Duration: 3 hoursInstructions: Word limit in questions,
wherever specified, should be adhered to.
Note: The number of marks carried by a question/part is indicated
against it.
Section A
Q1.
(a) What is meant by ‘environmental ethics’? Why is it important to
study? Discuss any one environmental issue from the viewpoint of
environmental ethics. (150 words) (10)
(b) Differentiate between the following (10 marks) (200 Words)
(i) Law and ethics
(ii) Ethical management and management of ethics
(iii) Discrimination and preferential treatment
(iv) Personal Ethics and Professional Ethics
Q2. Given are two quotations of moral thinkers/philosophers. For each
of these bring out what it means to you in the present context.
(a) “The weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of strong.”
(10) (150 words)
(b) “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real
tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light” (10 marks) (150 words)
Q3.
(a) “A mere compliance with law is not enough, the public
servant also have to have a well developed sensibility to ethical issues for
effective discharge of duties” Do you agree? Explain with the help of two
examples where (i) an act is ethically right, but not legally and (ii) an
act is legally right, but not ethically. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(b) How do the virtues of trustworthiness and fortitude get manifested in
public service? Explain with examples (10) (150 words)
Q4.
(a) Social values are more important than economic values. Discuss the
above statement with examples in the context of inclusive growth of a
nation. (150 words) (10 Marks)
(b) Some recent developments such as introduction of RTI
Act, media and judicial activism, etc. are proving helpful in bringing about
greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of the
government. However, it is also being observed that at times the mechanisms
are misused. Another negative effect is that the officers are now afraid to
take prompt decisions. Analyse the situation in detail and suggest how the
dichotomy can be resolved. Suggest how these negative impacts can be
minimised. (150 words) (10 Marks)
Q5. Two different kinds of attitudes exhibited by public servants
towards their work have been identified as bureaucratic attitude and the
democratic attitude. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(a) Distinguish between these two terms and write their merits and
demerits.
(b) Is it possible to balance the two too create a better administration
for the faster development of our country?
Q6. Today we find that in-spite of various measures of
prescribing codes of conduct, setting up vigilance cells/commissions, RTI,
active media and strengthening of legal mechanism, corrupt practices are not
coming under control. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(a) Evaluate the effectiveness of these measures with justifications
(b) Suggest more effective strategies to tackle this menace
Q7. At the international level, bilateral relations between most
nations are governed on the policy of promoting one’s own national interest
without any regard for the interest of other nations. This lead to conflicts
and tension between the nations. How can ethical consideration help resolve
such tensions? Discuss with specific examples. (10 Marks) (150 words)
Q8. Public servants are likely to confront with the issues of
“Conflict of Interest”. What do you understand by the term “Conflict of
Interest” and how does it manifest in the decision making by public
servants? If faced with the conflict of interest situation how would you
resolve it? Explain with the help of examples. (10 Marks) (150 words)
Section – B
Q9. A private company is known for its efficiency,
transparency and employee welfare. The company though owned by a private
individual has a cooperative character where employees feel a sense of
ownership. The company employs nearly 700 personnel and they have
voluntarily decided not to form union.
One day suddenly in the morning, about 40 men belonging
to political party gate crashed into the factory demanding jobs in the
factory. They threatened the management and employees, and also used foul
language. The employees feel demoralized. It was clear that those people who
gate crashed wanted to be on the payroll of the company as well as continue
as the volunteers/members of the party.
The company maintains high standards in integrity and does not extend
favours to civil administration that also includes law enforcement agency.
Such incident occur in public sector also. (20 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) Assume you are the CEO of the company. What would you do to diffuse
the volatile situation on the date of gate crashing with the violent mob
sitting inside the company premises?
(b) What can be the long term solution to the issue discussed in the
case?
(c) Every solution/action that you suggest will have a negative and a
positive impact on you as (CEO), the employees and the performance of the
employees. Analyse the consequences of each of your suggested actions.
Q10. You are the Sarpanch of a Panchayat. There is
a primary school run by the government in your area. Midday meals are
provided to children attending the school. The headmaster has now appointed
a new cook in the school to prepare the meals. However, when it is found
that cook is from Dalit community, almost half of the children belonging to
higher castes are not allowed to take meals by their parents. Consequently
the attendance in the schools falls sharply. This could result in the
possibility of discontinuation of midday meal scheme, thereafter of teaching
staff and subsequent closing down the school. (20 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) Discuss some feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and to
create right ambiance.
(b) What should be the responsibilities of different social segments and
agencies to create positive social ambiance for accepting such changes?
Q11. One of the scientists working in the R&D
laboratory of a major pharmaceutical company discovers that one of the
company’s bestselling veterinary drugs has the potential to cure a currently
incurable liver disease which is prevalent in tribal areas. However,
developing a variant of the drug suitable for human being entailed a lot of
research and development having a huge expenditure to the extent of Rs. 50
crores. It was unlikely that company would recover the cost as the disease
was rampant only in poverty stricken areas having very little market
otherwise.
If you were the CEO, then (20 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) Identify the various actions that you could take
(b) Evaluate the pros and cons of each of your actions
Q12. There is a disaster prone state having
frequent landslides, forest fires, cloudbursts, flash floods and
earthquakes, etc. Some of these are seasonal and often unpredictable. The
magnitude of the disaster is always unanticipated. During one of the seasons
a cloudburst caused a devastating floods and landslides leading to high
casualties. There was major damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges and
power generating units. This led to more than 100000 pilgrims, tourist and
other locals trapped across different routes and locations. The people
trapped in your area of responsibility includes senior citizens, patients in
hospitals, women and children, hiker, tourist, ruling parties, regional
presidents along with his family, additional chief secretary of the
neighboring state and prisoners in jail.
As a civil services officer of the state, what would be the order in
which you would rescue these people and why? Give Justifications (20 Marks)
(200 Words)
Q13. You are heading a district administration in
a particular department. Your senior officer calls you from the State
Headquarters and tells you that a plot in Rampur village is to have a
building constructed on it for a school. A visit is scheduled during which
he will visit the site along with the chief engineer and the senior
architect. He wants you to check out all the papers relating to it and
ensure that the visit is properly arranged. You examine the file which
relates to the period before you joined the department. The land was
acquired for the local panchayat at a nominal cost and the papers showed
that clearance certificates are available for the two of the three
authorities who have to certify the site’s suitability. There is no
certification by the architect available on file. You decide to visit Rampur
to ensure that all is in the order as stated on file. When you visit Rampur,
you find that the plot under reference is a part of Thakurgarh fort and that
the walls, ramparts, etc., are running across it. The fort is well away from
the main village, therefore a school here will be a serious inconvenience
for the children. However, the area near the village has potential to expand
into a larger residential area. The development charges on the existing
plot, at the fort, will be very high and question of heritage site has not
been addressed. Moreover, the Sarpanch, at the time of acquisition of the
land, was a relative of your predecessor. The whole transaction appears to
have been done with some vested interest. (25 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) List the likely vested interest of the concerned parties.
(b) Some of the options for action available to you are listed below.
Discuss the merits and demerits of each of the options:
(i) You can await the visit of the superior officer and let him take a
decision.
(ii) You can seek his advice in writing or on phone.
(iii) You can consult your predecessor/ colleagues, etc, and then decide
what to do.
(iv) You can find out if any alternate plot can be got in exchange and then
send a comprehensive written report.
Can you suggest any other option with proper justifications?
Q14. You are recently posted as district development officer of a
district. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable tension in
the rural areas of your district on the issue of sending girls to schools.
The elders of the village feel that many problems have
come up because girls are being educated and they are stepping out of the
safe environment of the household. They are the view that the girls should
be quickly married off with minimum education. The girls are also competing
for jobs after education, which have traditionally remained in boys’
exclusive domain, adding to unemployment amongst male population.
The younger generation feels that in the present era,
girls should have equal opportunities for education and employment, and
other means of livelihood. The entire locality is divided between sexes in
both generations. You come to know that in Panchayat or in other local
bodies or even in busy crosswords, the issue is being acrimoniously debated.
One day you are informed that an unpleasant incident has
taken place. Some girls were molested, when they were en route to schools.
The incident led to clashes between several groups and a law and order
problem has arisen. The elder after heated discussion have taken a joint
decision not to allow girls to go to school and to socially boycott all such
families, which do not follow their dictate. (250 words) (25 Marks)
(a) What steps would you take to ensure girls’ safety without disrupting
their education?
(b) How would you manage and mould patriarchic attitude of the village
elders to ensure harmony in the inter- generational relations?
मेरठ
के सरकारी स्कूलों में पढ़ने वाले निशांत जैन ने बीए और एमए भी छोटे कॉलेजों से किया
लेकिन एमफिल करने दिल्ली यूनिवर्सिटी आए.
यूपीएससी
के कल घोषित हुए रिजल्ट में 74वीं रैंक लाने वाली सबसे कम उम्र की आशिका जैन के
आईएएस बनने पर उनके घर बधाई देने वालों का तांता लगा हुआ है। अशिका जैन ने कहा कि
वो हर बुराई के खिलाफ लड़ेंगी और हमेशा ग्राउंड लेवल पर काम करेंगी।
Poverty
did not deter Hrudaya Kumar Das from achieving his hallowed goal. Das was not
backed up by Convent and English Medium school education. However, perseverance
and hard work paid dividends with Das tasting success in his third attempt in
civil services examination.
