Public administration in theory and practice

Contents: Preface. 1. Foundations of good governance/D.P. Singh. 2. Reforms: road to good Governance and sustainable development/L.S. Rathore. 3. Jawaharlal Nehru s perspective on Governance/Ramesh K. Tiwari. 4. The concept of good Governance: World Bank perspective/B.M. Chitlangi. 5. Good Governance and Panchayati Raj Institutions/S.C. Arora. 6. Challenges to PRI s in India: shifting paradigms of good Governance/Ashok Sharma. 7. Role of Hyderabad metropolitan development authority in urban good Governance/M.A. Hussain. 8. Good Governance and ombudsman/R.R. Jha. 9. Society and criminal justice system in India/T.N. Dhar. 10. The rationale of good Governance in liberal Democracy/I.D. Mishra. 11. Right to Information: a tool of good Governance/Shiv Raj Singh. 12. Uttar Pradesh: Governance in a critical state/S.N. Singh. 13. Higher education in India clamouring for good Governance/P.N. Gautam. 14. Aspects of political ideas and outstanding features of good Governance in ancient India/S.K. Jaiswal. 15. Human rights approach to good Governance: Indian experiences during the post-liberalisation period/V.N. Vishwanathan . The subject of good governance is one that immediately inspires cynicism and hope because of its very nature and relevance. It is a critical prerequisite of participative and citizen centric-development that we all talk about. Detractors may dismiss it as cliché ridden the fact however is that governance is all around us and envelops our lives in a most profound manner. There is hardly any domain of daily life that is not touched by governance. It is a matter of concern that despite the efforts made so far good governance continues to suffer on various counts. Almost all aspects of civic life have adversely been influenced by lack of good governance. There are question marks on the moral fabric, politicians administration and various other sections of the civil society. There is therefore an urgent need to address these issues in wider societal interests. Good governance has emerged as the key area of theory, policy and practice and is seen as the foundation for a just and equitable social order. The apparently routine subject of Good Governance has received a most timely impetus from the University Grants Commission, by their sanctioning of special Assistance Programme (SAP) to the Department of Public Administration, University of Lucknow, at a time when age old issues of governance are being revisited and immensely debated upon a regular basis by various stakeholders