
::::>
(/)
► Gram sabha, gram panchayat proceedings are dominated by male members. (/)
w
o Lack of motivation (feeling of powerlessness): 0::
C.

79
 ► People must not only be asked to participate, but they also be prepared to participate.
o Lack of capacity with respect to basic education and awareness about rights and the legal
framework
o Political constraints due to lack of decentralization.

Minimum Government- Maximum governance 0 [Link]

• It does not essentially mean less bureaucracy but means a better bureaucracy.
• Components:
o Doing away with crippling regulations
o Reducing discretionary powers of the bureaucrats
o Focus more on goals as opposed to rules
o Effective facilitation of business and civil society organizations
o Effective Accountability Mechanism
• Steps taken:
o Self-certification in place of certification by a gazetted officer
o Drive to identify obsolete rules
o Removal of crippling regulations- labor law amendments, in order to reduce inspector raj
o Benchmarking of best practices for industrial clearances
o Single window mechanism for clearances - getting rid of inter departmental wrangling in this
regard
o Introduction of E-governance

7) Previous Year's Questions

What are the methods used by the +armer's organizations to influence the policy-
makers in India and how effective are these methods? (2oi,)

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Previous Year's Questions

Khap Panchayats have been in the news +or functioning as extra-constitutional

authorities. often delivering pronouncements amounting to human rights violations.
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Discuss critically the actions taken by the legislative. executive and the judiciary to
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0 set the things right in this regard. (2015)
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80
 E-GOVERNANCE

Difference between E-Government and E-governance: 0 [Link]

E-Government: It is a more efficient form of government which is made possible by the increasing or
extensive use of Information Communication Technology to manage its own internal processes.
E-Governance: It is based on the triangulation model in which there is the state- market- civil society. It
is the comprehensive delivery of public goods and services by exploiting the synergies that exist
between state, market and civil society, and using !CT as a platform for the same.

Stages of E-governance: 0 [Link]

• Simple Information Dissemination: It is simple way to disseminate the information to the people.
Government generally designs its website to reach out to the people and to communicate about its
various programs. In this case, the overall approach of the website is one-way data transfer. It is the
most basic form of e-governance.
• Two-way Communication: It is largely based on the concept of demand-driven data transfer. Apart
from the basic information available on the website, users can get additional information also by
visiting various pages of the website. Sometimes, websites are designed in such a way that if a user is
unable to get the information from the website, then s/he can put a query on that website.
• Services and Financial Transactions: Now, the government facilitate not just communication but also
the things which people used to do physically like availing of services, doing financial transactions
with governmental and non-governmental entity etc. So, these financial transactions also get
facilitated and operationalized through the e-Governance platform. A number of government services
have been digitized like online bill payments, online filing of returns, online deposition of GST
payment or income tax etc.
• Integration: It simply means using the same server or database to connect every employee vertically
and horizontally in the same department. Also, it can be further extended to other departments,
ministries or intergovernmental (national, state and local government) with the use of LAN and WAN.
• Popular participation: The government specially design websites for the seamless flow of
information not just from the government to people but also from people to government. Information
like when the government want to seek out the opinions of people on some proposed legislation or
proposed policy. E.g., [Link]

Models and Approaches of E-governance: 0 [Link]

• Broadcasting Model: In the absence of the internet/e-governance, the availability of information,
data, facts, and knowledge to the people was limited. The broadcasting model gives a way forward
that if we introduce E-governance, there will be an exponential increase in the flow of information. w
u
Earlier when citizens had less access to the internet, they had less information, and they make less z
<(
informed decisions. But after internet access, citizens are in a position to take more informed decisions z
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that make them more informed citizenry with a more empowered citizenry. w

81
 • Critical Information Flow Model: It is the kind of critical information needed for the growth of a person.
If we take the case of a farmer, for him, the critical information is regarding weather forecast, use of
pesticides, and the present prevailing price of the commodity he is producing. Without e-governance,
he has to spend money, time and energy to get this information. But now, e-governance platform can
provide him with all the information with one click so that he had not to travel to mandi or market place
to enquire about the prices. This all information will help in improving the lives of farmers and in a
similar way other people can get critical information.
• E-Mobilization Model: This approach helps in enforcing democratic rights by mobilizing the people not
physically but on an e-governance platform. It helps in creating democratic space as physical space is
getting limited for assembling the people in a particular place at a particular period and motivating them
to come over there. It helps in protesting through a virtual world and pressurizing the government over
a specific issue. E-governance is a democracy enhancing model enabling greater Citizen to Citizen
engagement.
• Interactive Service Model: E-governance using an opportunity to improve the pace and quality of
services. Earlier, citizens had to visit the government offices to pay their utility bills and had to stand in
long queues but now these services are available at the push of a button with the help of e-governance.
In case of the private sector also, instead of going to the market, people can order vegetables, fruits and
other products from the e-commerce platform like Amazon, Flipkart etc. It improves all kinds of
interactions like business to customer, business to business, and government to business.

Benefits of e-governance:
• Administrative Developments: E-Governance presents us with the opportunity to overcome the
historic disabilities in the following ways:
o Reduce delays in file processing and movement with the introduction of E-files as it takes few
seconds/minutes to transfer the files from one department to another for approvals.
o Add speed to teamwork: If a file requires the action of several people in the same department, then
the copy of the same file can be sent to all and anybody can comment or suggest immediately. And,
in much quicker way, the team can come up with the final decision.
o Centralize storage with multiple backups: Sometimes, files get misplaced or destroyed in an
incident (e.g., In case of Adarsh Society Scam in Maharashtra, the documents got destroyed). But in
case of e-files, such events can be avoided by making multiple backups of files. Like if one backup
crashes or is destroyed then it can be accessed from another backup. Thus, it minimizes the risk of
data loss.
o Paperwork reduction: Introduction of e-files reduces the paperwork.
w o Reduces carbon footprint and aesthetic work environment: When no paper will be used then it will
u
z reduce the cutting of trees also. This is a kind of positive step towards the environment also.
<z o Reduce the requirement of manpower and space: After the introduction of e-governance, less
a::
w manpower is required to keep the record of files and their management as all files are available on
servers that can be accessed from anywhere. When less manpower is required then also less space

w is required for the same.

82
 o Improve intended finance: Less manpower, less space, less paperwork, they all together help in
improving intended finances also.

Traditional Administration E-Administration

Unweildy Paper Based Files e-files

Exercise of power through hiding the information Empowerment through sharing of information

Individualistic Orientation Team Orientation

Delayed Access and Response lnstant Access and Response

Manual Data Entry e-Data entry

More time on Routine and Repetitive Activities More Time on Innovative activities

It is status Quoist. It focuses on Continuous Improvement.

• Sound management of data for planning and decision making:

o Earlier in traditional times, data was not available for exclusive decision making but with the advent
of the information age, more information was collectively gathered. Along with this, the human
capacity to process that data manually was limited. More variables, more data, more information
increased exponentially with the advent of the information age and if we put this input, data etc. in
a computer database then it will perform better analytics. Further, the outcome of these analytics
helps us to enhance quality decision making. For example:
► Vikas Darpan (GIS-based planning and decision support system-Rajasthan)
► CPGRAMS - Central Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System: When over a period
of time, a large number of complaints get aggregated in CPGRAMS, then analytics data can be
applied to know about the departments which get more complaints or the nature of complaints.
Then, it gives a clear idea that what procedure needs to be amended or to be rationalized.
• Improvement of service delivery: Most of the central and state governments are hosting websites
that provides a variety of services to the citizens. Many kind of services have been digitalized including
in some states like electronic filing of Fl R in Delhi etc.
o Rural Services:
► Land records: Access to information on land records. w
u
► Agriculture information on seeds, pesticides, weather conditions, crop diseases, market z
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prices etc. z
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o Utility payments: E-governance provides a platform to pay all utility bills like power, water etc. w
instead of going physically to government offices.
o Policing Services: Lost and Found Services, Electronic filing of FlR (e-FIR). w

83
 o Licences, certification, application for various services like passport, ration card etc. have been
digitized in most cases.
o Public Information: Some websites give general information about exam schedules, railway
schedules such as Where is My Train, RailYatri etc.
o E-filing of Returns and Taxes
Some Examples are ME-SEVA in Andhra and FRIENDS (Fast, Reliable Instant and Effective
Network for Disbursement of Services) in Kerala. These are a single window platform of e­
governance for providing access to variety of services.

• Reducing transaction costs and end to end time in government process: E-governance helps to
avail the services by processing simultaneous processes without any delay. It also avoids the trail of
departments one by one. The use of e-governance helps in saving the time, money and energy which
further helps in reducing the transaction costs.
• Government process Re-engineering: The government is also taking informatic support from various
agencies for digitalizing its services and procedures etc. In some departments, the government hired
the services of the National Informatics Centre, which is one of the principal information support
agency for the Government of India. The ICT support Mechanism and various government agencies
were asked to digitalize several things and processes which were earlier done manually by physical
interaction between officers and citizens. In some cases, the digitization process got delayed because
of the complex procedures.
As a part of re-engineering, government departments have to simplify the process before
digitalization where Rules are to be simplified and modified. After digitalization, the status of
applications can be checked even on off days of offices.
• Anytime anywhere government (24*7): e-governance allows accessing the status or updates for
citizen's applications and even new applications anytime and from anywhere.
• Improving Transparency: After digitization, those areas of government, especially where there is a
scope of corruption comes down as there is no physical interaction. With that, transparency
improves, accountability improves, and corruption comes down.
• Enhance Democracy: Democratic deficit which is occurring in the physical space, can be now
organised on the digital platform. So, digital platforms have given citizens a much greater ability to
connect with people having the same agenda. Digital communities or groups can be formed, and
further propaganda or protest can be organized on platforms like Twitter or Facebook etc.

w It enhances democracy by promoting:

u
z o Citizen to Citizen mobilization
<z o Government to Citizen interface
a::
w o EVM - Electronic Voting Machine
• Judicial Administration: It has the potential for improving judicial administration through video

w conferencing and judicial data grid.

84
 • Improves Government Revenue: When more and more payments get digitalized, then actually white
money gets reflected in the banking system. And if it gets reflected in the banking system then a
person cannot avoid paying taxes. It would help in improving the government revenue and reducing
the black money in the country.

Issues with E-governance: 0 [Link]

• Digital divide:
o 75% of net users in our country are in urban India.
o There is digital illiteracy in rural India, like when a person is illiterate then how can he use the online
services even after having a smartphone.
o The digital divide in India mirrors the Urban-Rural divide also, this was most clearly manifested
during the covid phase when students from the urban area (especially middle class) were able to
access the classes online through zoom meets while the students from rural areas were not able to
access the online classes.
o The rural population misses out on the income opportunities that are available through the
effective use of the internet.
o Telemedicine services
o Enhanced vulnerability of the elderly population.
o Inadequate development of internet content in vernacular language, even if people can access it
but last-mile connectivity is still a problem.
o COVID impact has indicated this digital divide and implications of this digital divide in a manner
that nothing else could. COVID impact clearly indicated the imbalance between urban and rural
education as well.
• Digital Trust: Whenever a person enters personal information to avail online services like
transactions to purchase or fee submission. It always makes them feel insecure about their
data misuse.
• 6 C's of workplan development:
o Content development: It is not a one-stop exercise, it should be kept revised on regular basis like
some addition or removal, to make them relevant as per their zone.
o Competence building: Sometimes when a person visits any public sector bank, and s/he needs
that work to be done on an urgent basis then the bank officials generally give reason of server or
technical fault. Instead of rectifying that fault or error, they wait for the expert irrespective of the
urgency of the person. This kind of carelessness should be avoided at public sector banks, by giving w
u
them basic training in ICT tools to overcome any error or fault. z
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o Connectivity (especially Rural India): If the entire country is not part of the eco-system, then e­ z
c::
governance will have a positive impact only on the part of the country which is integrated with the w
eco-system. The rest of the majority would be left on the margins.
w

85
 o Citizen's interface (accessible and affordable): To avail the e-governance services, a mobile
phone is needed with internet services. But internet services are so expensive that a rural person
cannot afford them and makes a distance from facilities he can access. To promote online services,
people should be aware of these services. Governments should make these services affordable
and accessible.
o Cyber laws: Appropriate cyber laws should be there, when it comes to the ecosystem of data
protection and data security. The legal framework should be technology agonistic, and it has to
balance out the two requirements that they have to focus on the privacy part also and not focus so
much on it that productive use of technology gets completely compromised.
o Capital (Identifying Revenue Streams): e-governance platforms and other government websites,
all need their revenue streams to maintain their websites. These sites cannot charge excessively.
The charges should be reasonable to make them self-sustainable.
• Inadequacy of government process re-engineering: The e-governance provides an opportunity to
the government to restructure and simplify the procedure and if this is not done then the procedure
never gets digitalized. Delays in digitalization are not because of the supporting agencies but
sometimes the government doesn't have a keen interest in the simplification of a procedure because
the corruption point barricades the path of digitalization.
• Narrow Vision - Lack of consultation with stakeholders: e-governance provides an opportunity
especially for the government to consult with the concerned stakeholders.
When services are shifted from physical mode to digital mode, there is lack of consultation with the
stakeholders regarding whether the e-governance intervention fulfilling the needs of the people or
not. If proper consultation is done before digitizing a particular service and if most of the problems
(related to physical world) gets resolved, then the e-governance is in line with the needs of the people
otherwise it is not.
• Check on corruption, improvement of transparency is merely incidental: When services are being
provided physically, some loopholes give space to corruption. After the introduction of e-governance,
there is some dip in corruption. Some accountability and some transparency are merely incidental,
they are just automatic because of the removal of human interface. The government's e-governance
intervention should be specifically designed to achieve the twin goals of accountability and
transparency to overcome all kinds of loopholes.

• E-governance is not a panacea for all problems of good governance:

o Helps in running a school: It helps in running school by the way of smart classes, presentations,

w online submission of assignments, parents' access to child's progress etc. but it doesn't help in
u
z building an adequate number of schools with an adequate number of teachers.
<z o Helps in managing the traffic: It helps in managing the traffic by analyzing the traffic load
a::
w directions with GPS and managing the signals accordingly. It can also help in issuing the challans
through CCTV cameras. But it doesn't care about congestion on roads, deficit flyovers and

w underpasses, quality of roads etc.

86
 o Helps in digitalization of judicial data: It helps in accessing judicial data and case status. Also
helps in getting information regarding the next hearing, lawyers' allotment, judge bench etc. but it
doesn't help in providing speedy justice delivery.
o Makes it easier to pay taxes: It can help us to pay our taxes very easily, but it cannot help in
ensuring the accountability of government for development works and financial usage of taxes.
o Big data (Data is the new oil): With the increasing data, following problems arises:
► Data security
► Privacy
► Unethical usage etc.

10
Previous Year's Questions

·rhe emergence of Fourth Industrial Revolution (Digital Revolution) has initiated e-

Govern ance as an integral part of government·. Discuss. (2020)

r 1J Previous Year's Questions

1:plementation o.f [Link] and Communic ation Technology (ICT) based 1

projects/programmes usually [Link] in terms of certain vital .factors. Identify
these .factors and suggest measures .for their [Link] implementation. (20t,)

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87
 DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY

Introduction
The rise of big data, big tech companies, aggregation of data, breach of personal privacy, the ability of
powerful analytics companies to profile a person has created many issues and concerns in India too.
There have been calls to have a robust legal framework to protect personal data on internet and internet­
based platforms.

The whole world is moving to a data and technology driven world. An example is that even a poor person
is covered under the Aadhar framework and benefits from the data enabled ecosystem. All activities
leave a digital footprint. According to the Departmental Parliamentary Committee on the latest Personal
Data protection Bill, there are 4.66 billion internet users in the world. The size of the internet has
increased to 44 zettabytes, and the internet has doubled every year since 2012. The size of our
population and economy, the penetration of the internet (800 million internet users), the number of
smartphone users (400 million smartphone users) and the data generated consequently can be an asset
and also be a liability. India generates 150 exabytes of data annually and India is among the fastest
growing data generating nations of the world.

Need for protective use of Data: 0 [Link]

• There is a need for protective use of data that will help accelerate economic growth and development.
• It can help provide better services to people.
• It can promote Atmanirbharta by powering data driven innovations in almost all sectors.
• Powerful data analytics can generate predictive insights thereby enhancing decision making
capabilities for the present and a better future.
• While data can work in independent silos too, cross cutting of data can lead to better insights. It gains
more significance because India has many datasets like the Aadhar, GSTN, MCA21, Passport Sewa,
UPI, DISHA, BHUVAN (ISRO). Such datasets and their nature of cross-cutting into independent silos
helps in building blocks for providing integrated services.

Issues
• Data Security and privacy: If data is generated, it should not be free for transfer for commercial use,
safeguards for personal data should be there. Data generated should also be stored in a secure
manner. Thus, data protection has become a global concern. This is demonstrated from the fact that
132/194 countries have regulations or legislations in this regard. There are two aspects of the recently
emerging data ecosystem, one is economic and productive use of this data ecosystem to give a fillip to
growth of economy, technology development, innovations and also give more data to government to
sharpen their focus regarding socio economic policies and decisions. The other aspect is privacy
including personal privacy and protecting the data generated from any kind of breach that is
unwarranted and illegal. To balance interests, some kind of bias should be there towards protection of
privacy and security of data as opposed to the right to private sector for profit generation, economic
innovations etc. If the regulation framework regarding data becomes very stringent, then the benefits

89
 that would have been realised out of data analytics, Big Data etc. will not be effectively utilised. On
the other hand, if the regulations are very lax, people will start losing confidence, trust and they might
become not interested in sharing data at all or might become increasingly reluctant to share data
which will harm the benefits that can accrue from this data ecosystem. Thus, a balanced and
trustworthy ecosystem is required to realise the full potential of the data economy with adequate
safeguards.
• Cross-Border Compatibility: The regulations developed in the country have to be compatible with
similar regulations in other countries. If the regulations vary too much, private firms face difficulties in
adopting the norms for secrecy and privacy that varies in each country and this affects data analytics
negatively. Another issue that needs a look is the manner in which a data regulation regime is created.
Should the regime be common for all entities, both private and government or if the government
requires some exemptions, should we have a common regulation framework for all kinds of human
economic activities or sector specific regulations. So, this itself is a big issue before we come to a final
shape for a data regulation regime.
• Incorporating Medico-Legal Dimensions: A data breach by a company would lead to reputational
harm for the company. A similar leak regarding an individual would lead to financial loss, loss of
employment, adverse impact on social and personal relationships, etc. A study was conducted by
Identity Theft Resources Centre among victims of violation of data privacy, they found that 86% felt
worried, frustrated and angry; 85% felt disturbance in sleep habits; 77 % felt increased stress levels;
59% experienced depression, while some also experienced symptoms of PTSD.
• Proliferation of fake accounts and bots: Bots are automated accounts on social media that mimic a
real person. A New York Times study said that nearly 48 million twitter accounts are fake. These bots
and fake accounts can be used to push a certain agenda, to promote a false narrative, carry malicious
campaigns, promote digital scams, and incite violence etc.
• Abuse of social media by subversive, anti-social and terror organizations: Social media and its
abuse has led to many individuals joining such organizations like !SIS in Syria. Since these operations
get carried out on the platforms of social media intermediaries, then the government has a natural
desire and responsibility to find out who these people are and from where these activities originated.
� This would help them in nabbing, prosecuting and convicting the culprits. This also displays the
� complex interplay of personal privacy of the individuals and the national security of the country, and
ii: the constant tussle between the government, the social media giants and the individuals to safeguard
a.
C
z their interests.
<( • Data Localization: Data Localization refers to restrictions on cross border movement of Data. The first
z
0 aspect of data localization is the issue of where the data would be stored. Most countries say that the
data should be stored locally, but they can be taken outside the country under certain conditions for
specific purposes only. The second aspect is data sharing; the purpose and the conditions under which
et:: this cross-border movement of data should be allowed is the crux of regulation regarding this issue.
a.
There are two terms associated with this issue namely Hard Localization and Soft Localization. Hard
�
� Localization refers to the data being stored locally followed by a strict regime concerning cross border

90
 flow of data to the point where certain categories of data are not permitted to be taken outside the
country at all. Soft Localization refers to the storage of data locally followed by a relaxed regime in
terms of data sharing.

Thus, there are many aspects regarding which a Personal Data Protection Bill has to deal with and it is not
easy to frame a Bill with so many issues and challenges comprehensively in a law.

Benefits of Data Localization:

• National Security: The policy of Data Localization leads to adverse and hostile nations not able to
access information on our domestic populations, to which if they had free access to, they can
manipulate and commit to actions that have harmful consequences for the country.
• Law Enforcement: If the data is stored locally, then it becomes easier to access data by law
enforcement agencies in the pursuit of investigation of crimes. In case the data is stored abroad, it
becomes difficult to get access to the data, and thus impedes investigation.
• Privacy: If the government insists companies to store all data locally, then the government can also
impose its own privacy regulations to the data stored. In case there is no data localization, then the
data is flowing to every part of the world where the data privacy regulations may be lenient and the
privacy of the concerned entities be it individuals or firms is violated.
• Redressal of grievance of citizens: If there is a data breach in India after data localization is applied,
then any breach of privacy of data can be pursued in a court of law, while this may not be feasible if the
data breach happens internationally because of lack of data localization.
• Increase Bargaining Power of India: If the data is stored locally , then it becomes a great asset while
negotiating deals with countries and multilateral institutions where access to the data can be used as
an asset to bargain, to get greater access to the markets, bilateral deals, technical and economic
cooperation etc.

General Data Protection Regulations of the European Union: 0 [Link]

GDPR came into effect in 2018 and it is like the EU avatar of the Indian Personal Data Protection Bill. Its
broad key features are:
• Informed Consent: Today the consent available online, with their lengthy and complex language has
created a phenomenon of Consent Fatigue. The EU in their GDPR has said that the consent should be
truly informed consent. The terms and conditions should be simplified, shortened and more
understandable to the person reading them.
• Breach Notification: The moment there is breach of data inadvertently, immediately the concerned
individual has to be informed about the data breach.
• Automated Decision Making: There are many social media websites that have an automated
recommendation algorithm, where the profile of the person is created by the Al algorithm and suitable
suggestions are recommended. Thus, one of the key aspects of GDPR is that people should be given
the option and the right to opt out of such automated decision-making processes to prevent profiling.

91
 • Citizen Awareness: It also advocated a massive citizen engagement programmed to create citizen
awareness.

Legal Protection in India: 0 [Link]

• IT Rules 2011 were notified under the IT Act,2000 and framed as Reasonable Security Practices and
Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data and Information Rules, 2011. However, they were found to
be highly inadequate thus necessitating the fact that we need a Personal Data Protection Bill.

• Then came the Puttaswamy Judgement in 2017, that clearly placed Right to Privacy as a
fundamental right. The bench also instructed the government to pace a system of robust protection for
protection of data of individuals and all concerned entities

• In response to this, the government of India set up a committee namely Justice BN Srikrishna
Committee 2017 to help the government make such a law. The report came out in 2018 and the
country had its first bill in 2019, Personal Data Protection Bill, which is not entirely based on the
Committee recommendations. Some of the more forward looking recommendations have not found a
place in the Bill, or they are present in a diluted way.

Principles of Data Protection: 0 [Link]

• Technology Agnosticism: When you frame a law concerning an area where the technology is
changing at a rapid pace, the law thus created should not just focus on the present type of technology
being employed, it should also be flexible enough to adopt all those technologies that would be
available tomorrow. There should not be a case that we need a new Bill or a legal framework for a new
technology that emerges in the near future.
• Holistic Application: The laws have to be applied in a holistic manner i.e. both the private and the
public sector. For the government there can be some exceptions namely for national security, public
order, prosecution and investigation etc. with adequate safeguards. The exceptions thus created
� should not be framed in very vague terms, so as the government practically abuses those vague terms,
�
ii: nullifying their responsibilities of protecting the privacy of the individual. Thus, the laws framed
a.
C should cover the private sector as well as government with some basic exemptions and exceptions
z built into the legal framework for reasonable purposes and goals.
<(
z • Informed Consent: Informed consent should be genuinely informed consent and not consent arising
0
out of consent fatigue and should not be reduced to cosmetic procedure or formality.
• Data minimization: It means only that much data should be collected by an entity either private or
et:: public, that is required by them to provide a service to the person. They should not collect data that
a.
isn't being used to provide the service to the person. Thus, it means to not over collect data and don't
�
� collect data at all when there is no need for such collection.

92
 • Controlled Accountability: Entities that store or process data are termed as Data fiduciaries. If there is
some data breach inadvertently or due to malicious intent, then there should be an obligation on part
of all data fiduciaries to place state of the art technologies to prevent such data breaches, to prevent
invasion of privacy. But if it still takes place, the data fiduciary will be held accountable and suitable
action would be taken according to the accountability norms then.
• Structured Enforcement: There should be multiple levels at which the grievances should be
addressed, the first level has to be the company itself, then some semi-autonomous or autonomous
body outside the company, then maybe a suitable tribunal and then the regular system of High Courts
and Supreme Courts.
• Deterrent Penalties: The notion of accountability works only if there are sufficient deterrent penalties,
and such penalties have been envisaged in the PDP Bill too.

Personal Data Protection Bill,2019 0 [Link]

The Bill was referred to a Departmental Standing Committee and the report has been tabled recently.

Preamble
Whereas the right to privacy is a fundamental right and it is necessary to protect personal data as an
essential facet of individual privacy; and whereas the growth of the digital economy has expanded the
use of data as a critical means of communication between persons. And whereas it is necessary to create
a collective culture that fosters a free and fair digital economy, respecting the information and privacy of
individuals and ensuring empowerment, progress and innovation through digital governance and
inclusion and for matters connected therewith or incidental there to. Be it enacted by Parliament in the
Seventieth Year of the Republic of India.

Applicability:
The bill governs the processing of personal data by the
• Government
• Companies incorporated in India and
• Foreign companies dealing with personal data of individuals in India

Personal data is data which pertains to characteristics, traits or attributes of identity, which can be used to
identify an individual. The Bill categorises certain personal data as sensitive personal data. It includes
financial data, biometric data, caste, religious or political beliefs or any other category of data specified by
the government in consultation with the Authority and the concerned sectoral regulator.

93
 Obligations of data fiduciary:
A data fiduciary is an entity or individual who decides the means and purpose of processing personal
data. Such processing will be subject to certain purpose, collection and storage limitations. For instance,
personal data can be processed only for specific, clear and lawful purposes. Additionally, all data
fiduciaries must undertake transparency and accountability measures such as:

• Implementing security safeguards (such as data encryption and preventing misuse of data)
• Instituting grievance redressal mechanisms to address complaints of the individuals.

They must also instate mechanisms for age verification and parental consent when processing sensitive
personal data of children.

Rights of the individual:

The Bill sets out certain rights of the individual or data principal. These include the right to
• Obtain confirmation from the fiduciary on whether their personal data has been processed
• Seek correction of inaccurate, incomplete or out of date personal data
• Have personal data transferred to any other data fiduciary in certain circumstances.
• Restrict continuing disclosure of their personal data by a fiduciary if it is no longer necessary or
consent is withdrawn

Grounds for processing personal data

The Bill allows processing of data by fiduciaries only if consent is provided by the individual. However, in
certain circumstances data can be processed without consent. These include:
• If required by the state for providing benefits to the individual
• Legal proceedings
• To respond to a medical emergency

Social Media Intermediaries

� The Bill defines there to include intermediaries which enable online interaction between users and allow
� for sharing of information. All such intermediaries which have users above a notified threshold and
ii: whose actions can impact electoral democracy or public order, have certain obligations, which include
a.
C providing a voluntary user verification mechanism for users in India.
z
<(
z
0 Data Protection Authority
The Bill sets up a Data Protection Authority which may
• Take steps to protect interests of individuals
et:: • Prevent misuse of personal data and
a.
• Ensure compliance with the Bill
�
�

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 It will consist of a chairperson and six members, with at least 10 years expertise in the field of data
protection and information technology. Orders of the Authority can be appealed to an Appellate tribunal,
and appeals from the tribunal will go to the Supreme Court

Transfer of data outside India

Sensitive personal data may be transferred outside India for processing if explicitly consented to by the
individual and subject to certain additional conditions. However, such sensitive personal data should
continue to be stored in India. Certain personal data notified as critical personal data by the government
can only be processed in India.

Exemptions
The Central government can exempt any of its agencies from the provisions of the Act:
• In interest of security of state, public order, sovereignty and integrity of India and friendly relations
with foreign states
• For preventing incitement to commission of any cognizable offence (i.e arrest without warrant)
relating to the above matters

Processing of personal data is also exempted from the provisions of the Bill for certain other purposes
such as
• Prevention, investigation or prosecution of any offence,
• personal, domestic or
• Journalistic purposes. However, such processing must be for specific, clear and lawful purpose with
certain security safeguards

Offences: Offences under the Bill include:

• Processing or transferring personal data in violation of the Bill, punishable with a fine of Rs 15 crore or
4% of the annual turnover of the fiduciary , whichever is higher and
• Failure to conduct a data audit, punishable with a fine of five crore rupees or 2% of the annual turnover
of the fiduciary whichever is higher.
• Re-identification and processing of de-identified persons without consent is punishable with
imprisonment of upto three years ,fine or both.

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