Transparency
Topic: Transparency, Accountability and e-Governance · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 6 "The State, the Government, and You"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 10, Ch 5 "Outcomes of Democracy"
Meaning
Transparency means the government is open. Citizens can see information on its policies, actions and public spending, and decisions are made by known rules and procedures. Citizens therefore have both the right and the means to check how a decision was made. Transparency is the base of accountability, because people cannot question what they cannot see. In India, the Right to Information Act 2005 gave transparency legal force. The Supreme Court in S.P. Gupta (1981) called open government the new democratic culture.
Example
Under Section 4 of the RTI Act, every public authority must publish 17 categories of information on its own. Rajasthan's Jan Soochna Portal (2019) puts scheme and beneficiary data online so that anyone can see it.
Don't confuse with
- Accountability: transparency means seeing information. Accountability means those in power must answer for their actions and face consequences.
Related concepts
- Good governance
- Good Governance Day
- Minimum government, maximum governance
- Vertical accountability
- Horizontal accountability