UPSC Mains 2016 GS4 Previous Year Questions

Question list

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1. Q1(a) · Explain how ethics contributes to social and human well-being.
2. Q1(b) · Why should impartiality and non-partisanship be considered foundational values in public services, especially in the present-day socio-political context? Illustrate with examples.
3. Q2(a) · What do you understand by the terms 'governance', 'good governance' and 'ethical governance'?
4. Q2(b) · Discuss Mahatma Gandhi's concept of seven sins.
5. Q3(a) · Analyse John Rawls's concept of social justice in the Indian context.
6. Q3(b) · Discuss the Public Services Code as recommended by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission.
7. Q4(a) · Corruption causes misuse of government treasury, administrative inefficiency and obstruction in the path of national development. Discuss Kautilya's views.
8. Q4(b) · How could social influence and persuasion contribute to the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?
9. Q5 · Law and ethics are considered two tools for controlling human conduct to make it conducive to civilized social existence. (a) Discuss how they achieve this objective. (b) Giving examples, show how they differ in their approaches.
10. Q6 · Our attitudes towards life, work, other people and society are often shaped unconsciously by family and social surroundings; some acquired attitudes and values are undesirable in a modern democratic and egalitarian society. (a) Discuss such undesirable attitudes and values prevalent among today's educated Indians. (b) How can they be changed and socio-ethical values cultivated in aspiring and serving civil servants?
11. Q7 · Anger is a harmful negative emotion injurious to personal and work life. (a) Discuss how it leads to negative emotions and undesirable behaviours. (b) How can it be managed and controlled?
12. Q8 · Max Weber said it is not wise to apply to public administration the same moral and ethical norms applied to matters of personal conscience, and that State bureaucracy may possess its own independent bureaucratic morality. Critically analyse this statement.
13. Q9 · A fresh engineering graduate joins a prestigious chemical industry and discovers that highly toxic waste is being secretly discharged into a nearby river, causing health problems for downstream villagers. Colleagues advise silence because anyone raising the issue is dismissed. She is sole breadwinner for an ailing family, but her conscience urges action. (a) What arguments show that keeping quiet is not morally right? (b) What course of action would you advise and why?
14. Q10 · Land for mining, dams and other large projects is acquired mainly from Adivasis, hill dwellers and rural communities. Monetary compensation is often delayed and cannot sustain families; displaced people lack marketable skills and become low-paid migrant labourers, while development benefits accrue to industries and urban communities. If tasked with drafting a better compensation-cum-rehabilitation policy, how would you approach the problem and what main elements would your policy contain?
15. Q11 · You are an officer implementing a social service scheme for old and destitute women. An old illiterate woman clearly appears destitute and enquiries confirm her condition, but she lacks the documents required by the scheme. Including her without documents violates rules; denying support is cruel and inhuman. (a) Can you think of a rational way to resolve the dilemma? (b) Give reasons.
16. Q12 · You are a young sincere Government employee working as assistant to a director whom you respect professionally. While visiting his home for urgent official work, you hear a woman crying and later learn that he behaves badly and physically abuses his wife. Analyze the consequences of: (a) ignoring it as a personal matter; (b) reporting it to the appropriate authority; and (c) your own innovative approach.
17. Q13 · ABC Ltd., a large transnational company, plans an energy-efficient plant in underdeveloped Vikaspuri, matching government policy and tax incentives. The plant may lower production costs and generate employment but could raise living costs, attract migration and disturb local social and economic order. Despite CSR assurances, residents protest and approach the judiciary. (a) Identify the issues involved. (b) Suggest how the company's goals and residents' concerns can both be addressed.
18. Q14 · Saraswati, a successful IT professional who returned from the USA, forms an NGO with friends to build a high-quality low-cost school for a poor rural community. She faces confusing permissions, delays, callous officials and repeated bribe demands, discouraging genuine social-service efforts. Government control over voluntary work is necessary but should not be coercive or corrupt. What measures would ensure due control without thwarting well-meaning, honest NGO efforts?