Examine the relevance of the following in the context of civil service:

Transparency

Question

Examine the relevance of the following in the context of civil service:

Transparency

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Transparency is relevant to the civil service because it checks discretion, enforces accountability, improves service delivery and builds public trust, within limits set by privacy and security. Proactive disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act 2005 and MGNREGA social audits let citizens match records with reality.

**Introduction**

The Nolan Committee (1995) named openness among its seven principles of public life. Transparency is the duty of a civil servant to make decisions, their reasons and the use of public money visible to citizens.

**Why Transparency Matters in Civil Service**

SKETCH: flow-cycle | Transparency Builds Trust
- Open records
- Public scrutiny
- Accountability
- Citizen trust
- Participation

1. **Check on discretion**: Decisions taken in the open leave little room for bribes or favouritism; e-procurement on the GeM portal has made tenders traceable for this reason.
2. **Accountability that works**: Proactive disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act 2005 and MGNREGA social audits, institutionalised in Andhra Pradesh, let citizens match records with reality.
3. **Better service delivery**: Public dashboards for the Aspirational Districts Programme and grievance tracking on CPGRAMS make delays visible and push officers to respond.
4. **Trust and legitimacy**: People accept even adverse decisions when they can see the reasons, which is why **Transparency by Default** treats secrecy as the exception needing justification.

**Limits a Civil Servant Must Respect**

1. **Privacy and security**: Section 8 of the RTI Act and the privacy right recognised in K.S. Puttaswamy (2017) keep personal and security data protected.
2. **Tokenistic Transparency**: Uploading files without usable information meets the form of openness but defeats its purpose.
3. **Candid advice**: Officers need space for frank internal deliberation, so the reasons for the final decision, not every draft, should be disclosed.

**Conclusion**

Transparency is the foundation of probity, accountability and public trust in the civil service. Exercised with judgement about privacy and security, it makes governance a trust held for citizens rather than a power wielded over them.

Examine the relevance of the following in the context of civil service: Transparency

Model answer

Practise this question

Information sharing and transparency in government; Right to Information4 questions

Ghissu