Malawi'’s agricultural sector is critical to its economy, employing around 77% of the population and accounting for 23% of gross domestic product (GDP). The majority of workers in agriculture are smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate less than one hectare of land. Despite its importance, the sector faces significant challenges, …
This is a special report in Down To Earth on how the 13the Finance Commission puts three times more money in the hands of local governments to spend—at their own will. Panchayats and municipal bodies will now have three times more money to spend—at their own will. The 13th Finance …
Panchayats and municipal bodies will now have three times more money to spend—at their own will. The 13th Finance Commission has pushed for greater autonomy for local governments by vesting spending power in their hands instead of the state, while increasing their non-plan expenditure from Rs 20,000 crore to Rs …
Education and health are commonly devolved functions to sub-national governments, even in nations which have a unitary rather than a federal structure. This paper investigates, for the specific case of a federal country like India, whether differences between states in shares of public spending on health and education show convergence …
The implementation of decentralisation reform as embodied in the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution has suffered from complete negligence. The two recent articles by Oommen and Sivaramakrishnan have highlighted the inexplicable attitudes of the finance commissions and the judiciary towards decentralisation.
The State Finance Commission, although a technical and quasijudicial constitutional entity like the Union Finance Commission, has to help local governments plan for economic development and deliver social justice and public services at the local level. This article evaluates the history of the performance of SFCs in general and shows …
The Decentralisation Community of Solution Exchange, an initiative of the United Nations in India, provides a platform for increasing our understanding of local governance-both rural and urban-through knowledge sharing and collaboration.
On 19 December, the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2009 was passed in the State Assembly. It is now mandatory for all registered voters in Gujarat to vote in the elections of all local bodies (municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats) of the state. The new amendment empowers the election …
The Union Government, especially the Ministry for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj deserve all credit for declaring 2009-2010 the year of the Gram Sabha
The Decentralisation Community of Solution Exchange, an initiative of the United Nations in India, provides a platform for increasing our understanding of local governance both rural and urban-through knowledge sharing and collaboration. This article is a summary of one of the discussions held on the Decentralisation Community.
In 2008, four countries of South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Nepal) held significant elections. The paper highlights various pertinent issues in the political economy of these four countries and maps out the broad contours of the reforms they need to embark on. For one, and in the short …
Ministry of Panchayati Raj has formulated a Model Panchayats and Gram Swaraj Act (MPGSA) for states. The Ministry invited members to give their comments and suggestions.
"The Goa Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2009 is being reintroduced with modifications in the earlier Bill. A Draft Model Panchayat Act (DMPA) was circulated to all the States by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj in the month of April 2009 requesting for suggestions/comments within three weeks. Given this situation, …
On August 4, 2009, National Council Meet of the Association of Local Governance of India (ALGI) was held in New Delhi. Panchayat members and presidents, political representatives and representatives from civil society organisations from 19 states participated in the programme.
This Guide is intended to respond to an increasing demand from UNDP Country Offices and a wide range of national stakeholders for guidance on the multiplicity of tools and methods that are being used to measure, assess and monitor governance at the local level. The Guide uses the term
In 1993, India introduced quota-based political reservations for women in rural areas with the objective to promote gender equality in human development by making rural service provision and local governance inclusive and responsive to the needs of women. Recent evidence shows that reservation policies for women stimulate the political participation …
The Decentralization Community of Solution Exchange, an initiative of the United Nations Country Team in India, provides a platform to strengthen the institutions of local self government - Panchayati Raj Institutions and Municipal Bodies - to bring about more transparent and participatory governance, more effective local development and better delivery …
