Mukherjee said good governance was critically dependent on rule of law, participatory decision-making, transparency, responsiveness, accountability, equity and inclusiveness. “It calls for wider involvement of the civil society in the political process. It calls for deeper engagement of the youth with the institutions of democracy. It calls for quick dispensation of justice to the people. It calls for ethical and responsible behaviour from the media,” he said.
Mukherjee said a country of India's size, heterogeneity and complexity calls for culture-specific governance models calls for taking a responsive administration to the door step of every hut and habitation in the land. The President also touched the issue of poverty saying the decisive challenge of our times is to end the curse of poverty.
Though poverty has come down in last six decades from over 60 per cent to less than 30 per cent, he said even then, nearly one-third of population still lives below the poverty line.
“Poverty is not a mere statistic. Poverty has a face, which becomes unbearable when it scars the visage of a child. The poor cannot, and will not, wait for yet another generation to see the very essentials of life - food, shelter, education and employment - being denied to them. The benefits from economic development must percolate down to the poorest of the poor,” he said.
Referring to the current economic situation, he said though the growth rate was subdued at below 5 per cent during the last two years, there was a “sense renewed vigour and optimism in the air.
“Signs of revival are visible. Our external sector has strengthened. Fiscal consolidation measures are beginning to show results. Notwithstanding occasional spurts, inflation has started moderating,” he said adding food prices still remain a matter of serious concern.
Mukherjee said manufacturing sector was on the rebound and the stage was now set fro the economy to move on a high-growth trajectory of 7-8 per cent which was essential to ensure the availability of adequate resources for equitable development.
Referring to clean environment, the President said ancient travellers from abroad had written about the efficient administrative systems with planned settlements and good urban infrastructure.
“What has gone wrong with us now? Why can't we keep our environment free of filth?,” he said commending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary by making India a clean country by 2019.
But, Mukherjee said, that can be achieved only if each Indian converts this into a national mission. “Every road, every path, every office, every home, every hut, every river, every stream, every particle in the air around us can be kept clean, if we but cared just a little. We must nurture nature, so that nature continues to nurture us,” he said.
