If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid out the road map for building a better future at the third HT Leadership Summit, Congress president Sonia Gandhi unveiled her vision of how to walk that path: stronger cooperation between the government and civil society with the corporate sector also pitching in. In her keynote address on ‘Building a Better Future’, Sonia called on the government to create an institutional framework to involve civil society organisations in the democratic and developmental process and to channelise their contributions so all Indians have a better future, including the assurance of basic securities. Stressing that a vibrant partnership between the government and civil society would provide a durable foundation for a better future, Sonia said: “The challenge is to make space for them (social action groups) and encourage the proliferation of their success stories.”

The UPA chairperson — who heads the National Advisory Council, which provides interface between the government and civil society — acknowledged the “real difference” NGOs, peoples’ movements and other voluntary agencies and community associations have made in education, health and rural development.

With globalisation presenting numerous opportunities, Sonia advocated “collective effort” and a “new compact” between the government and civil society. She said if faster economic growth was “essential” to achieve the objective of a better future, enhanced investment in economic, social and physical infrastructure was “crucial”, engagement with the rest of the world “necessary” and concern for the larger public good “critical”.

“In addition, we need to give a whole new momentum to public action,” she said.

Sonia outlined the role of voluntary organisations — and the media — in encouraging discourse, articulating alternative visions of the future and holding those in power accountable to their promises. “It's important to keep the dialogue alive by the two sides talking to each other rather than at each other,” she said.

Addressing the captains of industry, Sonia saw a role for the corporate sector in strengthening civil society networks. “We've some outstanding examples of corporate philanthropy and social service,” she said. “I believe the corporate sector wants to and can do more.”

Sonia dispelled apprehension that the state would take the back seat in such a milieu. “Just as economic reforms don’t mean the abdication of the role of the state, the involvement of civil society also doesn’t imply the abandonment of the role of the state.”

She identified areas where collective action could give a fillip to social auditing, including the implementation of progressive social legislations like the Right to Information and Rural Employment Guarantee acts. She admitted government-civil society cooperation carried with it conflict because “status quo may be threatened, vested interests may come under scrutiny…”