Issues and Challenges in Ensuring Public Accountability: The Indian Context

Abstract

This paper focuses on the challenges of ensuring public accountability in the Indian context. The urgent need for accountability of public servants in India, elected as well permanent, emanates from the large scale perception about lack of responsiveness with respect to results and outcomes for citizens and customers of public services. In real terms, there is a trustdeficit with regard to public services in general and the quality of public services in particular. The complex nature of public accountability lead to blurring of the issues which could be critical for ensuring the same in the delivery of public services. The extant literature clearly shows that a narrowly defined public accountability is one of the reasons contributing to inefficient public accountability. The fundamental issue therefore is to define public accountability in the context of changing public policy and public management discourse in India. The paper discusses these emerging dimensions of public accountability in the Indian context. The definition of public accountability, the need for exercising accountability, the issues involved in poor accountability, effective ways to exercise accountability, and ensuring accountability in Indian context, are the aspects analysed in this paper.

Keywords: Public accountability, performance management, trust-deficit, public service delivery, Indian context

JEL Classification: D73, P43, E62, J18