Robust, enlightened civil society essential for functioning democracy, says Rajnath Singh

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said a robust and enlightened civil society is essential for a functioning democracy. Addressing a C20 meeting here, he said civil society organisations (CSOs) can act as force multipliers for governments. Referring to various C20 groups working in various domains like health, education and digital transformation, gender equality, technology and security, the defence minister emphasised that these groups have the potential to impact official policies and programmes. «A robust and enlightened civil society is essential for a functioning democracy as it enables the citizens to engage in deliberative dialogues and cooperative efforts outside the adversarial arena of electoral politics and towards achieving the national objectives,» he said. The C20, launched in 2013 as an official G20 engagement group, provides a platform for the CSOs to bring forth non-governmental perspectives on the issues being taken up by the official G20. The C20 (or Civil 20) is being held here over three days from July 29 to July 31 with over 700 delegates expected to participate in it.

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Singh called for enhanced synergy between CSOs and governments to ensure the overall progress of society, saying CSOs enable citizens to engage in dialogue and cooperative efforts. The minister said there are various sectors like education, health, gender equality and environment where both government and civil society institutions have worked hand in hand and achieved significant progress. «In the immediate context of present-day India, many of the government's landmark initiatives such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao