Good Governance Day, also known as ‘Sushasan Diwas’, is annually observed across India on 25th December to commemorate the birth anniversary of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the 10th Prime Minister (PM) of India.
- The observance seeks to promote awareness among citizens about accountability, transparency, and effective governance in public administration.
- 25 December 2025 marks the 12th observance of Good Governance Day and the 101st birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Exam Hints:
- What? Good Governance Day(Sushasan Diwas) 2025
- When? 25 December 2025
- Good Governance Week: 19th to 25th December 2025
- Observance: 12th Good Governance Day; 101st birth anniversary of Vajpayee
- Nodal Department: Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions (MoPP&P).
- First Observed: 25 December 2014
- 2025 Events:
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Rashtra Prerna Sthal, Lucknow
- Campaign: Under the theme ‘Prashasan Gaon Ki Ore (Governance Towards Villages)’
- Webinar: 33rd National Good Governance Webinar
- QCI Reforms: QR-coded ‘Q Mark – Desh ka Haq’, Quality Setu, one-stop accreditation platform
Background:
Declaration: In 2014, the Government of India (GoI) declared 25 December as Good Governance Day to honour the legacy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
First Observance: The first Good Governance Day was observed on 25 December 2014.
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Man of Masses):
Birth: He was a poet and politician born on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior, present-day Madhya Pradesh(MP).
Tenure: He served as the PM of India for three terms : 13 days in 1996, 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and a full term from 1999 to 2004 and was the first Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader to hold the office.
Honours: He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 in the field of public affairs, the Best Parliamentarian award in 1994 and the Bharat Ratna, India’s Highest Civilian Honour in 2015.
Good Governance Week :
Inception: The first Good Governance Week was observed from 19 to 25 December 2021.
2025 Observance: The 5th Good Governance Week (Sushasan Saptah) was celebrated from 19 to 25 December 2025.
2025 Events:
PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates ‘Rashtra Prerna Sthal in Lucknow:
Event: On 25th December 2025, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Rashtra Prerna Sthal’ on the occasion of the 101st birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Purpose: A national memorial and inspirational complex featuring 65-feet (ft)-high bronze statues of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh), and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya (Philosopher and ideologue of the BJP).
Developed by: Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) under the Basant Kunj scheme.
Cost & Area: Constructed at an approximate cost of Rs 230 crore; spread across 65 acres.
Museum: A lotus-shaped museum spanning approximately 98,000 square feet (sq ft), showcasing India’s national journey and leadership legacy through advanced digital and immersive technologies.
Other Facilities: Rally ground (capacity ~2 lakh people), amphitheatre, meditation and Vipassana-Yoga centres, cafeteria, and civic amenities.
Nationwide Campaign on Good Governance Week 2025
Event: The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), under Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions (MoPP&P), organised Good Governance Week 2025 as a nationwide campaign under the theme ‘Prashasan Gaon Ki Ore (Governance Towards Villages).’
Implementation: The campaign was implemented in two phases, with a preparatory period from December 11 to 18, 2025 followed by the main observance from December 19 to 25, 2025.
Leadership: District Collectors led special governance and grievance redressal camps at tehsil, block, and panchayat levels.
Grievances & Services: Over 2.11 lakh grievances were redressed through State Grievance Portals, and 21.71 lakh service delivery applications were disposed of during the preparatory phase (December 11–18, 2025).
Workshops & Practices: 330 workshops and grievance camps were conducted, 137 good governance practices were identified, and district-level workshops on 23rd December 2025 highlighted “District @100” and local innovations.
National Good Governance Webinar 2025-26:
Event: On 22nd December 2025, the MoPP&P organised the 33rd Webinar of the National Good Governance Webinar Series 2025-26 on ‘Holistic Development of Districts’ to share and replicate best practices in public administration.
Chair: The event was chaired by Puneet Yadav, Additional Secretary, DARPG, and attended by officers from over 800 locations across India.
Conferences and Sessions on Good Governance 2025
NCeG 2025: The 28th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) was held under the theme ‘Viksit Bharat: Civil Service and Digital Transformation,’
in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (AP), on 22–23 September, 2025 with 1,000+ delegates, adopting the Visakhapatnam Declaration on digital transformation.
IIAS Conference: The International Institute of Administrative Sciences(IIAS)-DARPG Conference was held in New Delhi (Delhi) from 10–14 February, 2025 with 750+ delegates from 58 countries, and Secretary V. Srinivas was elected India’s first IIAS President (2025–2028).
SCI 2025: Two national outreach sessions under the State Collaborative Initiative (SCI 2025) generated 80+ proposals for Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, online services, and dashboards, with progress tracked on a dedicated portal.
Good Governance Index (GGI):
Launch: Introduced on 25th December 2019 by the DARPG.
Scope: Acts as a diagnostic tool to assess governance performance across 10 sectors using 58 citizen-centric indicators, encouraging evidence-based reforms and competitive federalism.
Sectors Covered: Agriculture & Allied, Commerce & Industry, Human Resource Development, Public Health, Public Infrastructure & Utilities, Economic Governance, Social Welfare & Development, Judiciary & Public Safety, Environment, and Citizen-Centric Governance.
State Categorisation: States and Union Territories (UTs) are grouped into Group A, Group B, North-East & Hill States, and Union Territories for fair comparison.
Top Performers (2020–21):
- Group A: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa
- Group B: MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh
- North-East & Hill: Himachal Pradesh (HP), Mizoram
- UTs: Delhi
QCI Reforms 2025:
Objective: Quality Council of India (QCI) announced reforms on 24th December 2025 to strengthen India’s quality ecosystem and advance the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
Key Digital Quality Reforms: Introduced the QR-coded ‘Q Mark – Desh ka Haq’ to verify laboratories, hospitals, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), along with ‘Quality Setu’, a ticket-based platform for secure and time-bound grievance redressal.
- Additionally, QCI launched a single, paperless, and modular one-stop accreditation platform, replacing multiple existing portals.
MSME Support Initiatives: Training for 1 lakh MSMEs and Self-Help Group (SHGs) under One District One Product (ODOP), mentoring for Tier-2/Tier-3 suppliers, and reduced fees for Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) and Lean certifications.
Other Initiatives: : National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) MITRA(Mentorship for Improvement in Total Quality) programme allows hospitals with 20% occupancy to apply, uses graded penalties and AI-assisted inspections.
- National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) initiatives provide Quality Passport, fast-track accreditation for emerging technologies, and global market access for Indian products.
About Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MoPP&P):
Headed by – Narendra Modi (Constituency – Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, UP)
Minister of State(MoS) – Jitendra Singh (Constituency – Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, J&K)
