Good governance has gained currency in recent years. A very healthy competition is being witnessed among Indian states on the issue of good governance. Good governance is not only closely linked to the growth and development of a state or the region, but it also assures victory in elections. SKOCH State of Governance 2018 report is released in the run-up to the general election. The report springs several surprises and interesting developments. The biggest surprise has come from Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal. The state that was marred by economic stagnation, strikes and labour unrest for decades under the Communist Party rule is now setting examples on good governance practices.

S/ N	State	Ranking 2018	Ranking 2017	Ranking 2016
1	West Bengal	1	9	14
2	Andhra Pradesh	2	10	9
3	Telangana	2	1	14
4	Rajasthan	4	2	1
5	Gujarat	5	13	5
6	Chhattisgarh	6	14	13
7	Punjab	7	5	8
8	Maharashtra	8	3	3
9	Kerala	9	17	7
10	Madhya Pradesh	10	7	4
11	Karnataka	11	11	11
12	Uttar Pradesh	12	8	9
13	Odisha	13	12	14
14	Haryana	14	4	10
15	Delhi	15	15	15
16	Jharkhand	16	18	6
17	Tamil Nadu	17	6	2
18	Arunachal Pradesh	18	16	–
19	Himachal Pradesh	19	18	10
20	Bihar	20	21	–
21	Meghalaya	21	22	16
22	Mizoram	22	–	14
23	Sikkim	23	20	17
24	Goa	24	–	–
25	Chandigarh	25	19	12
26	Tripura	26	26	–
27	Assam	27	23	14
28	Andaman and Nicobar	–	24	–
29	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	–	–	–
30	Puducherry	–	25	–
31	Uttarakhand	–	–	14

The states that have performed exceedingly well in the SKOCH State of Governance 2018 ranking are also the one helmed by strong leadership. Voters have reposed faith and elected those leaders again and again who have delivered on good governance promises. This is why these leaders have won election after election, irrespective of the party line. Narendra Modi had won back-to-back elections in Gujarat serving as chief minister of the state for 13-years before assuming the charge as the Prime Minister of India. Leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and N Chandrababu Naidu have done exceedingly well in elections after delivering on their promises on good governance. Their governance models and success stories are mentioned in detail in their respective state reports. However, it is pertinent to highlight some of the spectacular performances here.

S/N	Category	Awards	Orders-of-Merit
1	e-Governance	23	82
2	District Administration	21	60
3	Municipal Sanitation	14	61
4	Irrigation	12	13
5	Municipal Governance	11	91
6	Health	10	23
7	Rural Development	9	15
8	Urban Development	8	32
9	Education	6	17
10	Power & Energy	6	12
11	Police & Safety	6	7
12	Food & Civil Supplies	4	7
13	Women & Child Development	4	8
14	Governance	4	10
15	Agriculture	3	6
16	Finance & Revenue	3	6
17	Transport	3	22
18	Skill Development	3	6
19	Water Resources	2	4
20	Tourism & Culture	2	2
21	Infrastructure	1	1

As mentioned earlier the biggest surprise in the 2018 ranking came from West Bengal. It has topped the SKOCH State of Governance ranking for the first time. This unprecedented surge in West Bengal’s ranking came on the back of sweeping reforms introduced by Banerjee’s government in the areas such as health, labour, public administration, infrastructure, women empowerment, tourism and culture.

The rise in the ranking is indeed spectacular! In 2016, West Bengal was at the 14th position in the SKOCH State of Governance ranking. It improved its ranking to the 9th position in 2017 and has surged to the number one position in 2018.

Rajasthan, which was at number one in 2017, slipped to third position this year, while Telangana retain their second position. Andhra Pradesh also registered remarkable improvement in its ranking, surging to second position in 2018 from 10th position in 2017.

What makes SKOCH Rankings unique?

SKOCH State of Governance ranking is based on study and evaluation of programmes and projects at different levels from top to bottom across the country. The evaluation is focused on outcomes.

There are several other reports and rankings on state of governance. Most of them base their reports and findings on secondary statistics and government reports. SKOCH State of Governance report is unique because it is based on primary data and studies. Outcome-based assessment is done at project level. Ground level impact of the projects is being studied and evaluated.

All States and government agencies are free to participate and offer as many well performing projects and programmes for evaluations as they have. There is no bar on projects to be assessed. Project leaders, champions and architects responsible for the rollout and implementation of the shortlisted projects are called for presentations and further evaluation. Domain experts study and evaluate each project. Extensive field research is also done to evaluate the impact of the projects at the grassroots level.

Methodology

SKOCH State of Governance ranking and report is based on outcome-based analysis of projects and programmes shortlisted from across the country. This year, around 500 projects from across the country were shortlisted for deeper study and evaluation by a team of jury, comprising of domain experts.

The performance of each project adds to the weight in the ranking of a particular state. The weightage is derived from the outcomes and impact that each project has had on the targeted beneficiaries.

West Bengal topped this year’s ranking because it had the largest number of well performing projects. From West Bengal 44 projects made to the final list of evaluation and deeper study. Based on their impact on society and the overall governance process, these projects were further divided in extra-large, large, medium, small and pilot categories.

Ranking Categories

There have been impressive good governance initiatives from across the country. While in some states they are extensively being implemented across the government departments and organisations, in others, it is limited to a few departments. SKOCH’s endeavour has been to highlight the best practices from across the country. For a better understanding the states have been classified in three groups.

The states where projects have performed the best in terms of rankings across different parameters have been classified as “STARS”. States that have done commendable work are next in the rankings classified as “PERFORMERS” and the remaining states are classified as “CATCHING-UP”.

West Bengal Tops in 5 Sectoral Rankings

West Bengal has topped in five sectoral rankings in the SKOCH State of Governance report card. The sectors in which West Bengal has topped include Finance and Revenue, Urban Development, Rural Development, Tourism & Culture and Governance. In other sectors such as Irrigation, Water Resources, District Administration and Health, West Bengal is ranked amongst top three nationally.

West Bengal has taken multiple initiatives to ease the procedures and steps related to clearances, inspections and certifications. There is an enforced ban on strikes. Archaic labour laws have been amended. The process of delivery of various services like Grant of License under Factories Act, Licence under the Indian Boilers’ Act, Contract Labour (R&A) Act etc have been re-engineered to suit the order of the day.

S/N	State	Rank
1	Telangana	1
2	Maharashtra	2
3	Gujarat	3
4	Andhra Pradesh	4
5	Punjab	5
6	Chhattisgarh	6
7	Madhya Pradesh	7
8	Tamil Nadu	8
9	Karnataka	9
10	Jharkhand	10

The state has done a remarkable job in strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and making implementation of rural development schemes more efficient and transparent. Geographical Information System (GIS) based integrated planning and monitoring system has been put in place for the PRIs under the Institutional Strengthening of Gram Panchayat (ISGP) programme. A uniform ‘single-window’ system has been developed for the monitoring of PRIs across the state.

West Bengal has introduced an innovative scheme for poverty alleviation called “Today’s Wage for Tomorrow’s Livelihood’’. The scheme is aimed at creating substantial assets especially through the use of MGNREGA funds. This is focused on plantation and vegetation-based livelihood. Under the scheme beneficiaries get 100 days of work for maintaining plants and ensuring survival above 75 per cent and healthy growth upto five years.

A number of steps have been taken to make cities clean and green and create livelihood opportunities in order to ensure sustainable urban development in the state. The government of West Bengal has launched the Green City Mission under which the focus is on eco-friendly and planned development of urban areas.

The West Bengal government has rolled out more than 2,500 schemes under the Green Cities Mission covering all Urban Local Bodies, areas under development authorities, i.e., all urban areas under West Bengal through green space development, LED lights, high mast illumination lights, conservation and beautification of water bodies, development of road median, landscaping, beautification of hospitals, tree plantation and CCTV cameras since 2016-17.

Telangana Tops in Agriculture, Municipal Governance

India’s ‘youngest state’ Telangana has taken a number of steps to digitalise the government service delivery system from top to bottom. Technology is being used extensively to aid farmers and ensure effective and transparent delivery of social welfare benefits to the marginalised. This has helped Telangana emerge as the “STAR” performer in the SKOCH State of Governance Report 2018.

Telangana emerged as the top performer in municipal governance dislodging Maharashtra, while in agriculture it beat Haryana to claim the top position. In the overall ranking Telangana has maintained its position in the top five states for the third consecutive year. The state is ranked at the second position this year.

Telangana has taken several pathbreaking initiatives aimed at making governance far more efficient and transparent. The focus is on strengthening the system at the bottom. Telangana is set to become the first state to provide broadband connection to every household by the end of this year. No other state is close to this.

To address the farmers’ distress, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Raoled government has launched a unique investment support scheme called “Rythu Bandhu”. Under the scheme a financial support of RS4,000 per acre per farmer per season is provided. The scheme is aimed to ensure that the farmers do not fall into the debt trap. Telangana is predominantly a rainfed state and it had one of the highest rates of farmer indebtedness in the country. The government scheme has helped lakhs of farmers come out of the debt rap.

With a view to bring transparency and accountability in the Public Distribution System (PDS), the Department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Telangana, has put in place an end-toend Fair Price Shop (FPS) automation solution in a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) mode.

The man who is responsible spearheading the digitalisation and smart governance initiatives in the state is K T Rama Rao, Minister of IT and Industries. The young visionary minister is promoting Telangana as a preferred ICT destination. KTR, as he is popularly known as, is pushing forward the mantra of 3D – Decentralise, Digitalise and Democratise.

In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of governance, the state has been pushing for decentralisation of administration. As part of digitalisation there is extensive use of information and communication technology in service delivery and the third D is related to democratic style of functioning and decision-making.

Municipalities in the state have taken several remarkable steps in the areas of waste management, sanitation and livelihood. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has floated Municipal Bond for raising money for implementation and execution of its Strategic Roads Development Project.

Andhra Pradesh Leads in Irrigation, Skill Development

Andhra Pradesh coming second in overall SKOCH State of Governance ranking has led the sectoral rankings in irrigation and skill development. Eleven projects from irrigation sector in Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu-led Andhra Pradesh has made to the final shortlist.

Andhra Pradesh has introduced an initiative to ensure real time monitoring of ground water levels. This is the first of its kind initiative in the country. By measuring groundwater levels from 1,254 piezometers on a real time basis across all 13 districts of the state and correlating the information with all 15 lakh agricultural bore-wells in Andhra Pradesh, which were geo-tagged. This information published on the Chief Minister’s core dashboard makes it easy for administrators and the common man to know the status of ground water levels. Andhra Pradesh has recorded the maximum rise in ground water level in spite of below normal rainfall.

Another commendable initiative is the lift irrigation scheme. It acts as a lifeline for small and marginal farmers in upland areas, particularly in the Rayalaseema region.

States that Slipped in Ranking

While there are spectacular gains for the states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, some states such as Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra have faced sharp drop in their rankings. Madhya Pradesh that topped in SKOCH State of Governance 2015 ranking, slipped to the 10th position in 2018 report. The drop in Madhya Pradesh ranking has been consistent. It fell to fourth position in 2016 and further to the seventh position in 2017.

Haryana has also witnessed a sharp drop. The