MAINS Current Affairs includes Collaborative Governance for Viksit Bharat & India’s Blue Economy

Governance

1. Collaborative Governance for Viksit Bharat

Context: The increasing complexity of developmental challenges requires collaboration among government, communities, markets and civil society to achieve effective and outcome-oriented governance.

• Contemporary governance therefore needs to move beyond a purely government-driven approach towards participatory and collaborative governance.

From Government Delivery to Impactful Governance

• Government-Centric vs Impactful Governance
• Government-centric governance generally emphasises:
  • Schemes and programmes
  • Government expenditure
  • Administrative procedures
  • Physical targets and implementation processes.
• Impactful governance, in contrast, focuses on whether government interventions actually produce measurable improvements in citizens’ lives.
• The emphasis therefore shifts from “how much was spent or delivered” to “what changed on the ground.”
• Addressing Wicked Problems
• Developmental challenges such as poverty, malnutrition and inadequate sanitation are examples of “wicked problems”.
• Such problems have multiple and interconnected:
  • Social dimensions
  • Economic causes
  • Institutional factors.
• They cannot be effectively addressed through isolated departmental programmes.
• Their resolution requires:
  • Decentralised decision-making
  • Community participation
  • Professional and technical expertise
  • Inter-departmental convergence
  • Coordination among government, communities, markets and civil society.

Government Initiatives for Good Governance

• Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
• GeM provides an online platform for procurement of commonly used goods and services by government departments, organisations and PSUs.
• It seeks to improve:
  • Transparency
  • Procurement efficiency
  • Speed of transactions
  • Accountability in public procurement.
• UMANG App
• The UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) platform was developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the National e-Governance Division.
• It brings together major government services on a single digital platform.
• Citizens can access government services across India conveniently through their mobile phones.
• Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)
• CPGRAMS is a 24×7 online platform for registering, monitoring and addressing public grievances.
• It facilitates time-bound grievance redressal through online monitoring and dashboards.
• The system strengthens:
  • Transparency
  • Accountability
  • Monitoring of public-service delivery.
• e-HRMS 2.0 Mobile Application
• The e-HRMS 2.0 mobile application, available on Android and iOS, provides government employees with convenient access to various human-resource-related services.
• It promotes greater efficiency and digitisation of internal government processes.

Local Governments as the Foundation of Collaborative Governance

• The Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution assigns 29 subjects to Panchayats.
• The Twelfth Schedule provides 18 functional areas for municipalities.
• Local governments are well positioned to serve as platforms for convergent and participatory action because many developmental challenges are interconnected at the local level.
• For example:
  • Nutrition is linked with health and sanitation.
  • Poverty is linked with livelihoods and social protection.
  • Sanitation is linked with health and behavioural change.
• Local governments can therefore bring different departments, community organisations and stakeholders together to address these issues in an integrated manner.
• However, meaningful decentralisation requires adequate:
  • Funds
  • Functions
  • Functionaries
• Without these three essential components, local governments may have responsibilities without the necessary capacity to deliver outcomes.

Experiences of Community Participation

• Women’s Self-Help Groups
• The National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) demonstrates how women’s collectives can contribute to local development.
• SHGs can build social capital and collective capacity beyond their traditional role in savings and credit.
• Their participation can strengthen community-level implementation and development initiatives.
• Swachh Bharat Mission
• Sustainable improvements in sanitation cannot depend solely on constructing infrastructure.
• They require:
  • Community mobilisation
  • Behavioural change
  • Local leadership
  • Continued citizen participation.
• This demonstrates the importance of combining government intervention with community ownership.
• ASHA Workers
• ASHA workers illustrate the value of locally resident and trained frontline workers.
• They act as a bridge between public-health institutions and local communities.
• Their proximity to communities enables better communication, awareness and access to public-health services.
• Watershed and Livelihood Programmes
• Community involvement in watershed management and livelihood diversification can improve the effectiveness and sustainability of development interventions.
• Local stakeholders participate in managing common resources, thereby strengthening local ownership and long-term sustainability.
• Total Literacy Campaigns
• Total literacy campaigns demonstrated how citizen participation and decentralised mobilisation can complement formal government machinery.
• They highlighted the potential of community-driven approaches in achieving developmental and social objectives.

Key Challenges

• Centralised Decision-Making
• Administrative systems often favour centralised planning and standardised implementation.
• However, local development problems may differ considerably and require context-specific solutions.
• Weak Institutional Capacity
• Several local governments lack:
  • Adequate technical expertise
  • Professional personnel
  • Administrative capabilities.
• This limits their ability to effectively discharge devolved responsibilities.
• Inadequate Resources
• Transferring responsibilities without corresponding financial and human resources weakens decentralisation.
• Local institutions may therefore possess formal responsibilities but lack the capacity to implement them effectively.
• Weak Accountability Mechanisms
• Monitoring systems often concentrate on:
  • Expenditure
  • Physical targets
  • Completion of activities.
• Greater emphasis is required on:
  • Quality of outcomes
  • Actual developmental impact
  • Citizen satisfaction.
• Limited Community Validation
• Official government data may not fully capture the actual quality of public services experienced by citizens.
• Greater community-level validation is therefore necessary to identify gaps between administrative records and ground realities.

Way Ahead

• Strengthen the 3Fs of Decentralisation

Local governments should receive adequate:

• Funds – sufficient financial resources.
• Functions – clearly defined responsibilities.
• Functionaries – adequate personnel and technical capacity.
• These should be accompanied by greater decision-making autonomy for local institutions.
• Build Local Professional Capacity
• Technical and managerial expertise should be brought closer to communities.
• This can be achieved through:
  • Deployment of professionals.
  • Skilled community resource persons.
  • Technical and management assistance to local governments.
• Link Funds with Outcomes
• Financial allocations should respond to actual developmental gaps and outcomes rather than being driven solely by expenditure targets.
• Instruments such as the Panchayat Advancement Index can help identify developmental shortfalls and guide resource allocation.
• Strengthen Social Accountability

Traditional administrative monitoring should be supplemented with:

• Community validation
• Social audits
• Citizen feedback mechanisms
• Transparent disclosure of public information.
• Such mechanisms can make governance more participatory, responsive and accountable.

Conclusion

Collaborative governance is essential for addressing the complex and interconnected challenges of a developing society. Government institutions remain central to public service delivery, but sustainable outcomes increasingly depend on cooperation with local governments, communities, civil society, markets and professional institutions. Strengthening decentralisation through the 3Fs, building local capacity, linking resources with outcomes and institutionalising social accountability can transform governance from a scheme-delivery approach to citizen-centred, outcome-oriented governance, supporting the broader objective of Viksit Bharat.

Economy

2. India’s Blue Economy

Context: India’s fisheries sector is an important component of the country’s Blue Economy, supporting nearly 3 crore livelihoods while contributing to increased fish production, exports and coastal development.

• The sector has therefore emerged as an important source of employment, food security, rural income and maritime economic activity.

Background

• The concept of the Blue Economy was first introduced as an economic philosophy in 1994 by Professor Gunter Pauli at the United Nations University (UNU).
• It envisaged a model of sustainable development that promotes economic growth while minimising waste, emissions and environmental degradation.
• The concept gained wider international prominence following the Rio+20 Summit in 2012.
• It was further strengthened through UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), which focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and marine resources.

Blue Economy

• The Blue Economy refers to the sustainable utilisation of ocean and coastal resources to promote:
  • Economic growth
  • Employment and livelihoods
  • Sustainable development
• At the same time, it seeks to maintain the health, productivity and ecological integrity of marine ecosystems.
• In India, the Blue Economy encompasses the sustainable use of marine resources and maritime infrastructure, while balancing:
  • Economic development
  • Environmental protection
  • National security.
• Major areas include:
  • Sustainable fishing and aquaculture
  • Ports and shipping
  • Marine tourism
  • Offshore wind energy
  • Other marine renewable-energy resources
  • Deep-sea exploration and technology.

Importance of Blue Economy in India

• Economic Growth and Trade
• The Blue Economy has significant potential to contribute to India’s economic growth and international trade.
• Around 95% of India’s trade by volume and nearly 70% by value is handled through ports.
• Therefore, improving:
  • Port infrastructure
  • Shipping
  • Marine industries
  • Logistics
    can reduce trade costs and strengthen India’s export competitiveness.
• Employment and Livelihoods
• Fisheries and related activities provide livelihoods to approximately 30 million people.
• Expansion of:
  • Fishing
  • Aquaculture
  • Seafood processing
  • Coastal tourism
  • Maritime skills
    can generate employment and reduce poverty, particularly in coastal and rural communities.
• Food Security
• Fish constitutes an important source of protein and essential nutrients.
• Sustainable development of fisheries can therefore contribute to India’s nutritional and food security.
• Blue Carbon and Climate Resilience
• Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrass beds act as important carbon sinks.
• They also provide natural protection against:
  • Storm surges
  • Coastal erosion
  • Sea-level rise
  • Other climate-related impacts.
• Conservation of these ecosystems therefore contributes simultaneously to climate mitigation and adaptation.
• Security and Sovereignty
• A strong Blue Economy supports India’s ability to protect its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and offshore resources and infrastructure.
• Development of maritime capabilities can strengthen India’s maritime security.
• It can also promote regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Investments in:
  • Ports
  • Deep-sea technologies
  • Maritime infrastructure
    can enhance India’s strategic reach and maritime influence.

Challenges

• Environmental Degradation
• Marine ecosystems and fish stocks face increasing pressure from:
  • Overfishing
  • Industrial pollution and runoff
  • Coastal erosion
  • Rising marine plastic pollution.
• Unsustainable exploitation can undermine the long-term productivity of marine resources.
• Climate Vulnerability
• Sea-level rise, increasing ocean temperatures and more frequent tropical cyclones pose serious risks to:
  • Coastal communities
  • Ports
  • Maritime infrastructure
  • Traditional fishing activities.
• Climate change can consequently affect both livelihoods and marine ecosystems.
• Infrastructure Gaps
• Inadequate and fragmented cold-chain infrastructure leads to post-harvest losses and reduces the value captured from fisheries.
• Other constraints include:
  • Ageing fishing fleets
  • Limited shipbuilding capacity
  • Inadequate ship-repair facilities.
• These shortcomings constrain the development of high-value seafood exports and deep-sea economic activities.
• Governance and Financing
• The marine sector involves multiple ministries and government agencies.
• This can result in fragmented regulation, overlapping responsibilities and coordination challenges.
• Private-sector participation and innovative financing mechanisms such as blue bonds remain relatively underdeveloped and offer significant scope for expansion.

Various Steps

• Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
• PMMSY is a major initiative aimed at strengthening India’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.
• The Government allocated a record ₹2,500 crore under PMMSY in BE 2026–27.
• Fish production increased from:
  • 64 lakh tonnes in 2019–20
  • To a record 75 lakh tonnes in 2024–25.
• Fisheries exports increased from ₹46,663 crore in 2019–20 to ₹73,890 crore in 2025–26.
• The scheme has generated employment for approximately 58 lakh persons in fisheries and aquaculture-related activities.
• An additional ₹2,797 crore was approved for cold-chain and marketing infrastructure, strengthening post-harvest management and market connectivity.
• Deep Ocean Mission
• The Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) was launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• It seeks to develop technologies for the exploration and sustainable utilisation of the deep ocean’s living and non-living resources.

Samudrayaan Project

• Samudrayaan has been undertaken under the Deep Ocean Mission for deep-sea exploration through a manned submersible.
• MATSYA 6000 is being developed under the project.
• It is a self-propelled manned submersible designed to carry three people to depths of up to 6,000 metres below the ocean surface.
• Sagarmala Programme
• Launched in 2015, the Sagarmala Programme seeks to modernise India’s maritime sector by leveraging the country’s extensive coastline and inland waterways.
• Its objectives include:
  • Reducing logistics costs
  • Modernising port infrastructure
  • Promoting trade
  • Generating employment
  • Supporting sustainable coastal development through port-led growth.
• Sagarmala is also an important pillar of the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which aims to develop world-class:
  • Ports
  • Shipping
  • Inland waterways
• It supports India’s ambition to emerge as a leading global maritime power by 2047.
• Blue Revolution
• The Blue Revolution, launched in 2015, seeks to increase fish production and strengthen the fisheries value chain across both marine and inland fisheries.
• It focuses on:
  • Improving productivity
  • Expanding fisheries infrastructure
  • Promoting modern practices
  • Strengthening the overall fisheries value chain.

Conclusion

• India’s Blue Economy offers substantial opportunities for economic growth, employment generation, food security, clean energy, climate resilience and maritime security.
• However, its long-term potential can be realised only through the responsible and sustainable use of marine resources.
• This requires effective cooperation among the government, private sector, local communities and other stakeholders, along with stronger environmental safeguards and modern maritime infrastructure.
• A sustainable Blue Economy can consequently become an important pillar of India’s inclusive growth, environmental sustainability and maritime development, contributing to the broader vision of a Vikshit Bharat 2047.

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