UPSC Mains GENERAL-STUDIES-PAPER-IV 2016

Explain how ethics contributes to social and human well-being.

Why should impartiality and non-partisanship be considered as foundational values in public services, especially in the present day socio-political context ? Illustrate your answer with examples.

What do you understand by the terms 'governance', 'good governance' and 'ethical governance' ?

Discuss Mahatma Gandhi's concept of seven sins.

Analyse John Rawls's concept of social justice in the Indian context.

Discuss the Public Services Code as recommended by the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission.

"Corruption causes misuse of government treasury, administrative inefficiency and obstruction in the path of national development." Discuss Kautilya's views.

How could social influence and persuasion contribute to the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan ?

Law and ethics are considered to be the two tools for controlling human conduct so as to make it conducive to civilized social existence.

Discuss how they achieve this objective.

Giving examples, show how the two differ in their approaches.

Our attitudes towards life, work, other people and society are generally shaped unconsciously by the family and the social surroundings in which we grow up. Some of these unconsciously acquired attitudes and values are often undesirable in the citizens of a modern democratic and egalitarian society.

Discuss such undesirable values prevalent in today's educated Indians.

How can such undesirable attitudes be changed and socio-ethical values considered necessary in public services be cultivated in the aspiring and serving civil servants ?

Anger is a harmful negative emotion. It is injurious to both personal life and work life.

Discuss how it leads to negative emotions and undesirable behaviours.

How can it be managed and controlled ?

"Max Weber said that it is not wise to apply to public administration the sort of moral and ethical norms we apply to matters of personal conscience. It is important to realise that the State bureaucracy might possess its own independent bureaucratic morality." Critically analyse this statement.

A fresh engineering graduate gets a job in a prestigious chemical industry. She likes the work. The salary is also good. However, after a few months she accidentally discovers that a highly toxic waste is being secretly discharged into a river nearby. This is causing health problems to the villagers downstream who depend on the river for their water needs. She is perturbed and mentions her concern to her colleagues who have been with the company for longer periods. They advise her to keep quite as anyone who mentions the topic is summarily dismissed. She cannot risk losing her job as she is the sole bread-winner for her family and has to support her ailing parents and siblings. At first, she thinks that if her seniors are keeping quiet, why should she stick out her neck. But her conscience pricks her to do something to save the river and the people who depend upon it. At heart she feels that the advice of silence given by her friends is not correct though she cannot give reasons for it. She thinks you are a wise person and seeks your advice.

What arguments can you advance to show her that keeping quiet is not morally right?

What course of action would you advise her to adopt and why?

Land needed for mining, dams and other large-scale projects is acquired mostly from Adivasis, hill dwellers and rural communities. The displaced persons are paid monetary compensation as per the legal provisions. However, the payment is often tardy. In any case, it cannot sustain the displaced families for long. These people do not possess marketable skills to engage in some other occupation. They end up as low paid migrant labourers. Moreover, their traditional ways of community living are destroyed. Thus, the benefits of development go to industries, industrialists and urban communities whereas the costs are passed on to these poor helpless people. This unjust distribution of costs and benefits is unethical. Suppose you have been entrusted with the task of drafting a better compensation-cum-rehabilitation policy for such displaced persons, how would you approach the problem and what would be the main elements of your suggested policy?

Identify the issues involved in the case.

What can be suggested to satisfy the company's goal and to address the residents' concerns?

Sarawati was a successful IT professional in USA. Moved by the patriotic sense of doing something for the country she returned to India. Together with some other like-minded friends, she formed an NGO to build a school for a poor rural community. The objective of the school was to provide the best quality modern education at a nominal cost. She soon discovered that she has to seek permission from a number of Government agencies. The rules and procedures were quite confusing and cumbersome. What frustrated her most was the delays, callous attitude of officials and constant demand for bribes. Her experience and the experience of many others like her has deterred people from taking up social service projects. A measure of Government control over voluntary social work is necessary. But it should not be exercised in a coercive or corrupt manner. What measures can you suggest to ensure that due control is exercised but well meaning, honest NGO efforts are not thwarted?