Ethics Most Important Questions for 2023 with Detailed Model Answers for 2023 Exam

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(1) Integrity and Professional Behaviour

A Junior Member of Staff Has Just Returned to Work After Taking Special Leave to Care for Her Elderly Mother. for Financial Reasons She Needs to Work Full-Time. She Has Been Having Difficulties with Her Mother՚s Home Care Arrangements, Causing Her to Miss a Number of Team Meetings (Which Usually Take Place at the Beginning of Each Day) and to Leave Work Early. She is Very Competent in Her Work but Her Absences Are Putting Pressure on Her and Her Overworked Colleagues. You Are Her Manager, and You Are Aware That the Flow of Work through the Practice is Coming under Pressure. One of Her Male Colleagues is Beginning to Make Comments Such as “a Woman՚s Place is in the Home” , and is Undermining Her at Every Opportunity, Putting Her under Even Greater Stress.

Q-1 How should you proceed so as not to discredit yourself, your profession or the practice for which you work and at the same time maintaining integrity and confidentiality in your actions? (200 Words)

(2) Honesty and Integrity

Jayanth is a son-in-law of a local MLA and is now posted as block development officer in his father-in-law՚s constituency. He comes to know that MLA՚s followers, who are mainly small contractors and many elected members of Gram Panchayat, are hand in glove with local Panchayat officials in misusing MGNREGA funds. He finds that each Panchayat secretary along with elected members have used machines to complete many works under the scheme and siphoned off funds using fake job cards. He also finds out that all this was done at the behest of his father-in-law, the local MLA. Now, the state government has taken cognizance of the issue after a media report and has ordered inquiry into the scam.

Jayanth has to probe the matter and file a report to higher authorities. His father-in-law is pressurizing him to file a false report as he himself is under pressure from his followers, who if found guilty will be slapped with a criminal case. Some contractors have contacted and requested him to not to mention their names in the report in return for a hefty bribe. Some Panchayat secretaries have requested him to spare them as according to them Panchayat members had coerced them into becoming partners in crime. Jayanth is recently married and it is his first government job.

Q. 1 What should be his course of action? (200 Words)

(3) Ethics in Public and Personal Relationships

(1) Keshav recently got a job of First Division Assistant in Tehsil (Taluk) office. He is smart and hardworking. Because of which Tehsildar has become fond of him and though he is Keshav՚s superior, he has made Keshav his good friend.

Keshav is married to Ramya who is educated and recently got posted as Panchayat Secretary, incidentally to the Panchayat office located in Keshav՚s village itself. Ramya՚s mother-in-law is not supportive of her and her job. She frequently taunts Ramya and demands all of Ramya՚s salary to be given to her. Though Keshav supports Ramya, he seldom objects to her mother՚s remarks to his wife.

A young, male Panchayat member of same Panchayat where Ramya works , and who wields considerable clout in the village and Tehsil, comes to know that she had ‘illegally’ signed a property assessment certificate and claims that he has documents to prove his claim. The certificate was obtained by a relative of this Panchayat member who was not in good terms with him. In the past serious fights were taken place between them over this property.

Ramya insists that she signed it only after Panchayat՚s bill collector surveyed the property and gave his verbal assurance about the legality of the property in question. As he was born and brought up in the village and knew matters of the village very well, Ramya had trusted him. Now the Panchayat member is threatening her to take the matter to District Panchayat and get her suspended.

Ramya seeks her husband՚s help who is close to tehsildar and who in turn is a close friend of Block Development Officer. Ramya՚s mother-in-law is forcing her to quit the job and stay at home, but Ramya wants to be financially independent and pleads her innocence. Keshav is in moral dilemma over the entire episode.

Q.1 What should be Keshav՚s course of action so that he doesn՚t compromise his ethics in personal and professional relationships? (200 Words)

(2) Sumati loved Ranjan when they both were undergoing training as IAS probationer officers at LBSNAA. After their training, they married each other and were allotted same state cadre.

Both were posted as SDM to two subdivisions in the same district. They both stayed together at the district HQ. The sub division where Ranjan worked was rich in mineral resources and mining was rampant. It was home to many rich people.

Sumati came to know that Ranjan was getting tempted by bribe offers offered by mining barons in the region to overlook certain land related issues. She observed that he was bringing home costly gifts. One day she confronted him but he told her that he was not doing anything illegal and some rich people impressed by his working style were being just very generous in spite of his reluctance to receive anything from them. He was also attending parties thrown by some very rich people in the district.

Sumati was now growing uncomfortable with Ranjan՚s attitude. They both loved each other very much, in fact it was Sumati who had proposed him first.

One day she came to know conclusively that Ranjan had taken bribes from some people. She also comes to know that the favour for which Ranjan has compromised would create a great loss to state exchequer. She is an upright officer and has made herself a good name.

If she takes a drastic step, it might endanger her marriage.

Q.1 What should Sumati do knowing her husband is involved in graft and her marriage to him might get jeopardized if she takes a drastic step?

(4) Ethics in Public Service

Ramanujan Shastri, secretary in the ministry of defence, is a respected and admired bureaucrat. Defence minister trusts Ramanujan and has given him a free hand in the ministry.

Ramanujan, who is at the fag end of his career, recently lost his elder son and wife in an accident and ever since , he has kept a low profile and has grown more fond of his other son who now just finished his graduation from an ordinary institution in the capital.

In a deal involving direct government to government contract with a major arms supplier, Ramanujan is tasked with speeding up the contract agreement and finalize the deal. The manufacturer, who will benefit immensely if the process is expedited, on many occasions has personally contacted Ramanujan and expressed his frustration in the slow movement of files in the ministry.

Ramanujan՚s younger son wants to study in a world՚s most reputed university for which he needs a lot of money and good references. Son has his father՚s complete support and he himself is contemplating the idea of moving out with his son to a new place, but money is the constraint. The person from the company who is in touch with Ramanujan comes to know about this and in one of his meetings with Ramanujan, he assures him to look after his son՚s entire higher education costs - from admission to placement to a well paying job - provided he speeds up the finalization of the deal.

Because of unexpected political circumstances, the defence minister now wants to scrap the deal. From his experience Ramanujan senses that the present controversy is temporary and somehow the deal will be inked later. Ramanujan who has few months of service left with him is in a dilemma. He doesn՚t want to disappoint his son and at the same time he wants to be in good terms with the minister. The deal, if signed, doesn՚t harm anyone՚s interests. The products are of world class and is sure to add value to the country՚s defense arsenal.

Q. 1 What should be Ramanujan՚s course of action in this situation? (150 Words)

(5) Ethical Dilemma

(1) Girija, a smart and extremely talented young IAS officer, is posted as SDM of a Sub-Division in a Southern State, under whose jurisdiction the constituency belonging to a young MP falls. He is projected to become PM as he is the heir apparent in his party. Most opinion poll surveys have predicted that his party would come to power at the centre on its own strength in the impending general elections. He is also a bachelor.

Girija, is now married to a handsome and equally talented IPS officer, who is now posted as ASP in a district far away from where she works. Their marriage has been smooth so far.

The young MP, in his first official meeting with the officials of his constituency notices Girija and is impressed by her personality and work. After the meeting, he sends her an official communication to meet him and discuss about a project that is being implemented in his constituency. The meeting is held at his residence.

During his meeting, he offers her a position in PMO if he comes to power. Getting into PMO is the dream of many bureaucrats, but Girija declines the offer citing her marriage and want of grassroots experience. However the meeting ends cordially and the young MP is more impressed about her. He gives her his personal number and asks her to be in touch with him. After few days of chat, he starts signaling his affection for her. Girija, though she loves her husband, keeps her frequent chats with the MP a secret. The problem is she too is stung by the charm of the young MP. But she is aware of the consequences of any false step from her side and maintains a safe distance from him.

Meanwhile the elections get over and the young MP is now the PM of the country. He sends her an unofficial communique to join PMO mentioning that if her response is affirmative, the official order would be sent soon . This job, especially for an young officer is a ladder to excellent career prospects in future and it is hard to come by even with lot of lobbying. She discusses the offer with her husband, but she refrains from discussing about the chats she frequently had with the MP. Her husband asks her to take her own decision keeping in mind family and professional consequences.

She is apprehensive about the intentions of the PM and if she joins, she may have to compromise her personal life. Her husband can not move with her. Earlier she had refused the offer and now the job seems to be enticing one considering the career prospects.

Q. 1 What should Girija do knowing the risks and benefits of the new offer? (200 Words)

(2) Sanjay was busy whole year making preparations for his only sister՚s wedding. On the day of the wedding, just before Vivah Muhurtam, the parents come to know that Mangalyam is missing. There is a palpable tension around. Sanjay, who is very angry, tells everyone that he would buy one and come back immediately. He had to come within an hour.

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He goes to jewelry shop alone on a bike and buys a Mangalyam. While returning to wedding hall, traffic police stops him as he is not wearing helmet. When inquired police come to know that Sanjay does not possess driving licence too. He has to be there at the wedding hall within 15 minutes. He explains this to police, but they insist that he should pay ₹ 2500⟋- fine.

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Sanjay has only ₹ 500 left at the moment in his pocket. He says he has only ₹ 500⟋- and he would pay the fine later. Police say that if he can՚t pay the fine he should leave his vehicle with them for now and walk to the wedding hall, and later collect it by paying fine, or he pay ₹ 500⟋- as bribe and go to the wedding hall. He can՚t walk as it would take more than an hour. His mobile is ringing incessantly. Even if he asks someone to come and collect managlyam, it would take a lot of time. Going by auto or taxi is also no option as he doesn՚t have much time and moreover he can՚t see any auto or taxi stand in the vicinity. If he pays bribe, he can reach on time and save the marriage.

Q.1 What are Sanjay՚s options and which one he should choose?

(3) You are the Director of a reputed college. One of the most meritorious students of the College has come to you with a request for a small upwards revision in his score. He has got 89.99% in the final semester. But, it requires at at least 90% or above in each semester to qualify for higher studies in all reputed Universities. He fulfils the criteria very well save the final semester.

Q.1 Would you revise his score to 90% realizing his career prospects and given his academic background? or Would you allow his merit to suffer just because of a tiny fraction of percentage and rigid rules of the college? Justify. (100 words)

(6) Ethics in Public Service

Ajay Mishra, a senior IAS officer has come to be known as an eccentric officer thanks to his show of brutal honesty in public service. But his friends and colleagues who know him personally respect and love him a lot for his vast knowledge and affability.

Recently he was shunted out of a prominent department as a punishment transfer as Managing Director to an ailing state cooperative milk federation. It was his fifth transfer in three years. Not able to cope up with her husband՚s frequent transfers to east-west and north-south parts of the state, Ajay՚s wife is sick for many years now and the children have moved out to foreign countries on the pretext of higher studies never to come back.

The chairman of state milk federation is a powerful politician very close to the Chief Minister. Ajay, in his first month of duty itself comes to know about many irregularities in the functioning of the federation and high-handedness of the chairman in financial matters.

A board member belonging to a political party opposed to that of the chairman and who has a good chance of becoming chairman once the incumbent steps down or resigns, meets Ajay privately and hands over few documents and a secret video recording where the chairman appears to be demanding huge bribe for releasing funds to district milk unions. The video clearly shows that it is indeed the chairman asking a director of a district union for bribe.

As soon as Ajay took over incharge as MD, the chairman was demanding speedy disbursal of funds to district unions which was pending for many months.

Ajay confronted the board member why he didn՚t go public with the video himself. The member told him that he is actually blackmailing the chairman for some time now and he is not yielding to his threats as he is being shielded by the CM. The board member now wants MD to confront the chairman and go public himself as this would give the MD fame and public support. The board member has had requested leader of the opposition party to pressurize Ajay and it had worked too. Ajay is now being pressurized by prominent leaders of the opposition parties, privately, to go against the chairman. They are offering him a lucrative post in the capital once they come to power. And they want to embarrass the government.

Ajay, if he confronts the chairman, is sure to be transferred immediately to a distant district again. His wife whose mental status is deteriorating day by day is not in a condition to move again to a new place.

On the other hand, the opposition party is gaining ground in the state and is sure to come back to power soon. The board member wants to use Ajay for his political gain by using him as pawn.

Q.1. What should be Ajay Mishra՚s course of action in the present situation? (250 Words)

(7) Moral Dilemma

Rajiv is an IAS aspirant. He studied in two premier institutions and worked for a while in an IT company. He quit the job and started preparing for the civil services exams. In his first attempt he wrote mains but could not qualify for the personality test. In next two attempts, however, he gave interviews but fate had it that his name did not appear in the final list. In all three attempts he had scored less in Mains and in two interviews his score was average if not bad.

Coming under General Merit, Rajiv had only four attempts to get into IAS. For the last attempt, he decided to take a break of one year and prepare extremely well giving no chance to fate. By then he had spent five years just for preparing for this exam with no job in hand.

He did prepare well and easily sailed through the Preliminary and Mains exam. For his final interview, Rajiv, prepared himself very well. He read widely. He contacted his peers and well wishers, talked to them extensively and took feedback on his body language and communication skills. He took mock tests at prominent institutions and got a very positive feedback. His confidence was at an all time high. By the time interview call letter came, Rajiv was fully ready to face his final test to realize the dream of becoming an IAS officer.

On the previous day of his interview, Rajiv talked to his parents, girlfriend and teachers and sought their wishes. He had a sound sleep too.

His interview was scheduled in the second session i.e. in the afternoon. On the day of his interview, in the morning Rajiv was calm, composed and had a friendly chat with fellow aspirants who had stayed together in a friend՚s room.

He had his lunch and left room in his bike half an hour before the scheduled time of his appearance at UPSC office.

Rajiv was riding his bike with lots of thoughts in his mind. The road was almost empty. As he was riding, just in front of him, a speeding bike collided with the road divider. Seeing this, Rajiv stopped his bike for a minute and went near the accident scene. A man, crying with pain, was lying in a pool of blood and a girl child, around 5 year old, was lying unconscious next to the man. Rajiv looked around for help, but two or three cars sped away without stopping by.

Rajiv had to be at UPSC office in 10 minutes. If not he would forever lose his dream of becoming an IAS officer.

Q.1 In this situation, what should Rajiv do? Justify your answer.

(8) Decision Making

(1) Prateek, a young IAS officer, was transferred to a Naxal affected district as its DM. In his previous postings, he had done tremendous good work and it was recognized and appreciated at the national level. In fact he was given PM՚s Excellence Award for Public Administration in recognition of his work - one of the youngest officers to receive the award so far.

On the personal front, Prateek belonged to a higher caste and was married to a daughter of prominent political leader in the state. He was also a father to a two year old baby.

Few days before Prateek assumed responsibility as new DM, in the Naxal camp, a new local commander had assumed power. He was on the most wanted list and known for advocating ruthless violence against the state and its machinery to achieve the ends. Intelligence agencies were on vigil and the change in local Naxal organization was communicated to all the public offices in the affected and surrounding districts.

Prateek believed that development and dialogue were the cure for Naxal problem and he had hinted the same in his media briefings and also in his approach towards administration. He was proactive and was willing to travel extra mile, literally, to meet tribes and hear their problems in person. Of course he took enough precaution whenever he went inside forest to meet people.

His movement was being closely watched by the Naxal elements. In one of his official trips, while returning, his convoy was ambushed and hugely outnumbered by the heavily armed Naxals and except him all his companions including security personnel were executed. He was taken as a hostage.

This made international news and there was outcry all over the nation to safely bring back Prateek. Naxals released a press statement accepting the killings and taking hostage DM. In the statement they said that their demands would be released soon and if the government did not fulfill them, the DM would be beheaded.

Inside the forest, Prateek was tortured on the orders of the local commander.

Naxals released their long list of demands among them prominent were the demand for the release of all imprisoned Naxal leaders across the country and the immediate withdrawal of all paramilitary forces from the Naxal affected districts. To these demands the government clearly said no, but showed its willingness to hold dialogue by appointing neutral negotiators of Naxals′ choice.

The Naxals rejected the government offer. Unlike the earlier leadership, the local commander meant business and he warned the government that if it did not heed to their demands soon, the head of the DM would be sent to district HQ.

The moment of truth arrived. In a final talk with the DM, the local commander gave him a choice between death and relinquishment of his job as an IAS officer. Prateek had to send his resignation letter with immediate effect, and with a caveat that if the government didnt accept his decision immediately, he would be executed, if it accepts he would walk free. There was one day time left for him to take decision or hold dialogue himself and convince the Naxals to free him before his execution.

Q.1 If you were to be in Prateek՚s position, what would have been your decision? Would you give life for the country? Would you resign and walk free? Justify your answer on ethical basis.

(2) As SDM you have received a complaint that in a village under your jurisdiction, people belonging to a religious community who are in majority there (this community is a minority in the state and country) are constructing an illegal religious structure on village common land. It is nearing completion. The complaint is filed by a local leader belonging to a community who are in minority (majority in the state and country) in the village.

You have verified the complaint and found that indeed the structure is being illegally constructed on village common land. You also find that this structure is funded by local MLA.

You had issued a show cause notice to the trust that՚s constructing the structure asking them why it shouldn՚t be demolished. They have replied that a Panchayat of villagers (not official Gram Sabha) was convened and it had decided to construct the structure for the community purpose as they didn՚t have a proper place for prayers and congregation. They have also replied that they are willing to pay the fine if the government decides to impose any and have ardently requested not to order demolition as it might lead to communal clashes in the village.

Q.1 The issue is sensitive as majority of the village wants it constructed at any cost. As SDM how will you proceed to resolve the issue?

(9) Emotional Intelligence

(1) Radha was very proud of her father. He was a senior bureaucrat in the state and he was invited to every major functions in Radha՚s school and colleges. She used to feel like a star on such occasions. She boasted about her father in her friends circle. It was not without reason as her father himself used to tell her his stories of honesty, integrity in administration from his personal experiences.

Radha was a brilliant student in her studies. She had many friends and some enemies too. Ramya was one of those enemies who was jealous of Radha and she constantly searched for an opportunity to hurt Radha with her acerbic taunts. Most of the times Radha avoided encountering Ramya inside the college campus.

When Radha was in her final year of graduation, just before her final exams, her father was arrested on charges of corruption and was sent to jail. This became a major news in the state and severely affected Radha mentally.

She did not want to write her exams as she felt embarrassed to go to college. But her friends and mother convinced her to give exams as it was very important for her future. As soon as Radha entered college, Ramya met her and started talking sarcastically about Radha՚s father that how an honest father got arrested and how Radha had come to write exams in spite of a major crisis in her family. Ramya wryly asked Radha if her father had gone to jail to deliver lecture about honesty and integrity.

One of Radha՚s close friends slapped Ramya there itself.

Radha was hurt by Ramya՚s comments and not able to control her emotions she rushed out of college crying loudly. That day she did not give her exam. Next day she committed suicide at her home.

In the above example, Radha, Ramya and Radha՚s friend who slapped Ramya all have displayed different shades of low emotional intelligence.

Q.1 Analyze how each one of them would have behaved if they all had possessed high emotional intelligence? (250 Words)

(2) Mukul was a hard working policeman. He married a beautiful girl from his village. Both of them stayed in a house at police quarters.

Mukkul՚s boss, Sub-Inspector Sandeep was an arrogant and flirtatious officer. He did not treat his subordinates well. He had an eye on Mukul՚s wife ever since he first saw her on the day of Mukul՚s wedding. His house was in the neighborhood of Mukul՚s. Unlike other superior officers, Sandeep often invited Mukul to visit his home with his wife for dinner and to other get together parties. Mukul had noticed that Sandeep was trying to get closer to his wife by making jokes and giving unsolicited advises.

Sandeep denied Mukul any holidays. Mukul was tired of asking for leave so many times and had even mildly protested once. Sandeep wanted Mukul and his wife to stay at the quarters all the time.

Once Mukul wanted a fifteen days of leave to arrange and look after his only sister՚s wedding. He had to go to his native with his family for fifteen days. Mukul officially kept asking for leave two months well before the wedding date itself. But as expected Sandeep kept refusing him any leave. Just before the scheduled day Mukul had to leave for his native, he once again finally asked Sandeep to grant him leave. Sandeep said that he would grant him leave provided he went alone to the marriage leaving behind his wife in the quarters.

Mukul, agitated, took his loaded rifle and shot the inspector dead. He then surrendered to the police.

Q.1 Emotional intelligence is must for police officers to work in a stressful and provocative environment. Explain how would have been Mukul and Sandeep՚s behaviour if they had possessed high emotional intelligence?

(3) Jyothi, a young IAS officer, was transferred to a Zilla Panchayat as its new Chief Executive Officer. It was a punishment transfer, thanks to her impeccable personal and professional integrity, and short temper.

Soon after her posting, a monthly review meeting was called by the ZP President. He was an influential political figure in the district. In the meeting, one of President՚s ardent followers, stood up and directly questioned the CEO why his demand for sanctioning two borewells to his constituency was not yet met. Other members joined him and in few minutes, the meeting hall was in ruckus. This was premeditated to unsettle the new CEO, known for strict discipline.

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She tried to explain that she would go through the files and would soon direct concerned officials to take action. But members were unrelenting. CEO got angry and asked everyone to behave themselves. This irked many and the commotion grew louder.

ZP President, taken aback by the CEO՚s outburst, shouted at her and spoke to her in singular using derogatory language. He warned her that it was the right of members to question her and a protest would be held outside against her. Jyothi was insulted in front of all the members and her pride was hurt.

Q.1 Explain how Jyothi could have handled the situation in the meeting and what should be her reaction to the President՚s insulting remarks against her?

(10) Moral Dilemma, Ethics in Private and Public Relationships

You are having lunch with your close friend Naveen. You both are friends since childhood and your families are also close to each other, it՚s like one family. Naveen recently got appointed as Assistant Director in Social Welfare Department.

During conversation, Naveen tells you that he is enjoying his work because it՚s giving him an opportunity to help the poor. He also says that he is not asking anyone for bribes but people themselves pay him money because they are happy with his speedy service. He says that he initially did not receive any money but when more and more people insisted, he started taking bribes. He also says that just before he arrived for lunch he was given a good amount of money by a happy beneficiary in his office.

You are a Deputy Superintendent of Police and you are on duty. Naveen knows this, but he is sharing his experiences as he does with any one of his family members. He did not, even for a moment, think that you were a cop on duty.

Q.1 As a responsible officer who is on duty, and who՚s duty is to enforce law, what will you do to your friend?

(11) Emotional Intelligence; Conscience As Sources of Ethical Guidance; Human Values; Moral Attitude

After a year of intense training at LBSNAA , Anil has come to Mukherjee Nagar to meet his close friend Parul who is preparing for civil services. Anil is wearing squeaky clean white shirt and a costly pant and shoes. Instead of going to a posh hotel, out of nostalgia Anil visits a roadside tea shop to have a cup of tea with his friend who is comfortable with it.

A 10 year old boy, who was cleaning dishes until their arrival, brings both of them two glasses of tea on his master՚s order. Anil who is on a phone call, unaware of boy standing behind him, accidentally touches the plate carrying tea glasses. Hot tea spills all over his shirt and glasses are broken into pieces on the ground. The owner of the shop, seeing this, beats the boy to a pulp.

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Q.1 What would be your reaction as a human being and as a would be IAS officer if you were in Anil՚s place? (250 Words)

(12) Decision Making, Objectivity.

Mihir is a new Panchayat secretary. Within few days he got a circular which said that he should soon conduct Grama Sabha to finalize the action plan of MGNREGA. Action plan contains the list of works to be undertaken in the villages and their estimated expenditures. This should be decided in the Grama Sabha and the decision of Gram Sabha is immutable.

The Gram Sabha was held and chairman, all elected members, officer in-charge, engineer, people from villages debated and finally listed important works to be undertaken and the estimated expenditure was decided there itself.

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Next, this plan had to be approved in the Panchayat meeting and sent to Tehsil for further approval for sanction of funds. The chairman of Panchayat, who was also a class-I contractor, met Mihir and asked him to manipulate the funds estimates. Even few members who themselves were small time contractors and who had previously used machines in MGNREGA scheme to finish works and draw money, joined Chairman in demanding manipulation of the action plan.

Mihir strongly objected to this. On the day of meeting, which was a closed door meeting inside the Panchayat office, he was manhandled by some members in the office after he resisted their attempt to snatch the action plan and manipulate it, and was threatened that if he didn՚t act according to their orders, he would be thrashed again and again. Someone outside called the police. But when police arrived, the chairman alleged that Panchayat secretary behaved in an indecent manner with female members hence he was thrashed. Female members seconded this allegation.

Mihir was taken to police station. Police refused to accept his version of the incident, which was true. He was helpless at the moment.

Q. 1 You are his superior officer (BDO) . Mihir contacts you and tells you his part of the story. At the same time, Panchayat members narrate their version. How will you proceed from here?

(13) Ethics in Private Relationships; Moral Dilemma

Raghu and Ragini loved each other a lot. When everything seemed fine, Ragini was forcefully married off to a wealthy guy by her parents and sent to a distant country thanks to Raghu՚s lower caste. Raghu was heartbroken and slipped into depression. He swore that he would either marry Ragini or die of hunger.

However, luckily for him, he found a new friend in Rashmi. She was his classmate in his college days and had loved him secretly, but never expressed it to him. Rashmi with her presence and constant support made Raghu to forget the past. Raghu՚s friends convinced him to marry Rashmi. He married her. Though he didn՚t love Rashmi, nevertheless he was happy to get a companion and liked Rashmi very much.

Meanwhile, Ragini never loved her wealthy husband. Every day she was craving for Raghu, with whom she was not in contact for many months now. Unfortunately her both parents got killed in a road accident. She came back to India, but never returned to her husband. Now Ragini was alone with no one around her for her support. She was the only child of her parents. She inquired about Raghu. Came to know about his whereabouts and present condition. Still she contacted him and both met secretly. She narrated how she loved him all theses days and expressed her desire to get married to him despite knowing he was already married. Though, Raghu was pushed into chronic depression indirectly by Ragini, he never hated her. In fact he still had soft corner for her. Now she had come for him leaving everything behind.

Q.1 What should Raghu do now?

(14) Other

(1) You are travelling in a train in sleeper class at night. You have not slept properly for three days because of some hectic tiresome personal work. You are desperately in need of some good sleep.

At around 10 pm an old woman and a small girl child with lots of luggage gets into the car you are in. They have general ticket but don՚t possess reserved tickets. Someone had advised them that if any seats are vacant, Ticket Ticket Examiner (TTE) would accommodate them. Unfortunately no seat is vacant.

You are falling asleep and the old woman and child are standing next to your cabin awaiting anxiously the arrival of TTE. It appears that the old woman is sick and they are traveling to some distant place on an urgent notice. This TTE is not a kind man and as soon as he comes to know that these two are travelling without a valid ticket, he starts abusing them badly. He asks the woman and child to pay hefty fine and sleep on the floor near toilet or wait near the door till next station arrived which is two hours away and get into general car — which is far away from the sleeper class for these two to run and get into. Their ardent requests are met with constant abuses. TTE even doesn՚t care when the small girl starts crying as she is very sleepy. TTE states clearly that he is not willing to accommodate them with anyone in the sleeper class as it՚s against rules.

Q.1 You lost your sleep and heard the diatribe of TTE against these hapless woman and child. Inside the train it՚s very cold. As a responsible citizen with empathy towards others, what would you do to help the old woman and child? How will you resolve the issue?

(2) Rajendra is a reputed structural engineer and is working for a major metro rail project. He is in charge of design, construction and positioning of pillars of metro flyover.

A junior engineer in his team tells him that there is a major flaw in two erected pillars supporting a section of the flyover and they should be replaced⟋readjusted at any cost. These two pillars supported a flyover curve and if collapsed, it would cause a major accident and put many lives into danger. Moreover, in few days it is to be inaugurated for trial runs.

Illustration: Ethics Most Important Questions for 2023 with Detailed Model Answers for 2023 Exam

Rajendra brushes aside the apprehension and warning by his junior. But later in the evening, on second thought, he once again scrutinizes his plans and drawings, and finds that his junior was indeed right.

Accepting his mistake would tarnish his reputation for Rajendra. If any accident happens, which is certain to happen at certain point of time in future, it would affect the reputation of the company that constructed it. It will embarrass the government too.

Also, replacing the pillars would inflate the cost for the company and would further delay the project.

In this situation:

(Q. 1) What should Rajendra ideally do?

(Q. 2) What would be the legal and ethical consequences of Rajendra՚s continued silence.

(Q. 3) What are the qualities that are tested in this case study? Examine.

(3) You are the DM of a hill district of an Indian state which has poor civil infrastructure. The Home Minister of the state has same place his constituency. Unfortunately there is a clash continuing between two group of laborers in a factory in the town on some unknown communal issues, but have not caused casualties yet. The state Home Secretary has instructed you to monitor the situation and prevent any miss-happening (s) .

Around 9 pm in the evening it was raining heavily when you were informed that the minister had met an accident. The Home Secretary again asked you to facilitate things there. Coincidentally the time you reached hospital you see two brutally injured patients being pushed in simultaneously. You realized one as the minister. A police officer meanwhile briefed you that the other one was a laborer belonging to the minority community from the disputed site and had been brutally attacked around the same time the minister met the accident.

The team of doctors had started their emergency care. But then the superintendent of the hospital informed you of criticality of the two cases and said that both patients had casualties of same magnitude (clinically) and required immediate operations which for the hospital had an OT equipped minimally to carry one operation only. The town has no other private or govt. hospital to carry such critical operation. You contacted the officials in capital for a helicopter to fly the minister there but were informed that bad weather didn՚t allow one. Roads in the rain will take 8 hours to reach the capital and adjacent district headquarters cannot be accessed by road till morning. The team of doctors is pushing you to take a decision between the two patients as who to be taken first for operation. Meanwhile, the hospital superintendent hinted you that the other may succumb to his injuries during the next 3 hours of operation.

Your choice is going to affect two lives. On one side is a VVIP and elected leader of masses, neglecting whom will create political, professional, social and personal upheaval. On the other is a poor laborer, lone bread earner of his large family. His death may lead to unwarranted situation of labor unrest and communal clash both.

You, the DM, belong to the same minority community to which belongs this dying laborer. You see the families of both the men. Women crying, children sobbing.

Q.1 Assuming the above hypothesis true, propose an ideal approach as an administrator in the above case. (300 Words)

(4) you, a graduate from a top medical college of the country made it to the civil services and got IAS. After a few years you were made the DM of a left wing extremism affected backward district of an already poor state. Unfortunately there is a drought continuing in this part of the country for previous two years. You are visiting a few villages in a block deep in the forest inhabited by poor tribals. There is a team of doctors, NGOs, media and police along with numerous support staffs with you. You reach a village where the calamity is more monstrous than you had ever thought of as a human. You are moved with the plight and the stories of ineffectiveness of the Govt. you learnt in texts suddenly appears as true as the merciless sun above you.

Suddenly a young man comes running to your team and says that his pregnant wife is in labor and losing blood. You asked a doctor to see it for. This doctor returns and conveys you that this woman can be saved only if blood is “transfused immediately” . Upon enquiry you came to know that a few blood collection bags (kits) are there in the ambulance accompanying your team. Meanwhile a few people of the team turned up to volunteer for donation of blood. As a doctor you know that ethical transfusion of blood is possible but unbanked transfusion of blood is illegal and warrants criminal charges if pursued.

People meanwhile started pouring in suggestions. Few are for transfusion and few cited it to be illegal. The doctors are ready to facilitate delivery but they ask an assurance that upon transfusion they won՚t be arrested. Unfortunately, there is a senior subordinate from your office witnessing the event. He is the same guy you had suspended upon charges of unethical acts within weeks of assuming charge despite his request for leniency and a promise of good conduct in future. On top of all this is present a media person who has been reporting against you for past few months as part of a conspiracy against you by a local politician.

You are stuck. Transfusion can be ethical, you know. You were taught service to humanity and people in the medical school and as well as during IAS training. But saving this dying woman this way is against law and will result in criminal proceedings against you and the concerned doctors.

Q.1 Assuming above hypothesis true, propose your action. (200 words)

(5) After finishing your IAS probationary training, you have come to visit your 85 year old grandmother who stays in a remote backward village. You were received with lot of fanfare. At home, grandmother, whom you love most is ecstatic and has made all the arrangements to make you feel comfortable.

There is a steady stream of villagers visiting your home to see and talk to you. A childhood friend of you, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste, much excited, rushes into the room where you are taking rest. Your friend and villagers belonging to his caste are still observed as untouchables in the village.

Your grandmother, seeing your friend inside the room sitting next to you, gets very angry and abuses him. She asks him to get out of the home immediately. She accuses him of polluting the home and you. She insults him in front of you.

Your grandmother has committed an offence under section 7 (1) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. It is also an offence under act 1989.

Q.1 In this situation, what should you be doing? (150 Words)

(6) Sampath is working in a Software company. His salary is not good. He is a divorcee and has ailing parents to look after. He is living with them in a small rented house. His father, whom he respects and loves a lot, is diagnosed with cancer and is on chemotherapy.

Sampath՚s monthly salary is almost spent for medicine purpose. He also has large debt. His mother, who was healthy till recently, is also sick most of the times. Sampath is the only son to his parents. As an obedient and loving son, he is taking care of his parents in spite of large difficulties he is facing financially.

His hard work was recognized by the company where he worked and now he is offered a high paying job in USA at the company headquarters. All along it was his dream too. He has to leave for USA in few days. He convinces his parents that he would send them money as soon as he reaches there and asks his mother to look after his father. He also promises them that if all goes well, he would take them to USA to live with him.

On the day of departure to USA, half an hour before his boarding time, Sampath receives a call from his mother. Sobbing, she tells him that his father՚s health has deteriorated and he is on the verge of death. She requests him to do something. Sampath is not sure if his father would live or die even if he is taken to the hospital right away.

If Sampath misses the plane, he may never get an opportunity like this. He has huge debt which can not be repaid with his meager salary for many more years, and if he goes to USA, he will earn five times more than his present earnings.

Q.1 What should Sampath do now? What characters are being tested here? Justify your answer.

(7) You are an Indian diplomat send to china to negotiate on border issue. The diplomat you work with Mr. Xi is a senior diplomat and in a decision taking position. he has great fondness for Indian culture. and his soft side makes him agree to some Indian demands which otherwise might not go through that easily.

The pact is to be finalized in the next week but other modalities have to be worked out. On Saturday Mr Xi invites you for a Chinese dinner at a famous restaurant. On the way back he insists to drop you at your hotel and on the way his car hits two cyclists, injuring them fatally. You were aware that he was driving fast and thus lost control.

The police comes to investigate the matter and you are the sole witness to it apart from Mr. Xi and know it was a grave mistake on part of Mr xi.

Knowing the strict laws of china on road accidents, . your truthful account of incident could implicate Mr Xi. and that just wont be an end to his career and harsh sentence, but would also jeopardize the border pact which is of immense importance to India.

Q.1 What are the dilemmas you face and will be your response to the situation?

(8) Arun joined a large private coal based power producing firm as a Graduate Trainee. After one year of training at different facilities of the company he was finally posted at a production unit. In the past one year of his service, Arun had availed a loan of INR 3 Lakhs from the company to pay off his education loan. He had tough financial background and this benefit so early in the service won the company a great admiration to Arun.

For past several days Arun has been making an observation at this unit. Late in the nights the chimney of the unit spills off an unusual black smoke. He noticed it for a few days until upon some enquiry he found out that the ESPs (device to separate coal ash from the smoke finally going to chimney) are switched off to save power as they consume a substantial power produced to run them. Arun knows that this is in violation of the law. ESPs shall mandatorily run in a coal based power plant of a unit as this. Switching them off in a running plant violates the environmental laws. Moreover in the long run this practice shall degrade the atmosphere of this area. He talks to his manager but the manager asks him to keep off this and explains him that this company makes huge money saving power by keeping ESPs off for a few hours daily. And he further cunningly says that no one can see smoke late in the night in this sparsely populated forest area. A few days later Arun gets a chance to see his unit head. He puts the issue back. The unit head warns him of dire consequences if he further raises this issue. He also threatens him to sack. Next morning Arun is served with a show-cause notice against some irregularities in his work and his identity card has been blocked for an automatic attendance. His presence in the office was recorded in person by another staff but without his signature.

Arun wants to complain this violation of environment to government authorities but in doing so he will finally have to lose his job and loan repayment is a burden he cannot bear. If sacked on corruption charges, he faces a chance of career blockade.

Suggest a path ahead for Arun. (150 words)

(9) Annie has been recently hired full time at a major tech company where she interned for two summers during her college career. Annie loves her job and has established many strong relationships with her co-workers over the time she has worked there. The company encourages the interns and new hires to interact with VPs and upper management in order to create an open and friendly atmosphere.

During her time as an intern, Annie began to notice that one of the VPs paid her extra attention. When he was around he would always make an extra effort to stop by Annie՚s cubicle and chat: something he did not do with any of the other interns. He reached out to her over social networking sites and even invited her to a gathering at his house. Some of her co-workers began to make offhand comments to Annie about the extra attention.

Now that she was in a full time position, Annie began to dread that she would soon have to work with this VP directly. While he has not done or said anything explicitly inappropriate, the extra attention — and the fact that her co-workers noticed it — made her very uncomfortable and undermined her concentration on work. When she was hired, she was told that she should always speak to her manager if she was uncomfortable or had issues with the work environment. While at the same time, she is afraid to come across like a tattletale since the VP hasnt explicitly done anything wrong.

Q. 1 What course of action should Annie take?

(10) Every District Collector wants the local newspaper to run positive stories about his works in his district. Few, thankfully, hide behind a fake name to write only positive articles.

Aman, DM of a famous district, felt the major local paper, was not writing enough positive articles about him, so he decided to submit his own stories, under a fake name.

The paper encourages “citizen journalists” to submit stories to get a more local angle. “I thought about all the people just reading about crime in our city and nothing better,” said the DM.

Although he was not paid for his articles, he established a relationship with the paper, a television Web site, and a weekly paper – all by using email and phone conversations. Using his alias, he wrote more than a dozen articles. In some he quoted himself. He did not apologize for his actions.

However his alias was a real person. DM had used the real photo to convince the publishers. Now the real person is hurt and enraged. He accuses DM of lying to the public.

Q.1 • Do you think DM should resign?

Q.2 • Should the government take any action, such as a censure?

Q.3 • Is this action serious enough to prompt a recall?

Q.4 • Can the public trust an official who has misrepresented himself?

(11) A former employee who was fired due to poor quality work, absences, and lateness related to her drinking problem, informs you that she has applied for a position at another company and has already given your name as a reference. She desperately needs a job (she is a single parent with three children) , and she asks you to give her a good recommendation and not mention her drinking, which she assures you is now under control.

She also asks you to say that she voluntarily left the company to address a family medical crisis, and that the company was pleased with her work. You like this person and believe she is a good worker when she is not drinking. You doubt that she really has overcome her drinking problem, however, and you would not recommend your own company hire her back.

Q.1 What do you say to this woman?

Q.2 What do you say to an employer who calls you for a reference?

Q.3 What if the prospective employer was a friend?

Q.4 Suppose the problem was a theft?

Q.5 Suppose she had asked you to be a reference prior to supplying your name to her prospective employer?

Q.6 What values are at stake? Do some of the values conflict with one another?

(15) Ethics Writing Challenge

(1) What do you understand by the following terms in the context of private life?

(a) Commitment

(b) Integrity

(2) You are stranded in traffic in your car. You are driving the car. A poor girl looking very frail approaches you and start begging for money. Looking at he frail appearance, out of compassion, you take out your wallet to search for a ten Rupees note. The girl who is standing very near to you snatches the wallet and starts running. A man on a motorbike who see this act, catches the girl and starts beating her in full view of public. Now the traffic is moving and your car is in the middle of the road.

Q.1 What will you do in such a situation? And why? (250 Words)

(16) Ethics and integrity

(1) Q. 1. Do you agree with the view that values deteriorate as societies economically prosper and move towards materialism? Critically comment. (200 Words)

You are posted as Superintendent of Police to a District. The stenographer, a beautiful young lady who is smart and hard working, grows close to you. You take her assistance in many office tasks. In the office and beyond a rumour spreads that you are having an affair with her. To make things worse the stenographer has confessed to her friends in office that she loves you. You are affectionate towards her but you are faithful to your wife. You do not worry about rumours and carry on with your work meanwhile growing more close to stenographer. Your wife comes to know about these rumours. A point is reached where the stenographer becomes powerful in the office thanks to your close association. Your continued association is straining your relationship with your wife and is also affecting your public image.

Q.2 What will you do in these circumstances? Which values would you uphold most in such a scenario and explain why. (250 Words)

(2) (Q.1) Suppose you are sitting on the seat of a crowded local train, you saw an old lady standing near you and then you offered her your seat but before she could take the seat a man took the seat and the man was aware that you had offered your seat to that old lady. In such a situation how will you manage the same seat for her? (150 Words)

(Q.2) You are a father of 7 year old girl. You are living in a flat with your wife and daughter. You are working in high profile job in an MNC. Your boss is your close friend and because of him you have landed a good job. You also owe him lots of money. If it was not for him, you would have continued in less paying old job. Your boss frequently visits your flat. He is close to your daughter and wife. One day, your daughter complains that your boss did something unnatural to her in her bedroom. He actually sexually molested your daughter.

What will you do now? In the light of laws of the land, human rights and personal ethics, suggest a course of action that you should take. (250 Words)

(Q.3) Critically comment on the ethical issues involved in the climate change negotiations held by developing and developed countries. (200 Words)

(3) (Q.1) You are a Probationary Officer in a Public Sector Bank and you have been transferred to a branch located in Naxal affected area. On the very first day, while returning from work, you were stopped by a Naxal group. They sought 25% of your salary as ‘protection money’ which should be paid every month, and if you fail, you will be killed by the group without offering you any second chance. You are an IAS aspirant managing your preparation along with the work pressure. You are from a very poor family and this job has brought a ray of hope to you and your parents. You are unmarried though.

The local police is aware of this Naxal problem, which is common in the region, yet they are not taking any action for fear of their own lives and corruption.

What will be your course of action in this circumstance? (250 Words)

(Q.2) On completion of probationary training as an IAS probationary officer, you are posted as Assistant Commissioner (Deputy Collector) to a Sub Division of a district. To ensure probity and transparency in your office, what steps would you take immediately? Explain. (200 Words)

(4) (Q.1) What do you understand by political attitudes? Examine the factors that have shaped political attitudes in India. (200 Words)

(Q.2) Shraddha recently landed a well paying software job in a reputed company in Bangalore. She has an ambition to become a civil servant. She is working hard towards it. Recently she wrote the entrance for Prime Minister՚s Rural Development Fellowship (PMRDF) and got selected as its Fellow. Though she received better salary in the present job, she wanted to accept the PMRD Fellowship and work for it. She will be posted in a far away state from her present location. The district where she will be posted is a sensitive region severely affected by Naxal problem. Few days ago, few civil servants and policemen were killed by Naxals in an ambush. Shraddha՚s parents do not want her to leave the present job. Her boyfriend with whom her marriage is fixed is also not supporting her. She thinks that this fellowship would equip her with skills needed to work as an IAS officer in case she gets selected in future.

(A) If you are in Shraddha՚s place, what decision will you take? Give reasons. (150 Words)

(B) Do you think it՚s right on her boyfriend՚s and parents part to say no to her decision? Critically comment. (100 Words)

(5)

(Q.1) Write a note on the basic Human Values. Critically comment on the role of educational institutions in inculcating these values, especially in the context of Indian education system. (200 Words)

(Q.2) “In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.” – Immanuel Kant. Bring out the meaning of the above quote with examples. (200 Words)

(6) You are working as an employee in a private company. One afternoon in the office you get a frantic call from your wife that your two year old daughter is very ill and her condition is critical. Unfortunately nobody is there around to help your wife in any way. Your car is the only option to take your daughter to the hospital, you have to rush to help your daughter as soon as possible,

You soon leave the office. On your way back home you hit an old woman and she is critically injured and before you notice she dies. Nobody has noticed the accident as it has taken place on a stretch of road that՚s always free of traffic and people. Your wife is calling you frantically for the help. Any delay would cost your daughter՚s life.

(Q.1) In this scenario what will you do? And why? (150 Words)

(Q.2) Examine the rules, laws and values which come into the picture in the above scenario. (200 Words)

(7) You have been shortlisted for the UPSC Civil Services Personality Test i.e.. Interview. On the day of your interview, when your turn comes you enter the interview hall with a calm and confident composure. On entering the board you immediately notice that a lady sitting next to the Chairman is your favourite professor from the college from where you completed your graduation. You were very close to her and she too was fond of you. In fact she had treated you like her own son. In the hall she too notices you but neither smiles at you nor does her body language suggests anything that shows she is familiar to you. The Chairman asks you to sit and the interview is about to begin.

(Q.1) Do you think it is ethical to continue your interview with the same board? Substantiate your answer. (150 Words)

You are walking on a footpath in a crowded market. You notice that a person is lying unconscious on the footpath. He appears to be injured on his head. Every person is ignoring him and they passing by without even looking at him. As you approach nearer to the laying person, you notice that he՚s actually murmuring something in pain and strong smell of alcohol is emanating from him.

(Q.2) What will you do in this situation? Explain why. (150 Words)

(8) You are walking home from your work. There is a railway track nearby, which bifurcates some distance away from your home. While on your way you notice that four women have been tied to the tracks. A goods train is approaching fast. Some distance away you notice that your daughter is walking on the other track which is actually a bridge below which a deep gorge is located. There is an option to save all five women by changing the route of the train to other track. If you do so, you will kill your daughter. Your daughter has no escape option. She is unaware of any of these developments as she is walking blissfully listening to her favourite songs from iPod from her headphones. That track on the bridge is not used by trains owing to some reasons.

You can not run and untie all five women as it՚s impossible to do so without risking your life. If you do so, you will also get killed along with the five women.

Q.1 In this situation, what will you do? And explain why. (150 Words)

(9) You are a Collector of a district. The Chief Minister has arrived to attend a private function and at the same time has summoned all officials to get reports on various works in progress in the district. Your family was also invited by the organisers of this private function. Because of some issues at home, you arrive half an hour late to the function where meeting is also being held by the CM.

The CM, who is known for ill temper, soundly abuses you in front of all dignitaries, your wife and children. You are insulted and humiliated in full public glare. This was your first such experience.

(Q.1) How will you react? Explain and give reasons. (150 Words)

Ravi and Ramya, a newly married couple, have joined same company as software engineers. They are put under a same team leader. The team leader has started flirting with Ravi՚s wife. He has also started giving trouble to Ravi in terms of putting him under lot of work related pressure. Both Ravi and Ramya have signed contract with the company.

Ravi is now asking Ramya to leave the job and stay at home. Ramya is just friendly with the team leader, and she thinks he is harmless. Though she has told Ravi about this, Ravi wants her to leave the job at any cost. After few months Ramya got promotion whereas Ravi didn՚t. She is made team leader of another team and she now reports to manager who was her former team leader. These developments have further depressed Ravi and lately he has started doubting his wife. However, Ramya has always been faithful to Ravi.

(Q.2) If you were in Ravi՚s and Ramya՚s place, what would you do respectively? (200 Words)

(10) You are a Block Development Officer. You have been invited by a Panchayat Secretary to attend the Gram Sabha meeting. The meeting has been called to allot houses to the poor with an aim to make this Panchayat free of huts. State government has sent you a strict direction to provide durable houses to all the needy and to make sure no village has a single hut anywhere.

In the meeting a very old widow approaches you and tells you that she is living in a hut which is dilapidated and is about to collapse. She has no one in the village and she is all alone and she is at the fag end of her life. When you are about to recommend her a house out of empathy, Panchayat Secretary reveals that she was allotted an house few years ago and that she had sold the house to pay her husband՚s debt. Some villagers who treat her as insane old widow also raise objections to grant her another house.

She is very old and she is almost begging you to help her. Selling her previous house was illegal as per Panchayat rules. She has nowhere to go. As per government՚s directive, she can not continue to live in a hut.

(Q.1) In this circumstance what decision will you take? Explain why. (200 Words)

(11) You have passed UPSC Civil Services exam with a very good rank (Rank 10) and you have given first preference to IAS and your home state. You will get home cadre as you are the topper from the state and there is vacancy available under your category. A former Chief Minister, who belongs to your caste, now wants to make you his Son-in-Law. Just like you, his daughter is also a graduate from top foreign university, she is very beautiful and as per information gathered from different sources by your parents, she is a down to earth and sweet girl.

The former Chief Minister is also the head of the political party he belongs to and there is every chance that he would become Chief Minister again if his party comes to power in next elections. Your parents are on cloud nine ever since this marriage offer has been proposed.

The former Chief Minister was jailed for few years in the past on corruption and murder charges. There are serious cases still pending against him in different courts. He is very rich. His business empire runs into thousands of crores. He has only one daughter.

His family has liked you a lot for your personality and looks also. They want you to be their Son-in-Law at any cost. The girl has also liked you. Recently they have sent costly gifts to your parents, about which you were unaware of.

(Q.1) Do you think it is unethical for you to marry the girl as you are going to serve in the same state and where there are chances of you working under your future Father-in-Law? Comment. (150 Words)

(Q.2) Will you deny this marriage proposal because your father-in-law was a criminal and many cases against him are pending? Comment. (100 Words)

(Q.3) Critically examine ethical issues involved in this case study. (100 Words)

(12) As a DM of a home district of serving Chief Minister, you find out that a huge land scam has taken place in which close relatives of the Chief Minister are involved. The scam which you have unearthed has caused lots of financial loss to the state՚s exchequer. You have been recently married to a daughter of an MLA who is known as staunch political enemy of the CM.

While you are investigating the matter for further proofs, before you make this issue public, the CM comes to know about this. He threatens you with dire consequences if you do not close the file and bury the matter silently. He threatens you with false criminal cases and CBI investigation in case you do not budge. Unfortunately, a case is pending against you regarding misuse of treasury funds, in which you haven՚t done anything wrong. This case can be reopened and used against you. However, if you stop investigation, he has assured you that you will be given a plum post in the capital.

Q.1 Identify which course of action are available to you. Examine each action՚s merits and demerits. Finally, explain which course of action would you follow and why. (250 Words)

(13) You are working as Junior Engineer in a Tehsil. You have been given responsibility to measure MGNREGA works undertaken by 3 Gram Panchayats. You have authority to give technical sanctions to all MGNREGA works. In one of these Panchayats you notice that your predecessor had wrongly measured many works, and in many cases he had approved works that never existed. One day few elected members of that Panchayat with bundle of job cards come to you to seek ‘sanction’ for the works done by them. When enquired, they reveal that they were contractors who had completed works under MGNREGA. When you reject their demand, they threaten you and tell you that the previous Junior Engineer was made to quit his job because he didn՚t listen to them. This is your first job and is very important to sustain your family. There have been precedents in the past that some junior officials were beaten to death in some parts of the Tehsil.

Q.1 What will you do in this situation? Explain in detail citing rules from MGNREGA Act. (200 Words)

(14) Recently a peon was appointed in your office (DM office) . He is illiterate and mentally not sound. Ever since his appointment he has been more of a ‘burden’ than any help in the office. He doesn՚t know any work. Staff in your office feel that their work is disturbed by his behaviour. The peon is always found to be talking either alone or with anyone he encounters. He is not obeying your staff՚s orders in the office.

He was appointed on sympathy grounds after his father՚s untimely death. His mother is ill and always bedridden. His income is the only source for his family now. He got the job after lobbying by a group representing his caste. He was appointed by your predecessor after he was pressurized by local MP. Some moves to remove him by your predecessor were met with public protests by a group representing his caste.

You are very strict and disciplined in your office. You are being respected in your district for your integrity and honesty. You come to know about the peon few days after you assume power. You have observed his behaviour and found him to be unfit to continue in his job. The peon has no other relatives except his mother.

(Q.1) Identify your moral and professional responsibilities in this case study and explain how will you deal with the peon. (200 Words)

(15) You are travelling in a government bus to attend a very important job interview. In one hour you should be present at the interview venue. The bus is very congested. Luckily you are seated. From your seat you observe that a middle aged man standing next to a girl is touching and trying to molest her. The girl is silently resisting and trying to move away from him. But the man is continuing his actions. As the bus is congested, nobody is noticing this except you.

(Q.1) In this situation, what will you do? Explain. (150 Words)

(Q.2) If you do not do anything, which values will you be compromising? Explain their importance. (200 Words)

(16) As a senior officer in the Ministry of Public Works Department you have access to important policy decisions and upcoming big announcements such as road construction projects before they are notified in the public. Your son is a land dealer and realtor. The Ministry is about to announce a mega road project. Once its is announced, the land price in the vicinity would see a steep hike. You have access to maps and know the dimensions of land to be acquired. Your son wants to know the complete details and he is insisting you about this. He wants to buy the land at present rates which is very cheap in and around the soon to be announced project. He is trying to convince you by saying that he would purchase land confidentially and there would be no problem in future for you. You are aware that the Minister has already shared this information with his children who are also into the land business. In fact, the minister has asked you to do the same so that your son also makes huge profits. He has tried to convince you by saying that his and your children are buying land legally and there is no harm in it.

(Q.1) In this situation, what will you do? Critically examine various conflicts of interests at play in this case study and explain what are your responsibilities as a public servant. (250 words)

(17) Recently you were appointed as Panchayat Secretary. Block Development Officer has called you and other Panchayat Secretaries for a meeting. The meeting is headed by local MLA. In the meeting while taking note of different development activities, he tells everyone to contribute ₹ 20,000⟋- towards building a community hall in nearby town for the benefit of community to which he belongs to. He says that as everyone is taking bribe there is no harm in donating few thousand rupees towards welfare activities.

After the meeting you meet the Block Development Officer and tell him that as you are new to the job you do not have money and moreover it՚s wrong to give money which will be unaccounted. BDO angrily shouts at you and asks you to not only give ₹ 20,000⟋- by whatever means, you should also give him ₹ 5000⟋- every month as part of ‘tradition’ that՚s in practice in his office since past many years. He says that once you learn the skills in your new job, you will start earning more.

(Q.1) How will you react immediately? What course of action you will take later and why? Explain. (250 Words)

(18) You are posted as Superintendent of Police (SP) to a district which has history of communal clashes. You are married to a lady belonging to a particular minority community which has a significant presence in the district. You are cordial with everyone irrespective of their religion and caste. Unfairly you have been accused of having a very close relationship with businessmen and religious heads belonging to a minority community to which your wife belongs. In the past this community was part of communal clashes in the district. As per the stats available, more people from this minority community have died in the past compared to the majority community in the clashes between them.

The media in the district, electronic and print, which is owned by a person affiliated to a large organisation representing the majority religious community, is writing series of articles accusing you of favouritism, nepotism and indifference to crimes committed by criminals belonging to the minority community. Some articles have also criticised you saying that your wife is influencing your decisions in some sensitive investigations. Some splinter organisations representing the majority community have held protests against you too.

(Q.1) In this situation, how will you react? Explain in detail why you will react in a particular way. (200 Words)

(Q.2) Examine which qualities of SP would be put into test in the above case study. (100 Words)

(19) Your husband is watching a news report on rape along with your 8 year old daughter. The report is airing graphic pictures of rape and murder scenes. Your father-in-law who is also watching the report comments that your daughter is not safe on the streets and she should be taught how to dress from now itself so that she would be safe when she grows up. Your husband concurs. In the same hall you are helping your son with his home work while listening to all the conversations happening in the hall. In between your son, who is 12 year old, keeps asking you about what՚s rape, who commits it and why every news channel is talking about only this issue etc. You are focusing only on his home work and not reacting to anything.

(Q.1) Identify the various issues in the case study and give your opinion on them. (250 Words)

(20) A man convicted for rape and murder of two 15 year old girls has been awarded death sentence by the court. His sentence is due in 3 days. You are the in charge of the jail and have been assigned to supervise his death sentence. The convict becomes seriously ill two days before he is about to be hanged. Preliminary medical tests reveal that he has blood cancer. Your colleagues advise you that as he is about to be executed, the matter should be kept as secret and the convict should be kept in his cell. Even jail doctors advise you the same. They also tell you that this convict deserved such a death for his crime.

(Q.1) What will you do in this situation? Explain why. (200 Words)

(21) As a DM, you are doing your best to demolish all illegal encroachments in the district headquarters. This has brought you a good name. At the heart of the city, there is an immediate need of widening a road where lately lots of accidents have taken place because of huge vehicle traffic. In the middle of this road there is a temple which is causing lots of traffic problems thanks to large number of devotees who visit it daily. Investigation reveals that the temple is constructed illegally on government property. If congestion to be eased on the road, the temple must be demolished. You send a notice to temple management. They sensationalize the issue through media by twisting facts. They also politicize the issue. They have also tried to incite communal feelings of devotees. You know that the temple management is getting huge income from the temple and this is one of the reasons why there is stiff opposition for its demolition. You also get frequent calls from prominent politicians requesting you not to go ahead with its demolition. Your family members, who are god-fearing, are also against your decision.

(Q.1) In this situation, what will you do? Explain the consequences and how will you deal with them. (250 Words)

(22) Recently there was a communal clash between communities X and Y in one of the villages under your jurisdiction. It was so severe that, all the people belonging to minority community X, fled from their village. Later they were given shelter in nearby temporary camp. The camp lacked all basic amenities. After few days, law and order was restored in the village. The majority community Y is unwilling to welcome back even a single person from the minority community. Whereas, the minority community do not want to return for the fear of reprisals. People from both the communities were killed and raped during the clashes. As a DM of the district itvs your responsibility to maintain law and order in your jurisdiction. The people in camp are demanding rehabilitation in a new place. They are seeking government help in building new homes, jobs for one member from each of their families and round the clock police protection.

The CM has directed you to find a solution to the impasse. He has specifically told you that rehabilitation is not an option when the properties of the minority community are intact in their village. He is in favour of sending them back to their village.

(Q.1) In this situation what will you do? Explain. (200 Words)

(23) You are the CEO of Zilla Panchayat. A Gram Panchayat Secretary has been assaulted by Gram Panchayat member. The member is an influential figure in the Tehsil and is very close to the local MLA. The Panchayat Secretary is severely injured and is hospitalised. He was assaulted after being caught red handed while taking bribe from a poor woman in the office. The member has the support of villagers and MLA. All these incidences have been brought to your notice by the Block Development Officer.

(Q.1) What will you do in this situation? (200 Words)

(24) Your friend is staying with you and is preparing for the civil services exam along with you. He is from a very poor family. You know him since childhood. You have accommodated him for free of cost in your room. He is not paying for anything. Earlier he used to work hard, but lately he is spending his time mostly watching movies or talking to friends on the phone. There is another friend who wants to move in to your room. He is willing to pay half the rent. He will also arrange his own food.

Though you have made efforts to make your friend realize his mistakes, he still continues to spend time on unproductive activities. He has never disturbed you directly though. Recently the rent was increased. Now it is a burden for you to pay all the rent and food charges of your friend.

(Q.1) What will you do? Explain why. (200 Words)

(25) You are working as an Executive Engineer in the Panchayat Raj division. An RTI activist has filed an application seeking information regarding tender process to project completion of all road projects that you have supervised and allotted since you assumed office. In one of the road projects, under pressure from an influential politician (he had threatened you with life) , you had mismanaged the tender allotment process and allotted works to the politician՚s brother who is a contractor. The project was worth ₹ 20 crores. The road constructed was substandard.

(Q.1) In this situation, what are your moral obligations and what course of action will you take? Explain. (250 Words)

(26) You are working as Home Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. During your tenure, you have acted toughly against anti-national elements including many banned terrorist organisations. While on a private trip, you have been abducted by terrorists belonging to a banned terrorist group. They have demanded the release of all the terrorists jailed in different parts of the country in exchange for your safe release, failing which you will be killed. They are asking you to record a video message for the government appealing them to release all the prisoners for your own safe release. They have given an ultimatum of one week for the government to respond, failing which your video message would be sent as last resort for the government to act.

(Q.1) Examine the ethical issues involved in the above case study. (50 Words)

(Q.2) Will you record a video statement as demanded by them to influence the government? Explain why. (200 Words)

(27) You are serving as Superintendent of Police (SP) in a district notorious for kidnapping cases. In one such kidnapping case, ten school girls have been kidnapped and hidden in an unknown place. In previous cases, where one or two girls were kidnapped, they were sold to prostitution racquet in a foreign country. Your team, under your guidance tracks the kingpin of these kidnappings and arrests him. During routine interrogation, the arrested kingpin do not reveal any location names nor he talks about anything related to kidnappings. Your sources clearly tell you that he is the one behind all kidnappings. Even after using all legal methods to get information from him, your efforts have not yielded any result. Your friend, who is an SP in another district suggests you to torture the kingpin to get information. You are aware of the situation that the girls might be sold and trafficked to a foreign country if you further delay investigation.

(Q.1) What will you do in such a situation? Is it ethical to torture a person to save other innocent lives? Critically comment. (200 Words)

(28)

(Q.1) What teachings of Lord Buddha are most relevant today and why? Critically examine. (200 Words)

You are the principal of a girls residential high school. One day a girl from an hostel complains that her warden, a lady who is also her class teacher, had beaten her last night for falling asleep early. It is a rule in the hostel that every student should study till 10 pm. The girl has suffered minor injury on her head because of the beating. The girl is requesting you to allow her to go home for treatment. You are aware that if her parents comes to know about this incident, things might turn ugly and also the issue could be sensationalised by the media, which in turn would affect the reputation of your school.

(Q.2) In this situation, what will you do and why? Explain. (200 Words)

(29)

(Q. 1) Looking at the ongoing conflicts around the world, which world leader of the past would you have liked to see him⟋her today to solve these conflicts and why? Comment. (200 Words)

You are a civil services aspirant. One day in a narrow colony of the city where you stay, you observe that a woman is manually cleaning human excreta. She is wearing uniform given by the local municipality.

(Q.2) What will you do in this situation and what should be done by you ideally? Explain why. (200 Words)

(30)

(Q.1) What do you understand by ethics of war? Identify and critically comment on different ethical dimensions that a war between two or more nations or a war between a nation and a terrorist group gives rise to. (250 Words)

You are a boss of a small private organisation. You are about to meet important clients who will be visiting your office shortly. But you get a call from your wife that your son who is suffering from autism is performing dance in his school, which is first for you both and a very happy occasion. The meeting which was scheduled can not be postponed, moreover if the meeting is successful, your company benefits enormously in terms of new contracts. As you deem son՚s performance is more important than the business deal, you ask your personal assistant to call the clients and tell them that you are unwell and the meeting can be held tomorrow.

(Q.2) Identify different personal and professional ethical issues present and examine if any values have been compromised in the above case study? (200 Words)

(31)

(Q. 1) What do you understand by ethics in public administration? Why is it important? Explain. (200 Words)

Your friend who is travelling with you in a train gives ten rupees to an eight year old girl who is begging for money. An elderly co-passenger comments that it is unethical to give money like that and it would make these children lazy forever. Another co-passenger, a middle aged lady sympathises with the girl and tells the elderly man that the girl must be an orphan thus needs money for sustenance and she goes on to appreciate your friend for giving the girl money.

(Q.2) Whom will you support in this situation? Explain why. (200 Words)

(32) (Q.1) Effective utilization of public funds is critical to meeting development goals. Critically examine the reasons behind under-utilisation and misutilisation of public funds and their implications. Also suggest with examples how public funds can be effectively utilised. (250 Words)

(Q.2) Write a note on the ethics of utilisation of public funds. (200 Words)

(Q.3) Your father is persuading your sister to study medicine after her 12th Class results. Your sister wants to study engineering in a famous college. Because of her good ranks in entrance exams she can get admission for both engineering and medicine in top colleges. Your father tells her that he has invested lots of money and time for her education, moreover he and his wife are getting old and are tired of frequent bouts of illness. He tells her that if she becomes doctor she can look after him and your mother when they get old. Your sister, despite your father՚s persuasion, decides to go for engineering course. Your father is shocked by her decision and has fallen sick, but your sister doesn՚t want to change her decision.

  1. In the above case study, was your father right in persuading your sister against her will? Substantiate. (150 Words)
  2. Do you support your sister՚s decision? Explain why. (150 Words)

(33)

(Q.1) Which values do you think should constitute moral norms and values of governance? Explain them. (200 Words)

(Q.2) A multi-storey building which was illegally constructed collapses and kills fifty innocent workers – including women and children. These workers were poor migrants from far away villages. The building was allowed to construct only three storeys, but the builder has violated the rules and raised four more storeys. The government immediately announces cash relief to aggrieved families. The builder is arrested and put under court trial.

(a) On whom does the ultimate blame for the death of fifty innocent lives rest – government or builder? Explain why. (200 Words)

(b) Is it morally correct to give cash relief to the diseased families in this case? Substantiate why. (150 Words)

(34)

(Q.1) Critically examine the key issues and constraints in the implementation of Right to Information Act. (250 Words)

(Q.2) At all time, a public servant՚s priority should be serving his nation and its citizens, not the family. Do you agree with this view? Substantiate (200 Words)

(35) “Even as the Ebola crisis rages onward in west Africa, a World Health Organization panel concluded on August 11 that offering patients promising experimental Ebola drugs with unknown side effects and efficacy would be ethical.”

(Q.1) This is a recent news published in an American journal. Do you think it is ethical to use untested drugs on Ebola victims? Substantiate your answer on the basis of ethical principles. (200 Words)

(Q.2) Some people argue that indulging in small scale corruption is not an unethical practice if it leads to efficiency or speedy delivery of services in public offices. Do you agree with this view? Substantiate. (200 Words)

(36) (Q.1) A school van carrying 20 children hits a passenger bus en-route to school. Three women in the passenger bus and 4 children in the school van die on the spot. It was the fault of driver of school van who jumped the signal and hit the passenger bus. The driver of school van escapes unhurt and then escapes from the accident spot. The government announces cash relief to all the victims – dead and injured. At the same time, the government cancels recognition to the school to which the van belongs to. The police, on complaint from the aggrieved parents, arrests the principal of the school and a search party is sent to arrest the absconding driver.

  1. Is government right in its actions mentioned in the case study? Substantiate. (200 Words)
  2. Is it right to arrest the school principal? Explain why. (150 Words)

(Q.2) What are the important elements of Emotional Intelligence (EI) ? Explain the importance of EI in family life. (200 Words)

(37) You are in charge of rescue operations in a severely flood hit area. Thousands of people are stranded in deep waters in their homes without food and drinking water for 3 - 4 days. Because of rough topography and heavy rainfall, the rescue operation is slow. When your men reach stranded people, they heckle and assault your men out of anger. One of your team members is severely injured in these fights. Your team members request you to call off operation as they are scared of facing angry people and also they are angry about the behaviour of those stranded people. At the same time, media is writing negative news about your efforts.

(Q.1) In such circumstances as mentioned in above case study, how will you manage the situation? For a person in your position, examine which qualities should be on display during this type of situations? (200 Words)

(38) A criminal who is convicted and awarded death sentence for raping and murdering five girls, minutes before his hanging, anxiously asks a jail official if getting hanged is painful. The official tells him that it is not as painful as getting raped and murdered. The convict is hanged as per the procedure.

(Q.1) What ethical issues do you see in this scenario? Critically examine various arguments for and against capital punishment. (250 Words)

(39) You are working as Superintendent of Police. In a village which comes under your jurisdiction a gang rapes has taken place. A school teacher has been raped by four youths. The parents of the lady directly complain you that the local Sub-Inspector has not registered case against those youths and moreover, when their daughter went to register a complain, he insulted and then threatened her with consequences if she went before media or made the case public. They also tell you that the lady teacher was not sent for medical check-up. Now the media doesn՚t know about the case, nor does the public. The parents allege that the local Sub-Inspector has taken bribe from those youth and has let them off without registering a case against them. Now the parents are saying that as a last resort they would go before the media, but they are scared about revelation of their daughter՚s identity and losing her job too.

(Q.1) In this scenario, what will you do? Explain. (200 Words)

(40) You are working as DM of a district where illegal mining of sand is rampant. Recently there was an accident between a truck illegally carrying sand and a government passenger bus. Many passengers died on the spot because of the accident. Ever since you assumed power, you are trying to curb this illegal mining of sand. Because of negligence and involvement of police officers at local level, illegal mining is going on in many parts of the district despite your efforts to curb it. These trucks which travel on narrow village roads, have not only damaged roads, they have also caused traffic problem for passenger vehicles frequently causing accidents.

The media and some people from a political party are protesting against you after the bus accident. They are saying that you are working hands in glove with the sand Mafia. There is also an accusation that you have some personal rivalry with the Superintendent of Police. Moreover, even local media is portraying you as someone intentionally allowing illegal sand mining in the district.

(Q.1) In this situation, what are your options? How will you deal with accusations? And how will you manage the situation? (250 Words)

(41) Rajanna had borrowed money from a private bank to buy a tractor. He was a farmer who grew sugar-cane on his two acres irrigated land. He bought the tractor from the money he had received from bank loan. He also used part of the money to pay dowry and expenses for his daughter՚s wedding. Owing to price drop in sugar cane in the market, he consistently defaulted on his bank loan. Fortunately he owned irrigated land and he was confident of repaying the debt within two years if the price of sugar cane improved. The bank authorities had sent him few notices. However, recently the bank decided to publish the photographs of defaulters in the public places and in local newspaper to put pressure on them. Rajanna, who was a respected individual in his village was shocked to know this and committed suicide.

After few days, the bank auctioned his tractor off too. Rajanna՚s wife and children have complained against the bank to the police accusing it of killing Rajanna.

(Q.1) Was it ethical for the bank to take a decision to publish photographs of loan defaulters? Explain. (150 Words)

(Q.2) Critically comment on ethical aspects of Rajanna՚s deeds. (250 Words)

(42) You are a senior police officer working at the state police headquarters. Your wife is a Commissioner in the Higher Education Department. Recently an RTI activist has filed an RTI application seeking all the information related to purchases made by the department for the government colleges. At the behest of the minister, almost double the amount was spent by the department to purchase furniture and computers for all the state run colleges. If the real facts come out, your wife will be at risk of getting suspended and if corruption charges proved, she might even go to jail. The RTI activist is actually a close friend of yours. You come to know that he is targeting the minister in charge of the department and has nothing against your wife. He also tells you that he is ready to withdraw application as a gesture of friendship.

(Q.1) In this situation, what will you do? Explain. (250 Words)

(43) You are the Principal of a famous government run residential school. Your son, who is studying in 12th standard in your school is extremely poor in Mathematics. Your wife is worried that if your son fails, he might slip into depression. You are also afraid that his failure would bring a bad reputation to you. You have never pressurised him to study though. Your son is good in other subjects and he is also a very good athlete in the school who has won lots of awards and medals in various competitions. Your wife is also worried that failing in 12th standard might encourage him to discontinue his studies forever. In this regard, during ongoing board exams, your wife requests you to allow him to cheat in the exam. She requests you to talk to Mathematics teacher who is a family friend of yours to help your son during the exam. As a Principal of the college, you can do this to help your son just pass the exam.

(Q.1) What are the options available to you? (150 Words)

(Q.2) Evaluate each of these options and choose the option that you would adopt, giving reasons. (200 Words)

(44) You are visiting a famous animal zoo with your husband and two children. Your family is near a lion՚s enclosure enjoying the view of Asiatic lion pride. Your husband is explaining to your children some interesting facts about these lions. While doing so, an 18 year old boy, standing next to your husband, starts climbing the barricade to get a full view of the pride. Unfortunately, he slips and falls into lion enclosure. Around 2 - 3 lions approach him and start mauling him while the public is watching with shock. Around you there are no security guards or any authorities from zoo. Few minutes later, the body of the boy is torn apart by the lions.

(Q.1) In situation like this, what will you do? Explain. (100 Words)

(Q.2) Recently an incident similar to above case study was reported in news. On whom will you put blame for the death of the boy in the above case study? Explain why. (150 Words)

At home, your husband is arguing that security guards (assuming they were around the enclosure) should have shot dead lions to save the boy. But you are putting blame on the boy himself. To support his argument, your husband is asking you what would you have done if one of your children had fallen into the enclosure – shoot lions (assuming you had fully loaded gun) or stand there watching helplessly?

(Q.3) In the light of above arguments, critically comment if it is ethical to kill animals to save humans? (200 Words)

(45) As a Block Development Officer, you were invited to preside over a Gram Sabha meeting in one of Gram Panchayats falling under your jurisdiction. The Gram Sabha was called to take a decision on two crucial things: to identify and confiscate fake job cards used under MGNREGA scheme and to choose the beneficiaries to allot houses under Indira Awas Yojana. You had ordered a month ago to all Gram Panchayat secretaries to conduct programs to create awareness and advertise about coming Gram Sabha so that people would participate in large numbers.

Unfortunately, on the day of Gram Sabha to which you were invited, very few villagers turned up. It is mandatory that at least one tenth of members of Gram Sabha (those whose names are in electoral rolls) attend the Gram Sabha. But on that day less than one tenth were in attendance. At the same time, all the Panchayat members were present. They all insisted that the Gram Sabha should continue as people would slowly come and attend as the meeting progressed. Somehow you were convinced and the meeting started. Those few who attended were chosen by vote to get homes allotted after verification that they met the criteria under the Indira Awas Scheme. Job card verification was not possible as there were no people at the meeting.

Next day you received a complaint by a villager accusing Panchayat members of coercing Panchayat Secretary to conduct Gram Sabha on a date when villagers had gone out to neighbouring village to attend a festival. According to the complaint this was done to stop the identification of fake job cards, which some elected Panchayat members had themselves created to siphon off money. The complaint also alleged that you and Panchayat ecretary had taken bribe from Panchayat members to conduct a fake Gram Sabha meeting. There was also allegation that beneficiaries who got allotted IAY houses were actually all relatives of Panchayat members present on the day of Gram Sabha.

(Q.1) Identify the major issues and your options in the case study. (150 Words)

(Q.2) As a responsible officer what were your duties prior to conducting Gram Sabha and what course of action you should follow after receiving the complaint. (200 Words)