Good governance is key to all-round development: Modi

Good governance is the key to all-around development and it is time people shun the attitude of seeking personal gains while drawing up public schemes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today.

The NDA-led Centre observes the day as 'Good Governance Day' to celebrate the birthday of former premier and BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"Governance cannot happen when the dominant thought process begins at 'mera kya' (how will it benefit me) and ends at 'mujhe kya' (why should I bother). We have changed this mindset. For us, decisions are about national interest and not political gains," Modi said at a public meeting after launching a 12-km stretch of Delhi Metro's Magenta Line here.

He said while India is a prosperous country, people have been deprived of its benefits due to poor governance.

"But I have taken upon myself to change all this. It is a tough decision (for many) when they have to think whether the policy would benefit them politically," he said.

The prime minister noted that if a policy was in "black and white" and well laid out, it would leave little scope for discretion, thus bringing down corruption.

"When I came to power, newspapers used to report in box items that now officers have started coming to office on time...employees have to be more accountable," he said.