Foundations · Pillar 3 of 8
Governance
Whether the Indian state is fair, effective and accountable: able to keep people safe, deliver justice and services, manage public money well, and protect the institutions and rights on which everything else depends.
What is the Governance pillar?
Governance is the third of eight pillars in the 47 BH framework for a developed Bharat by 2047, and one of the three pillars in the Foundations layer, which covers the preconditions that make people and the state capable. It asks whether the Indian state is fair, effective and accountable: able to keep people safe, deliver justice and services, manage public money well, and protect the institutions and rights on which everything else depends. It has five sub-pillars: rule of law; safety and justice; state capacity; public finances and stable prices; and institutions and citizens' rights.
How Governance connects to the 47 BH vision
Governance is one of three Foundations pillars that underpin the whole vision. Prosperity and character both depend on a state that is fair, effective and accountable, and on institutions that protect citizens' rights.
A developed Bharat that is richer in per capita income and, more importantly, in character: where people work hard and build wealth, yet live by Karma, accountable for every action, and by Dharma, doing their duty towards their family, friends, society and all life on this earth.
The 47 BH vision for 2047
The five sub-pillars of Governance
Each sub-pillar is a part of Governance that 47 BH examines in its conversations and explainers, through the two lenses described below.
- 3.1
Rule of law
Laws that apply equally to all, the enforcement of contracts, and secure property rights.
47 BH looks at whether the same laws apply to everyone, whether contracts are honoured and enforced, and whether people can rely on owning what is theirs.
- 3.2
Safety and justice
Freedom from crime, effective and fair policing, and timely access to justice for ordinary citizens.
47 BH looks at whether people feel safe, whether policing is effective and fair, and whether an ordinary citizen can get justice in reasonable time.
- 3.3
State capacity
How well governments at every level deliver services, including through digital public infrastructure.
47 BH looks at how well the state actually delivers, from the panchayat to the Centre, including services built on India's digital public infrastructure.
- 3.4
Public finances and stable prices
Responsible government spending and borrowing, and low, stable inflation that protects household budgets.
47 BH looks at whether governments spend and borrow responsibly, and whether inflation stays low and stable so that household budgets are protected.
- 3.5
Institutions and citizens' rights
The independence and quality of institutions such as the courts, regulators, election machinery and a free press, the balance between the Centre and the states, and the protection of citizens' rights. This is assessed on institutional quality, not on any party's record.
47 BH looks at the independence and quality of the institutions that hold power to account, at the balance between the Centre and the states, and at the protection of citizens' rights, always on institutional quality and never on any party's record.
Two lenses on Governance
Two lenses apply to every sub-pillar in the 47 BH framework, so that rural India is present throughout and India learns from the world without copying it.
City and village
Governance is examined for both urban and rural Bharat: whether a villager can get a land record, a court hearing or a police complaint handled as fairly and quickly as a city dweller, and whether local governments have the capacity to deliver.
Learn, avoid, protect
- Learn
- What can India learn from countries where courts are quick, contracts are reliably enforced and public services are delivered well?
- Avoid
- Which mistakes should it avoid, such as unsustainable public debt, persistent high inflation, or institutions weakened by capture?
- Protect
- What of its own should it protect, such as its constitutional democracy, its federal structure and the digital public infrastructure it has built?
Where Governance meets other pillars
Personal honesty sits under the Values pillar. The effectiveness of institutions sits under Governance. Each topic has one home in the framework.
Questions about the Governance pillar
What is the Governance pillar of 47 BH?
Governance is the third of eight pillars in the 47 BH framework for a developed Bharat by 2047. It asks whether the Indian state is fair, effective and accountable: able to keep people safe, deliver justice and services, manage public money well, and protect institutions and rights.
What are the five sub-pillars of Governance?
Rule of law; safety and justice; state capacity; public finances and stable prices; and institutions and citizens' rights.
Is the Governance pillar political?
No. 47 BH assesses the quality of institutions and the state's capacity to deliver. It stays out of party and electoral politics and does not assess any party's record.
Why are stable prices part of Governance?
Because responsible public finances and low, stable inflation are responsibilities of the state, and inflation directly erodes household budgets.