Janaagraha is a not-for-profit organization that aims to strengthen democracy in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 by working for citizen participation in urban local government. Janaagraha aims to spread awareness of the benefits of engaging local governments after electing them and to lobby the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

 to enact legislation to extend the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...

 for more representative local urban government. The co-founders of the organization are Ramesh Ramanathan and Swati Ramanathan.

iJanaagraha

iJanaagraha is a social networking initiative that is committed to urban issues - electoral and civic. It aims to initiate change, build networks of communities & local civic bodies, provide data on urban issues, civic awareness & training – all of this at a local neighbourhood level. By providing relevant information in the form of interesting content and a platform to discuss and debate issues of importance, iJanaagraha is an effective platform for people to come together in support for systemic change.

I Paid A Bribe (IPAB)

IPaidABribe is Janaagraha's initiative to tackle corruption by harnessing the collective energy of citizens. Citizens can report on the nature, number, pattern, types, location, frequency and values of actual corrupt acts on this website . The reports, perhaps for the first time, provide a snapshot of bribes being paid (or taken), across Indian cities. IPaidABribe uses them to argue for improving governance systems and procedures, tightening law enforcement and regulation. Thereby reduce the scope for corruption while obtaining services from the government.

Ward Infrastructure Index (WII)

Ward Infrastructure Index (WII) programme is a unique initiative to assess quality of life in urban areas. It analyses various wards by its quality of infrastructure and rates them on scale of 0 – 10 (0 being the least and 10 being the best), to give residents and municipalities an easy indicator on how their respective wards measure up against standard benchmarks set by the government. The project looks at services like water supply, electricity, public health, public safety, civic amenities, transport and environment to arrive at a rating. It not only provides valuable information to urban planners and decision makers to streamline delivery of goods and services to different wards but also facilitates direct accountability of local administration and elected representatives to the urban citizens.

Local Government in India

Janaagraha played a substantial role in the execution of The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...

 aimed at reforming local government in in the country. The 73rd Amendment gave constitutional recognition and backing to the institution of Panchayati Raj

Panchayati Raj

The panchayat raj is a South Asian political system mainly in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. "Panchayat" literally means assembly of five wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local community. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and villages...

 in rural India, a cherished dream of Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...

, the 7th Prime Minister of India

Prime Minister of India

The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...

.

External links

• http://www.janaagraha.org/
• http://www.ipaidabribe.com/
• http://www.ijanaagraha.org/
• http://www.jnnurm.nic.in/
• http://www.livemint.com/Articles/keywords.aspx?kw=Mobius%20Strip
• http://www.cultureandpublicaction.org/bijupdf/KarnatakaModelDevlp..pdf
• http://www.sarai.net/research/urbanism/publications/asha01.pdf
• http://orissagov.nic.in/panchayat/73rd%20Amendment.pdf