PM’s Principal Secretary highlights link between human rights, governance
New Delhi, Dec 10: P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, inaugurated the National Conference on ‘Ensuring Everyday Essentials – Public Services and Dignity for All’ at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, marking World Human Rights Day.
He said the day is a reminder that human rights are rooted in everyday dignity, access to food, water, shelter, education and justice.
Citing India’s contribution to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially Hansa Mehta’s role in ensuring gender equality in its wording, he noted that human rights today also include technology, digital inclusion and environmental concerns.
Mishra underlined India’s civilisational values such as dharma, nyaya, karuna and seva, which shaped the Constitution and continue to guide public life.
He observed that while earlier laws like RTE, MGNREGA and the Food Security Act expanded rights, weak implementation limited their impact.
Since 2014, he said, governance has shifted to ensuring that rights are fully delivered through digital systems, direct benefit transfers and outreach efforts like the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. Poverty reduction, he added, remains India’s strongest human-rights intervention, with 25 crore people lifted out of poverty in the last decade.
He identified four pillars that secure dignity in daily life: basic amenities at home (housing, water, sanitation, electricity, clean cooking fuel), social protection (food security, health cover and support for vulnerable workers), inclusive economic growth (financial inclusion, enterprise support, women’s empowerment), and justice for vulnerable communities (new criminal laws, POCSO, disability rights and tribal welfare initiatives).
Mishra said India’s approach to public service delivery has moved from viewing people as beneficiaries to treating them as partners in development.
India’s election to the UN Human Rights Council, he added, reflects global confidence in its democratic and inclusive governance. He urged the National Human Rights Commission to address emerging challenges such as climate change, environmental justice, data protection, AI fairness and gig worker vulnerabilities.
Good governance itself, he concluded, is a fundamental right, defined by transparency, efficiency and timely delivery of services, as India moves toward the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047.
