December 25: Good Governance Day

The Good Governance Day (GGD) is celebrated every year in India on December 25 to mark the birthday anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The day was established by Central Government in 2014 to honor Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the people of accountability in government.

Objectives of GGD

It aims to make people aware about government commitment for providing a transparent and accountable administration in the country. It is also celebrated to enhance the welfare and betterment of the people.
It is celebrated to standardise government functioning and make it highly effective and accountable governance for the citizens of the country. It also seeks to implement good and effective policies to complete mission of good governance in India. It also seeks to enhance growth and development in the country through good governance. It also strives to bring citizens closer to government to make them active participants in good governance process.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on 25 December 1924. He was amongst the founder members of erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh which later became known as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was parliamentarian for over 4 decades and was elected to the Lok Sabha for 9 times, and 2 times to the Rajya Sabha.
He was also the Minister of External Affairs (MEA) in the cabinet of Janta Government headed by Morarji Desai i.e. from 1977-79. He is three time Prime Minister of India. For first time he had served as PM for just 13 days in 1996 and second time for 13 months in 1998-1999. In his third term as PM he completed his full five-year term, making him first PM from outside the Congress party to serve a full term.
Some of his pet projects launched by him as PM were National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. In 2009, he had retired from active politics due to health concerns. In December 2014, Mr Vajpayee, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) were awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2017