Ethics In Governance: Indias Context

Abstract:Ethics in Governance: Indias context analyses what constitutes ethics in the area of governance, ascertains how an ethical governance system is in the best interest of overall business community and identifies major stakeholders in the Indias governance systems. It identifies key players involved with the three pillars of government i.e. legislative, executive and Judiciary; and highlights the values conferred upon them by means of code of conduct. It shows certain policies and regulations that are there, to ensure, ethical standards exist in their respective areas of functioning. The paper also mentions certain recommendations that were given in the 4th Administrative Reform Commission report: Ethics in Governance that requires immediate attention such that desired ethical standards continues to persist for the sustained development of the governance system. The paper finally highlights corruption as the major discrepancy plaguing every institution in the system and further goes on to show how its eradication is intrinsically linked to ethics.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------IntroductionEthics is a set of standards that society places on itself and which help guide behaviour, choices and actions. Ethics are also known as a code of conduct. [1] Ethics is an attempt to guide human conduct and it is also an attempt to help man in leading good life by applying moral principles. Ethics refers to well based standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics is related to issues of propriety, rightness and wrongness. What is right is ethical and what is wrong is unethical. Value is an important conception in ethical discussion. Values relate to the norms of a culture, but they are more global and abstract than norms.[2] Our personal values and societal experiences contribute to the strength of ethical fibre. The value system that one is exposed to has immense impact on the kind of ethics that gets imbibed in to self. Though ones ethical fibre is the repercussions of ones own experiences but when associating with an institution it becomes important to depict the character of standards of the institution personified. In short to say personal ethics should reflect the institutional ethics catering to the purpose for which it has been established. This aspect of coordination becomes very crucial when we talk of governance in specificity as the governance engulfs in itself a relationship to be exercised between its stakeholders and this necessitates reflecting character of high morals to the people it eventually serves. Before delving in to the aspects of Ethics in Governance in Indias context it shall be beneficial to get an insight in to the aspects of governance and what the certain proponents of good governance have to say about it. Governance in technicality refers to (a) art of governing i.e. the manner in which the authority, control and power of government is exercised in mobilising a societys economic and social resources to address the issues of public interest. (b) processes as well as the result of making authoritative decisions for the benefit of the society in a collective manner where in all stakeholders (individuals and institutions) engage in many ways to manage their common affairs.Not surprisingly, western countries, in its profound ways have come up with the term Good Governance. It has been used in the context of western aid to developing societies and the benchmarks fixed by the former on the latter as a condition for giving aid. But the concept of good governance is not as such alien to us as it has been known to India since ancient times and was conceptualized as Ram Rajya [Dr Mandeep Gaur], The articulation of Good governance can also be found in the worlds oldest treatise on public administration Arthashaastra. But in modern times, in 1989, the World Bank highlighted the concept of Good Governance and later along with UNDP had identified 5 parameters i.e. Participation, Legitimacy, Accountability, Openness & transparency and Competence for promoting good governance. GG according to Martini Minogue is both a broad reform strategy and particular set of initiatives to strengthen the institutions of civil society with the objective of making governments more accountable, open, transparent and democratic.

Significance of good governance to business communityGood governance is a precondition for economic development. The quality of governance plays a vital role in the economic development of countries. The IMF has spelled out the relationship between good governance and economic development in its declaration Partnership for Sustainable Global Growth that was adopted by the IMFs Interim Committee in September, 1996. It identified "promoting good governance in all its aspects, including ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption" as an essential element of a framework within which economies can prosper. The IMF has spelled out good governance in economic management as improving the management of public resources through reforms covering public sector institutions (e.g., the treasury, central bank, public enterprises, civil service, and the official statistics function), including administrative procedures (e.g., expenditure control, budget management, and revenue collection); and supporting the development and maintenance of a transparent and stable economic and regulatory environment conducive to efficient private sector activities (e.g., price systems, exchange and trade regimes, and banking systems and their related regulations). The broad spectrum of economic activities that are affected by governance is clear from this statement.[4] It would be quite wrong to think that good governance is the responsibility solely of governments. Accountability is a key requirement of good governance at all levels of economic activity. Not only governmental institutions but private and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. An organization or an institution should be accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Good governance will be an important determinant of the pace and character of economic development in the next decade. The establishment of the rule of law, protection of property rights, safeguarding of human and fundamental rights, the implementation of justice, the eradication of waste, prudence in public expenditure and minimizing of bribery and corruption are among the facets of good governance that must prevail for the economy to grow to its full potential.[4] Without good governance economic growth would be stifled impacting everyone involved including the business community.Indias Governance System Indias governance system constitutes Parliament, Executive/Government, Judiciary, Local government, Private sector and Civil society as its major stakeholders. Parliament, Executive and Judiciary together constitute formal organs whereas local government, private sector and civil society form the informal organs. In the pre-liberalisation era India followed a style of governance where informal organs were subsidiary in nature, functioned as mere adjuncts to formal organs, weaker by their roles and acted only as directed. But post-liberalisation taking the cue from Hasnat Abdul Hye model of governance their roles have been strengthened and changed to participatory in nature, action oriented and engaging in the governance process. In the current scenario or in the future each of the stakeholders mentioned above have their own role play and their significance is ever increasing in character in ensuring effective governance.

Ethics in Governance[5]Centre for First Nations Governance has identified the five pillars for effective governance that blend the traditional values of respective nations with modern realities of self-governance. The principles that exist under each of the pillar is mentioned in the table below

People Strategic vision Meaningful information Sharing Participation in Decision Making

Land Territorial Integrity Economic Realization Respect for the Spirit of the Land

Laws and Jurisdiction Expansion of Jurisdiction Rule of Law

Institutions Transparency and Fairness Results-Based Organizations Cultural Alignment of Institutions Effective Inter-Governmental Relations

Resources Human Resource Capacity Financial Management Capacity Performance Evaluation Accountability and Reporting Diversity of Revenue Sources

It can thus be inferred that effective governance involves players who are actively engaged with each of the factors mentioned above. And in the Indian context these are legislators ( a subset of poiticians), administrators, people associated with the justice system who determines the level of participation private players, supporting organistaions, people and civil society. Any disruption in each of their roles shall have a greater ramification to the governance process in total ultimately leading to the mother of all evil in governance process corruption. In this paper we shall consider only the ethical aspects of three pillars of Indian government i.e. legislative, executive and judiciary and that to with respect to the key or important personals involved in their functioning i.e. legislators, civil servants and judges respectively.

Ethics to the legislatorsIt is unrealistic and simplistic to expect perfection in politics in an ethically imperfect environment. India was fortunate that high standards of ethical conduct were an integral part of the freedom struggle. Unfortunately, ethical capital started getting eroded after the transfer of power. Elections are considered as the top most avenues for corruption. There were times when immoderations in elections were commonfor exampleimperfect electoral rolls, impersonation, booth-capturing, violence, inducements and intimidation, floor-crossing after elections to get into power. However, Election Commission and the Supreme Court have taken several steps since the late 1980s and yet, there is a widespread view that much more needs to be done. The taunting issues today are (a) criminalisation of politics(b) Election funding by false means(c) Conduct of the politicians and elected members (incumbent)Criminalisation of politics refers to the participation of criminals in the electoral process. In the India it has been observed that there has been a rise of criminals in politics as it offers protection for law breakers, rides them with authority to interfere with the investigation process of crimes and delay the judicial process or any other means as it provides them with an opportunity to ally with these functionaries. The political parties allow these criminals to contest elections to take advantage of their money and muscle power to win the elections. Election funding is another cause of concern where in large expenditure in elections is illegal and illegitimate. Though there are formal limits to expenditure (Representation of the People Act puts limits on election expenditure), in reality, actual expenditure is alleged to be far higher. Company donations to political party were banned in 1969 but later allowed by an amendment of the Companies Act in 1985. Conduct of the politicians and elected members needs to be checked and every action must be taken that they do not resort to false means and practices to come to power. To improve ethical standards in politics would tentatively involve catering to these issues majorly. Election commission (EC) that is constitutionally empowered to superintend, control and direct elections along with supreme court has undertaken following reforms Improvement in Accuracy of Electoral Rolls. provision of photo-identity cards for all voters Supreme Court has directed that a candidate should declare any conviction by a court or whether a criminal case is pending against him EC has directed every candidate to file a declaration of assets and liabilities of the candidate and family members. Using this power, Election Commission has made the Code of Conduct for elections binding in all respects. Similarly, EC has put prohibition of festoons/cutouts, requires candidate to file on daily expenditure statements, during Election campaigns. Appointment of a large number of observers, ordering of re-poll in specific polling booths. Electronic voting machines have been introduced throughout the country (in the parliamentary elections of 2004). It has been decided that the death of an independent candidate would not lead to the cancellation of an election. Gives Full tax exemption to individuals and corporates on all contributions to political parties Disclosure of party finances and contributions over Rs.20,000. Provides Indirect public funding to candidates of recognized parties including free supply of electoral rolls Equitable sharing of time by the recognized political parties on the cable television network and other electronic media (public and private)2nd Arc has recommended introducing a system for partial state funding in order to reduce the scope of illegitimate and unnecessary funding of expenditure for election but no action has been taken in this regard so far. To regulate the conduct of political members amended Anti defection legislation provisions and made defection possibilities to virtual impossibility to individual members. Currently the Chairman or the Speaker of the House (usually a member of the ruling party or coalition) takes the decision to disqualify a member under defection. Election Commission has recommended that the question of disqualification of members on the ground of defection be decided by the President/Governor on the advice of the Election Commission. So did the 2ndARC. But nothing has been done to this effect. 2ndARCrecommends that Representation of the People Act needs to be amended to disqualify all persons facing charges related to grave and heinous offences and corruption. But only for the cases filed six months before an election would lead to such disqualification. In this regard the two proposals were approved in the form of amendments to the Representation of People Act and separate bills will be tabled in Parliament related to them. As per one amendment, an MP, MLA or MLC cannot be disqualified after conviction if he or she files an appeal within 90 days from the date of conviction and such conviction is stayed. A proviso added to sub-section (4) of section 8 of the RP Act makes it clear that the convicted member shall continue to take part in proceedings of Parliament or Legislature of a state but he or she shall neither be entitled to vote nor draw salary and allowances till the appeal or revision is finally decided by the court.[6] Another amendment cleared by the Cabinet adds a provision to sub section (2) of section 62 of the RP Act to state that a person cannot cease to be a voter while in detention as his or her right is only temporarily suspended. It further states that as the name of person in jail continues to be on electoral role, he or she also continues to be an elector and file nomination for election. [6] Political parties have a responsibility to maintain proper accounts of their income and expenditure and get them audited annually. This needs to be acted upon early. The audited accounts should be available for information of the public. In June last year, the CIC had issued an order putting the BJP, Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party under the sway of the RTI Act. The political parties were asked to appoint an appellate mechanism to disclose their sources of funding as well as details of expenditure. But theres a stiff opposition from all parties on the ground that it will hamper their smooth functioning as it would be misused by the opponents and RTI activists in the name of transparency.[7]

Coalition politics and ethicsCoalitions are often necessitated because it is difficult today for a single party to obtain a clear majority in the Legislature. Ethics of coalition government is, however, seriously strained when the coalition partners change partnerships mid-stream and new coalitions are formed, primarily driven by opportunism and craving for power. 2ndARC recommends that Constitution should be amended to ensure that if one or more parties in a coalition realign midstream with one or more parties outside the coalition, then Members of that party or parties shall have to seek a fresh mandate from the electorate.Conduct of the members of parliamentTo enforce upon ethics among its members standing committees have been created in each of the houses. On 4 March 1997, the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha was constituted. The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha was constituted on 16 May 2000. The Committees shall broadly have the following functions, namely:-(a) to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of members;(b) to prepare a Code of Conduct for members and to suggest amendments or additions to the Code from time to time in the form of reports to the Council;(c) to examine cases concerning the alleged breach of the Code of Conduct by members as also cases concerning allegations of any other ethical misconduct of members; and(d) to tender advice to members from time to time on questions involving ethical standards eithersuo motuor on receiving specific requests.But when such emphasis is laid on the conduct it becomes enormously crucial to know what constitutes the conduct or misconduct for a member of parliament in order to codify them. And this is what The Second report of the committee to inquire into misconduct of members of lok sabha on various facets of misconduct and basic attributes of standards of conduct/ behaviour expected of members (fourteenth lok sabha) [8] has given following views and commentaries on (a) the need to codify as to what actions on the part of members of Parliament would come under the category of misconduct. CNN IBN, ILS Law College, Pune, Ministry of Law and Justice, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Leader of Congress Party and The Indian Express are of the opinion that there is no need to codify what actions of members of Parliament would constitute misconduct as it would be very tough and impractical to list all the possible categories of misconduct. Shri Pranab Mukherjee elaborated by observing that misconduct is nothing but conduct unbecoming of a Member of Parliament not only in discharge of his parliamentary functions but also in the discharge of his public duties and probity of conduct in private life to the extent it impacts on the performance of his public duties. He was further of the view that what amounts to conduct unbecoming of a Member of Parliament depends on the facts and circumstances of the case. However, Shri Soli Sorabjee, and Shri P.P. Rao, Senior Advocates, Shri Sushanto Roy, CEO, Media and Entertainment Shri Nakul Das Rai, Leader SDF and Rajasthan Patrika are of the view that it is desirable and necessary to codify such actions of members of Parliament which would amount to misconduct so that there is a deterrent for members and they know what they are not supposed to do.(b) appropriate and comprehensive definition of misconduct vis a vis members of Parliament and on the details of acts which may come under definition of misconduct of members. CNN IBN, Shri P.P. Rao, Senior Advocate, Shri Sushanto Roy, CEO, Media and Entertainment and The Indian Express sought to define the term misconduct. CNN IBN has proposed that the term misconduct may include, misbehaviour on the floor of the House, viz, use of violence, anti-social behaviour, refusal to follow instructions, disruption of proceedings, breach of conduct rules, misuse or abuse of parliamentary office or of parliamentary privileges, commission of cognizable offences, use of public position for personal benefit, providing benefits to influence official actions, receipt of gifts above a certain value, misuse of privileges, financial conflict of interests and nepotism etc. On the other hand, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Leader of Congress Party, is of the view that it may be inappropriate to give comprehensive definition of misconduct, ILS Law College feels that any definition would have to be broad and illustrative. Shri Soli Sorabjee, Senior Advocate is of the view that it is not practicable to give any comprehensive and exhaustive definition of misconduct, but the same may include conflict of interests whilst voting on a motion in Parliament and other grounds which may impair the fitness and propriety of a member to occupy such an office etc. Shri P.P. Rao, Senior Advocate has opined that misconduct is generally understood to mean dishonest, immoral and unethical behaviour which constitutes contempt of the House inside or outside the House, but it is not easy to define misconduct exhaustively. Shri Sushanto Roy, CEO, Media and Entertainment has stated that the golden rule to follow is that when people in public life are in doubt whether a particular action is consistent with the standards. The arguments mentioned above from the report clearly highlights the dilemmas that persist in the intellectual clout even to list to out what constitutes the misconducts for parliament members and are agreeable to certain degree for the rationale provided. The same report also highlights the General Ethical Principles and certain identifiable misconducts.General Ethical Principles In carrying out their parliamentary and public duties, members shall observe the following general ethical principles of conduct: (i) Accountability : Members are accountable for their decisions and actions to public.44 (ii) Honesty : Members have a duty to declare their private interest relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest. (iii) Integrity : Members should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organizations that might influence them in performance of their duties as members. (iv) Objectivity : Members, while carrying out their personal duties, should make choices on merit. (v) Openness : Members should maintain as far as possible openness in their decisions and they should be ready to stand scrutiny of such decisions. (vi) Public Interest : Members should maintain and strengthen publics trust and confidence in the institution of Parliament, by demonstrating the highest standards of professional competence, efficiency and effectiveness, upholding the Constitution and the laws of land and seeking to advance the public interest at all times. (vii) Responsibility : Members should ensure that their decisions conform to the principle of responsibility, that is, their decisions should not be reckless or negligent, but reflect a proper consideration of all relevant matters including the reasonably foreseeable consequences for those likely to be affected by them. (viii) Selflessness : Members should always take decisions in public interests. Their decisions should not be aimed at gaining financial or other material benefit for themselves, their family or friends. (ix) Leadership : Members should support and promote these principles by leadership and example.Misconduct Members shall not undertake any action that is unbecoming of members of Parliament or which involves misuse or abuse of the powers, privileges, immunities, rights or facilities enjoyed by them by virtue of being members or which involves misuse or abuse of their status or position as members either in discharge of their parliamentary duties or in discharge of their public duties or in their personal or private life.Ethics in the executive wing In Indian governance system the executive wing has vital role as it is the organ that looks into the enforcement of propositions of both the legislature and judiciary. The political executive (belongs to the legislative community as well) and the permanent civil servants lie at the apex of this functionary. But it is the civil servants engaged and involved who guides the political executive in performing their functions to their utmost capacities because its permanent nature. Also they are the ones who hold the public offices and to a larger extent aware of both the issues of people and resources available at hand to solve those issues. In purview of the responsibility, power and authority that a civil servant holds, a proper and detailed code of ethics should be developed for them mentioning about various do and donts in performing their duties. It should clearly list various standards which are expected from a civil servant.

In India, the current set of ethical norms are the Conduct Rules, contained in the Central Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and analogous rules applicable to members of the All India Services or employees of various State Governments. The code of behaviour as enunciated in the Conduct Rules, while containing some general norms like maintaining integrity and absolute devotion to duty and not indulging in conduct unbecoming of a government servant is generally directed towards cataloguing specific activities deemed undesirable for government servants. These conduct rules do not constitute a code of ethics.[9] The Draft Public Services Bill, 2006[10] (lapsed in the parliament) gives the following Values of Public Service: The Public Service and the Public Servants shall be guided and informed by the following values in the discharge of their functions: (a) allegiance to the Constitution and the law, democracy, nationalism, sovereignty, integrity of India and the security of the nation; (b) function in an apolitical manner regardless of the political party in power; keeping the interests of the nation in mind; (c) function with the objective that Public Service and Public Servants are to serve as instruments of good governance and to provide services for the betterment of the public at large and foster socioeconomic development; (d) act objectively, impartially, honestly, equitably, diligently and in a fair and just manner; (e) act with integrity and in a courteous and transparent manner; (f) establish high standards, and ensure quality service, effective working and prompt decision making; (g) be accountable for the decisions and the decision making process in the discharge of functions; (h) enable effective management, professional growth and leadership development in Public Services; (i) uphold the highest ethical standards; (j) establish merit as the fundamental principle in employment, promotion and placements; (k) recognize that the Public Service and Public Servants are required to discharge the functions with due regard to the diversity of the Indian nation/community and religion but without discrimination of caste, community, religion, gender or class and duly protecting the interest of poor, underprivileged and weaker sections; (l) conduct themselves in a manner such as to promote the principles underlying the Constitution of India while providing honest, impartial and frank advice to political executive in the discharge of their functions; (m) recognize that misuse of official position or information amounts to violation of the trust reposed in the public servant; (n) ensure that public moneys are used with the utmost economy and care; (o) ensure that the Public Service provides a workplace that is free from discrimination and that recognizes and utilizes the diversity of the Indian community it serves; (p) ensure that the Public Service establishes workplace relations that value communication, consultation, cooperation and input from employees on matters that affect their workplace; and (q) ensure that the Public Service provides a reasonable opportunity to all eligible members of the community to apply for Public Service employment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ethics in Judiciary The Code of Ethics expected of those in the judiciary goes beyond the call of duty of an ordinary public servant. The people of India look up to the judiciary to administer justice; justice that is fair; justice that is equal & even-handed; and justice that is unpolluted. This expectation is of eternal value.- Y K Sabharwal (CJI)Independence of the judiciary is inextricably linked with judicial ethics. An independent judiciary enjoying public confidence is a basic necessity of the rule of law. Any conduct on the part of a judge, which demonstrates a lack of integrity and dignity, will undermine the trust reposed In the judiciary by the citizens. The conduct of a judge should, therefore, always be above reproach. The Supreme Court of India in its Full Court Meeting held on May 7, 1997 unanimously adopted a charter called the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life, generally known as the Code of Conduct for judges.[1]a. Justice must not merely be done but it must also be seen to be done. The behaviour and conduct of members of the higher judiciary must reaffirm the peoples faith in the impartiality of the judiciary. Accordingly, any act of a Judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court, whether in official or personal capacity, which erodes the credibility of this perception has to be avoided.b. A Judge should not contest the election to any office of a club, society or other association;further he shall not hold such elective office except in a society or association connected with the law.c. Close association with individual members of the Bar, particularly those who practise in the same court, shall be eschewed.d. A Judge should not permit any member of his immediate family, such as a spouse, son, daughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law or any other close relative, if a member of the Bar, to appear before him or even be associated in any manner with a cause to be dealt with by him.e. No member of his family, who is a member of the Bar, shall be permitted to use theresidence in which the Judge actually resides or other facilities for professional work.f. A Judge should practise a degree of aloofness consistent with the dignity of his office.g. A Judge shall not hear and decide a matter in which a member of his family, a closerelation or a friend is concerned.h. A Judge shall not enter into public debate or express his views in public on politicalmatters or on matters that are pending or are likely to arise for judicial determination.i. A Judge is expected to let his judgments speak for themselves. He shall not give interviews to the media.j. A Judge shall not accept gifts or hospitality except from his family, close relations and friends.k. A Judge shall not hear and decide a matter in which a company in which he holds shares is concerned unless he has disclosed his interest and no objection to his hearing and deciding the matter is raised.l. A Judge shall not speculate in shares, stocks or the like.m. A Judge should not engage directly or indirectly in trade or business, either by himself or in association with any other person. (Publication of a legal treatise or any activity in the nature of a hobby shall not be constructed as trade or business).n. A Judge should not ask for, accept contributions or otherwise actively associate himself with the raising of any fund for any purpose.o. A Judge should not seek any financial benefit in the form of a perquisite or privilegeattached to his office unless it is clearly available. Any doubt in this behalf must be got resolved and clarified through the Chief Justice.p. Every Judge must, at all times, be conscious that he is under the public gaze and there should be no act or omission by him which is unbecoming of the high office he occupies and the public esteem in which that office is held.

These are only the Restatement of the Values of Judicial Life and are not meant to be exhaustive but illustrative of what is expected of a Judge. The Restatement of Values of Judicial Life is a comprehensive but not exhaustive code of ethics. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Corruption and EthicsMere prescription of a Code of Conduct is not an end in itself. Along with the Code of Conduct, a mechanism for enforcing the code also needs to be evolved otherwise its absence shall lead to corruption. 4th ARC report mentions Corruption as an important manifestation of the failure of ethics. And it is unfortunate that corruption has, for many, become a matter of habit, ranging from grand corruption involving persons in high places to retail corruption touching the everyday life of common people and highlights three factors behind corruption in India- Colonial legacy, asymmetry of power and opportunity. It further says there are two types of corruption- coercive corruption where citizens are forced to pay bribes and collusive corruption where both the bribe giver and bribe taker both benefit at immense cost to the society in large. It also gives two viewpoints in fighting corruption.

Instill Values The implicit assumption is that until values are restored, nothing much can be done to improve the conduct of human beings

Punish the Guilty most human beings are fundamentally decent and socially conscious, but there is always a small proportion of people, which cannot reconcile individual goals with the good of society. purpose of organized government is to punish such deviant behaviour If good behaviour is consistently rewarded and bad behaviour consistently punished, the bulk of the people follow the straight and narrow path.

Both approaches should be pursued side by side because values are needed to serve as guiding stars, and they exist in abundance in our society. But values without institutional support (and punishment) will soon be weakened and dissipated. And when we say both individual value system and institutional support are important for sound governance it is even more crucial that they ride each other simultaneously. As each individual has different values with respect to other it is quite possible that individuals values lay contrary to that of the institution values and any such dissonance shall lead to failing of the system. Ethics thus should be the first line of defence against corruption. To make ethics work in an organization it is important that there is synergy between vision statements, mission statements, core values, general business principles and code of conduct confers a variety of benefits. An effective ethics programme requires continual reinforcement of strong values. Any corrections in this aspect shall put rest all structural inconsistencies that prevail in the governance process in place with honest efforts by all involved.ConclusionEthics is exercised in the Indian governance process by specifying code of conduct for the personal involved. But having them just in words and expressions is of no use unless those are put in to practice, seen to their enforcement and punished against their violations. Only by following ethics by one and all involved in the governance process can bring maximum welfare to the people and society at large. References1. Second ARC 4th report: Ethics in Governance1. Public Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration-Dr. Desh Raj Sirswal1. Good Governance: Promotion of Ethics and Moral Values-Dr. Mandeep Gaur1. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100110/Columns/eco.html1. http://fngovernance.org/publication_docs/Five_Pillars_CFNG.pdf1. http://www.simplydecoded.com/2013/08/23/amendments-to-representation-of-people-act/1. http://www.livemint.com/Politics/PQxOBEl2XaS1UoAFqzP0mO/BJP-reverses-stand-on-bringingparties-under-RTI.html?utm_source=copy1. http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Committees/final_Report2.pdf1. http://arc.gov.in/10th/ARC_10thReport_Ch16.pdf1. http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/vikas_doc/docs/1241499740~~DraftPublicServicesBill2006.pdf