The concept of accountability and Indian polity - GovtVacancy.Net

The concept of accountability and Indian polity

Accountability is a pre-condition for democratic and good governance. It is based on the assumption  that the appointed officers or employees should be responsible for their actions in accordance with the public mandate  , and be ready to answer. Explaining the rationale for your  actions and decisions reinforces the notion of accountability. For better results in the governance system, it is necessary for the civil society  to be active in ensuring the accountability of public posts. The anti-corruption movement that started in  India as a demand for Jan Lokpal is  the result of this role of civil society and public power. Accountability can be defined as, “It is a It is a mechanism that reports on the use of public resources and is ready to respond in case of failure to meet the assigned  performance objectives  .

 

The Approach Form of the 12th Five Year Plan states that it is widely accepted  that the accountability of the government is a matter of concern which  needs to be addressed on an urgent basis in India. The form clarified that  it may be useful to differentiate between accountability relating to government and private organizations. Private, profit  -driven organizations are generally quite efficient at delivering results, while they are  often not efficient at managing equity.

 

Private organizations have a relatively limited set of stakeholders. They are  in principle  accountable to their shareholders and to their customers for their specific products and services. Governments, on the other hand, have been largely  compelled to respond to a far wider set of citizens and stakeholders. Since the accountability of the government is broad, there is  a need to pay more attention to the definition and measurement of accountability in the management of public programmes. In recent reform initiatives, several  central ministries have adopted an outcome framework document that  provides the most important outcomes that are expected to be achieved by the departments and ministries concerned. Its main purpose is to shift the focus of the department from the present resource allocation system to result oriented  system.

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