UPPSC 2020 (Mains General Studies Paper-4)

Ans. Values are learned throughout our lives from family, society, and educational institutions.

Family is the first institution we are born in. We learn the basic values in our family. We inculcate good habits and become aware of the bad habits to avoid in the family. A child learns basic morality in the family. The child imbibes those values which helps him interact in society and educational institution. Educational institution: Educational institution teaches not only syllabus, and curriculum but also values directly or indirectly. In school, children are affiliates of a small society that exerts a great influence on their moral development. Teachers serve as role model to students in school. They play a major role in inculcating their ethical behaviour.

Society may be regarded as the Basis of the social and moral life of a human group. Moreover, social values are certain qualities and beliefs that are shared within a specific culture or group of people. These traits can be religious, economic, political, educational, historical etc.

Ans. Role of Right to Information for transparency in Government Right to Information (RTI) is an index to measure the growth and development of a country. In India, till 2005, the citizens had no access to any information which was dealt by a Public Authority. Matters effecting public interest was not easy for a common man to get accessibility. The promulgation of Right to Information Act (2005) set the stage for the transparency in the functioning of the government and its various agencies. Under this Act, access to information from a public agency has become a statutory right of every citizen. In its enactment, it had been argued that the system of government in India is so opaque that ordinary citizens do not have much information about how decisions are made and how public resources are utilized. In effect, RTI Act is a vehicle for greater transparency about the manner of functioning of public agencies. There have been some major gains in disclosure of information, as reported in media and research from time to time.

Ans. If a dishonest official is to be prosecuted, the permission from the government has to be taken. It means the permission from the government in itself constitutes a shield. If the government doesn’t grant permission this dishonest officer goes scot free because he/she is protected by the government.

The other implication of this statement is that if the system is corrupt under a corrupt government, dishonesty will prevail and the honest officers will be marginalized. However, there is the other side to the coin. The need of government sanction to prosecute a dishonest official serves as a kind of protection to the honest officials. An honest officials is very likely to be implicated in a wrongful manner. In order to protect these honest officials, the requirement of the government sanction will give protection to the honest officers.

Therefore, the need is to create a system like ombudsman that doesn’t harm the honest officials while punishing the dishonest officials.

Ans. (a) Impartiality implies tolerance and restraint, particularly in dealing with political or religious convictions. A public servant is the agent of the government and works ultimately to fulfill the ideals and aspirations of the constitution. A public servant possess control of public resources and an act of favoritism or bias may lead to undue advantages to one person/ entity and even corruption; Impartiality places objectivity above personal preferences and bias and improves efficiency of public service delivery.

(b) Commitment: Commitment is the dedication and passion towards a particular task. It helps to achieve goals and not deviating for them. As a government employee or elected official, your commitment is to serve others i.e. the “public interest”. Your role is, at many times, that of a leader. To execute your job, you have certain powers conveyed to you. The power invested in a single individual can truly make a difference in the lives of many.

Ans. There could be several reasons for an employee accepting the bribe. I will examine the background of the official. If his past record is clean and if he has been serving diligently then he deserves leniency.

I will speak to the official to find out the constraints under which he acted dishonestly. It is quite likely that he is being influenced by his colleagues or others in the office. It is also likely that he is a victim behind whom there are others.

Whether or not this official should be left with a warning will depend on a number of factors like his past record, his association with others who have been the nexus of the group, whether or not he has been victimized or whether he is a party in victimizing others, the length of time he has been acting dishonestly. Nonetheless, if this official is a victim or has acted under constraints and compulsions and if this is his first offence, he will be left with a warning.

Ans. I will apply emotional intelligence in administrative practices both within and outside the organization and in dealing with all the stakeholders. I will be empathetic to those seeking help and support. Here are some of the ways I will apply emotional intelligence.

Within the organization: I will be respectful towards my staff members and try to understand their point of view before imposing any order from above. In case of any conflict, I will resolve the dispute dispassionately. I will keep the communication channels open both below and above me so that there is no misunderstanding.

Outside the organization: I will personally handle the difficult cases and try to resolve the problem. If there is unreasonable demand, I will try to recommend alternatives rather than rejecting the demand point blank. If I have to manage a group or crowd of agitated people, I will patiently listen to them and will be ready to talk to the leaders or few people any time.

Ans. Public servant can be described as an individual who works for the state and whose main duty is associated with the welfare of public and society. A public servant values public good over his/her personal interests. The public servant is committed to the promotion of dialogue, consultation and engagement of the public. The public servant is committed to understanding the public interest as it is expressed through time. The public servant fulfills the public interest by service to the elected government.

Aptitude is an innate set of characteristics, regarded as symptomatic of an individual’s ability to acquire, with adequate training, some knowledge, a se of skills, like the ability to produce music, or ability to perform administrative functions etc. The innate nature of aptitude is in contrast to achievement, which represents knowledge or ability that is gained through learning

Ans. (a) Difference between tolerance and compassion: Let us first start with the true definitions of each word.

Tolerance: the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behaviour that one does not necessarily agree

Compassion: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

A person can be both tolerant and compassionate. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi was both tolerant and compassionate. Buddha was compassionate and so was mother Teresa. As a civil servant, a person is expected to be both tolerant of the views of others that are different from the views of the government and civil servants should also be compassionate towards people whom they serve especially poor and helpless people who depend on state support.

(b) Difference between Attitude and Aptitude

Attitude is related to existing abilities and skills with certain perceptions. It is how a person perceives something. Aptitude is the potential ability to acquire skills, abilities and knowledge. It is more about management of a problem or situation.

Attitude is a positive or negative or indifferent feeling towards a person, object, event or idea. Aptitude is a competency (ability) to do certain kind of work.

Attitude is associated with character or virtues. It means attitude depends upon underlying values. Aptitude is associated with skill enhancement, learning and training.

Attitude is a more mental and psychological process. It means a person’s attitude is intrinsic and is shaped through his thoughts. Aptitude is both mental and physical. To develop an aptitude both physical means say visual means and mental processes are important.

Ans. India is a multi-religious, multi-regional, multi-linguistic plural society. The civil servants are expected to serve anywhere within or outside the nation. A person intolerant of the diversity will not make a successful civil servant. A civil servant interacts and deals with multiple and diverse stake holders. The civil servant should appreciate their culture, their language, and should be tolerant of their diversity even if it clashes with the personal values of the civil servant. For instance, a hard core civil servant of Hindu faith who does not tolerate beef eating Muslim community if posted in a Muslim region will not handle them successfully and will not tolerate them. The same is true with a hard core Muslim civil servant who may have to serve in the Hindu dominated areas. These things are also true about the other aspects of culture. Civil servants have to maintain the attitude of service with utmost compassion. They are the servants whose duty is to serve the people who may have challenges like poverty and illiteracy. A civil servant who lacks compassion would not value these people.

Ans. Importance of persuasive communication in attitudinal change.

In attitudes and attitude change, psychologists have identified the role of communication in persuading others. There are few Techniques that are used by the communicators to persuade the other people. Here are these techniques.

Impression Management Theory: Theory that we don’t really change our attitudes, but report that we have so that our behaviours appear consistent with our attitudes.

Foot in the door technique: Persuasive technique involving making a small request before making bigger one.

Door-in-the-face technique: Persuasive technique involving making an unreasonably large request before making the small request.

Low-ball technique: Persuasion technique in which the seller of a product starts quoting a low sales prices and them mentions all of the “add on” costs once the customer has agreed to purchase the product.

Many of these methods operate by means of the peripheral persuasion route, especially; successful business people have used such persuasive communication for decades. Communication persuades the audience with the aim of changing their attitudes and these include authoritarianism/dogmatism, and need for closure.

Ans. Probity is the act of strict adherence to the highest principles and ideals (integrity, good character, honesty, decency) rather than avoiding corrupt or dishonest conduct. It balances service to the community against the self-interest of individuals. Moreover, probity has been described as a risk management approach ensuring procedural integrity.

According to the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, apart from the traditional civil service values, civil servants must inculcate and adopt ethical and moral values including probity in public life.

Importance of probity in civil services: Probity is important to prevent unethical practices like misconduct, fraud, favouritism, criminalization of governance, self-centred functionaries and corruption in governance. It ensures public interest and cooperation in governance for participatory governance. Probity is a quality that can cater to the needs of all sections of society to achieve inclusive growth. It brings in good governance (Accountability, transparency, integrity, confidentiality etc.) and ensures the equitable and just distribution of resources. It also makes the compliance of civil servants with laws, processes and codes.

Probity is closely linked to societal values. Probity ensures that a public servant is not influenced by societal values which are unethical. Civil servant maintaining probity avoids corrupt or dishonest conduct, as it involves applying values such as impartiality, accountability and transparency.

Ans. A code of ethics sets out an organization’s ethical guidelines and best practices to follow for honesty, integrity and professionalism. The following five codes of conduct are well recognized for a professional working in an organization including the civil servants. These are:

> Integrity.

> Objectivity.

> Professional competence.

> Confidentiality.

> Professional behavior.

Among these five codes, I would give the maximum priority to the professional behaviour. The professional behaviour is a wide term that includes everything that a professional should or should not ideally do. That is why I have given it the maximum priority.

In fact, the four other codes are already inherent in this code. Integrity is the hallmark of a professional. Such a professional is honest, transparent, and follows ethical principles in course of his/her duty.

My endeavour would be to project my image as an ideal professional by doing the right things expected from me. I would be objective in my thinking and conduct. That is I would not favour a person/group against the other in performance of my duty. Objectivity would impart strength to my judgments and decisions without fear and favour.

My experience, education and professional behaviour would make me competent as an official. As a competent official, I would be making minimal mistakes. To err is human but a competent professional should minimize errors in decisions.

These are then some of the reasons, I would give the maximum priority to professional competence.

Ans. Gita’s Anaskta Yoga and its relevance to civil servants Civil servants can draw inspiration from Gita in delivering the highest quality of karma or duty. The word karma is derived from the Sanskrit kri, meaning ‘to do’. In its most basic sense karma simply means action, and yoga translates to union. Thus karma yoga literally translates to the path of union through action. Anasakta Yoga or Anasakta karma yoga means work or action without attachment.

However, in Vedantic philosophy the word karma means both action and the effects of such action. Karma yoga is described as a way of acting, thinking and willing by which one orients oneself toward realization by acting in accordance with one’s duty (dharma) without consideration of personal selfcentered desires, likes or dislikes. One acts without being attached to the fruits of one’s deeds.

Krishna explains that work done without selfish expectations purifies one’s mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason. He states that it is not necessary to remain in external solitude, or remain actionless, in order to practice a spiritual life, since the state of action or inaction is primarily determined in the mind.

A civil servant who is detached from the fruits of his action will work dispassionately. In other words, the civil servant is just a servant who is expected to perform his duty. He has no ownership or entitlement over the resources or instruments with which he performs his duty.

Ans. Kant’s doctrine of ‘duty for the sake of duty’ and the role of this principle in civil services.

For Kant, the morally important thing is not consequences but the way choosers think when they make choices. Kant says that only one [kind of] thing is inherently good, and that is the good will. What makes the will good? The will is good when it acts out of duty, not out of inclination. What does it mean to act out of inclination? To do something because it makes you feel good or because you hope to gain something from it.

What does it mean to act out of duty? Kant says this means that we should. act from respect for the moral law.

It is evident from the above that Kant’s duty for duty sake is an ethical principle which has the element of good will. It doesn’t focus on consequences but on the means alone. Therefore, in context of the civil services, this ethical principle of Kant is highly relevant.

A civil servant must act or perform his duty for the sake of duty alone. The civil servant must not think of consequences. In other words, the civil servant should not do an act because it will bring good consequences. The other implication of the Kantian morality in context of civil services is that the civil servant must do his duty even if it brings the bad consequences provided that the means used to perform the duty is fair and ethical.

(a) For last two years, a retired government employee Mr. Ashok Kumar is giving 30% of his monthly pension to Mrs. Bindu Chopra every month through a cheque.

(b) I found that Mrs. Chopra happens to be the wife of Mr. Prem Chopra, a Section Officer in the pension office under you.

(c) I feel something is fishy-may be this is part of a bribe scam, where a senior citizen is forced to pay money to clear his pension files from Prem Chopra and to submit bribes in his wife’s account.

Dev Anand visits Mr. Ashok Kumar’s home and finds that he is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease unable to give coherent answers. Frustrated Dev Anand directly questions Prem Chopra. But Prem Chopra says, “Mr. Ashok Kumar was a friend of my father. He has no relatives and children and my wife Bindu has been taking care of him like a daughter since a long time. Therefore Mr. Ashok Kumar gives us money out of goodwill and so we can send our son to an expensive I.I.T. coaching at

Kota, Rajasthan. Besides, this is a personal family matter and none of your damn business”.

Do you think that Dev Anand has made a blunder or is he merely performing an ethical duty? Answer logically.

Ans. Devanand has not performed any blunder. The truth in this matter can only be available after an enquiry or investigation.

In this case, both the possibilities are open. It is quite possible that Mr Ashok kumar has been paying bribe to Mr Chopra through his wife’s account. The other possibility that Mr Chopra is innocent is also open. Therefore, Mr Dev Anand needs to conduct an inquiry before coming to any conclusion.

It is not difficult to verify whether Ashok Kumar has family members and relatives or not. Nonetheless, it is quite unlikely that Mr Ashok kumar suffering from Alzheimer would remember to have been asked for bribe or that he has to pay bribe.

Nevertheless, just because Ashok Kumar is suffering from dementia or because he has no family member to take care for him leads us to no definitive conclusion. It is quite possible that he is being cheated without his knowledge. Therefore, a thorough investigation needs to be conducted.

As for Mr Dev Anand he has not committed any blunder. He is only doing his duty. But in case he stops his investigation and believes the words of Mr. Chopra, he would be failing in his duty. His conduct would be more ethical if he investigates and comes to a definite conclusion with clear evidence.

Ans. The Buddha said, “Conquer anger by non-anger. Conquer evil by good. Conquer miserliness by liberality. Conquer a liar by truthfulness.” (Dhammapada, v. 233).

Anger is one of the great obstacles in Buddhist practice The very heat of anger obscures our minds and not just our own minds, but those we touch: online at Facebook or Twitter, those we interact with at work, and our relationships at home. Anger is contagious and dangerous. In Buddhist teachings, anger is most often metaphorically compared to either an “out of control forest fire” or a “rampaging elephant.”

Although Sutras discuss solutions to anger in great detail, the recommendations of the Buddha can be thought of as anger-management solutions:

> meditate mindfully in the present moment, observing anger but not participating in it (Even psychotherapists use mindfulness to help patients manage anger.)

> be attentive to the kindness of others, and overlook their unkindness

> practice metta kindness and compassion for all beings, putting your enemies first in your meditations

> use wisdom (and patience, a form of wisdom): analyze anger meditatively, understand its cause and effect; approach problems with patience — with time, anger fades

> “substitution” method: substitute something positive for the negative. In other words, if a person’s action angers you, analyze the person to find the positives you can focus on.

Ans. It is said that the government officers take bribe because people give bribe to them. If people stop offering the bribe the problem of bribe will stop. The statement above is not entirely correct. The same can be said the other way round that people give bribe to the government officers because the government officers take bribe. If they stop taking the brie, the problem of bribe will stop.

It is the duty and responsibility of the government officers to not take the bribe. Also, giving and taking bribe is an offence. Both the givers, and the takers of the bribe are offenders. Since both of them are equally liable, it is evident that the responsibility to stop the system of bribe is upon both the parties, givers and takers.

The question is will people stop offering the bribe? The answer is no because people are in need of government service. It may be something that is urgent and essential for them. So they easily succumb to the idea of giving bribe to get their work done.

The government is expected to provide the services free of cost or at a nominal cost in some instances. So, it is the duty and responsibility of the government officers to work towards the welfare of the people in a time bound manner.

Ans. The foundational values of the civil services.

Foundational values of civil services according to the 2nd ARC report include:

> Integrity

> Objectivity

> Dedication to public service

> Empathy

> Impartiality and non-Partisanship

> Compassion and tolerance towards weaker section

These values mean doing the right thing. Civil servants need to be socially conscious and to welcome both personal and professional responsibility. Its values encourage us to be honest in all our dealings and committed to a lifelong search for truth and justice.

Integrity requires in a civil servant to incorporate the values of honesty, sympathy empathy, compassion, fairness, self-control, and duty so that a civil servant will be able to uphold high personal and professional standards in all circumstances. ‘Honesty’ requires ‘truthfulness’, freedom from deception and fraud, fair and straightforward conduct. Sympathy enables a person to be deeply affected and concerned about the good beings of others, to imagine their suffering and be moved by their experience of others especially people who need assistance compassion is a form of spirituality, a way of living and walking through life.

‘Civil Service Conduct Rules’ recommends integrity, objectivity and impartiality for civil servants, Also, every civil servant is supposed to take all possible steps to ensure the integrity of all government servants for the time being under his/her control.

Breach of trust is termed as lack of integrity and the apex court has ruled that in such matter the civil servant should be removed from service.

Ans. Social influence and persuasion contributed in controlling the spread of Corona Virus in India.

In December 2019, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged, sparking an epidemic of acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) in humans, centred in Wuhan, Chinal. Within three months, the virus had spread to more than 118,000 cases and caused 4,291 deaths in 114 countries, leading the World Health Organization to declare a global pandemic.

While efforts to develop pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 were under way, the social and behavioural sciences provide valuable insights for managing the pandemic and its impacts.

Prime minister Modi gave a call to the people of India to maintain social distance even before the lockdown was set in force. People of India responded in the initial stage which resulted in the check in the spread of the virus. One of the central emotional responses during a pandemic is fear. Humans, like other animals, possess a set of defensive systems for combating ecological threats. The relay of positive message in the media gave strength to people to fight the pandemic.

There was a large scale migration of lobor force from the urban centres in India. The situation might have gone out of control if the leaders had not appealed and persuaded the workers to show restraint as they were provided with help and support.

Ans. The question being asked here is whether ban on the sale of alcohol is an ethical action given the fact that what a person does with his personal life is his private concern. The government in a democracy has no right to interfere in the personal affairs of people. However, this argument is invalid when we begin to examine the issue, closely.

The government is mandated to run and administer the state in the interest of people. In other words, the government is for the people and its task is to ensure the welfare of the people. Although what constitutes welfare may be debatable, one can argue that anything that puts the health of people at risk is a harmful thing. The government must strive to eliminate the risk to the health of people even if it concerns the private choice of people. For instance, the government is known to ban adulterated food and medicine and punish the offenders because these things harm the people. Therefore, the government is acting ethically and according to the Gandhian

principles by imposing a ban on alcohol.

But then the question arises if ban on alcohol is ethical why not the government of india is imposing the ban. The answer is that alcohol is a state subject and individual state governments are free to ban alcohol. However, it is a lucrative source of revenue for most of the governments, so most of them hesitate in banning it.

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