Rajasthan's Policy Innovations and Best Practices

5.1 Right to Information — Rajasthan as Pioneer

Rajasthan is the birthplace of India's RTI movement. The MKSS (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan) in the 1990s organized Jan Sunwais (public hearings) in Bhim village (Rajsamand) where citizens could examine government expenditure records.

This bottom-up accountability movement produced landmark outcomes:

• Led to Rajasthan passing India's first state-level RTI law (1996, before national law)
• Inspired the national RTI Act, 2005
• Established the principle that citizens have a right to information about public expenditure

Aruna Roy (MKSS co-founder) and Nikhil Dey are credited with this governance innovation, which is now a global model for accountability.

5.2 Social Audit — MGNREGS Model

Rajasthan developed the social audit model for MGNREGS — an independent verification of scheme implementation by community members:

1. Social Audit Unit (SAU) operates independently from the implementing department
2. SAU trains villagers to read records, verify measurements, interview beneficiaries
3. Public Social Audit Jan Sunwai is held in each Gram Panchayat — records are read out, discrepancies noted
4. Action on Social Audit findings is mandatory under MGNREGS guidelines

Rajasthan has piloted SAU in all districts; the model was adopted by the Ministry of Rural Development for national MGNREGS implementation.

5.3 Jan Soochna Portal

The Jan Soochna Portal (jansoochna.rajasthan.gov.in) — launched in September 2019 — provides proactive information disclosure on 100+ schemes and 45+ departments. Published data includes:

• Beneficiary lists for 175+ schemes
• MGNREGS payment records
• PDS shop-wise food grain data
• Government employee postings and transfer records
• Mining lease information

This is a global innovation in proactive transparency — going beyond RTI's reactive model to mandatorily publish data before citizens ask.

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