Governance

KEY POINTS

Recent Incidents

·        The EC broke from convention by announcing dates for elections in Himachal Pradesh while staying mum on Gujarat, despite the fact that these two states have followed nearly identical electoral calendars since 1998.

·        GoI created a new political funding vehicle known as electoral bonds which create a mechanism for private actors to fund political parties without the actor or the political party having to disclose a single rupee.

·        The EC, which has been agitating for greater transparency in political finance for decades, proclaimed that the scheme was a step in the right direction.

·        The other example of an elite institution grappling with credibility issues is the Supreme Court.

·        One of the structural issues that the SC faces is the accumulation of power in the hands of the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

·        The CJI is the “master of the rolls”, and therefore exercises considerable discretion both in setting up benches and in deciding what cases get heard.

·        In an unprecedented press conference, four Supreme Court justices accused the incumbent CJI of selectively setting up benches in order to shape the outcomes of particular cases pending before the court.

Reasons

·        It has been claimed that the aberrations are linked only to individual personalities, rather than hallmarks of institutional malaise.

·        Even though, it seems to be true, we cannot simply ignore the multiple systemic challenges India’s core federal institutions face.

·        It is the responsibility of the government to rectify all these systemic challenges and to give these elite institutions an opportunity to flourish.

Challenges to India’s core institutions

·        Managing Human capital – Indian institutions continually struggle with managing human capital, as evidenced by the unending chaos concerning judicial appointments.

·        Lack of accountability – Exogenous actions, like the passage of the Right to Information Act, have compelled greater accountability to the public.

·        Yet the quality of external accountability is in doubt as evidenced by how the EC and the SC have struggled to balance the demands of public justification with the temptation to hold on to discretion.

·        Internal accountability mechanisms have largely foundered.

·        Centralisation of powers – In nearly all Indian institutions, power remains far too centralized in the hands of the chief.

·        Political interference – It remains an ever-present obstacle.

·        Much of this interference comes down to subverting behavioural norms rather than actual violations of the law.