General Studies Paper IV
PART A
1.
How
social influence and persuasion shape up one’s
attitude? Give instances.
2. Tolerance
and compassion towards the weaker sections are two fundamental requirements for a civil
servant. Do you agree?
3.
Assess the role of emotional intelligence in today’s administration and governance
4.
Prepare a comparative study of the
contribution of one moral thinker each from India and the world.
5.
What are the problems in inculcating
ethics in public service in India? How to surmount the issues?
6. Establish a connect
between Indian culture, ethics and India’s foreign policy.
7. What could be the
philosophical basis of probity in governance?
8. How
can work culture and quality of service delivery in government improved?
9. Cite
examples of cases of corruption in the utilisation of public funds. What could
be the role of civil servants in this regard?
10. Name
an administrator from India who you admire. Explain the reasons for your
admiration.
11. Aristotle argued
that virtues are good habits that we acquire, which regulate our emotions. For
example, in response to my natural feelings of fear, I should develop the
virtue of courage which allows me to be firm when facing danger. Discuss.
12. “He
who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can
judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” Critically examine.
13. According
to Hobbes, for purely selfish reasons, the agent is better off living in a
world with moral rules than one without moral rules. Do you agree? Is this
idea relevant in today’s context?
PART B [All questions carry 12 marks each]
14. Dy Commissioner of
Police Rukmini Bhatt spearheaded a campaign in which four individuals with
drugs and un-licensed guns were nabbed by the police. She was about to attend
the Press Conference in which she was supposed to divulge the success of the
district police. But her Commissioner called up and advised her to allow him to
meet the press so that he could announce the achievements. What was/were the
options available to Rukmini?
15. Shiva is a state-level bodybuilder.
The national level championship is six months away. He belongs to a less than
middle class family. His road to financial well being depends on his success in
the national level show. Shiva’s brother is suffering from kidney failure and
needs a kidney transplant. His coach suggests that he needs to take steroids in
order to lift more weights and hence become more muscular. Shiva is in a
dilemma. What should he do and why?
16. Amrita is a manager in
a nationalised bank. Her superior has ego problems with her since the latter is
a promote officer whereas Amrita is a direct recruit based on All-India level
open competition. Her superior Mr Bhatia keeps on harassing her in the
workplace, and at times with sexual connotations. Amrita decides to report to
the women’s cell of the bank. However, none of her co-workers agree to stand up
as witnesses for her since they are afraid of Mr Bhatia since he is in-charge
of the branch. Should Amrita file the complaint? Or should she compromise with
her superior? Substantiate your opinion.
17. Dr Saswat is a fresh
PhD in mathematics from a premier research institute of the country. He has
innovative ideas. He joins as an Assistant Professor in a major technological
institute of India. The head of the department [HOD] of mathematics of the
institute had a dislike for Dr Saswat since his preferred candidate couldn’t
get through the interview in the post which was bagged by Dr Saswat. The HOD
tries to corner Saswat in whatever he does. He even provoked students to
agitate against Dr Saswat since in one of the papers set by Saswat, some
students failed. Upon instigation of the HOD, some students manhandled Saswat.
At that juncture, Dr Saswat is not sure how to react. Should he file a police
complaint? Or should he report to the higher authorities. He does not have any direct
evidence against the HOD, but he can identify the students who shoved and
pushed him outside the campus.
18. A fresh pass out from
the National Police Academy, Iqbal joins his district as the Assistant
Superintendent of Police. His district is a left wing insurgency affected
region. In one of the intelligence-fed anti-maoist operation which was led by
his DIG, Iqbal is in a situation in which the police were about to shoot two
suspected Maoists from a close range – in an encounter killing. Iqbal
intervenes and appeals to his DIG not to do that. DIG Mr Chaturvedi is of the
firm opinion that there is nothing wrong to kill two Maoists when the Maoists
are indiscriminately killing innocent civilians and the police personnel. Who
is correct, Iqbal or the DIG? Why?
19. Six individuals are
arrested by the police. They are the prime suspects in a ghastly rape case in
the city in which the lady is not only raped, but her intestines have also been
churned out with an iron rod by one of the accused. Jt Commissioner of Police
Ira Sachdeva is in-charge of the case. She and her commissioner are constantly
being pressurised from different quarters – politicians, media and public. Ms
Sachdeva’s daughter too is of the opinion that the police could have avoided
the incident. If you are the Commissioner of Police, what directives would you
have given to Ms Ira. What other things would you have done?
20. Kallol is working in a
condensed matter laboratory in a research institute in India. He is in the
final year of his doctoral studies. He is yet to have published any paper in a
refereed journal, which is a minimum requirement to obtain the PhD degree. His
scholarship will end after 6 months. In an act of desperation, he fudges on the
data and publishes a path-breaking report in the topmost journal in the field. Nobody
detects the issue and Kallol starts receiving offers from abroad for
post-doctoral research with high packages of honorarium. Should Kallol go
ahead? Else, what option is left to him?
21. You are the district
magistrate. One of your female junior colleagues has charged the BDO- a state
civil service officer, for being a sexual predator. The BDO is on leave for a
long time, without intimation. Before initiating any enquiry against him, you
wish to talk to him. You call up the BDO and try to persuade him to return to
duties. However, he continues to argue on frivolous basis. You lose your temper
and abuse him, also threaten him. The BDO records this conversation and puts up
in social media. Who is at fault here? Discuss.
22. The IG (prisons) finds
the jailer abuse a murder convict inside the prison cell. The person who is
abused had raped a minor and was serving his term. The IG suspends the jailer.
Is the IG morally correct? What would you have done in his place?
23. The district
magistrate’s wife has a quarrel with a young fellow in social media. Both abuse
each other, whereas the young individual passes lewd comments against her. The
wife complaints to the DM. The DM asks the police to call for the guy in the
police station. Both the DM and his wife go to the police station and beat up
the guy black and blue. The police remain as mute spectators. The SP of the
district takes note of the case and reports to the state government. Is the SP correct
in his approach? Is the DM well within his rights? Identify the problem and
comment on the roles of the characters in this case study.
General Studies Paper IV
Ethics,
Integrity & Aptitude
1.
“Globally
the concept of privatization has been promoted in new public administration.”
Is it ethical to introduce privatisation in government system?
2. “Ethics are standards
of conduct. These standards can be applied to personal behaviour. Ethics
distinguish between the right and wrong ways directing behaviour in our
personal and professional life”. Using this definition, arrive at a description
of ‘Administrative Ethics’.
3. “The role of civil
society institutions in ethical infrastructure of public life is very often
compared with position of the watchdogs on the behaviour of public officials”
Comment, while bringing to the fore the role of Vigilance Commission.
4.
What
is ‘collusive bribery’ as defined by the second Administrative Reforms
Commission [ARC]? How is ‘burden of proof’ configured in the Prevention of
Corruption Act?
5.
“Be
brave, but not too much”. Cite some examples of public servants / activists to
explain the statement.
6.
Can
you draw a parallel between Gandhian philosophy and Buddhism? Do they have any
relevance in the present context?
7.
Discuss
the administrative contributions of any medieval Indian ruler who could be
epitomised for secularism, ethics and values.
8.
“Are
only Civil Servants of the higher bureaucracy to be held responsible for
creating this matrix of corruption? Isn’t the lower bureaucracy equally
responsible, if not more? And what about the political executives? But who dare
ask such questions? The guillotine swiftly comes down upon the higher
bureaucracy.” Justify.
9.
“We
recommend that Article 311 of the Constitution be amended to provide that if
there are allegations against a civil servant / person holding a civil post of
accepting illegal gratification or of having assets disproportionate to his
known sources of income and the President or the Governor is satisfied that the
civil servant / person holding a civil post be removed from service forthwith
in the public interest, the President or the Governor may pass an order
removing the civil servant / person holding the civil post from service and
give him an opportunity in a post-decisional hearing to defend himself.” In
light of this recommendation of the Hota Committee, bring out the arguments for
and against Art 311.
10.
What
is Corporate Social Responsibility? How has this discourse evolved in the
government sector in India? Explain the
concept of ‘Just War’.
11.
Define
‘attitude’. What are the special attitudes, if any, a public/civil servant
should possess?
12.
What
is the difference between a leader and an administrator? Can you cite examples
from history?
13.
In
life, have you ever compromised in return for uplifting your career? Do you
feel guilty about it? If not, would you be ready to compromise in future?
PART B
14. Ms. Z was a young IAS officer posted
in a State Government. She was only six years in her service when she was
posted as the Managing Director of the State Tourism Corporation [STC]
The STC was not new to her. Less than
five years ago, she had studied the corporation very thoroughly for an
assignment as part of IAS induction training. She kept herself abreast of the
corporation because of her academic interest in tourism.
There were five General Managers in the
corporation who reported directly to the Managing Director. She already knew
about all the five of them. They were Mr. A, B, C, Ms. D & Mr. E.
Like most young IAS officer, Ms. Z was
very energetic and upright. She was all for promoting probity in public life,
and acting against corrupt officers. Ms. Z had prior knowledge that Mr. A and
Mr. B, even though very bright officers, were not very upright and simple. It
was an open secret that both maintained very cozy and symbiotic relationship
with the major private tourist operators, and had good rapport with ruling
political party. In order to promote honesty, she always thought that the
honest officers like Mr. C, Ms. D and Mr. E should be given important and
sensitive assignments.
Immediately after joining as the Managing
Director of the STC, the first thing in the mind of Ms. Z was to re-allocate
works among the General Managers so that Mr. A and Mr. B were given only less
lucrative assignments. Ms. Z verbally sounded to Mr. C. Ms. D and Mr. E about
the important assignments that were in the offing for them. While Mr. C and Mr.
E gleefully agreed to take on the sensitive assignments, Ms. D raised the point
that she had some domestic compulsions as she had to take care of her young sons
and old parents-in-law because her husband was posted in a faraway district in
the state. Ms. Z had know that Ms. D was a very capable and smart officer.
During the IAS training assignment, Ms. D was very helpful to Ms. Z. Mr. Z
started wondering if Ms. D was now refusing the sensitive assignments just
because Ms. D viewed Mr. Z as “another woman” like her (Ms. D).
Anyway, Ms. Z issued an order allocating
sensitive and important works to Mr. C, Ms. D and Mr. E, and less important
works to Mr. A and Mr. B. Within a week
of the re-allocation of work, Ms. D went on a prolonged childcare leave. Ms. Z
distributed the work of Ms. D between Mr. C and Mr. E.
However, Mr. C and Mr. E proved unequal
to their assignments. There were undue delays in preparation of project
reports, and monitoring of important infrastructure developments. Also, reports
prepared by them contained many inaccuracies and mistakes. Ms. Z received
strictures from her boss for a mistake in the proposal sent to the Government
for approval.
Ms. Z coached Mr. C and Mr. E. However,
she did not find them any enthusiastic. Consequently, Ms. Z had to work till
late hours and harder, and perform and supervise many works that should have
been done by the General Managers (Mr. C and Mr. E). Despite her best efforts
and coaching, the performance of Mr. C and Mr. did not improve.
Moreover, unlike Mr. A and Mr. B, Mr. C
and Mr. E did not have good contacts in the state and central bureaucracies.
Consequently, getting even routine approvals from state and central
bureaucracies appeared daunting task.
Hard work started taking its toll on the
health of Ms. Z. She started wondering if she was right in sidelining Mr. A and
Mr. B.
J1. Do you think the young IAS officer
was correct in her approach?
J2. What should she do now?
J3. An honest staff proves unequal to the
job, or is it vice-versa? [20]
15. A junior officer’s wife appeared at
the doorsteps of his office to complain against him. According to her, she had
filed a case u/s CrPC 125 in which the magistrate had given verdict in favour
of her. She was allowed a monthly maintenance of Rs 5,000/- and her daughter
was granted Rs 3,000/- monthly by the court. The junior officer had been
ordered by the court to submit the amount. However, as alleged by his wife, he
is highly irregular in disbursing the amount. Hence his wife in writing,
requested the Under Secretary to order the junior officer to comply with the
court order.
It was also found after scrutiny that the
officer concerned did not endorse the names of his wife or daughter in his
Service Book. He did not even nominate either his wife/daughter as beneficiary
of his pension and other terminal benefits. The Under Secy had to initiate the
file and get approval of the JS. The subordinate staff put up a noting which
suggested 2 options:
·
Issue an
SCN to the junior officer based on the allegations
·
Instruct
him to nominate his wife as the just beneficiary
What do you think the Under Secy needs to
do? [15]
16. Seema was a finance manager in an MNC and
felt that gender discrimination at the workplace hampered her career growth.
Frustrated, she quit the job and started a company. While starting her company,
Seema decided that she would have equal proportion of males and females. Over
the next six years, Seema emerged as a very successful entrepreneur and
expanded her business to eight locations in the country. However, Seema
recently started facing an ethical dilemma because she realized that female
employees were not willing to travel across cities and work late hours, as the
work required them to do. Male employees did not hesitate undertaking such
work. Seema started to feel the pressure of
reducing the proportion of female
employees. On the other hand, she is aware that equal representation was one of
the strongest reasons for her to have founded the company.
What should she do as a conscientious
female entrepreneur? [15]
17. You, a recruitment manager, are
interviewing Mayank, a hard- working young man, who has problems in speaking
fluent English. He has studied in vernacular medium schools and colleges.
Amongst the following options, what would you choose to do, if your company has
vacancies?
A. I would hire him at all costs. B. I would hire him for the job
he is good at, and provide training in other areas.
C. I would hire him for production or finance
job but not for marketing job, which requires good communication skills.
D. I would ask him to improve his communication
skills and come back again.
[15]
