Network Governance and Service Delivery: A Comparative Study of Food Security Policies of Indian States

Sørensen and Torfing (2009) in their interesting work on Network Governance said that effective NetworkGovernance begins with the identification of relevant policy problems and ends with the building ofcapacities for future... [ view full abstract ]

Sørensen and Torfing (2009) in their interesting work on Network Governance said that effective NetworkGovernance begins with the identification of relevant policy problems and ends with the building ofcapacities for future cooperation. In the New Public Administration era, the public service delivery playsa crucial role as the citizen is the core in the governance process. The strengthened governance networkscomposed of public and private actors might help solve wicked problems (like leakages and corruption)and enhance the democratic participation in public policymaking. Networking with stakeholders isnecessary as there is a common goal for all stakeholders – state, market, civil society, beneficiaries, rationshop owners, media, etc. is to provide food for the poor and reduce the hunger in the near future. In thepost-independent India, Public Distribution System (PDS) is an important policy intervention for providingthe food security to the hunger and poor. There are specific challenges in the implementation of the PDSlike corruption, leakages, ghost cards, market diversion of ration and other supply chain managementissues. In the federal system of India, states play a crucial role in the implementation of the PDSprogramme. There are differences in the food policy implementation of various states, and the level ofcorruption and leakages are also different. The primary objective of the paper understands the conceptsof Network Governance in Indian perspective and its role in efficient service delivery with reference tothe food security policies of various states. The comparative method is used to understand the differencesand similarities of various innovative policy aspects of various states and tries to construct the frameworkfor the Network Governance.

Keywords:- Network Governance, Effective Service Delivery, Food Security Policy, Civil Society, Media,and Citizen.