Crisis of governance is a major threat to the stability and integrity of the state today in many parts of the world in varying degrees. The symptoms of this crisis are widespread corruption, breakdown of law and order, public protests against the government and alienation of citizens all of which undermine the credibility of the government of the day. This crisis has led to huge popular activism to demand good governance not only in democratic India but also in sub-Saharan Africa, autocratic Islamic countries in the Middle East and authoritarian communist party ruled China. The growing spectacle of civil society activists demanding corruption free governance has jolted the ruling regime in India in recent months as never before since India became independent democratic republic.

Before we proceed to set down the basic components of good governance, it is important to remember that 'governance' transcends the 'government' and encompasses not only the state apparatus but the civil society organizations and the private sector too. In fact, good governance envisages strengthening the civil society and the non-government sector. At the apex of governance, the state apparatus regulates and enforces the Rule of Law, a major component of good governance which is regarded as the bed rock of a democratic society. There is a vital link between good governance and maintenance of internal security. If there is breakdown of law and order, the government will be unable to deliver the much needed services to the people. On the other hand, if the delivery mechanism is corrupt and inefficient, the citizens will lose their trust in the government’s ability to deliver and look for remedies elsewhere for redressal of their grievances resulting in breakdown of law and order. This two-way link between good governance and internal security has been amply demonstrated in the rapid growth and sustenance of the Naxal movement in more than a dozen Indian states.

In order to achieve the desired level of Human Development and the socio-economic goals enshrined in the Preamble, Directive Principles and the Fundamental Rights of our constitution, the government must constantly cooperate with the civil society, enlist its support and empower it .Keeping these goals in view, the institutions of the government need to be strengthened by making them accountable, transparent, non-discriminatory, citizen-friendly and participatory. The crisis of governance in India today is a consequence of the breakdown of democratic institutions and emergence of an unholy nexus between inefficient, corrupt civil servants and vote hungry politicians. As a result, more than sixty years after independence, despite lofty promises made in the constitution, democratic India occupies a very low place in the Human Development Index published by the UNDP every year. Higher economic growth rate did not percolate as benefits to the poor and nearly 40 percent of the population live below the poverty line. This grim reality was acknowledged in the approach paper to the 10th Five Year Plan which devoted a chapter to good governance several years ago and lamented that huge amounts spent by way of central and state schemes did not benefit the targeted sections of the population due to misgovernance. Development objectives should be defined not in terms of growth in GDP or per capita income, but in terms of 'enhancement of human well-being’ as rightly noted in the plan paper.

If follows from the aforesaid arguments that in a well governed state, everything the governing apparatus does must necessarily be in public interest and every service or product should benefit all segments of population. In Indian context, it means what Gandhiji wanted us to do, namely, “wipe every tear from every eye.”The need of the hour is to select sound management technique which should, inter alia, include the following: