WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.

COM

www.optimizeias.com

Mains Master Notes 2023

Subject: GS 4 (Ethics)
Topic: Good life and Values

1
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Contents
What is a good life and is good life a “Happy Life”? ............................................................................. 3
Aristotle view on good life ..................................................................................................................... 3
Why Aristotle rejects pleasure? ............................................................................................................. 3
So, what brings happiness?.................................................................................................................... 4
How can we become happy? ................................................................................................................. 7
Ethics ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
What is the “Value” spectrum for a good life? ..................................................................................... 8
Values and Good Society........................................................................................................................ 9
Types of values ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Values driving to a good life ................................................................................................................ 11
Value crisis in Society ........................................................................................................................... 11
Way out : .............................................................................................................................................. 12

2
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

What is a good life and is good life a “Happy Life”?

The basic question of ethics as derived from the discussions of Socratic school to which
Aristotle (first one to write systematically on ethics) belongs is: “What is a good Life or How
best men should live”?
Goodness here is a measure overall quality of life. It’s idea might vary from person to
person depending upon the philosophy of life. However, there seems certain consensus on
certain aspects of goodness or good life. One such view is “Good life must be a happy life”
or pursuit of happiness is a natural inclination of human being. Certainly, a life devoid of
happiness can’t be good life. But even this happiness is different for different persons.
He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with
external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life. (Nicomachean
Ethics

Aristotle view on good life

• The good life is that one which flourishes and that in which individuals live well.
• Good life is a happy life, with one not just being amused or having a happy feeling
but rather having a fulfilled life.
Many people equate good life with the conception of pleasure and in which individual live
well i.e., earning good wealth and enjoying all luxuries. But many others do not agree with
this idea. What about those who get pleasurable things by wrong means. Is that a fulfilling
life?

Why Aristotle rejects pleasure?

He contended that what separates man from animal is rational capacity – arguing that a
human’s unique function is to reason. He went on to say that pleasure alone cannot result in
happiness because animals are driven by the pursuit of pleasure and according to Aristotle
man has greater capacities than animals
Aristotle consider virtue as vital component of good life. For a fulfilling life a virtuous life is
an important factor. However, for Aristotle being virtuous itself does not identify with the
good life. Thus, for him good life can be achieved by happiness.

3
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

So, what brings happiness?

The purpose of life is to be happy. -Dalai lama

Aristotle asked, “what is the ultimate purpose of human existence?”. He thought that a
worthwhile goal should be to pursue “that which is always desirable in itself and never for
the sake of something else”

4
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Generally, above four are considered essential for happiness as per widely held believe
today. Or these can be considered means to lead a happy or good life.

• Wealth and pleasure For Aristotle, “Happiness is an activity of the soul in

seek to pursue accordance with perfect virtue.” i.e,
physical and
Aristotle acknowledged the fact that happiness always
sensuous pleasure,
constitutes a pursuit of pleasure but it is always the
thereby for many it
pleasures of the soul that contribute most to happiness.
makes life happy. Aristotle believed that a virtuous life where one follows
• Similarly, health is an a golden mean between two extremes was the primary
important source of happiness. For him, a virtuous life can be
determinant as acquired by application of reason and by deliberate
without a good action in the cultivation of virtues such as courage,
health one is not in moderation, liberality, generosity, gentleness, justice,
right frame of mind and integrity, among others.
whereby, he can
truly enjoy or be
happy.
• Reputation is also an
important aspect
which is result of
once achievements or good works done which gives a sense of satisfaction or
fulfilling life. Ex- Bill Gates reputation for getting involved in improving health and
sanitation of poor areas in India.
However, as Oscar Wilde sums up limitation of this approach is, “Happy indeed I was if
pleasure be happiness”. Thus, such a view may be like equating pleasure with happiness.
These cannot be ultimate happiness because, these are not permanent. They depend upon
external situations. For example how you use wealth, will ultimately decide your happiness.
If you misuse your wealth, you may end up being unhappy. Ultimately, it is your value
which will decide if wealth will make you happy or not.
Further, wealth doesn’t give us happiness. It is what wealth allows us to do gives us
happiness. Therefore, wealth cannot be equated to happiness.
A key component of Aristotle’s theory of happiness is the factor of virtue. He contended
that in aiming for happiness, the most important factor is to have ‘complete virtue’ or – in
other words – good moral character

5
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

But these may not be sufficient conditions for being happy?

• As the box shows the key Does material pleasure translate into happiness?
to happiness may not be
as straightforward as • According to the Time magazine article, “Six New
Rules for Happier Spending,” recent research says
equating it to above four
$75,000 is the magic annual income for day-to-
things. These can be a
day happiness. Anything above this threshold
just an enabler in pursuit does not appear statistically to add to day-to-
of happiness. day happiness for most people (Easterlin
• Modern scientific Paradox (happiness economics), and incremental
research also indicates dollars above $75,000 add to overall
that there is a strong contentment but not to joy. Money, then, only
connection between provides happiness up to the point of being able
happiness and altruism, to provide for our basic needs.
which was also noted by • According to KPMG’s “Global Profiles of the
many in the past. For Fraudster: Technology Enables and Weak
Controls Fuel the Fraud,” 66 percent of frauds are
example, Jean-Jacques
perpetrated for personal financial gain and greed.
Rousseau stated: “I know
• Another example is the taking of drugs, which is
and feel that to do good becoming more and more of a problem in our
is the truest happiness society today. For a fairly small price, one can
the human heart can immediately take one’s mind off of one’s troubles
savour.” and experience deep euphoria by popping an
• But happiness may be oxycontin pill or snorting some cocaine. Yet,
much more than material inevitably, this short-term pleasure will lead to
pleasure or altruism longer term pain.
alone. Because one may not be possible without other. Thus, there may be need of a
fair balance between two.
• In Aristotelian term it may be Pleasure of soul.
• This pleasure of soul is driven by virtue or values or to be more comprehensive,
driven by ethics.
So, what is happiness?

• Something which is permanent. Ex- Playing which we enjoyed as a child was

temporary as with growing age it may not give us same pleasure.
• It should independent of surrounding. i.e., something nobody can give to us or take
away from us (“What someone possesses for himself, what accompanies him in
solitude and that nobody can give to him or take from him, is much more essential
than all that he possesses and all that he is in the eyes of others.”)
• It should be an end itself. i.e., While we can pursue money for the security and
comfort it provides or we can seek fame in order to be popular, happiness is an end
in itself
• It is state of inner well-being characterized by peace, harmony, etc. i.e., What
mahatma Gandhi said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what
you do are in harmony i.e., complete synchrony of individual”

6
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

How can we become happy?

➢ For someone like Enlightenment philosopher, Immanuel Kant happiness depended
on following a moral code, a person should do what made her/ him worthy of being
happy, which meant engaging in acts that were deemed morally and ethically just.
➢ Emphasis on a virtuous life, possessing qualities such as honour, compassion,
integrity, courage and so on while eschewing a life of material possessions and
promoting self-promotion.
➢ Happiness has something to do with the quality of life one pursues, not just how
much money one has or sensual pleasures.
➢ This comes with the focus on our inner spirit because that is the “real” source of our
happiness. It is only when we decide to opt out of having a purely materialistic
existence that is marked by avarice, selfishness, and self-aggrandizement and
cultivate the much more rich, fulfilling and uplifting life of the inner spirit and
engage in acts of altruism that we have the potential to experience happiness in our
daily life.
➢ Treating Happiness as an end or “supreme good”, and directing all our efforts guided
by values and ethics to achieve this end. This gives us a fulfilling experience and
brings in happiness. Ex- Mahatma Gandhi is considered epitome of following ethical
values and the synergy it brought was the source of happiness for him, rather than
some powerful political position or authority.
➢ Aristotle's way to achieve happiness
(a) Certain goods (e.g., life and health) are necessary preconditions for happiness
(b) Others (wealth, friends, fame, and honour) are embellishments that promote or
fill out a good life for a virtuous person
(c) It is the possession and exercise of virtue which is the core constitutive element
of happiness.
Thus, the virtuous person alone can attain happiness and the virtuous person can
never be miserable in the deepest sense, even in the face of misfortune which keeps
him from being happy or blessed. So, happiness combines an element over which
we have greater control (virtue) with elements over which we have lesser control
(health, wealth, friends, etc.).
Values, ethics have a greater role to play in shaping the virtue of individual which can drive
us towards happiness

Ethics
Ethics is a set of standards that society places on itself and which helps guide behaviour,
choices and actions. (2nd ARC)

7
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Ethics is not just contemplation about good life, but also how best to achieve it. Thus, ethics
is a practical approach to lead a good life which can translate to Aristotle’s “Supreme Good”
i.e., Happiness.

Understanding ethics and relation to “Happy life”

Ethics help use in understanding:
Is it wrong to seek happiness by fulfilling self-interest?
Is unintended killing of innocents in war justified?
How the current unequal world right, merit-based or unjustified?
Being in a position of authority, if someone achieve personal gains without harming others
interest, Is it good or bad?
What is good life? – Should one be virtuous or knowledge seeking or materialistic to achieve
happiness in life?
Ethics deals with right and wrong of all these and much more at different levels. As a
subject it includes fundamental issues of practical decision making, and its major
concerns include the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human
actions can be judged right or wrong, thus shaping idea of good and happy life and how
best to lead such a life.

What is the “Value” spectrum for a good life?

Creative thinking and reason impart every generation to dream about their idea of good life
and leads to the development of civilization. These dreams vary over individual, society,
culture with each shaped by own idea of values. Still, some commonalities of values could
be found in determining good life.
But before that we must know and define values:
Values:
➢ Values are important part of human consciousness which prompts and guides the
quest for goodness, good society and good life.
Definition:
➢ Values are the evaluating standards we use for deciding what is right or wrong,
good or bad, desirable or undesirable. We as a human being have an inner self
which analyses various life experiences consciously and unconsciously and attaches
significance to these experiences. And the basis of this evaluation is values based on
which we say “someone is good or bad”.

8
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

➢ Values are gathered through external environment, family, as well as experiences.

This value system set standards and guidelines which affects:
1. Attitude
2. Preferences
3. Goals
4. Aspirations
5. Behaviour
6. Quality of relationship we build
Ex- Those valuing money, power will be guided by human relationship just as an
instrumental thing to pursue money, power. They may also ignore social, moral and ethical
considerations. On the other hand, persons valuing values like morality, justice, kindness
etc. may even suffer losses in career or wealth and not compromise with their principles.
The quality of living space we create is thus shaped by our value system. Thus, Swami
Vivekanand says:
“They (values) are the very core of our behaviour, the motive force of our lives”.

Values and Good Society

➢ Like values shape once living space, the collective value system shape a society.
Society like India emphasizes on Collectivism, values society, cohesion over
individual ambitions, liberty etc.
➢ On the other hand, the society in the West support a society with less or no restrain
on the individual.
➢ The human value perception in a society decides if it will be a caring or ruthless
society. A balance between moral and material value system determines a good
society.
➢ Different ideals like liberalism, socialism, democracy etc. determine the goodness
and an equitable society and its ideals. Further, institutions (judiciary, executive
etc.) and professions, trade etc. are also provided for common good of society to
bring in material aspect.

Types of values
1. Material values: It signifies the contribution made by material goods and services in
improving the quality of life. At the most basic level , survival of humans need
fulfilment of certain minimum material needs: food, clothing , housing .They may be
called basic survival values. Human beings are not satisfied with merelay keeing the
body and soul together. They do not want to meraky live but
2. Societal values: They refer to those values which go into making a good society for
eg equality and justice

9
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

3. Moral and Ethical values: These are concerned with realising the goodness in human
life. Examples of ethical values are integrity, fairness, discipline.
4. Human Values: They signify the whole range of values which go into making human
life meaningful, fulfilling and valuable. It denotes family of value like kindness,
compassion, benevolence, mercy.

10
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Values driving to a good life

A good life must be free from wants and deprivations. It must have an adequate level of
“material decencies” to provide material comforts (food, shelter, health...) to provide for
enjoyment and enlargement of life.
However, it does not mean mere biological level of subsistence with 24*7 struggle for same.
It must have space for relaxation and recreation. Values associated with such material
fulfilment are called material values.
A good life is possible in a good society, and such a society seeks to achieve peace,
harmony, well-being of all (or “Sarvodaya”). The good life is inspired by love and guided by
knowledge.
The good life must be inspired one, full of interest, dynamism and creativity. At the same
time love is the foundation of all goodness.
But though the good life should be inspired by love, its goal, ambitions and directions must
be guided by rational thinking and it is here value comes to play an important role.

Value crisis in Society

The deepening value crisis in the contemporary society is casting its evil shadow in all walks
of our life. Even after 75 years of progress in economy, science , industry it is doubtful if we
are moving towards a just and happy society. This is because of value crisis which is
manifesting at various levels:

1. Value crisis at the level of individual:

• Self-individualism: We as individuals are more concerned about our personal
gains without considering for common good.
• Steep rise in right consciousness: Individuals are more concerned about
rights rather than duties.
• Double Standard of value judgement: A much higher one for others and a
much lower one for ourselves.
2. Value crisis at societal level : Deadening of social consciousness
3. Intellectual Crisis: There is decline in intellectual honesty, humility and objectivity
which were earlier considered
4. Value crisis at cultural level: It is reflected in the confusing ambivalent attitude
towards their culture . Westernisation and modernisation is taking youth away from
Indian culture.

11
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Way out :
There is a need for value revolution. This has to be carried out by educational institutions.
Developing value consciousness has been the traditional Indian concept of education. Value
education is particularly important for students in professional and technical education.
NCERT

• The National Curriculum Framework, 2005 brought out by NCERT recommended an

integrated and holistic approach for nurturing universal human values and
constitutional values at all stages of education to ensure all round development of
students and building of a healthy society. The new syllabi and textbooks for all
subjects at all stages have been developed in consonance with the above principles
of National Curriculum Framework, 2005.
A resource book for teachers on ‘Ways to Peace’ has been published by NCERT
during 2010 for promotion and wider dissemination of values of peace. NCERT has
also finalized a framework on ‘Education for Values in Schools’.

• The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, developed by the National Council
of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) emphasizes on ethical development,
inculcating the values, attitudes and skills such as human rights, justice, tolerance,
co-operation, social responsibility, non-violence and respect for cultural diversity,
etc. required for living in harmony with oneself and with others. The NCERT
textbooks, developed on the basis of NCF, 2005, prescribe and integrate themes and
examples related to moral conduct across the subject areas and across the various
stages of school education in the syllabi and textbooks for classes I-XII.
• University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched a policy framework- “Mulya
Pravah – Guidelines for Inculcation of Human values and Professional Ethics in
Higher Educational Institutions”. It emphasizes that stakeholders of an institution, be
they faculty, students, administrators or others, should be guided by the core values
like integrity, dedication, trusteeship, sustainability, inclusiveness, commitment,
respectfulness, harmony and belongingness.
• The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 also provides for ethical reasoning,
traditional Indian values and all basic human and Constitutional values such as seva,
ahimsa, swachchhata, satya, nishkam karma, shanti, sacrifice, tolerance, diversity,
pluralism, righteous conduct, gender sensitivity, respect for elders, respect for all
people and their inherent capabilities regardless of background, etc

12
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

CSE MAINS 2023

www.optimizeias.com

https://t.me/asksantoshsir

MAINS MASTER NOTES

ATTITUDE

1|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Contents
SOCIAL COGNITION ....................................................................................................................................... 3
ATTITUDES..................................................................................................................................................... 3
CLASSIFICATION OF ATTITUDE ...................................................................................................................... 4
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE ........................................................................................................................ 5
FORMATION OF ATTITUDE............................................................................................................................ 5
FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE ............................................................................................................................. 8
WHEN AND WHY DO ATTITUDES INFLUENCE BEHAVIOUR?......................................................................... 9
HOW DO ATTITUDES GUIDE BEHAVIOUR? ................................................................................................. 12
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AND DEALING WITH IT ....................................................................................... 16
ATTRIBUTION .............................................................................................................................................. 19
IMPRESSION FORMATION........................................................................................................................... 23
Social Categorization................................................................................................................................... 23
Implicit Personality Theories....................................................................................................................... 24
SOCIAL INTERACTION .................................................................................................................................. 24
PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION .............................................................................................................. 25
SCAPEGOATING ........................................................................................................................................... 25
AGGRESSION ............................................................................................................................................... 27
PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR.............................................................................................................................. 29

2|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

SOCIAL COGNITION
Social cognition aims to explain ways in which people think about others and how does such
thinking influence their behaviour towards them. Within social cognition we will be exploring
attitudes, impression formation and attribution.

ATTITUDES
People may have a favourable or unfavorable reaction to issues such as climate change, ban on
cigarettes, banning of fire-crackers, an object, an individual in particular, or certain social
groups. Some attitudes appear to be stable and resistant to change, while others may be unstable
and show considerable variability as the situation may demand. Our attitude could be of great
certainty with respect to some issues while it might be cloudy with regard to others.
Do you have strong attitudes towards same-sex marriage, liquor ban, having a uniform civil
code, bringing political parties within the ambit of RTI or whether India should move towards a
Presidential form of government or not? or do you feel somewhat uncertain about what position
to hold on these issues? Do our beliefs about climate change depend on our experience with
abnormal weather events, or is it based on your perception that there is a high likelihood that you
will be affected (e.g., If you are living near a coast are rising sea levels are a cause for worry).

An attitude can be defined as a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain

idea, person, object, or situation.
Social psychologists refer to attitude as people’s evaluation of almost any aspect of the world.
Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) define an attitude as:
“a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner
with respect to a given object”.

This tendency, developed through peoples’ experiences as they live and work with others, can
affect the way they behave towards those ideas, people, objects, and situations and can include
opinions, beliefs, and biases. Attitudes influence the way people view these things before actual
exposure to them.
Psychologists use specific terms to describe certain classes of attitudes. For
e.g.,

3|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● an attitude towards the self is called self-esteem

● negative attitudes towards specific groups are called prejudice
● attitudes towards individuals are called interpersonal attraction
● attitude towards own job is called job satisfaction

CLASSIFICATION OF ATTITUDE
1. Explicit attitude: When a person is aware of his or her attitudes and it influence his
behaviour and beliefs, his attitudes are explicit. Explicit attitudes are formed consciously.
2. Implicit attitude: When one is unaware of his or her implicit beliefs though it still has
some influence on his conduct and behaviour, it is called implicit attitude. Implicit
attitudes are subconscious attitudes.

Attitudes occur in pairs out of which one is conscious and the other unconscious. Some of the
examples are:
Conscious Unconscious
Extroversion Introversion
Rational Irrational
Individual Social
Abstract Creative

Democratic attitude vs Bureaucratic attitude

Democratic attitude

• Democratic attitude refers to support and preference to popular opinion, maximum happiness
for maximum people, promoting participation of people in administration. It involves values
like transparency, accountability, responsiveness etc.
• It Improves effectiveness of public service delivery, brings in flexibility in programme
design and implementation. However, it also at times slows down decision-making process
and difficult to arrive at wide consensus

Bureaucratic attitude

• This refers to an attitude where decisions are strictly according to law, importance to public
opinion is not given much (law and rules are supreme), strictly and rigidly following
decision-making process, it involves objectivity, neutrality, secrecy etc. some of the values
associated with it.
• Benefit of this attitude in administration is adherence to laws, rules as well as fast decision-
making.
• However, at the same time it is one of the biggest cause of red tapism in the Indian society
and at times also lead to apathy towards people.
4|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE
Attitudes are made up of three parts or components. Understanding these three components
will help understand ‘attitude’ in its entirety. They are as follows:

Affective Component: The affective component of an attitude is the way a person feels toward
the object, person, or situation. Affect in psychology refers to “emotions” or “feelings,” so the
affective component is the emotional component.
For example, some people might feel that classical music is soothing and blissful.

Behavior Component: is the action that a person takes in regard to the person, object, or
situation.
For example, a person who feels that classical music is soothing and blissful would tune into a
classical music station, buy classical music tapes, or attend a classical music concert.

Cognitive Component: is the way a person thinks about him or herself, an object, or a situation.
These thoughts, or cognitions, include beliefs and ideas about the focus of the attitude.
For example, the classical music lover might believe that classical music is superior to other
forms of music.

FORMATION OF ATTITUDE
Attitude formation is the result of a number of different influences but a common thread between
all of them is that all of them are forms of learning. People aren’t born with a certain attitude. It
is learnt through experiences interactions with people around them or through direct instructions
from parents, teachers, mentors and people who a person considers important in his life.
It is also possible to go into a new situation, meet a new person, or be exposed to a new idea
with a preconceived notion to like or dislike, agree or disagree as attitudes involve a positive and
negative assessment of things. For example, children are known for making up their minds about
certain foods even before tasting them, if the foods are green in colour. They may have may

5|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

consumed a green food earlier which didn’t taste good which explains their preconceived notion
about all green foods they see.
We can now examine the factors involved in attitude formation:

Classical Conditioning-Learning based on association: It is a basic principle of psychology

that when a stimulus that is capable of evoking a response—the unconditioned stimulus—
regularly precedes another neutral stimulus, the one that occurs first can become a signal for the
second—the conditioned stimulus.
For example, advertisers use this technique to market their products. To use this method for
creating attitudes, you would need to know what the potential audience already responds
positively toward (to use as the unconditioned stimulus). If a company is marketing a new
shampoo and the target audience is young women, then a safe assumption would be that they
would respond positively to a woman having lustrous and voluminous hair. Now, the shampoo
brand, without the advertising model would produce no specific response in its audience and is
thereby a neutral stimulus, but if the shampoo is paired with the model repeatedly it would
produce a positive response. This is the direct route.
In indirect route, if the model is specifically a famous actor like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for
the L’Oréal advertisement, who is already liked by the target audience. Linking her with the
brand helps establish a memory link between the two. With this indirect route, the idea is that
by repeatedly presenting that specific celebrity with the product, then whenever that celebrity is
thought of, the product will inadvertently come to mind.
Thereby an activity as simple as exposure - having seen an object before, but too rapidly to
remember having seen it—can result in attitude formation.

Instrumental Conditioning-Rewards for “right” views”. In instrumental conditioning

attitudes that are followed by positive outcomes are often strengthened, while those that are
followed by negative outcomes are reduced or suppressed. The degree to which attitudes are
verbally or nonverbally reinforced by others will affect the acquiring and maintenance of
attitudes. For example, if in school days when parents and teachers praise children for their
academic success children would most likely increase their effort to live up to the same
expectations and develop a positive attitude towards studying.
Sometimes the conditioning process is rather subtle, the reward could be in the form of
psychological acceptance like by rewarding children with smiles, or hugs for stating the
“correct” views. Due to this type of conditioning, until the teen years (once teenage sets in peers’
influence comes to the forefront) children express political and social views that are highly
similar to those of their parents and other family members.

6|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Vicarious Conditioning (Observational learning): Many attitudes are learned through the
observation of other people’s actions and reactions to various objects, people, or situations even
if rewards are not given for expressing a certain attitude.
For example, people acquire attitudes toward many
topics and objects when exposed to advertising where we see people like us acting positively or
negatively toward different kinds of objects or issues.

Why does this happen?

It happens due to social comparison (our tendency to compare ourselves with others in order to
determine whether our view of social reality is correct or not (Festinger, 1954).)
Which means, to the extent that our views agree with those of others, we tend to conclude that
our ideas and attitudes are accurate. If others are of the same opinion, then it must be right. But
this also depends on our relationship with those set of people.
People often adjust their attitudes so as to hold views which resonate with those who they
value and associate themselves with—their reference groups. For example, it was found that the
adoption of favourable attitudes toward using sunscreen depended on the extent to which the
respondents identified with the group supporting the same. Thereby observing others’ attitude
leads to formation of new attitudes.
For example, consider how this could affect the attitudes you form with regard to a new social
group with whom you have never personally been in contact with. Imagine that you heard
someone you like and respect expressing negative views toward this group. Would this influence
your attitude? There is a good possibility that you feel it won’t, but research indicates that
hearing others whom we see as similar to ourselves state negative views about a group can lead
us to adopt similar attitudes, even if we have not met members of that group, in such cases,
attitudes are being shaped by our own desire to be similar to people we like.
Now, for example if you heard someone you dislike and see as dissimilar to yourself expressing
negative views toward this group. In this case, you might be less influenced by this person’s
attitude position.
People are not uncomfortable with disagreeing with people whom they categorize as
different from themselves.
This is quite prevalent in India when it comes to children or youth holding positive or negative
views about people belonging to a certain community, sect or religion that they do not belong to.

Direct contact: Through direct contact with a person, idea, situation, or object that is the focus
of the attitude. For example, a child who tries and dislikes spinach will form a negative attitude
about spinach.

Direct Instruction: Direct instructions from parents or some other individual results in the

7|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

formation of attitude. Parents may tell their children that smoking cigarettes is dangerous and
unhealthy, grandparents teach their grandchildren to pray every morning before they leave for
school.

Interaction with Others: Sometimes attitudes are formed because the person is around other
people with that attitude. If a person’s friends, for example, all hold the, attitude that smoking is
trendy, that person is more likely to think that smoking is trendy.

Genetic Factors: Few studies indicate that our attitudes, at least a tendency to develop certain
views about various topics or issues, are inherited. Genetic factors play a stronger role in shaping
some attitudes than others. For e.g., attitudes involving gut-level preferences (say a preference
for a certain kind of food) may be more strongly influenced by genetic factors than attitudes that
are more cognitive in nature (say attitudes towards environment conservation).

FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE
Attitudes can serve functions for the individual. Daniel Katz (1960) outlines four functional
areas:
1. Adaptive Function
2. Ego Defensive Function
3. Value Expressive function
4. Knowledge function

Adaptive Function
Attitudes often help individuals to adjust to their work environment. If a person holds or
expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will reward them with approval and social
acceptance. For example, when people flatter their bosses or instructors or keep silent if they
think an attitude is unpopular. Attitudes then, are to do with being a part of a social group and the
adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social group. People seek out others who share their
attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they like.

Ego-Defensive Function

8|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

The ego-defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-esteem or justify
actions that make us feel guilty. Attitudes help people to retain their self- image and dignity.
For example, one-way children might defend themselves against the feelings of humiliation they
have experienced in physical training lessons is to adopt a strongly negative attitude to all sports.

Value-Expressive Function
Attitudes provide individuals with a basis for expressing their values.
They serve to demonstrate one’s self-image to others and to express our basic values. This
function comes from a humanistic perspective. It seems logical to assume that only important
and strongly self-related (central) attitudes should serve the value-expressive function.
Example, a manager who values honest and sincere work will be more vocal against an
employee who is having a very casual approach towards work.

Knowledge Function
Attitudes provide a standard or reference frame which helps people comprehend and perceive the
world around them. The knowledge function indicates our need for a world which is consistent
and relatively stable.
It helps us in predicting the most probable outcome thereby giving us a sense of control. It can
help us organize and structure our experience.
For example: If you know a person’s attitude you can predict their behavior most of the times.
For example, knowing that a person is religious we can predict they will visit their respective
places of worship like a temple/church/mosque etc.

WHEN AND WHY DO ATTITUDES INFLUENCE

BEHAVIOUR?

1. Role of Social Context in the link between attitude and Behaviour:

9|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Lot many times there is a gap between your own attitudes and behavior on many occasions
because the social context can directly affect the attitude and behavior connection. For instance,
what would you say if one of your friends get a new haircut of which he or she is proud and asks
for your opinion? Would you
state that you do not like it, if that was your view? Most probably you would try to avoid
hurting your friend’s feelings so you might say you like it even though your attitude is
negative. In such cases, we are clearly aware of our conscious choice not to act on our “true”
attitude. Considering the same example, depending on the degree to which the action has social
consequences or not, attitudes may be differentially related to behavior. In contrast to your
attitude–behavior inconsistency in responding to your friend’s haircut, your attitude might
be a very good predictor of whether you would get a haircut or not.
Attitudes that we hold with greater certainty are more strongly linked to behavior compared to
attitudes about which we feel some uncertainty. Therefore, when people are induced to think that
their attitudes are stable with time, they feel more certain about those attitudes and are more
likely to act on them This explains why older people are often more certain of their attitudes than
young people. Recent research suggests that this is partly due to older people placing greater
value on “standing firm” or being resolute in the attitude positions they adopt, and for this
reason they tend to show greater attitude–behavior consistency compared to younger people

2. Strength of Attitude:
Strength refers to the extremity of an attitude (how strong the emotional reaction is), the degree
of certainty with which an attitude is held (the sense that you know what your attitude is and the
feeling that it is the right stand and have firm conviction), and extent to which the attitude is
based on personal experience with the attitude object. These three factors can affect attitude
accessibility (how easily the attitude comes to mind in various situations) which finally
determines the extent to which
attitudes drive our behaviour. Example: Whistleblowers, who feel strongly about a certain
practice being right or wrong and have the courage to expose unethical practices in their
workplace.

3. Attitude certainty: Importance of clarity and correctness

Research has identified two important components of attitude certainty:
attitude clarity: being clear about what one’s attitude is, and attitude correctness: feeling one’s
attitude is the valid or proper one to hold.
When a person learns that others share one’s attitudes, it acts as justification for that attitude and
thereby increases certainty.

10 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Clarity: reflects a lack of ambiguity about an attitude matter. The more often you are asked to
report on your attitude, the
more it will facilitate clarity followed by certainty.
Repeatedly stating your attitude appears to “work” by realizing that you actually know about
how you feel about an object or issue.

4. Attitude extremity: it refers to how strong a person feels about one line of thinking regarding
a particular issue. An important term in this context is vested interest—the extent to which the
attitude is relevant to the concerns of the individual who holds it.
Vested interest points to the idea that the issue at hand might have important consequences for
this person. The results of many studies indicate that higher the vested interest, the stronger the
impact of the attitude on behaviour . For example, if students of a particular college, were to be
asked to sign a petition seeking in favour of making a certain subject that was previously an
elective, now a compulsory one, their responses would depend on whether they would be
affected by the policy change or not Students who
would feel they might be affected by this new change would have a stronger stake in this issue
than those who would not be affected by the change in policy. Those with high vested interest
would agree to sign the petition and those with low vested interest would participate less. Not
only do people with a vested interest behave in a way that supports their cause, they are likely to
elaborate on arguments that favor their position.

5. Role of personal experience:

Personal experience is one way to create involvement with an issue, and people who are more
involved with an issue and whose values are linked with that issue are more likely to act on their
attitudes.
For Example: consider the difference between having a friend tell you that a particular soap
brand, ‘Brand A’ is excellent versus you having experienced rashes and discomfort with this
brand yourself. When looking at new models of “Brand A,” would your friend’s opinion even
come to mind? Most likely no. Would your own experiences come to mind? Highly likely. Thus,
when you have direct experience with an attitude object it is likely to be quite personally
relevant and strong, and your attitude towards it is likely to predict your behavior in the
future.

11 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

HOW DO ATTITUDES GUIDE BEHAVIOUR?

To be able to answer this question we have to understand that there is more than just one
mechanism through which attitudes can guide behaviour.
At first, we will examine behaviours which are driven by attitudes based on reasoned
thought and then examine the role of attitudes in more spontaneous behavioural responses.

Attitudes arrived at after reasoned thought

At times, in certain situations we deliberate and give a careful thought to our attitudes and their
implications for our behavior. We seek more information on this through the theory of reasoned
action, it was later termed the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980).
This theory begins with the notion that the decision to engage in a particular behavior is
the result of a rational process.
Various behavioral options are considered, the consequences or outcomes of each are evaluated,
and a decision is reached to act or not to act.
The decision is then shown in behavioral intentions, which predict well, if we will act on our
attitudes in a given situation (Ajzen, 1987).

Recent research has made it clear that the intention–behavior relationship is even stronger when
people have formed a plan for how and when they will translate their intentions into behavior.
Say that you have an intention to go out for a run every morning. If you develop a plan for how
you will translate your intention into actual behavior—beginning with setting your alarm,
preparing your workout clothes, wristband, watch, bottle, earphones etc.—The chances of you
succeeding are higher.
If you formed the intention to jog four times a week and made a commitment to do so with your
neighbour. The plan will be implemented well because
● You no longer have to assess whether you feel like going or not be it in the cold, rain.
● You are delegating control of your behavior to the situation when even if the alarm would
ring or say it hasn’t worked, your neighbour would be ringing your doorbell.

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

How to form an intention to change a particular aspect of behaviour?

Intentions are determined by three factors:
● Attitudes toward the behaviour: people’s positive or negative evaluations of
performing the behavior (whether they think it will yield positive or negative
consequences)
● Subjective norms: people’s perceptions of whether others will approve or disapprove of
this behavior.
● Perceived behavioral control: people’s appraisals of their ability to perform the
behavior.

Suppose an adolescent girl is considering joining Facebook. Will she actually do it by following
all the steps involved in signing up?
Firstly, the answer will depend on her intentions, which will be strongly influenced by her
attitude towards Facebook.

Her decision to join or not will also be based on subjective norms and the extent to which she
feels if it is doable or not.
If she feels that becoming a member will be painless and she would seem more sociable (having
positive attitudes toward the behavior), she also believes that people whose opinions she values
will approve of this action (subjective norms), and that he can easily do it (she knows how to
access Facebook, upload some photos, and she believes she can control her privacy), she might
have strong intention to go ahead with it.
On the other hand, if she believes that joining Facebook would put her privacy at stake or it
might not really make her look sociable or, her friends will frown upon it, then her intention
would be very weak.
Intentions are more likely to translate into behavior if she formulates a plan for when and how to
join (e.g., “On Sunday after my dance class I will make a Facebook account”).
Reasoned action and planned behavior concepts have been used to predict behavior in
many settings, with considerable success.

Attitudes and Spontaneous Behavioral Reactions:

In some situations, we have the time to deliberate and think carefully about our attitude and its
implications but in some situations, we have to act spontaneously.
Suppose another driver cut in front of you on the highway without giving any indication or
signal. In such a situation, attitudes influence behavior mostly in a direct and almost automatic
manner, and intentions don’t carry much significance.

13 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

According to Fazio’s attitude-to-behavior process model, some events triggered our attitude.
Which implies that attitude, once triggered, influences how we perceive the attitude object.
Simultaneously, our knowledge about what’s appropriate in a given situation (social norms) is
also activated. Together, the attitude and the previously stored information about what’s
appropriate or expected form our definition of the event. This perception influences our
behaviour.
For example, imagine someone cuts into your traffic lane as you are driving. This event triggers
your attitude toward people who engage in such improper behavior, and, at the same time,
your understanding of how people should behave on expressways. Thereby you perceive this
action as non-normative, which influences your interpretation of and response to that event.
You might think, “Who does this person think she/he is?!”
Attitudes affect our behavior through these two mechanisms, and these operate under
somewhat contrasting conditions.

14 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

https://www.optimizeiascourses.com/learn/ETHICS-MASTERCLASS-2023

15 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AND DEALING WITH

IT

In many occasions we find ourselves in a situation where there is a considerable amount of gap
between how feel about a particular thing and how we actually behave or react. What we
feel from the inside and what we show outside is quite different. This state causes discomfort and
is marked by elevated activities in the left side of the brain.
Social psychologists’ term this as cognitive dissonance-an unpleasant state that occurs when
we notice that our attitudes and our behaviour are inconsistent.
The crucial point is, cognitive dissonance can at times cause us to change our own attitudes—to
shift them so that they are
consistent with our overt behavior, even in the absence of any strong external pressure to do so.

DISSONANCE AND CHANGE OF ATTITUDE

Experiment: Telling a lie for 20 dollars

After participating in an extremely boring experiment, a group of students were asked to tell
another group of students waiting outside the lab, that the experiment was very interesting. For
telling this lie half of the first group of students was paid 1 dollar and the other half were paid 20
dollars. After few weeks the participants of the experiment were asked to recall the experiment
and to say how interesting it was.
The responses showed that those who were paid 1 dollar said the experiment was more
interesting than the 20-dollar group.
The reason is cognitive dissonance.
In the 1-dollar group
During dissonant cognition:
“The experiment was really boring”
“I lied to the students waiting outside that it was interesting.”
“I lied for only 1 dollar”.

16 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

On reducing dissonance
“The experiment was actually interesting”
“I told the waiting students that it was interesting”
“I would have not lied for only 1 dollar”

The 20-dollar group experienced no cognitive dissonance so they didn’t change their attitude
towards the experiment and rated it boring.
The cognitions in this group would be:
“The experiment was really boring”
“I lied to the students waiting outside that it was interesting.”
“I lied because I was paid 20 dollars”.

Therefore, when there is insufficient justification for your, there is a greater need to reduce your
dissonance. Thereby to reduce their dissonance they change the cognition that is causing the
problem.
Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that it will be easier to change individuals’ attitudes by
offering them just enough to get them to engage in attitude-discrepant behavior. Social
psychologists sometimes refer to this surprising prediction as the less-leads-to-more effect—less
reasons or rewards for an action often leads to greater attitude change.

ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES TO REDUCE DISSONANCE

Changing one’s attitude to feel more consistent with one’s own behaviour isn’t the only solution
to cognitive dissonance. Other alternatives do exist as a remedy to this state of discomfort.
We can also alter our behavior so it is more consistent with our attitudes—for example, we could
resolve to only buy organic products in the future and not change our “green environmental
attitudes” after we’ve made some non-environmental-friendly purchase.
Another method salient involves deciding that the inconsistency actually doesn’t matter!
Implying that, we can engage
in trivialization concluding that either the attitudes or behaviors in question are not important so
any inconsistency between them is of no importance. Each of them is a direct method of
dissonance reduction.

17 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

They focus on the attitude–behavior discrepancy that is causing the dissonance. Research by
Steele and his colleagues shows that dissonance can also be reduced using indirect means. That
is, although the basic discrepancy between the attitude and behavior is left intact, the unpleasant
or negative feelings generated by dissonance can be still reduced by, for example, consuming
alcohol.
Adoption of indirect tactics to reduce dissonance is most likely when the attitude–behavior
discrepancy involves important attitudes or self-beliefs (so trivialization isn’t feasible). Under
these conditions, individuals experiencing dissonance may not focus so much on reducing the
gap between their attitudes and behavior, but instead on other methods that will allow them to
feel good about themselves despite the gap.

People can engage in self-affirmation: restoring positive self-evaluations that are threatened by
the dissonance This can be accomplished by focusing on positive self-attributes (good
things about oneself.) For example, if you don’t like clothes that glitter or shine but your friend
buys one for herself and shows it you with great happiness you would most probably tell her it
looks nice while you don’t quite like it. Here to reduce the dissonance you tell yourself that you
are a considerate person that’s the reason you said you liked her dress and deal with the feeling
of discomfort.
However, we try our hand at reducing dissonance either through indirect techniques or direct
strategies that focus on reducing the attitude–behavior discrepancy, and find methods from time
to time to tackle the discomfort that arises from the inconsistency between our attitude and
behaviour.

USE OF DISSONANCE FOR BENEFICIAL CHANGES IN BEHAVIOUR

● People who don’t wear helmets are more likely to die in accidents than those who do.
● People who smoke have greater chances of suffering from lung cancer than those who
don’t
● Those who are obese are at greater risk of developing diabetes and heart risk at an early
age than those who aren’t.

We all are well aware of these statements and also have a positive attitude towards
wearing helmets, quitting smoking, exercising and consuming a balanced diet but most
often these attitudes though being positive do not get translated into action. We continue
to engage in wrong actions despite knowing their outcome. To overcome this more of a
behavioural change is required than an attitudinal change.
Here dissonance can come into play. It can be used to generate feelings of hypocrisy
wherein people publicly are in favour of a certain attitude but act in a manner inconsistent
with the same.
Such feelings could suffice in intensity to propel people to act in a way that can reduce
dissonance.

18 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● People must openly advocate the desired social behaviour like wearing a helmet.
● They should be induced to think about their own behavioral failures previously and
be given access to direct means for reducing their dissonance (i.e. a method for
changing their behavior)
When the above conditions are fulfilled, dissonance can bring about beneficial changes
in behaviour.

ATTRIBUTION

EXPLAINING ONE’S OWN BEHAVIOUR AND THAT OF OTHERS

The inquisitiveness to know why people do the things they do is human nature. It helps us
understand how we should behave with them and decide on who we would want to consider our
role model.
People tend to create their own explanation if there is no direct explanation for a certain
behaviour exhibited by others, also people require an explanation for their own behaviour or else
they feel great discomfort when their feelings and behaviour don’t synchronize, often known as
cognitive dissonance. This process of explaining both one’s own behavior and the behavior of
other people is called attribution.
The causes of behaviour
The attribution theory was propounded by Fritz Heider (1958)
To explain why things, happen and why people choose certain explanations for the behaviour
that they exhibit.
To answer what causes a certain behaviour we can break down behaviour into two parts those
due to an external cause and those that assume that causes are internal. Behaviour is pretty
complex and quite a few times it is a combination of both internal and external causes
When the cause of behaviour is attributed to external sources, like weather traffic, technical
glitches, money, educational opportunities etc. it is known as a situational cause.
The observed behavior is assumed to be caused by whatever situation exists for the person
at that time.
For example, if Tara is late, her delay may be explained using traffic or car breakdown as a
reason.

19 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

While on the other hand, if the cause of behavior is assumed to come from an internal cause
implying that it comes from within the individual, it is called a dispositional cause.
Here, it is the person’s internal personality characteristics that are seen as the cause of the
observed behavior. Someone attributing Tara’s behavior to a dispositional cause, would probably
assume that she was late because her personality is such that she neither values her nor others’
time and is careless and irresponsible.
Emotional components are also present.
For example, if a couple is happy with their marriage research shows that when a spouse’s
behavior has a positive effect, usually it is attributed to an internal cause (“He did it because he
wanted me to feel good”).
When the effect is negative, an external cause is sought as an explanation to the negative
behaviour (“She must have had a trying day”).
If the marriage was a bad one, the opposite attributions are expressed: “He is being nice to me
for a reason, he surely needs something from me” or “She’s being rude because it is here
inherent quality to be irritable”.
Fundamental Attribution Error
In an ideal situation we should be neutral when it comes to judging others’ behaviour but
practically, we tend to be biased and lean more towards either external or internal causes.
Fundamental Attribution Error (Over attribution bias): it refers to our tendency to
overestimate the importance of internal causes of others’ behavior. We tend to perceive that
others behave as they do because they are “that kind of person” rather than because of
situational factors that may well have affected their behavior.
Example
A man arrives at a meeting 30 minutes late. On entering the room, he drops his notes on the
floor. While trying to pick them up, he falls over and breaks his glasses. How would you explain
these events?
Probably by concluding that the man is disorganized and clumsy. Thereby emphasizing on
internal causes in your explanation.
Would you be correct?
Perhaps. But it is also possible that you would be jumping to a false conclusion. It might be that
this individual was late because of circumstances beyond his control (like a major traffic jam),
and maybe he dropped his notes because they were printed on very slick paper, and that he fell
down because the floor had just been mopped.
Fundamental attribution error can lead us to false conclusions about others and the causes of
their behavior.

20 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Self-Serving Bias: The tendency to attribute positive outcomes to our own traits or
characteristics (internal causes) but negative outcomes to factors beyond our control. “I Can Do
No Wrong; You Can Do No Right”.
Suppose that you write a term paper for one of your classes. After reading it, your professor
gives you an A.
What will you attribute your success to?
Most people would explain it in terms of internal causes—one’s own talent or hard work. Now,
in contrast, imagine that your professor gives you a D.
How will you explain this outcome?
Here, there is a real possibility that you will focus mainly on external causes—like you didn’t
have enough time for the project, your professor’s unrealistically high standards, and so on. In
situations like this one, you are showing another attributional error known as the self-serving
bias.
● It can cause interpersonal friction.
● It often leads each of the persons working on a task together to perceive that they,
and not their teammates, have made the major contributions.
● It also causes individuals to perceive that negative actions on their part are justified
and excusable, while identical actions by others are irrational and unjustified.

Cultural Context

When it comes to attributing reasons behind success and failures the attributions vary across
different cultures. We can divide this into
● Individualistic Culture [ Europe and North America]
● Collectivist Culture [ Asia and Africa]
Individualistic cultures tend to overattribute success to internal factors and failures due to
external or situational factors while it is the other way around in Collectivist Cultures.
For example, a research that was conducted on Japanese and American students. They
were asked to read an attitudinal statement that was written beforehand. The participants were
asked to give their opinion on the target’s actual attitude.
The American students said that the target’s real attitude and what is conveyed through the
statement was consistent.

21 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Japanese students assumed that the target’s actual attitude of the target may not have been
exactly as the one mentioned in the statement. The person might have been under some social
obligation to write this statement.
Japanese society is a collectivistic culture, and a Japanese person might expect to write a paper to
please a teacher or employer even though the paper’s contents do not necessarily express the
writer’s attitudes. Which is the opposite in American and Western Culture.
Thereby Individualistic Cultures tend to show greater degree of Self-Serving bias as self-
esteem and individual success and achievement is given lot of importance.

Even age is a factor in how likely someone is to fall prey to the

fundamental attribution error. It has been found that older adults show a stronger bias toward
attributing the actions of another to internal causes than do younger people.

Why do we not assume an external cause for everyone?

Consider the example where Mike is late to work by 45 mins, now Mike knows that he was stuck
in traffic or had a flat tire or a small accident he knows this because he was the man on the spot
while others at work who see him come late only focus on Mike as a person and therefore
attribute internal causes to his late arrival.
Similarly, when it comes to cheating on a test if others are cheating, it’s because they are not
honest people, but if the students themselves are cheating it is because of the situation.

Can this be reduced? If so how?

It is possible to reduce attributional error through different strategies
1. Taking notice of how many people are doing the same thing:
In a college usually professors see that students come late to their lecture, if it is repeatedly one
student who is coming late it could be attributed to an internal factor that the student is basically
irresponsible and doesn’t value time. If many students come late then it is likely that it is
situational and the professor may come to the conclusion that roads may have actually been
congested. Hence to conclude we can say that, if more people are doing it is probably caused by
an external factor.
2. Think about what would you do if you were to face the same situation.

22 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

If you think that you too may have shown the same behaviour then the cause of behaviour is
most likely situational. People should also make the effort of looking for causes that don’t state
the obvious. If Mike looked really stressed on being late, one could assume that if he looks so
stressed out there may have definitely been a situation he was stuck in like heavy traffic or a flat
tire.

IMPRESSION FORMATION

When two people meet for the first time, both of them take this opportunity to make their
evaluations and judgement about each other. The first opportunity is very crucial when it comes
to impression formation. This is the first knowledge a person has about the other.
In impression formation people assign certain categories to the person they have met, drawing
conclusions about what this person is likely to do and use it to predict their subsequent
behaviour. The observer undergoes a process of concept formation.
In a phenomenon called primacy effect, in impression formation, the impression is made by
physical appearance alone and it lasts even if they subsequently receive contradictory
information about them.

Social Categorization
When people meet someone new, they assign categories to the person they have newly met. This
assignment is usually based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people
or groups with whom the perceiver has had prior experience.
This social categorization is usually automatic and happens inadvertently. It is a natural process
but at times it could get problematic.
If superficial characteristics are used for assigning categories, the ones that have become
improperly attached to certain ideas then social categorization can result in a stereotype, a belief
that a set of characteristics is shared by all members of a particular social group which the viewer
feels he or she doesn’t belong to.
Stereotypes can be very limiting and lead to misjudgment of what others are like and as a result
people begin to treat them differently. When stereotyping and primacy effect are juxtaposed
one can understand how important first impressions really are.

23 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Social categorization plays an important role when it comes to perceiving others. People can
access lot of information about others through it and
help in remembering and organizing information about the characteristics of others. To avoid
negative stereotyping, one should be informed of the existing stereotypes and apply critical
thinking.

Implicit Personality Theories

Implicit personality theories are sets of assumptions that people have about how different
types of people, personality traits, and actions are all related and form in childhood.
For example, many people have an implicit personality theory that includes the idea that happy
people are friendly as well and quiet people are shy.
These assumptions may not always be true but they help in organizing schemas, mental patterns
that represent (in the above example) what a person believes about certain “types” of people.
Such schemas can easily become stereotypes when people have limited experience or exposure
to people different from them, especially in superficial ways such as skin color or other physical
characteristics.
There is a test to measure the implicit attitudes that make up one’s implicit personality theory,
called the Implicit Association Test, or IAT. One has to take it by computer, the test measures
the degree of association between certain pairs of concepts. For example, you might see the word
“pleasant” on one side of the computer screen and the word “unpleasant” on the other side. In
between there would be a third word which is associated with one of the other two words
belonging to their respective categories.
You would be asked to place the word into the appropriate category by pressing certain keys as
quickly as you can. The computer measures reaction times, and it is the difference in reaction
times over a series of similar comparisons that reveals implicit attitudes

SOCIAL INTERACTION
Under social psychology out of three main areas, two main areas, social influence and social
cognition has been explored. The third major area has to do with social interactions with others,
it refers to relationships between people, both casual and intimate. Social interaction consists of
prejudice and discrimination, aggression and prosocial behaviour.

24 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION

Stereotypes refers to a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a
particular social category or group, it is usually formed using superficial information about an
individual or group of people. When a person holds an unsupported and often negative
stereotyped attitude about the members of a particular social group, it is called prejudice.
When prejudicial attitudes propel members of a certain social group to be treated differently
than others in situations demanding equal treatment, it is referred to as discrimination.
Prejudice is the attitude while discrimination refers to the behaviour that manifests as a
result of that attitude.
Legislations ending discrimination can be brought in but putting prejudicial attitudes to an
end is a challenging task which implies that discrimination can be controlled or even
eliminated but it isn’t the same for prejudice.
Prejudice manifests itself in multiple forms so does discrimination.
Some kinds of prejudice are:
Ageism: prejudicial attitudes toward the elderly or teenagers
Sexism: prejudicial attitudes based on the sex of a person, typically against women
Racism: prejudice towards those from different ethnic groups.
Prejudice towards people from different religions, economic levels, body weight, different
sexual orientation.
Prejudice brings to the fore, two terms, in-group and out-group.
The in-group is one that consists of those people with whom a particular person identifies
and the out-groups are the rest. This begins from childhood and continues to be with them
even as they grow up into adults. Once an in-group is established, prejudice and
discriminatory treatment is meted out with the out-group members.

SCAPEGOATING
Conflicts between groups are greater at times of war, economic difficulties, etc. When such
pressures arise, the need to find a scapegoat becomes stronger. A scapegoat is a person or a
group, typically a member or members of an out-group, who serves as the target for the
frustrations and negative emotions of members of the in-group. They are the ones who
have the least power.

25 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

WHY ARE PEOPLE PREJUDICED?

Realistic Conflict Theory: The realistic conflict theory of prejudice explains that prejudice
and discrimination increase with increasing degree of conflict between the in-group and the out-
group when those groups are competing for a common resource, such as land or available jobs.

Social Identity Theory:

Three processes result in formation of a person’s identity within a social group alongside the
attitudes, concepts, and behavior with regard to association with that group.
Step 1: social categorization: similar to how people assign categories to others in order to
organize information about them, people also assign themselves to social categories to help
determine how they should behave. The second element of
Step 2: identification which refers to formation of one’s social identity. It includes the view of
oneself as a member of a particular social group within the social category i.e. part of the in-
group.
Step 3: social comparison, Festinger’s concept in which people compare themselves favorably
to others to improve their own self-esteem: “Well, at least I’m better off than that person.”
With respect to prejudice, social identity theory helps to explain why people feel they should
categorize others, inducing the sense of “us versus them” toward out-groups. People feel the
need to increase their own self-esteem by looking down upon others. This results in prejudice.

Stereotype Vulnerability: Stereotypes affect the way people perceive other people as well as
how they view their own selves and performance Stereotype vulnerability refers to the effect
that a person’s knowledge of another’s stereotyped opinions can have on that person’s
behavior Studies have shown that when people are aware of stereotypes that are normally
applied to their own group by others, they may feel anxious about behaving in ways that might
support that stereotype. This fear results in anxiety and self-consciousness that have negative
effects on their performance in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, or the effect that expectations
can have on outcomes.

OVERCOMING PREJUDICE

26 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

As mentioned earlier handling prejudice can be daunting but it can be overcome with some
degree of effort.
Education: education serves as the best tool to overcome prejudice. One must be aware of
people who are different from them in so many different ways. A parochial view most often
leads to prejudice. The best way to learn about others is to have direct contact
with them view them as people rather than strangers.
Intergroup contact: it is very common in colleges. For example, those colleges where students
and staff from many different backgrounds live, work, and study together. This enables
interaction and breaking stereotypes as people get to know each other better which finally helps
reducing the prejudicial attitude.
Jigsaw classroom: students have to put come together to reach a specific goal. Each student is
given a “piece of the puzzle,” or information needed to solve the problem at hand Students then
share their information with other members of the group. Interaction between diverse students
increases, making it more likely that those students will come to see each other as partners and
not strangers and form friendly relationships rather than labeling others as members of an out-
group and treating them differently

AGGRESSION
Aggression is a form of social interaction. When a person hurts or tries to destroy another person
deliberately, either with words or with physical behavior, psychologists call it aggression.
Aggressive behaviour is commonly attributed to frustration. It occurs when a person is prevented
from reaching his or her desired goal. The concept of aggression as a reaction to frustration is
known as the frustration–aggression hypothesis.
Frustration could be caused due to multiple sources Pain produces negative sensations which are
too intense and one cannot control this leads to frustration and aggressive. Loud noises,
excessive heat, odours can lead people to act out in an aggressive manner.
Aggressive behaviour doesn’t stem only from frustration. Even during days of early research
Sigmund Freud believed that aggression was a basic human instinct, part
of our death instinct. Socio-biologist Konrad Lorenz saw aggression as an instinct for fighting
to promote the survival of our species.
But if aggression is an instinct present in all humans, it should occur in far more similar patterns
across cultures than it does. Instinctual behavior, as often seen in animals, is not modifiable by
environmental influences. Modern approaches include explanations of aggression as a biological
phenomenon or a learned behavior.

27 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Aggression and Biology Link:

There is evidence to support that aggression is partially associated with genetics.
For example, identical twins who have been brought up together and those who have been
brought up apart from each other it has been observed that that if one identical twin has a violent
temper, the identical sibling will most likely also have a violent temper. This agreement in their
personality happens more often with identical twins than with fraternal twins. Under the right
environmental conditions some genes make people more susceptible to aggressive behaviour.
Even chemical influences impact aggressive behaviour. Testosterone, a male sex hormone, has a
link with higher levels of aggression in humans. That’s the reason for violent criminals usually
being young and strong males.
They have high levels of testosterone and low levels of serotonin (neurotransmitter helps to
promote calm, relaxation, and a sense of well-being.)
Alcohol works to release inhibitions; people aren’t in control of themselves even if they aren’t
intoxicated on consuming alcohol. It impairs the functioning of many neurotransmitters and in
particular it decreases the levels of serotonin.

Impact of Social Roles

Though aggression may have some of its roots in biology it can also be learned through
observational learning as per the social learning theory. When aggressive models are reinforced
for their aggressive behaviour this type of behaviour is adopted by the observer. Parents,
siblings, friends, PC games, television cartoons, TV serials, reality shows can act as aggressive
models
A social role is the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social
position. For example, “doctor” is a social role where in one thinks of a doctor as wearing a
white coat, asking certain types of questions and writing prescriptions. Merely on an
experimental basis when people were told to assume the social role of a prison guard aggressive
behaviour has been observed, in the Stanford prison experiment. Therefore, social roles also
contribute to inducing aggression,
Abused children are exposed to powerful models of aggression. When parents abuse their
children, they are reinforced for the same when they get the desired result. People who were
abused as children later become abusers unlike the popular belief that such children don’t
become abusers.
Instead of becoming the abuser, some of these children are given counseling or are removed
from the abusive situation, which helps in rectifying the damage done to them during their
childhood days, while others withdraw, isolating themselves rather than becoming abusive.

28 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Media Violence and Aggression

Bandura conducted a study on small children who watched a video of an aggressive model, this
was the beginning to study the effect of media violence on children.
Studies show that the younger the child, the greater the impact. Parenting too has an influence, as
the aggressive impact of television is reduced in those households where such behaviour is not
put up with and parents do not resort to punish them physically.
Craig Anderson and his team found strong evidence to support that even short-term exposure
to violent media significantly increases the likelihood that children will engage in both physical
and verbal aggression as well as aggressive thoughts and emotions.
In another study, second-grade boys were allowed to play either an aggressive or a
nonaggressive video game. After this activity, the boys who had played the aggressive video
game showed more verbal and physical aggression both to objects around them and to their
friends who were along with them during their free time but the boys who had played the
nonaggressive video game didn’t show such aggressive behaviour. Violent video games indeed
correspond to increased aggression levels of the children who play them, be it small
children or adolescents.

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Prosocial behaviour involves acting in a manner that helps others instead of harming them.
These actions are characterized by a concern for the rights, feelings, and welfare of other people.
Empathy and concern for others through helping, sharing, comforting, and cooperating
demonstrate prosocial behaviour. Example like offering help to the elderly with their grocery at
the nearest departmental store.
ALTRUISM
Altruism is one type of prosocial behaviour it refers to helping someone in trouble with no
expectation of reward and usually without fear for one’s own safety.
Example: A soldier at the border who gives up his life during battle to keep the countrymen safe
is one such example of altruism.
One might wonder, why would people go to the extent of giving up their lives for others?
Part of the answer lies in the structure of the brain. With the help of different brain-imaging
techniques, researchers have found evidence pointing to region in the brain known as the
temporoparietal junction (TPJ), it was found that this region is larger in individuals who opt

29 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

for altruistic choice and more specifically in the right hemisphere. This region was found to be
more active while deciding on a matter that involved a greater cost of helping the individual.

But there are also such instances where people do not help even if there is no risk to their
lives. Why won’t people help?
The answer to this lies in understanding two concepts, the bystander effect and diffusion of
responsibility.
For instance, as part of an experiment to demonstrate why people won’t help, a woman acted
like she was writhing in pain on a busy street, there was a tour guide along with his group on the
same street, surprisingly, when he passed by the woman he didn’t offer her any help and so did
the entire group of tourists led by him, who took notice of her situation but none of them
volunteered to help. Even other passersby on the street saw her writhing in pain but did not
volunteer to help. What is the reason for such behaviour?

People did not volunteer to help, not because of lack of empathy but due to the presence of
others. Yes, people observe each other before helping and when no one offers to intervene they
feel it is inappropriate for them to do so as well. This is known as they bystander effect.

The more people observing each other the stronger the signal that help is neither required
nor appropriate

In the above example, the tour guide passed by without offering help, this gave a strong public
signal that others need not intervene or it is inappropriate. The greater the number of bystanders,
the less likely it is for one of them to provide help to the person in distress. People are more
likely to act in a crisis when there are few or no other witnesses present. Here the idea of
diffusion of responsibility becomes important.

Diffusion of responsibility is the phenomenon in which a person fails to take responsibility for
either action or inaction because of the presence of other people who are seen to share the
responsibility. It is a form of attribution in which people explain why they acted (or failed to act)
as they did because of others. Statements like “I was just following orders,” “There were
many people there, and I thought one of them would do something about it” are commonly
used when people are asked to explain their behaviour in such situations.

30 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Researchers have suggested that five key things must happen in order for a person to take
action and the factors which influence these decisions have also been listed below. An
individual should:

DECISION MAKING POINT FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DECISION

Notice what is happening Loud cry for help or a crashing sound

Interpret the event as an emergency Loud crash can be associated with a car accident so
people in all possibility are hurt

Experience feelings of responsibility The probability of a single bystander taking action is far
greater than in the presence of others

Believe that they have the skills to help Those who feel they possess the required skills to help
those in need are more likely to come forward and help.

Make a conscious choice to offer assistance The cost of assistance shouldn’t be higher than the
reward for example a potential threat to one’s own life

Prosocial behavior is beneficial for individuals, communities, and societies. One can definitely
improve their own prosocial behaviour and also encourage others to do so.
● Developing skills: Lacking necessary skills needed to help people can be an impediment
in your service to others at times of distress. You can overcome this by doing things like
learning the basics of first aid or CPR, so that you feel more prepared and equipped at
times of emergencies.

31 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● Model prosocial actions: Parents can encourage such behaviour by taking the lead and
engaging in helpful behaviour, children would subsequently learn by observing their
parents indulging in helpful behaviour. Even if you aren’t a parent you can volunteer in
your community or look for other ways that you can help people.
● Praise acts of kindness: When you see children or adults involved in doing kind things
for others, always drop a word of appreciation for it makes people feel good about
themselves and their actions.

32 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

www.optimizeias.com

Mains Master Notes

ETHICS MASTERCLASS

TOPIC: FOUNDATIONAL VALUES

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com/

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow Optimize IAS
telegram channel

1|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
OBJECTIVITY.............................................................................................................................................................. 3

STRENGTH OF CHARACTER ................................................................................................................................... 3

TOLERANCE ............................................................................................................................................................... 3

SELFLESSNESS ........................................................................................................................................................... 4

COURAGE .................................................................................................................................................................... 4

EFFICIENCY ................................................................................................................................................................ 6

OPENNESS ................................................................................................................................................................... 6

PUBLIC TRUST ........................................................................................................................................................... 7

HONESTY .................................................................................................................................................................... 8

TRUTHFULNESS......................................................................................................................................................... 9

ANONYMITY .............................................................................................................................................................. 9

DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................................ 10

JUSTICE...................................................................................................................................................................... 10

RESPONSIBILITY ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

INTEGRITY ................................................................................................................................................................ 11

POLITICAL NEUTRALITY ...................................................................................................................................... 15

POLITICAL NEUTRALITY AND POLICY NEUTRALITY ................................................................................... 15

COMMITMENT ......................................................................................................................................................... 15

HUMILITY ................................................................................................................................................................. 16

PERSEVERANCE ...................................................................................................................................................... 16

SELF –DISCIPLINE ................................................................................................................................................... 17

2|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

OBJECTIVITY
● Objectivity refers to taking decisions on a fair basis without any bias or external influence. It means
being truthful, unbiased, impartial and sticking to facts. Objectivity helps Civil Servants to
take reasoned decisions and defend them in front of others.
● For example, a Judicial Magistrate with objectivity would go by the merits of a robbery case
rather than being influenced by the public perception of the culprit.
● Similarly, Objectivity as practiced by Journalists is to have a consistent method of testing
information- a transparent approach to evidence.
● However, objectivity should not be misconstrued as a mechanical and rigid adherence to laws and
rules. There must be an element of fairness in the decision making.
● Ex: A Judge imposing the same fine on a rich and poor man when both have committed the same
crime may be objective but not fair. Judiciary needs to be fair along with being objective or one
can say that there must be enlightened objectivity.

How to inculcate objectivity?

★ Training.
★ Transparency: After the Right to Information Act, Civil Servants today think twice before taking
discretionary decisions, fearing that they will have to answer it if someone files an RTI.

Strength of character
● It is a measure of how much a person can persevere in adverse circumstances and stand against
wrong actions and deeds.
● It is determined by how strongly or weakly one believes and adheres to certain values.
● It stands to test in the face of hardships.
● This strength helps a Civil Servant to firmly say no to anyone's ill demands that may go against the
law or interests of the general public.
● Ex: During riots, passing of tenders, work during disasters and so on.

Tolerance
● It refers to a fair, objective and permissive attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, race,
religion, nationality differ from one’s own.
● In simple words, it is the act or capacity of enduring the diversity of views that are
fundamental in our constitution and practices in our environment.
● It is respect for another's right to express their belief even when we disagree
with it.
● It is based on the idea of how to live together in peace and harmony with one another, despite
dissenting views.
● The value of harmony and peace is inherent in the behavior of tolerance.
● Tolerance leads to harmony and peace in pluralistic society. It upholds human
rights and rule of law.
● The other values of impartiality and objectivity require tolerance towards
society as a precondition.

3|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● Democratic governance has to have tolerance because there is always

diversity of opinions.
● Public officials need to be secular in their outlook. To do this, the value of tolerance is necessary.
● All India Services call upon Civil Servants to serve culturally different people.

How to be Tolerant?
★ Reading literature.
★ Working and living in culturally different societies.
★ Interacting with different sets of people in your locality, like people from different castes,
religions, etc.
★ Writing one’s experiences daily in a diary, will help us keep in check the violent reactions in us
★ Try working on something where you have to be part of a team, and communicate with each other
to get the job done.
★ A calm mind is essential for accepting diverse views. Meditation and physical exercise will help
to remain one calm.
★ Value based & experiential Education- National Education Policy 2020 focuses on critical
thinking, cultural exchanges, and asks Teachers and Educators to promote Peace Education.

Selflessness
● It means to put others before oneself to the extent of having little or no concern for one's life,
money, position etc.
● The job of Civil Servant demands that public concerns be the top priority.
● There might be situations where an official has to give up family time at a stretch in order to fulfil
professional responsibilities.
● Selflessness helps in building an organization of integrity and honesty.
● Ex: Mother Teresa's selfless service to humanity and her first priority was the poorest of the poor.
● Ex: Mahatma Gandhi helped people in need without expecting anything in return and played a
significant role fighting against the British rule and making India an independent nation.

Courage
● Courage is the virtue that enables a person to restrain fear in the face of danger, difficulty or doubt.
● As Nelson Mandela puts it, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it". Courage
is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees the others.
● Courage enables people to face tough consequences for their acts. For instance, whistleblowers like
Edward Snowden often pay heavy price for disclosures.

4|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● Without courage, it is difficult to display qualities like leadership which entails laying out
roadmaps for the future amidst uncertainty. For example, it is courage that enabled Mahatma
Gandhi to display the virtue of non-violence against the oppressive colonial regime.
● It encourages people to take firm decisions and attempt things that they have not tried before. For
instance, it takes courage to invest in novel & seemingly impractical/commercially unviable ideas
like the SpaceX.
● Various personal, social and professional feats are unthinkable without courage. Without courage,
Raja Rammohan Roy would not have fought against Sati.
● Courage is not just dramatic physical heroism. Life provides daily opportunities and instances of
courageous acts like standing up for injustice, supporting cleanliness in public places, standing
up for rights of minorities, women, etc. However, it must be borne in mind that courage must
stay within limits defined by reason.
● The essence of courage is mustering the strength and will to do what one should, even though
circumstances seem unfavorable.
● Courage is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation.
● Courage is the bold act of stepping forward and seizing your life, regardless of what you face.
● It is fearlessness.
● Ex: Judicial verdict of ‘great courage’: In June 1975, the Allahabad high court declared PM
Indira Gandhi’s Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareilly as null and void for misusing government
machinery and barred her from contesting elections for six years.
● Ex: Courage of Professionals, from frontline workers to vaccine researchers, the doctor and
the nurse, the delivery person, the storekeeper, all risking their lives to help ease our life amidst
the Pandemic.

Fearlessness and Courage:

★ Shah Commission which investigated the ‘excesses’ committed during Emergency
(1975-77), found that public servants committed irregular and illegal acts, which
caused immense suffering to the masses out of fear of their political masters. The
Commission observed, ‘they crawled while they were asked to bend’.
★ During the Nuremberg trial, the top German army commanders told the War Crime
Tribunal that they committed atrocities against the Jews out of fear of Nazitop
brass. It is often seen that many public officials, though honest themselves,
succumb to unjust demands of political masters or their own official superiors, out
of fear that their CR will be spoiled or they will be transferred to an inconvenient
place, or their promotion will be jeopardized. This happens largely due to weak
character and lack of conviction that they are doing an honest job.
★ P S Appu, Director of National Academy of Administration, showed great courage
of conviction and stood by his principles and quit his job, when he found that
political masters interfered with his demand to terminate the services of an IAS
probationer who was undisciplined and indulged in criminal behavior. One ofthe
charges against bureaucracy is that they play safe and are afraid of taking bold
decisions.
★ In the complex and technocratic world of today, Public Servants are required to take
speedy and innovative decisions which need courage. Courage means mustering
the strength and will to do what you know you should do, even thoughyou are
afraid. Aristotle had said, “We become brave by doing brave acts”.

Moral Courage:
★ Moral courage is the courage to do what is right when faced with difficult
decisions.

5|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

★ Courage of conviction –Courage to follow your own value system, your own
belief.

Efficiency
● Efficiency implies doing one’s best in one’s job, with limited available resources and time to
achieve desired objectives.
● Efficiency simply does not mean mechanical productivity.
● For a genuinely efficient person, there is regard for the higher goals of governance, including
public welfare and he devotes himself to the expeditious achievement of those goals.
● Thus, an efficient person is also an ethical person.
● He or she possesses administrative morality that is essentially rooted in a conviction in the
desirability of ethical conduct.
● Ex: The DG of Bihar Police issued instructions to all personnel to not use their mobile phone
while on duty to improve the image and efficiency of Police.

Openness:
● Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions
and actions that they take.
● They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when
the wider public interest clearly demands.

Significance of Openness:
★ Not only is freedom of access to information a basic human right, it is also a precondition for
informed public participation in governance, i.e., for democracy.
★ Open and transparent governance is also considered a precondition for preventing and revealing
corruption and maladministration.
★ Transparency in government organizations make them function more objectively thereby enhancing
predictability.
★ Access to information can empower the poor and the weaker sections of society to demand and
get information about public policies and actions, thereby leading to their welfare.
★ Without good governance, no amount of developmental schemes can bring improvements in the
quality of life of the citizens.
★ Good Governance has four elements- transparency, accountability, predictability and
participation.
★ Ex: Gujarat HC said that the state government “must come up publicly in a transparent and fair
manner” with complete details about availability and modalities of the required amenities,
medication and related infrastructure for the treatment of the Covid patients. The onus of declaring
the accurate data will eliminate general conception from the minds of the people that data given
by the State is not accurate.

6|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Public Trust:
● It is the firm belief of the people in public offices, institutions and officials i.e., the measure of
public confidence in the working of the Government.
● High public trust enables a Civil Servant to take bold decisions, whereas low public trust raises
questions on every activity.
● It can be built by consistent performance and efficient delivery of expected services.
● Ex: Election Commission enjoys high trust and this has helped it to implement 'Model Code of
Conduct' even without Legislature's backing.
● Ex: Gujarat HC observed the government must be transparent to gain public trust as it would
persuade the public at large to “strictly abide by the standard protocol” amidst Covid-19
situation.

Non-Partisanship and Impartiality

● Non-partisan in public administration means not to side with any group, especially with political
groups and parties.
● Decisions should be based on evidence and for ensuring maximum public welfare and not on
specific entity. Advice should be without any fear of backlash.
● Impartiality means that Civil Servants in carrying out their official work, including functions like
procurement, recruitment, delivery of services etc., should take decisions based on merit alone.

Importance of above for Civil Servants

★ Impartiality enables the administrator in filling up the gaps of trust deficit between the Subjects
and the Government.
★ Impartiality provides legitimacy to the conduct of administrators and makes it more effective.
★ For example, in conduct of an election process, public will measure the legitimacy of an election
on basis of actual integrity of administration.
★ Non-partisanship strengthens the democratic procedures and organization’s credibility.
★ It strongly attracts pre-requisites of noble administration like transparency and honesty.

How to ensure Non-partisanship?

★ Professionalism: Maintaining contact with industrialist, builders, NGOs, politicians etc., only at
the professional level via meetings, conferences etc. and not at the personal level.
★ Regulate gift taking from businessmen, etc.
★ Transparency: Ensuring transparency via a website for the department where all decisions and
reasons for taking the decision will be uploaded real time.
★ Accountability: Ensuring accountability by assigning time bound tasks to officers and monitoring
the progress.
★ Citizen’s participation via 24x7 helpline and regular meetings with civil society.
★ Citizen Charter: Creating a Citizen’s Charter which will be derived from the ethics implicit in the
constitution and which will serve as guideline in cases where the law is ambiguous.

In Civil Service, Impartiality works at two levels.

1. Political Impartiality:

7|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● It holds that a civil servant will serve all the government to the best of his abilities, no matter
what his own beliefs are.
● He will act in such a way which deserves and retains the confidence of the minister.
● Central Civil Services (Conduct) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2014, notified by the
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) recently, also make it mandatory for employees
to "make choices, take decisions and make recommendations on merit alone”.
● Every government servant shall at all times maintain high ethical standards and honesty,
political neutrality, promote the principles of merit, fairness and impartiality in the
discharge of duties, maintain accountability and transparency, maintain responsiveness to
the public, particularly to the weaker section and take decisions solely in public interest and use
or cause to use public resources efficiently, effectively and economically, the amended rules
said.
● Ex: Lakshmi Narayana CBI JOINT DIRECTOR:
- In a country where under-the-table transactions and behind-the-door conversations are
common, an honest police officer is a rarity. However, challenging this notion is former
joint director of Central Bureau of Investigation V. V. Lakshmi Narayana.
- He is best known for impartially leading many infamous investigations such as the Emaar
Properties scam, 2G spectrum scam, Satyam Scandal, Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter.
- Known also for his hard-working and 'always ready to take on anything' nature, Narayana
is still going strong and has received the Indian Police Medal for his unrelenting services.

2. Public Impartiality
● It means equal treatment of all citizens.
● A Civil Servant must carry his responsibilities in a way that is fair, just and equitable and
reflects the civil service commitment to equality and diversity.
● He must not act in a way that unjustifiably favors or discriminates against particular individuals
or interests. All decisions must be on the basis of merit alone.

It can be derived from the values enshrined in the constitution of the country.
★ Right to Equality (Art 14)
★ Prohibition of Discrimination (Art 15)
★ Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment (Art 16)

It is very important that Principles of Justice must be taken into consideration while practicing
impartiality.

In case of conflict between impartiality and justice, justice and fairness must prevail. Equal
treatment in equal circumstances and unequal treatment in unequal circumstances is the bedrock
of justice in any society.

Honesty
Quotes:
● No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. -Abraham Lincoln.
● “Resolve to be honest at all events; and if, in your own judgment, you cannot be an honest lawyer,
resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation.”

8|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● If you tell the truth, you possess the quality of honesty.

● The original meaning of honesty had more to do with honor than truthfulness, although the two are
naturally linked.
● The trait of honesty has been prized for centuries, and Shakespeare once wrote,
"Honesty is the best policy. If I lose my honor, I lose myself."
● Honesty is not just about telling the truth. It’s about being real with yourself and
others about who you are, what you want.
● Honesty promotes openness, empowers us and enables us to develop consistency
in how we present the facts.
● Honesty sharpens our perception and allows us to observe everything around us
with clarity.
● The opposite of honesty is deception — or lying. Lying is equally bad whether you are
deceiving others or yourself. When you lie, you delude yourself into believing what
you’re saying. You confuse yourself, confuse others, lose credibility and put yourself
in harm.
● There is no more fundamental ethical value than honesty.
● We associate honesty with people of honour, and we admire and rely on those who are honest.
Honesty involves both communications and conduct.
● Ex: Ashok Khemka, 1991 Batch IAS officer, HR Cadre: One of the most senior and honest Civil
Servant was respected for his fight against corruption.
● Ex: U Sagayam, 1991 Batch IAS officer, TN Cadre: Known for his belligerent stance against
corruption and his office board bears the message “reject bribes, hold your heads high.”
● Honesty precludes all acts, including half-truths, out of context statements, and even silence during
times of moral crisis.
● Ex: Responsible media with honest reporting of actual events can avoid disinformation and chaos.

Truthfulness:
● The importance of truth in civil service and character building can be realized from the motto of
the GOI “SATYAMEV JAYATE”, that is ‘Truth alone Triumphs.’
● Mahatma Gandhi described ‘Truth as God.’
● Truth is justice, fair play and adherence to fundamental laws of ethics.
● Impartiality, goodness, compassion, and righteousness are various forms of truth.
● Ex: Gandhi successfully weaponized truth, satyagraha and peace in his helmsmanship of India’s
struggle for independence.
● Ex: In context of Covid, there was an increasing trend of countries across the world trying to
manipulate data. Even in India, many deaths were reported during 2021 as compared to 2020
but the govt refused to accept it as covid related deaths and even claimed the numbers as ‘False
propaganda’.

Anonymity:
● The Civil Servants work as instruments of political masters in a parliamentary democracy and they
work under the cover of ministerial responsibility.

9|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● It is a condition of neutrality and to render advice impartially, frankly, and freely. A civil
servant must have the assurance that he/she is not dragged into public debate or openly identified
with a given policy.
● If everything goes right, the credit goes to the Minister, and if something goes wrong,
he has to shoulder the blame.
● Anonymity meant that the Civil Servant would merely advise the minister (politician)
from behind and would be protected from being exposed to the din and fury of
polities.
● The All-India Services (conduct) Rules 1968 prescribe that the Civil Servants have to
avoid occasions of self-publicity so that their anonymity is preserved.
● Ex: Our PM in the 11th Civil Services Day Function said that anonymity is one of the
greatest strengths of the Civil Services and cautioned officers that the use of social
media should not lead to a decline in this strength.

Dedication:
● It is the quality of being able to give or apply one’s time, attention or self entirely to a particular
activity, cause or person.
● It is the highest form of commitment. i.e., commitment with passion and love.
● It is a personal urge to achieve a certain objective or devote oneself to a particular
cause or action.
● It is a quality which is gained through both commitment and perseverance i.e., Steady
persistence shown in achieving a particular goal in spite of difficulties and
discouragement.
● It gives your complete self for achieving your goal. It is a zealous and heroic commitment. If a
person is not dedicated, he would lose sight.
● Ex: All successful personalities like MS Dhoni, Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu had several years of
dedication and hard work behind their underlying victory.

Justice
● Justice is fairness in protection of rights and punishment of wrongs.
● Reformative justice places emphasis on reforming the offender. It doesn’t believe in proportionate
punishments like death penalty.
● Retributive justice demands proportional punishment for the crimes committed. They believe
criminals must pay for their crimes. Ex: Death penalty.
● Reformative justice is the acceptable form. To err is human and society should try to reform the
offenders and give them a second chance to redeem themselves.
● Whereas, no correlation is seen between retributive justice and reduction in crime rate. This defeats
the purpose of justice.
● There is a difference between law and justice. The essence of law is its force. Law is law because
it carries the means to coerce or force obedience.
● The power of the state is behind it. The essence of justice is fairness. Any system of laws functions
through a hierarchy of authorities.
● Justice for a public servant is redressing the problems of an aggrieved citizen in an effective,
efficient and equitable way.
● Ex: Compassionate Justice: TN Governor’s decision that the President can decide the issue of
granting remission to the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination is debatable

10 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

because the unusual delay by Governor in reaching the conclusion affects the convicts’ continuing
incarceration for nearly 30 years, notwithstanding the gravity of their crime.

Ways to ensure Justice

★ By being honest and impartial and avoiding nepotism.
★ By being empathetic and compassionate towards each aggrieved person and addressing their
problems within a time limit.
★ By following code of conduct and code of ethics while discharging my duties.
★ By being transparent and accountable to the actions.
★ By building social capital with all stakeholders to bridge the trust deficit.

Responsibility:
● Being responsible means being in charge of our choices and our lives.
● It means being accountable for what we do and who we are.
● It is a moral obligation.
● Ethical people show responsibility by being accountable, pursuing excellence and exercising self-
restraint. They exhibit the ability to respond to expectations.
● Responsible people finish what they start, overcoming rather than surrendering to obstacles and
avoid excuses.
● Responsible people always look for ways to do their work better.
● Responsible people exercise self-control, restraining passions and appetites (such as lust, hatred,
gluttony, greed and fear) for the sake of longer-term vision and better judgment. They delay
gratification if necessary and never feel it's necessary to win at any cost.
● An accountable person doesn’t shift blame or claim credit for the work of others. He considers
the likely consequences of his behaviour and associations.
● He recognizes the common complicity in the triumph of evil when nothing is done to stop it. He
leads by example.
● Ex: Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned twice as the minister assuming moral responsibility for
railway accidents in 1956 (Mahbubnagar, AP & Ariyalur, TN).
● Ex: Big Tech Platforms like Google stopped the spread of misinformation on its platforms by
cracking down on digital ads promoting false climate change claims. Similarly, Facebook, the
other big player, also prohibited ads that used to spread misinformation.

Integrity
● It is a concept of consistency of thoughts, words, deeds, and duties.
● Choosing the right, regardless of the consequence, is the hallmark of integrity. Integrity is
choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain.
● Ex: Indian Cricket players are playing for different teams and zones across the country and
towards a common goal – ‘World Cup’ (Now or Never) while representing the country in the
global level. They never have been made conscious of the faith, region, or religion. The game is
inclusive, brings together people of different temperaments, castes, economic backgrounds, and
faiths. People love and trust the players due to their integrity and reputation.
● People of integrity are trustworthy because they base their decisions on moral and ethical
principles, not on convenience.

11 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● Integrity enabled the official to do the right and legal thing with conviction and ensure that it sees
logical end.
● A person without integrity will not have the appetite for a long struggle for what one feels right.
● In this era of social media and information flow, an upright official with integrity will inspire
many and there will be a popular support to the action of such an office.
● In public service it is said that one’s reputation precedes oneself. So, the quality of an official having
high integrity will be well known to those who approach him.
● Character and integrity are more often demonstrated by the way we handle day to day relationship
questions than by any heroic acts of courage.

Quotes:
★ If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything-Mark Twain
★ If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. - Alan
K Simpson
★ Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody is going to know whether you did it or
not- Oprah Winfrey

Types of Integrity:
1. Moral Integrity:
● Moral integrity is doing the right thing when nobody's watching.
● We know what is right and wrong, and we choose to do the right thing.
● Doing the right thing when it’s the easiest or the most profitable thing isn’t what matters, though.
When things are easy, anyone can appear to have a backbone. It’s the hard times that matters.
● Doing the wrong thing has a pot of gold at the end of it or when doing the right thing might end up
hurting you, that’s when the moral integrity of that person reveals itself.
● Having the courage to follow what we believe in our hearts is right is what moral integrity means,
and it’s something that teams crave in their company leadership.
● Ex: Vajpayee, ‘Father of Coalition Practices’ in India was a man of impeccable integrity and
high moral values, who never compromised on the values in which he believed.

2. Intellectual Integrity:
● It is defined as recognition of the need to be true to one’s own thinking and to hold oneself to the
same standards one expects others to meet.
● It is to practice what one advocates to others and to honestly admit discrepancies and
inconsistencies in one’s own thoughts and actions.
● For example, if you succeed, you’d say you worked hard. If someone else succeeds, you’d attribute
it to his good luck.
● That shows lack of intellectual integrity, because you’re not evaluating everything on the same
parameter. Suppose if a husband lied to her wife about something important, then his behavior lacks
integrity.
● Intellectual integrity is about seeking and valuing truth.
● The discipline of striving to be thorough and honest to learn the truth or to reach the best decision
possible in a given situation.
● A person with intellectual integrity has a driving desire to follow reasons and evidence
courageously wherever they may lead.
● Individuals who strongly manifest intellectual integrity value objectivity, evidence-based decision
making, and the courageous, fair-minded, and complete pursuit of the best possible knowledge
in any given situation.
● Being systematically critical of truth claims via analyzing assumptions and looking for evidence;
being true to one’s intellectual understanding of the world; and being willing to change that

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

understanding in light of new information. The institution of science epitomizes the values of
intellectual integrity.

3. Financial Integrity: It has two dimensions:

● Managing Public Fund: Procurement, distribution etc
● Managing Personal Fund

How to inculcate Integrity?

★ Through training.
★ Through institutional structure such as laws, rules and regulation. 2nd ARC recommends setting
up a code of ethics for all departments of the government. Ex: Speaker will monitor how many
times parliament was disrupted; a committee will monitor it and a report will be published.
★ Select a random officer and try to bribe him. This is not the same as the CBI/ACB raid, they want to
flush out corrupt people. But integrity testing is done to establish honesty.
★ If a young recruit’s first posting is made under an honest officer, then he’s more likely to remain
honest for the rest of his life because of mentoring by a good role model.
How does a person demonstrate high integrity?
• Never break promise
• Aware and proud of honesty
• Extra mile to fulfill commitments
• Moral responsibility for behavior
• Actions congruent with beliefs and values

2nd ARC on Integrity in Public Service:

● Integrity is much more than financial honesty. Public office should be treated as a trust.
● Integrity: Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other
obligation to outside individuals or organizations that might influence them in the performance of
their official duties (Nolan committee).
● A civil servant with integrity must put public service above personal interests.

He must not:
● Misuse official positions, by using information acquired in the course of his duties.
● Accepts gifts or hospitality which might compromise his judgments.
● Disclose information without the authority.
● Ex: SEC v. Texas Gulf Sulphur, in which officers of Texas Gulf Sulphur learned of their company's
rich ore strike in Canada and traded on this information before the news became public.

He must:
● Fulfill his duties and obligations responsibly.
● Always act in a way that is professional and deserves and retains public confidence.
● Make sure public money and resources are used efficiently.
● Be transparent and open in his public dealings.
● Comply with law and uphold the administrative justice.

Sympathy vs Empathy vs Compassion

1. Sympathy refers to acknowledging another person’s pain and providing comfort and assurance.
Ex: When India is in trouble during Covid, China lent its helping hand to show sympathy and support,
without being distracted by other sentiments.
2. Empathy is the ability to place oneself in another’s position and understand their feelings and
experience their emotions.

13 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

➢ Unless the public officials empathize with the common man, they will not be able to understand
the problems faced by him and consequently, public services will not improve.
➢ Ex: An empathetic official will ensure ramps in his/ her office premises to aid the movement of the
physically disabled.
➢ Ex: Dr. Sreedharan IAS had concern with the safety of workers, disabled persons, women, and
the elderly.
1. In the Konkan Railway project, he established the compulsory wearing of helmets which has
now become the best practise everywhere.
2. He constructed the Delhi Metro with lifts, escalators, reserved seats for the elderly and the
disabled.
3. Compassion refers to a step further, where a person not only feels empathetic but also a desire to help
alleviate the suffering of the other person. Thus, the emphasis here is on action and wanting to help.
➢ An administrator, without violating the prescribed laws and rules, would demonstrate compassion
for the poor, the disabled and the weak while using his discretion in making decisions.
➢ At least, he would not grant any benefits to the stronger section of society only because they are
strong and would not deny due consideration to the weak, despite their weakness.
➢ Ex: Helping the security guard of my hostel to fill a school application form for his daughter.
Contributing a meagre amount, from my internship stipend to an NGO working for children
education.

➢ Compassion of selfless Individuals during Covid: Healthcare professionals, sanitation staff,

thousands of workers laboring to manufacture medicines, replenish oxygen tanks, dispense care,
and even to light the funeral pyres.
● In other words, while Sympathy focuses on awareness, empathy focuses on experience and
Compassion focuses on action.
● For example, if a poor person comes to an administrative officer without adequate documents for
an LPG connection. In case, he just shows his concern, it is sympathy. Further, in case he consoles
the person and tells him that he shares his agony and suffering, it is empathy. Finally, in case he
not only shows his solidarity but also uses his discretionary powers to allocate him a connection, it
is compassion.

Case study: Compassionate Kozhikode is a project by the district administration of Kozhikode to

facilitate people who are willing to give to people who are in need.

How to cultivate Empathy?

★ Art, literature, cinema can help us inculcate empathy. Ex: Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali
realistically portrays poverty and rural India. Mother Teresa’s autobiography No Greater Love,
moves one’s heart.
★ Encourage perspective talking, role playing games, put yourself in the shoes of other people.
★ Visit slums, old age homes, etc.
★ People of all religions are given public holidays on religious events. It should encourage them to
participate in each other’s festivals.
★ Right to Education Act provides 25% reservation to children from economically weaker sections
in the schools. So, rich and poor will interact with each other and cultivate empathy for each other.
★ IAS probationers are sent to Bharat Darshan for similar reasons of understanding the diversity of
India and growing compassion towards others.

14 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Political Neutrality:
● Sardar Patel had made the following observations in the Constituent Assembly to
support the continuance of the pre-independence civil service structure: -
"It needs hardly to be emphasized that an efficient, disciplined and contended civil
service, assured of its prospects as a result of diligent and honest work, is a sine-
qua non of sound administration under democratic regime even more than under
an authoritarian rule.”
● The service must be above party and we should ensure that political considerations,
either in its recruitment or in its discipline and control, are reduced to the minimum if
not eliminated altogether.
● Public should have confidence in the non-political character of Civil Services.
● Confidence of ministers belonging to any political party in the loyalty of their
permanent civil servants.
● High morale of civil servants should be based on the confidence that career
advancement would not be remaining politically impartial and non-partisan.
● Providing stability in the government, especially in times of political and social
upheaval.
● Civil servants cannot allow themselves so intimate an identification with a particular
policy or programmes to create for them an emotional disability when it comes to turning
in the opposite direction under a different government.

Political Neutrality and Policy Neutrality

• As observed by Paul Appleby, Civil Servants should not confuse 'political neutrality' with
'programme neutrality'.
• At the stage of policy formulation, the role of Civil Servants is to render free and frank advice
which should not be coloured by any political considerations.
• Once a policy or programme has been approved by the elected government, it is the duty of the
Civil Servant to faithfully and enthusiastically see to its implementation.
• Not carrying out this task in the right spirit would amount to misconduct inviting appropriate
sanctions.

Commitment:
● It involves dedicating oneself to a person, cause or organization.
● It obligates a person to do something. Work for the sake of work.
● Concept of NISHKAMA KARMA
● It is detached involvement. It is performing work without calculating reward.
● One who broods over results is ever distracted, he says goodbye to all scruples, everything is right
in his estimation. And he therefore, resorts to means fair and foul to attain his end”- Gandhi.

Spirit of Service:
● It means doing one's duty with diligence and devotion. Qualities (Values) like love, compassion,
forgiveness manifests itself into the spirit of service.

15 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

● It is treating the Civil Service as a vocation. The value of renunciation goes with service hand
in hand.
● Spirit of service and sacrifice is an essential ingredient of public services and public officials
should feel inspired that they are working for a national cause.
● Today, in society there is an increase in selfishness, and general lack of concern for other
individuals.
● What we have in India today, is not a giving and sharing society, but a grabbing society, not a
sacrificing society but a consumer society. Self-seeking and exploitation of the weak have become
common.
● These maladies result in general unhappiness and a retreat from the goal of general welfare and
fulfillment.
● Mahatma Gandhi had said, ‘there is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for their
greed’.
● We need to change societal attitudes particularly those who are in public services so that they
develop sympathy for the masses and work in the true spirit of service to the society.
● Ex: Mother Teresa who picked the dying and destitute off the streets and gutters, so that they
could die in dignity.
● Ex: Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit Priest worked in Jharkhand for forest rights, land and other
basic rights of the Adivasis has spent his whole life in the service of others.

Humility
● Humility is the quality of being humble and thinking that you are not superior to anyone. It also
means not drawing attention to yourself.
● For example, even though Narayan Murthy is a billionaire, he cleans his toilet by himself. Also,
being a parent can be a very humble job, wiping noses, changing diapers, and meeting a child’s
every need for years.
● Humility asks us to acknowledge our imperfections. It requires that we admit when we are wrong
and then change course.
● People look towards civil servants with suspicion, because they find most of the civil servants are
full of arrogance, egoist, and power drunk. Civil servants need to dispel this notion from the minds
of people by becoming humble.
● Gandhi believed that humanity had to develop certain qualities like fearlessness, non-possession
and humility.

Perseverance:
● Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties,
obstacles, or discouragement.
● Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration-Edison.
● Perseverance trumps both failure and fatigue and get people through hardships and drudgery.
● “Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer”.
● I was never myself discouraged, or inclined to be hopeless of success-Edison.
● Ex: Majhi man. He worked day and night for 22 years and broke down the hill. The path is 360
foot long and 25 foot deep. He shortened the distance from 70 kilometres to just one kilometre. He
worked from 1960 to 1982. For his achievement, Manjhi became popularly known as the 'Mountain
Man’.

16 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Self –Discipline
● It involves controlling our wishes, base desires, our egos, even controlling our
appetites and words.
● Learning self –discipline takes a lot of practice, patience and perseverance.
● It demands mental stamina and will power to overcome empty passion and faulty habits.
● It is the means by which one may take control of the mind and direct it to whatever ends
he may desire.
● Discipline entails the strict observance of rules, regulations and directions.
● The sense of duty can yield results only when discipline is observed.
● The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take
possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.
● Patanjali’s famous aphorism “Yogachitavrit Nirodh” that is yoga is control of thought
waves in the mind. The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself, to be conquered
by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.
● According to Plato, self-discipline is the ability to take actions whether you like those
actions or not.

Lack of Discipline: Root of all Maladies

★ Indeed, a proper, fair and effective enforcement of law is a facet of discipline.
Unfortunately for India, discipline is disappearing fast from public life and without
discipline, as the Scandinavian economist- sociologist, Gunnyar Myrdal, has pointed
out, no real progress is possible.
★ Discipline implies inter alia public and private morality and a sense of honesty. While
in the West a man who rises to positions of higher authority develops greater
respect for laws, the opposite is true in our country.
★ Here, the mark of a person holding high position is the ease with which he can ignore
the laws and regulations. We are being swamped by a culture of indiscipline and
untruth; morality, both public and private, is at a premium.
★ Ex: To inculcate the value of discipline in 5000 elected representatives in Parliament,
Legislative Assemblies and Councils, Vice- President Venkaiah Naidu called for the
campaign ‘Mission 5000’. The campaign:
- aims to identify the ‘disruptors’ and raise the same when such lawmakers visit respective
constituencies and areas.
- lets social media to handle constituency or State-wise details and post the names
of disruptors with comments.

17 | P a g e
WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

18 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

www.optimizeias.com

CSE MAINS 2023

Mains Master Notes 2023

Emotional Intelligence

1|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Contents
Emotions ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Social Intelligence vs. Emotional Intelligence ............................................................................................... 4
MODELS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ...................................................................................................... 5
Consequence of EQ ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Emotional Competencies: ........................................................................................................................... 11
EI’s link with Personality Traits ................................................................................................................... 14
Which is more important emotional intelligence or IQ? ............................................................................ 14
EQ and Resilience ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Achieving goals and EI................................................................................................................................. 16
EI and decision making................................................................................................................................ 17
EI linkage to Happiness and Well-being...................................................................................................... 17
EI and Bad/Problem Behaviour ................................................................................................................... 18
EI and Pro-social Behaviour ........................................................................................................................ 18
EQ and Leadership/Organizational Behavior .............................................................................................. 19
IMPROVING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE .................................................................................................... 20

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

2|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Emotions

To understand emotional intelligence let’s begin with looking at what we understand by the term
intelligence and emotions.

Intelligence refers to the unique human mental ability to handle and reason about information

What are emotions?

• Daniel Goleman a famous American psychologist in his book on emotional intelligence

addresses this very basic question on the role our emotions play in our lives. Our emotions
guide us in facing predicaments and tasks too important to leave to intellect alone like danger,
painful loss, persisting toward a goal despite frustrations, bonding with a mate, building a
family.
• Each emotion offers a distinctive readiness to act. Every one of these emotions points us in a
direction that has worked well to handle the recurring challenges of human life. As these
eternal situations were repeated and repeated over our evolutionary history, the survival value
of our pile of emotions became more innate and automatic tendencies of the human heart.
• All emotions are, essentially impulses to act, the instant plans for handling life that evolution
has instilled in us. Emotions basically lead to actions. Every emotion is unique and each
emotion triggers a specific response in the body.

Basic Emotions

EMOTION RESPONSE
Anger Blood-flow to the hands which facilitates actions
like grasping a weapon, striking at your enemy
and an increase in heart rate

Fear Blood flow to large skeletal muscles like legs,

making it easier to flee and face turns pale as
blood is diverted away from it

Happiness Increased activity in the brain center which

inhibits negative feelings and worrisome
thoughts and increases the available energy

Surprise Lifting of the eyebrows helps take a larger visual

sweep and allows more light to strike the retina.
It offers more information about the unexpected
event, which simplifies our understanding to
figure out exactly what is going on and come up

3|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

with an execution plan

Emotions vs. Moods

• People use the terms “emotions” and “mood” interchangeably, however psychologists point
out the distinction between them.
• An emotion is mostly quite short-lived, but intense. Emotions are also likely to have a definite
and identifiable cause.
• For example, after disagreeing with a friend over politics, you might feel angry for a short period
of time.
• A mood, usually is much milder than an emotion, but longer-lasting. Lot of times it can be
difficult to identify the specific cause of a mood.
• For example, you might find yourself feeling gloomy for several days without any
clear, identifiable reason.

Social Intelligence vs. Emotional Intelligence

• Social intelligence and emotional intelligence have closer relation to each other than IQ. Both
the concepts are related to maneuvering social or emotional situations.
• Though they seem to be similar there is a clear distinction between both these concepts.
• Emotional intelligence refers more to the present, wherein it is used to identify and manage
emotions in the moment.
• Social intelligence uses some of the same skills and abilities but is often focused toward the
future.
• It allows you to understand the feelings, personalities, and behaviors of yourself and others
effectively handle relationships.

• In a very real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels. Both of these
interact to construct our mental life. The rational mind, is the system of knowing which we are
typically conscious of, it shows prominence in awareness and enables us to ponder and reflect.
• Along with it is the other system of our mind that is impulsive and powerful, and at times
illogical, this is the emotional mind.
• Through our experiences we know understand that when it comes to shaping our decisions and
our actions, feelings play a significant role, at times they even dominate our thoughts.
Intelligence can come to nothing when the emotions begin to overpower us.

4|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Thus, emotional intelligence (EI):

“concerns the ability to carry out accurate reasoning about emotions and the ability to use emotions and emotional
knowledge to enhance thought” (Mayer et al., 2008).

• Simply put, emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize your emotions, understand what
they are conveying to you, and realize how your emotions affect people around you.
• It also involves your perception of others, when you understand how they feel, this allows you
to manage relationships more effectively.
• Why do some people who fare poorly in school succeed in life and
why some who do well in school don’t do so well in the “real” world is that success relies on a
certain degree of emotional intelligence, the accurate awareness of and ability to
manage one’s own emotions to facilitate thinking and attain specific goals, and the ability to
understand what others feel.

Daniel Goleman (1998) defines emotional intelligence as ‘the capacity for recognising our own feelings
and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our
relationships.

MODELS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Emotional intelligence as a term didn't come into our vernacular till the 1990s. The concept of emotional
intelligence was first introduced by Peter Salovey and John Mayer (1990) and later popularized by Dan
Goleman (1995)

Models of emotional intelligence are as follows:

a) Goleman’s EI performance model

b) Bar-On’s EI competencies model

c) Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso’s EI ability model

GOLEMAN’S EI PERFORMANCE MODEL

Goleman’s work on emotional intelligence skills is connected to leadership and managerial abilities.
According to Goleman, emotional intelligence is made of 5 components, which are as follows:

5|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

1. Self-awareness

It is the capacity to recognize and understand emotions and to have a sense of how one’s actions,
moods and the emotions of others take effect.

Self-awareness includes tracking of emotions and taking note of different emotional reactions, the
ability to identify the emotions precisely.

Our feelings and actions are interrelated, an awareness of one’s own strengths and weaknesses is also
a part of self-awareness.

Self-awareness is associated with being open to different experiences and new ideas and learning from
social interactions and also to take lessons from day-to-day interactions with others.

2. Self-regulation

Expressing emotions appropriately points to self-regulation.

It takes into consideration multiple aspects like flexibility, coping with change, managing conflict
dousing difficult situations, awareness of how our actions might impact others and taking
responsibility for our actions.

3. Social skills

Healthy interaction with others points to good social skills. Merely understanding ours and others’
emotions wouldn’t suffice, we should also put this understanding to work practically. When we apply
the understanding of our emotions and that of others on a daily basis, our social skills grow.

Different social skills include – active listening, verbal communication skills, non-verbal communication
skills, leadership, and developing rapport.

4. Empathy

Empathy means being able to understand how other people are feeling. It refers to how you would
respond if you were in their same situation. Emotionally intelligent people have the ability to consider
the perspectives, experiences, and emotions of other people and use it to explain people’s behaviour.
He or she can then act appropriately in a given situation.

Empathy involves understanding power dynamics, that play a part in all social relationships, mainly in
workplace relations and how these affect feelings and behavior, as well as accurately perceiving
situations where power dynamics come into force.

Emotionally intelligent people avoid stereotyping and judging too quickly, and they live their lives in a
very open, honest way.

6|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

5. Motivation

We refer to intrinsic motivation in the context of emotional intelligence.

Intrinsic motivation means an individual is driven from inside to strive and achieve his personal needs
and goals, rather than relying on external rewards such as money, fame, and recognition for
motivation. They're willing to defer immediate results for long-term success.

Such people find themselves in a “flow”, by being totally involved in an activity.

Such a person is a man of action, he or she sets goals and makes sure to act upon them as well without
an external push. They direct their energy towards achievement and constantly find ways to improve.
They possess traits like commitment and take initiative.

MAYER, SALOVEY, AND CARUSO’S EI ABILITY MODEL

Perceiving emotions: is about being aware of and sensitive to others’ emotions. It involves the correct
identification of emotions of others and your own with the help of different cues or emotional signals
like, facial expressions, voices or pictures.

∙ Identify deceptive or dishonest emotional expressions.

∙ Discriminate between accurate vs. inaccurate emotional expressions.
∙ Understand how emotions are shown after duly considering context and culture.
∙ Express emotions accurately when desired.
∙ Perceive emotional content in the environment, visual arts, and music and in other
people through their vocal cues, facial expression, language, and behavior.
∙ Identify emotions in one’s own physical states, feelings, and thoughts.

Facilitating thought using emotion: occurs after we detect and identify emotions.

Analyzing and registering of the obtained ‘emotional information ‘takes place. This is then fed to
our higher-level cognitive functions for better decision-making, rationalizing, problem-solving, and
consideration of others’.

∙ Select problems based on how one’s ongoing emotional state might facilitate cognition.
∙ Leverage mood swings to generate different cognitive perspectives.
∙ Prioritize thinking by directing attention according to present feeling.
∙ Generate emotions as a means to relate to experiences of another person.
∙ Generate emotions as an aid to judgment and memory.

7|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Understanding emotions: refers to the relation between different emotions and the changes they
undergo based on the situations we face, and how our feelings get altered over time.

∙ Understand how a person might feel in the future or under certain conditions.
∙ Comprehending complex and mixed emotions.
∙ Distinguishing between moods and emotions.
∙ Appraise the situations that are likely to elicit emotions.
∙ Determine the antecedents, meanings, and consequences of emotions.
∙ Learning to label emotions and understanding how they are related.

Managing emotions: involves effective handling of your own and others’ emotions to get the desired
outcome

∙ Formulating strategies to maintain, decrease, or intensify an emotional response.

∙ Monitor the emotional reactions and to understand their reasonableness.

Management and understanding of emotions are higher-level skills, because they depend on emotion
perception and facilitation of thoughts via emotions to work effectively. This aspect is especially
important in work environment where one might have to handle a stressful deadline.

BAR-ON-MODEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

This model includes emotional intelligence, social skills, and their facilitators together.

There are five interrelated competencies, skills, and behavior clusters in this model.

These clusters were specifically selected because they seemed to have an impact on our well-being and
performance as humans.

These ‘clusters’ are:

1. Self-Awareness and Self-Expression

2. Social Awareness and Interpersonal Relationships
3. Emotional Management and Regulation
4. Change Management and
5. Self-Motivation.

The Bar-On model says that these EI competencies and skills help us understand how we as people
understand ourselves and others, our self-expression, relate to one another and deal with everyday
demands.

8|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Consequence of EQ
Consequence of low EQ is the feeling of general unhappiness. If what you can’t deal with upsets easily,
and if you are uncomfortable with yourself, you need to check your EQ. The benefits of being aware of
how you feel from an interpersonal point of view will not be available to you if your EQ is on the lower
side. You may not be able to choose a friend who is best suited to you because you are not aware of
your own inner emotions. If your EQ is not high, it is likely that you will choose a friend who is not well
suited to you. You may even choose as friend a person who makes logical sense but who just cannot
make you feel ‘good’. The cost of this may be very high. Eventually, you may find excuses to end such a
friendship.

Consequence of high EQ is the feeling of general happiness. When you have a high EQ, you are more
likely to recognise the source of your emotions, and have the confidence to take appropriate
actions, thus increasing long-term happiness. You will set your own standards by closely examining your
own values and beliefs. You will lead your life according to your own terms, rather than be governed by
society’s norms. Finally, the higher your EQ, the more you will assume responsibility for your own
happiness, and depend less on society. Research on EQ has revealed that
people high on EQ are happier, healthier and more successful in their relationships. They strike a
balance between emotion and reason, are aware of their own feelings, are empathic and compassionate
towards others and also show signs of high self-esteem.

We may conclude by saying that emotional intelligence is the capacity to create positive outcomes in
your relationships with others and with yourself. Positive outcomes include joy, optimism,
and success in work, school, and life. Increasing emotional intelligence (EQ) has been correlated with
better results in leadership, sales, academic performance, marriage, friendships, and health.
Learning some emotional skills such as expressing emotions, identifying and labelling emotions,
assessing the intensity of emotions, managing emotions, delaying gratification, controlling impulses,
reducing stress and knowing the difference between emotions and actions can make you a star
performer.

9|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

https://www.optimizeiascourses.com/learn/ETHICS-MASTERCLASS-2023

10 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Emotional Competencies:

The Self-Awareness Cluster

This cluster deals with the understanding of feelings and accurate self-assessment, and comprises three
competencies relating to performance at the workplace.

EMOTIONAL SELF-AWARENESS
It reflects the importance of recognising one’s feelings and how they affect one’s performance. At a
financial services company, emotional self-awareness proved crucial in financial planners’ job
performance. At another level, self-awareness is the key to realising one’s strengths and weaknesses.
Among several hundred managers from 12 different organisations, accurate self-assessment was the
hallmark of superior performance. Individuals with the accurate competence in self-assessment are
aware of their abilities and limitations, seek out feedback and learn from their mistakes, and know
where they need to improve and when to work with others who have complementary strengths.
SELF-CONFIDENCE
A high degree of self-confidence among supervisors, managers, and executives, distinguishes the best
from the average performer.

The Self-Management Cluster

This cluster refers to managing internal states, impulses and resources, and includes six competencies
relating to workplace performance.

EMOTIONAL SELF-CONTROL
Heading the list is competence in emotional self-control, which manifests largely as the absence of
distress and disruptive feelings. Signs of this competence include being unfazed in stressful situations or
dealing with a hostile person without lashing out in return.

TRUSTWORTHINESS

11 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Trustworthiness competence translates into letting others know one’s values and principles, intentions
and feelings, and acting in ways that are consistent with them. Trustworthy individuals are forthright
about their own mistakes and confront others about their lapses. Deficiency in this ability can derail a
career.

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
The signs of conscientiousness competence include being careful, self-disciplined and scrupulous in
attending to responsibilities. If there is any single competence our present times call for, it is
adaptability. Superior performers in management ranks exhibit
this competence.

ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTATION
This is the competence that drives success of entrepreneurs. In its most general sense, this competence,
also known as achievement drive, refers to an optimistic striving to continually improve performance.

INITIATIVE
Those with strong initiative competence act before being forced to do so by external events. This often
means taking anticipatory action to avoid problems before they happen, or taking advantage
of opportunities before they are visible to anyone else.

The Social Awareness Cluster

This cluster refers to reading people and groups accurately, and encompasses three competencies
relating to performance at work.

EMPATHY
Empathy competence gives people an astute awareness of others’ emotions, concerns and needs. The
empathic individual can read emotional currents, picking up on nonverbal cues such as tone of
voice or facial expression.

SERVICE
The ability to identify a client’s or customer’s often-unstated needs and concerns and then match them
to products or services is an individual’s service competence. This empathic strategy distinguishes star
sales performers from average ones. It also means taking a long-term perspective, sometimes trading
off immediate gains in order to preserve customer relationships.

ORGANISATIONAL AWARENESS
The ability to read currents of emotions and political realities in groups is a competence vital to behind-
the-scenes networking and coalition building that allows individuals to wield influence, no
matter what their professional role.

The Relationship Management Cluster

This cluster refers to inducing desirable responses in others and has 12 competencies relating to
performance at work.

DEVELOPING OTHERS

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Developing others involves sensing people’s developmental needs and bolstering their abilities—a talent
not just of excellent coaches and mentors, but also outstanding leaders.

INFLUENCE
We practice the essence of influence competence when we handle and manage emotions effectively in
other people and are persuasive. The most effective people sense others’ reactions and finetune
their own responses to move interaction in the best direction.

COMMUNICATION
Creating an atmosphere of openness, with clear lines of communication, is a key factor in organisational
success. People who exhibit communication competence are effective in the give-and take of emotional
information, deal with difficult issues in a straightforward manner, listen well and welcome sharing
information, and foster open communication and stay receptive to bad
news as well as good.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Effective conflict management and negotiation are important to long-term, symbiotic business
relationships, such as those between manufacturers and retailers. In a survey of retail buyers in
department store chains, effectiveness at win–win negotiating was inaccurate barometer of the health
of the manufacturer–retailer relationship.

VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
Those adept at visionary leadership competence draw on a range of personal skills to inspire others to
work together towards common goals. They are able to articulate and arouse enthusiasm for a shared
vision and mission, step forward as needed, guide the performance of others while holding them
accountable and lead by example.

CHANGE CATALYST
An effective change leader articulates a compelling vision of new organisational goals. A leader’s
competence at catalysing change brings greater efforts and better performance from subordinates,
making their work more effective.

BUILDING BONDS
Competence in building bonds epitomises stars in fields like engineering, computer science,
biotechnology, and another knowledge work fields in which networking is crucial for success. These stars
tend to choose people with a particular expertise or resource
to be part of their networks.

COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK

Collaboration and teamwork competence has taken on increased importance in the last decade with the
trend toward team-based work in many organisations. Teamwork itself depends on the collective
emotional intelligence of its members; the most productive teams are those that exhibit emotional
intelligence competencies at the team level.

13 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

EI’s link with Personality Traits

Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2004) conducted a study on more than 1000 individuals and came to the
conclusion that people who are highly emotionally intelligent seem to be more open minded,
agreeable, and conscientious.

Neuroscience has also shown that EI also makes use of those regions of the brain that are involved in
conscientiousness (Barbey, Colom and Grafman, 2014).

These findings indicate that an important feature of EI is conscientiousness, which is characterized by

the degree of organization, persistence, control, and motivation in goal-directed behavior.

Researchers like Salovey describe EI as the subset of social intelligence. An individual’s personality under
some social conditions is expressed through his behavior. Personality encompasses motives, emotions,
social styles, self-awareness and self-control.

These components contribute to consistent patterns of behavior, which are quite distinct from
intelligence.

People who score higher in EI tend to be more likely to prefer social occupations than enterprising
occupations., individuals who score more highly on EI also tend to display more adaptive defense
mechanisms than less adaptive ones, such as denial

Which is more important emotional intelligence or IQ?

• During initial discussions, psychologists started talking about intelligence from the cognitive
viewpoint which includes problem solving and memory. Intelligence was classified based on
intellective and non-intellective components however emotions and intelligence were
historically considered distinct from each other and bore no correlation.
• One might wonder, if emotions impede us from achieving our goals, then how can one be
intelligent in the emotional spheres of life?
• Practically, only high cognitive intelligence or IQ is not the only determining factor to ensure
success in life.
• Success solely in one sphere of life doesn’t correspond to a successful life. Emotional
intelligence and IQ in synergy determine how successful one is. Intellect works at its highest
potential when accompanied by emotional intelligence. Both of them have considerable value.
• IQ enumerates the level of cognitive complexity of a person and considerably determine
academic achievement levels and is limited in scope while EQ can tell us who will make a great
leader parent or teacher.
• Despite this, the misconception that high IQ solely determines success still prevails.
• In reality the contribution of IQ is 20% when it comes to a successful life. This is the reason we
may have witnessed that not everyone who was at the top of your class is necessarily
successful today. Emotional Intelligence like any other skill can thankfully be improved. The

14 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

ability to connect with and understand others is a more powerful skill to possess than cognitive
intellect alone. People with high emotional intelligence are usually successful in most things
they do because they're the ones that others want on their team

EQ and Resilience
In adverse situations management of emotions is of utmost importance. This is where emotional
intelligence plays a crucial role. Through EI one can develop emotional resilience. One can tide over the
most difficult situations by not getting overwhelmed by one’s own emotions and ensuring that one has a
good control over the situation to tackle the problem at hand effectively.

Accepting change: those leading a disciplined life have a daily routine, their tasks are delegated for
specific time slots, but if an unforeseen circumstance is encountered emotional intelligence plays an
important role since it helps them stay open minded to the change in routine and they quickly cater to
the situational demand.

Delegation: when situations look like they are going to go out of control, people ranking high in EI often
would approach the situation by delegating the tasks to rather than taking up everything upon
themselves as it could be detrimental.

Rather than obsessing over a task that isn’t theirs they quickly pull their attention out of it and invest
their energy on the task that calls for their attention urgently. This helps alleviating the pressure and
successfully tiding over the difficult and tense situation.

Communication: with good communication skills room for conflicts is greatly reduced, since with
communication you can convey your thoughts on how a situation needs to or could be handled with
people around you and is willing to listen. When speaking with people, give them your full attention
and the airtime they need.

Frequent conversations and keeping the people around you posted about the situation provides more
clarity and people feel like their opinion too counts.

If it is a child that one has to deal with, one would have to be very calm and patient as children have
many questions and they need to be dealt with care.

Being kind to themselves: Plans will fail, routines will collapse, expectations will be met with
disappointments. We need to learn to be patient with ourselves and others. High EI people avoid
negative self-talk.

They appreciate many of the things that are going right with them rather than directing their focus
towards the things that aren’t going right with them. They appreciate themselves for the small and
successful efforts that they make,

15 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

They practice gratitude and mindfulness which has long term benefits and helps them in focusing their
attention towards positivity. Every cloud has a silver lining and emotionally intelligent are aware that
problems are temporary but they have to deal with them effectively by putting their attention to them
at the appropriate time to save themselves from hassle in the future.

Through these approaches emotionally intelligent constantly put into practice their EI skills which
helped them develop emotional resilience in the toughest of times.

Achieving goals and EI

Good news is that achieving our goals to has its roots in emotional intelligence. If leaders and managers
use EI well, they can bring about immense progress in their workplace.

To attain self-actualization, we should firstly be happy about our work which leads to motivation and
high performance which brings a sense of fulfillment.

Without happiness working on a task at your highest potential is very trying, it won’t lead to motivation
and motivation is one of the key components of EI.

Groups of people ranking high in EI performed well on goal achievement compared to those low in EI as
per studies. (Jordana, Ashkanasyb, Härtelb, & Hooperb, 2007).

In order give our best and achieve our goals, we need to enhance emotional self-awareness, effective
problem solving and decision-making skills.

We must have complete clarity with regard to our goal, and be motivated to do all that it takes to
achieve what we want.

EI and Academic performance

Research has been done to predict school grades and intellectual problem-solving in relation to EQ
(Mayer 2004).

A study of gifted students in Israel was conducted. It was found that these students scored very high
on EI than those students who were not so academically gifted.

When the study’s focus was directed towards emotion-related tasks in students pursuing psychology in
their graduation, a positive relationship was discovered between experiencing emotion, GPA and the
year in which the student was, in the course.

16 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

EI and decision making

Risky decisions are guided by emotions such as anxiety which spring up from events that might to be
bearing little or no correlation.

It is known as incidental anxiety, which emotionally intelligent people don’t fall prey to or are less
likely to as they are able to recognize the irrelevant source of their anxiety and combat it
instantaneously by point to the true sources of their emotions.

Since emotionally intelligent people have the ability to understand how they are feeling as well as take
into consideration the feelings of others whether it is anger frustration or elation, they don’t resort to
impulsive decision making. They can accurately predict the impact of their decisions and hence resort
to well thought and planned decisions.

Consider a situation where you might be in a disagreement with your partner and head for work angry
stressed out, later in the day you dismiss a proposal from a colleague without really paying attention to
what they are putting forward as you’re just not in the mood.

This sway of emotions can be detrimental to the decision-making process, those with better developed
EI can identify and manage this kind of emotional interference and avoid emotionally-driven decisions.

Negative emotions can impede problem-solving and decision making both in the workplace and
personal circumstances. Highly emotionally intelligent people use handling of emotions as their greatest
strength, and key to decision-making. It helps them understand their professional and personal
relationships, improve their communication with others and help inform the choices they make
professionally.

EI linkage to Happiness and Well-being

• Happiness might be interpreted differently by different people, but, emotional intelligence is

invariably required for one to be happy irrespective of his or her definition of happiness.
• When emotions are managed well relationships improve, progress made towards goal
achievement is in track, people begin to look forward to speaking to you, cooperation and social
skills improve, all of which bring contentment in multiple spheres of a person’s life.
• Higher the emotional intelligence individuals experience more sense of satisfaction and
fulfillment in their lives.
• They also possess higher self-esteem. The correlation found between EI and lower depression
levels is also high.

17 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• By developing the skills for EI one can reduce stress, which consequently has a positive impact
on well-being and happiness.
• Positivity enhances the emotional energy needed to increase motivation which leads to action
and the work gets done.
• One doesn’t reach out for short term pleasures to be happy they regulate their behaviour to
seek the long-term benefits in their lives.
• Alongside its motivational value, happiness monitors one’s immediate well-being and infuses
a positive mood in the way individuals tackle daily demands, challenges, and pressures.

EI and Bad/Problem Behaviour

• For research intelligence and personality parameters are statistically controlled, EI is inversely
related to bullying, violence, tobacco use and drugs.
• For example, studies have showed that EI and aggression in students is inversely related. In
2002, Swift studied the EI of persons who were part of a court-ordered violence-prevention
program, and found that perceiving emotions inversely related to psychological aggression.
• Insults and emotional torture were observed as a result of poor emotional intelligence.

EI and Pro-social Behaviour

• Research has found a positive correlation between scores in Managing Emotion and the quality
of interactions with friends (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2004).

High EI scores Quality of Social Interaction

Managing emotions well More valued and liked by members of the
opposite sex

More social sensitivity

When people with high emotional intelligence

send an email, it gets answered

When they need help, they get it

All of this happens because they make others feel good, they go through life much more easily than
people who are easily angered or upset.

18 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

EQ and Leadership/Organizational Behavior

They give no room to personal vendetta between themselves and employees which naturally increases
productivity.

All the great leaders are aware of the fact that a lot power lies in their emotions so they make sure to
learn how to identify, understand and manage them, and also go ahead to teach those they lead how to
do the same.

Thus, emotional intelligence is imperative for every individual but finds a special importance when it
comes to leadership.

TESTING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

To measure emotional intelligence levels different assessments have emerged. It can be categorized as:

∙ Self-report tests
∙ Ability tests

Self-report tests: one can score easily on these tests they are easy to conduct as well.

In this test the respondents have to rate their own behaviour by responding to statements like

“I am motivated to become one of the best in my field” “Meeting new people is something I look
forward to”

“I have great confidence in my social abilities” etc.

Ability tests: involve tests where people react to situations and then their skills are assessed. People
have to show their abilities, which are then rated by a third party.

If a mental health professional conducts a test the following measures could be used:

∙ Bar-On's Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): A self-report test for measuring competencies
which includes self-perception, decision making, stress management, self-expression, and
interpersonal relationships.

The test is available to qualified professionals for the purpose of assessment.

• Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT): An ability-based test that measures the
four branches of Mayer and Salovey's EI model.

People taking the test have to perform tasks designed to assess their ability to perceive, identify,
understand, and manage emotions.

• Emotional and Social Competence Inventory (ESCI): It is on the basis of an older testing model, the
Self-Assessment Questionnaire.

19 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

The ESCI involves having people who know the individual offer ratings of that person’s abilities in several
different emotional competencies.

The test is designed to evaluate the social and emotional abilities that help distinguish people as
strong leaders.

IMPROVING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

The main takeaway is that all the components of EI are abilities, rather than static, unalterable traits.
Thus, Emotional Intelligence fortunately can be developed and refined with time if the required effort
and time is given.

• Observe your own reactions: see if you jump to conclusion and judge others way too easily
before going through all the information. Is your judgement supported with substantial facts?
Do you fall prey to stereotypes? If so, try gaining an understanding of how the other might feel
had you been in their position. Shunning a parochial view and adopting an open-minded
approach can improve your emotional intelligence.

• Evaluate yourself: analyses your limitations and be ready to accept them for everyone is not
perfect. Once you accept your flaws you could focus on those areas and improve yourself
towards being a better person. If one is honest with themselves, they can make great changes to
their lives.

• Work environment observations: if you feel you are constantly looking for recognition for every
accomplishment of yours, you must try bringing about an attitude shift. Try practicing humility,
and being humble doesn’t correspond to shyness lack of confidence and being taken advantage
of while you know what you have done and feel confident about it, give others too an
opportunity to be praised rather than seeking praise only for yourself.

• Reaction to stressful situations: When things don’t go your way or you feel everything is going
wrong or witness a delay in everything try to maintain your cool rather than getting overtly
upset about it. Pointing fingers at others, yelling at them for no fault of theirs or an emotional
outburst won’t be of any help. Trying to keep your calm in most tense situations can help you a
long way in business and outside it as well.

20 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Think before you act or react:

• Journaling:
• Spend only a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, it gives you clarity and can
move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.
• Slowing down:
• Before reacting without much thinking take a pause and think how your reaction might affect
others or else if you have to take a particular decision, think about its consequences and put
yourself in their position.
• When tempted to lose control, ask yourself, “Who or what am I trying to control that is beyond
my ability to control?” Then focus on what you can control that is your actions.
• This will prevent you from taking a hasty decision and regretting it later. Irrespective of the
situation, how you react to it makes all the difference as this factor is in your control
• Knowing your values: do you have clarity about the values that are non-negotiable to you?
which values are of utmost importance to you? Spend some time thinking about your code of
ethics because this can save you from thinking repeatedly in a situation when there is an ethical
dilemma, for you know what you stand for and the decision would be right.
• Re-examine your motivation: whenever you feel low, think about why you started what you are
doing. When your why is strong enough you figure out how things should be approached. If you
aren’t clear go back to the root. Starting from the root always helps viewing a situation from a
clearer perspective.
• Being hopeful and looking for something good: Every time you face a challenge, or a failure, try
to find at least one positive thing about the situation. It might be something small, like a new
contact, or something with long-term effects, like an important lesson learned. But there's
almost always something positive, if you look for it.
• Taking up responsibility: Don’t shy away from your responsibilities and if something goes wrong
because of you, take charge of it instead of passing the blame onto others. If you have hurt a
person’s feelings through your actions apologize directly rather than avoiding and ignoring
them. When you try honestly to correct your mistake, people are most likely ready to adopt the
forget and forgive approach.

21 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

22 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

www.optimizeias.com

Ethics Masterclass
CSE MAINS 2023

TOPIC: ACCOUNTABILITY AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com/

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow Optimize IAS telegram
channel

1|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACCOUNTABILITY ................................................................................................................................................................. 3
ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY ...................................................................................................................................... 3
NOLAN COMMITTEE’S SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE ...................................................................................... 3
SO, WHAT IS ACCOUNTABILITY IN FIRST PLACE AND WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL TODAY? ........................................ 4
ACCOUNTABILITY IMPLIES → ANSWERABILITY AND ENFORCEABILITY .............................................................. 4
TO WHOM ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OFFICIALS IS GENERALLY FIXED: ............................... 5
WHAT ARE TYPES OF ACCOUNTABILITIES?.................................................................................................................. 5
ARTICLE 311 AND EROSION OF ACCOUNTABILITY ..................................................................................................... 6
WHAT ARE THE TOOLS OF ACCOUNTABILITY?............................................................................................................ 7
REINVENTING ACCOUNTABILITY IN PARADIGM SHIFT OF GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION ................. 8
PARADIGM SHIFT IN GOVERNANCE AND ITS CHALLENGES TO EFFECTIVE ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS. 8
ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOOD-GOVERNANCE ........................................................................................................... 10
PROMOTING ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC SERVICES .............................................................................................. 10
ACCOUNTABILITY AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE .......................................................................................................... 12
EVOLUTION OF ETHICAL CONCERNS/GOVERNANCE IN ADMINISTRATION ......................................................... 13
CONTEXT OF ETHICS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF ETHICAL GOVERNANCE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ............ 13
ISSUES OF ETHICS AND FOCUS OF ETHICAL GOVERNANCE .................................................................................... 15
CERTAIN SALIENT ASPECTS OF ETHICS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION COULD BE UNDERSTOOD AS
FOLLOWS: .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15
MAXIM OF LEGALITY AND RATIONALITY...................................................................................................... 15
MAXIM OF RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: ................................................................................. 15
MAXIM OF WORK COMMITMENT: .................................................................................................................... 15
MAXIM OF EXCELLENCE.................................................................................................................................... 15
MAXIM OF FUSION .............................................................................................................................................. 15
MAXIM OF RESPONSIVENESS AND RESILIENCE ............................................................................................ 15
MAXIM OF UTILITARIANISM ............................................................................................................................. 15
MAXIM OF COMPASSION.................................................................................................................................... 15
MAXIM OF NATIONAL INTEREST...................................................................................................................... 16
MAXIM OF JUSTICE ............................................................................................................................................. 16
MAXIM OF TRANSPARENCY .............................................................................................................................. 16
MAXIM OF INTEGRITY ........................................................................................................................................ 16
SIGNIFICANCE OF CODE OF ETHICS IN ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND HOW IT SHOULD BE............................... 16
OBSTACLES TO ETHICAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ........................................................ 17
TOWARDS NEW DIMENSION OF ETHICS ...................................................................................................................... 19

2|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

ACCOUNTABILITY
In a democracy the interests and the choice of the government lies at the core of the governance. However, because of
the size of government and the distance between the people and the serving government servants, public interest could
be taken care of only if the government which is run by professional civil servants with the help of laws, rules and
regulations is held accountable for acts of commission and omission.
Thus, it is the transparency and the system of holding government accountable which makes the democracy real and
functional.
2nd ARC talks of the six perceived governance quality measures, each an aggregate of a number of sub-measures, are:
voice and accountability; absence of political instability and violence; government effectiveness; reasonableness of the
regulatory burden; the rule of law; and the absence of graft.
ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
• Accountability and ethical governance are significant for achievement of ethical standards in the governance
system.
• By ethical governance we mean not just ethical principles in formulating policies but ethical display in
behavioural terms by people manning these governing institutions
• Ethics and morality act as a form of self-accountability i.e., it acts as a form of "inner-check" on public servants.
• Ethical governance also includes moral dimensions. Thus, the self-accountability as a result of ethics
complements or strengthens external accountability through internal and external mechanism.
• If rules cannot enforce democratic accountability or prevent wrong doing, then ethical norms should be
internalized so that bureaucrats will act ethically on their own. This process relies on internal rather than on
organizationally imposed external controls.
• Accountability can be enforced through external and internal controls. External controls include:
legislative supervision of administrative actions; judicial scrutiny of administrative decisions and procedures;
and participation of citizens in administrative processes. Internal controls include: the use of rules and
procedures, making administration transparent, provision for whistle-blowers, democratizing organizations and
promotion of professional and ethical standards.

2nd ARC observes: Ethics is grounded in the notion of responsibility and accountability. In democracy, every holder of
public office is accountable ultimately to the people. Such accountability is enforced through a system of laws and rules,
which the elected representatives of the people enact in their legislatures. Ethics provides the basis for the creation of
such laws and rules. It is the moral ideas of people that give rise to and shapes the character of laws and rules. Our legal
system emanates from a shared vision of what is good and just.
Ethical, transparent and accountable public sector is also a precondition of good governance that ensures sustainable
development and responsive public policy
The role of ethics in public life has many dimensions. At one end is the expression of high moral values and at the
other, the specifics of action for which a public functionary can be held legally accountable. Any framework of
ethical behaviour must include the following elements:
a. Codifying ethical norms and practices.
b. Disclosing personal interest to avoid conflict between public interest and personal gain.
c. Creating a mechanism for enforcing the relevant codes.
d. Providing norms for qualifying and disqualifying a public functionary from office.
NOLAN COMMITTEE’S SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE :
3|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

It talks of accountability as, “Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the
public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.”
The alienation between the people and the public service undermines the legitimacy, effectiveness and credibility of
public administration. To bridge this gap, it is necessary to create confidence in the minds of the people towards the
competence, fairness, honesty, impartiality and sincerity of the public services. Thus, accountability is essential.

SO, WHAT IS ACCOUNTABILITY IN FIRST PLACE AND WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL TODAY?

It is answerability for one’s action or behaviour. Public services accountability means how public agency or a public
official fulfils assigned duties and obligations.
Today the governance has expanded everywhere and this has led to bureaucratic expansion, and the bureaucracies have
a constant impact on the quality of life of the citizens. This necessitate check on how this expanding bureaucracy is
using the power given. This is to say: for what and to whom are bureaucracies answerable? And how are the
bureaucracies held accountable?
Need of Public services accountability in democracy:
1. Democracy: Subordination and answerability of those in power or bureaucracy to the people and their elected
representatives
2. Constitutional system of government: subordinate to the mandates and constraints of the Constitution as
interpreted by the judiciary
3. Part of hierarchy: Answerable to the hierarchical superiors within the organisation
4. Checks and balances: Ensure those who wield power, exercise it responsibly
5. Changing nature of administration: The ever-expanding administrations today has led to administrator’s
participation in policy-making and their discretion in today's government, which is enormous. This creates a
public demand of how the power is used.
Accountability is the driving force that generates pressures on the key administrators to be responsible for and to ensure
good public service performance.

Fesler and Kettl (1991), point out, bureaucratic responsibility has to be seen from two standpoints.
One is accountability in terms of answerability for whatever the bureaucracy does or does not do; the
other is ethical behaviour.
Though two may seem overlapping and they do overlap. Yet, the second part i.e., in case of ethical behaviour,
it may at times call for disobedience to superiors or reporting of superiors' unethical behaviour to their
superiors, to legislators, or to the public

ACCOUNTABILITY IMPLIES → ANSWERABILITY AND ENFORCEABILITY

Accountability implies both ‘answerability’ (or giving an `account' of actions taken) and ‘enforceability’ (or punitive
measures for illegal, inadequate, and improper performance). These are generally done through:
1. Subjecting power to the threat of sanctions
2. Obliging it to be exercised in transparent ways
3. Forcing it to justify its acts.
This is to say, answerability is about obligation of public officials to inform about and explain what they are doing. And,
enforceability is the capacity of accounting agencies to impose sanctions on power holders who have violated their
public duties.

4|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Part of accountability is also right to receive information (also, right to receive an explanation and the corresponding
duty to justify one's conduct), which is the informational dimension of accountability. This means accountability is not
ensured only through legal constrains, but also public questioning and reasoning ensuring a constructive engagement
between those held accountable and to those they are held accountable.
What is the significance or purpose of accountability?
The basic purpose of the accountability is to knit an integrated fit or relationship between the administration and the
democracy. This larger purpose is achieved through other individual goals or purposes of the accountability:

• Controlling abuse of bureaucratic power and discretion Accountability places at least four
• Assurance that performance will be in accordance with requirements on the public
standards and quality (for ex- as mentioned in the Citizen administration.
Charter)
1. Make laws work as intended with a
• System promoting learning in pursuit of continuous
minimum of waste and delay
improvement in governance and public management
• Subsuming values and ethics and creating trust in 2. Exercise lawful and sensible
government which reflect ethical significance of administration discretion
accountability, thereby creating trust of those ruled.
3. Recommend new policies and propose
changes in existing policies and
programmes as needed
4. Enhance citizen confidence in the
administrative institutions of government.

TO WHOM ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OFFICIALS IS GENERALLY FIXED:

The accountability of the public officials is fixed through various mechanism. It can be both internal as well as external.
1. Intra- organisational perspective: It is broadly hierarchical structure of accountability in an organisation. For
ex- Subordinate official to his senior who in turn may be accountable to a secretary of department who is
responsible to political executive.
2. Extra or supra-organisational: It is external to the department. Ex- Judiciary, Legislative accountability of
executive, direct action by citizens or at the citizen-organisation interface (Ex- through RTI), Role of media
(Investigative journalism highlighting scams or dereliction of duties), Role of people’s movement (Ex- India
Against Corruption) etc.
Role of media in fixing accountability: Public accountability of government and semi-government organisations is
ensured in a democracy through the working of strong and independent media. Not only investigative journalism, but
by asking questions or “Letter to Editor” column etc. bring in element of accountability of the public services.
WHAT ARE TYPES OF ACCOUNTABILITIES?
1. Substantive side of accountability: It focuses on the merit of the decisions taken in public service. It is the notion
of 'performance accountability' that focuses on effectiveness and achievement of goals. For ex- It will include
financial accountability involving evaluation of achievement of goals and checking the actual fulfilment of a
pre-planned service.
2. Procedural accountability: It is in following regularity' in following the prescribed rules and regulations of the
organisation and observing the formally prescribed authority pattern.
Other division of types of accountabilities
1. Fiscal accountability: It is the scrutiny of records of financial transactions to ensure that the expenditure has
been legally made. Ex- Indian Parliament fixing accountability of the legislature or discussing CAG reports.

5|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

2. Process accountability: The performance of tasks by public agencies (ex- proper handling of tenders or contracts
etc.) and dos and don’ts in form of rules, laws and ethical guideline forms part of it.
3. Programme accountability: It focusses on results or effectiveness. It focusses on the real outcome and not merely
how the allocated funds have been used.
Jabbra and Dwivedi talks of five components of accountability w.r.t public service accountability:
1. Organisational or administrative: It is the traditional hierarchical accountability within the organisation, as
laid down in the classical Weberian bureaucratic form of administration.
2. Legal: This refers to accountability mechanisms through established law and judicial interpretation. Ex-
Judiciary holding NJAC unconstitutional to ensure independence of the courts
3. Professional: It is based in balancing the code of profession (of doctors, engineers and the like) with a greater
purpose of protecting the public interest. Ex- It’s need today is more so as more and more professionals are
being associated with the public services and thus to align their professional code and public interest becomes
very important.
4. Political: It embraces the democratic principle and ensures administrators are duty-bound to the political
authority of the time to uphold public interest.
5. Moral accountability: It is more individual and ethical standard. It is the duty that individuals and groups have
to act in accordance with the moral principles which are important to their organisations, society as well as
ethical standards. In this respect it goes beyond rules or bureaucratic norms. It is an effective tool to combat
rising administrative and political corruption. Ex- Whistleblowing cases is an example of this.
ARTICLE 311 AND EROSION OF ACCOUNTABILITY
• Part XIV of the Constitution deals with the regulation of service conditions of government servants. According
to Article 309, Parliament can make laws dealing with the recruitment and conditions of service of its
employees. State assemblies can pass similar laws for their state employees. Such laws have to be in line with
the provisions of the Constitution.
• However, the provisions embodied in Article 311 confer extraordinary job security on government servants.
Many argue that such excessive security emboldens government servants into various forms of misconduct. It
provides procedural safeguards to them against arbitrary dismissal or removal or reduction to a lower rank.
• First, no major punishment can be imposed on a government servant by an authority which is subordinate to an
authority which appointed him. Secondly, no government servant can be awarded a major penalty unless an
inquiry is held. Thirdly, he has to be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges.
• There are certain circumstances under which it is not necessary to hold a departmental inquiry before awarding
a penalty. These circumstances are (1) if the government servant is convicted on a criminal charge; (2) if it is
not reasonably practicable to hold an inquiry; and (3) if the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is
satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State, it is not expedient to hold such inquiry.

Supporting Art 311 protection Against Art 311 protection

• Guarantee against arbitrary and • NCRWC has said the Art 311 in practice
vindictive action is necessary for shielded the guilty against the swift and
independent decision-making. certain punishment for abuse of public
• Article subjects the doctrine of pleasure office for private gain.
contained in the preceding Article 310 to • 2nd ARC observes that the huge body of
certain safeguards. jurisprudential precedents has crowded
• the safeguard of an opportunity of being out the real intent of Article 311, and
heard has been held to be a fundamental created a heap of roadblocks in reducing
principle of natural justice. corruption.
• With respect to the higher officer or • Deletion of Article 311, its critics feel,
appointing authority only imposing will reduce the job security of
punishment it is argued that it follows a government servants. This in turn will
hierarchical structure where the
6|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

appointing authority for different make them more responsive, committed

categories of employees are assigned to and efficient.
different levels. • It is felt that deletion of Article 311 will
• The Supreme Court in many rulings held speed up departmental proceedings.
that Article 311 is not an obstacle to • The Constitution created the safeguards
speedy conduct of departmental in the aftermath of partition and post-
proceedings. Courts do not sit in appeal colonial administrative upheavals when
over findings of departmental inquiries. bureaucracy had to face grave,
The role of the higher courts is restricted unprecedented challenges. These
to ascertaining whether the inquiry was safeguards are unnecessary now.
fairly or properly conducted. • 2nd ARC says No other Constitution
• It is argued that it is the rules that govern provides such safeguards to civil
disciplinary enquiries, and not servants.
Article311 itself, that are responsible for • Because of the writ jurisdiction of courts
the delays in enquiry and even in the as provided in the Constitution, the
removal of delinquent government protection available to Government
servants employees is indeed formidable even
outside Article 311.
• The rights of a civil servant under the
Constitution should be subordinate to the
overall requirement of public interest
and the contractual right of the State.

2nd ARC recommendation w.r.t Art 311:

• Article 311 and Article 310 of the Constitution should be repealed.

• Suitable legislation to provide for all necessary terms and conditions of services should be provided under
Article 309, to protect the bona fide actions of public servants taken in public interest; this should be made
applicable to the States.
• Necessary protection to public servants against arbitrary action should be provided through
legislationunderArticle309.

WHAT ARE THE TOOLS OF ACCOUNTABILITY?

The accountability tools in a system is varying with each following different purposes. For ex Purpose of accountability
mechanisms and tools through it is achieved:
➢ Legitimacy: Constitutions and electoral systems for establishing government and decision-making bodies;
bureaucratic systems of representation; Royal prerogative; legislations; letters of appointment; standing orders
and formal delegations of authority
➢ Moral Conduct: Upholding social values, concepts of social justice and public interest; professional values;
training/induction programs, Code of Conduct and Code of ethics
➢ Responsiveness: Public participation and consultation; debates; advisory bodies; public meetings; freedom of
speech
➢ Openness: Parliamentary questions time; public information services, freedom of information laws: public
hearings: green and white papers; annual reports
➢ Optimal resource utilisation: Budgets; financial procedures; rules of vehement; parliamentary public accounts
committees; auditing; public enquiries and participation; formal planning systems
➢ Efficiency and effectiveness: Information communication systems; setting objectives and standards;
programme guidelines; approval; feedback from public

7|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

REINVENTING ACCOUNTABILITY IN PARADIGM SHIFT OF GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Today, the basic or traditional approach to accountability (democratic set-up evolved several basic mechanisms of
accountability such as ministerial control, parliamentary debates, legislative committees, media scrutiny and the
ombudsman system) though significant, may not be sufficient. This is mainly due to ‘New Public Management’
principles, reengineering of governance (ex- e-governance) and market-centered, neo-liberal approach to governance
necessitate a new set of accountability norms and standards. This has also been influenced by modern business or
corporate governance practices.
PARADIGM SHIFT IN GOVERNANCE AND ITS CHALLENGES TO EFFECTIVE ACCOUNTABILITY
STANDARDS
The governance today is more towards efficiency, outcome, competition, value for money, catalytic role, autonomy,
partnership and customer orientation etc.
These shifts pose political, managerial, and methodological challenges which could be seen in three different
dimensions:
1. The standards of accountability (accountability for what):
➢ Today the emphasis is on procedural and economic criteria such as efficiency and productivity, than on
substantive public concerns like equality and representation. The focus is less on citizens’ right, profit is
focus at place of welfare and justice. In sum, this business-like approach to accountability threatens the
democratic standards which is imperative for holding supremacy of the public.
➢ Today the government role is shifting from “rowing" (direct production and distribution) to "steering"
(indirect monitoring and evaluation) i.e, playing a facilitative role for private sector. Thus, the government
rather than playing a direct role in delivery of public services, more and more is shifting towards indirect
role, which has made accountability standards relatively intangible, immeasurable and thus unverifiable.
2. The agents of accountability (accountability to whom):
➢ The people-centered tradition of accountability has "evolved with the emergence of broader civil society, an
organised working class and an increase in the entitlements or rights of common citizens. Here, as under
New paradigm of public Management (NPM), citizens are more of a client or customers, which reduces
social rights associated with collective citizenship, to narrow commercial prerogatives of individual
customers governed by exchange relationship.
➢ Accountability in such a system is to private, affluent customers rather than to the collective public. This is
seen in increasing inequality across the world amidst rising affluence. Thus, such a change diminish citizens'
rights vis-a-vis the State, and excludes common citizens from the purview of public accountability.
3. The means of accountability (how accountability is ensured):

8|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Other challenges in accountability Judicial accountability

mechanism in Indian public services: Judicial independence is not absolute. Judicial
• Frequent transfer of officers independence and accountability are two sides of the
reduces their effectiveness and same coin. A closely related aspect of the accountability
also dilutes their accountability of judges is the mechanism for removal of judges for
• Lack of clear accountability of deviant behaviour. Other than impeachment under
civil servants is often said to be a Articles 124(4) and 217(1), there is no mechanism to
cause of corruption and proceed against any inappropriate behaviour or
misgovernance. The misdemeanour of judges.
administrative system needs at Article 235 of the Constitution of India provides for the
every level of its structure a clear ‘control’ of the High Court over the subordinate
assignment of duties and judiciary, clearly indicating that the provision of an
responsibilities. effective mechanism to enforce judicial accountability is
• Incentives to diligence and a part of our constitutional philosophy. But this does not
efficiency are weak; shirkers, in any way compromise the independence of the
non-performers and the corrupt judiciary at that level. In fact, it respects and strengthens
fear no adverse consequences. the directive principle of separation of the judiciary from
• The performance audit of officers the executive as enshrined in Article 50 of the
is almost always missing. Constitution. Thus, judicial accountability at the level of
• Lack of clear, objective the Supreme court is as important.
relationship between political and
permanent executives. The current system of appointments is not open to public
• Delegated legislation often scrutiny and thus lacks accountability and transparency.
imparts discretion. Thus, a more open and transparent system needs to be
put in place like that of Judicial Appointment
• Lack of accountability
Commission of UK.
mechanism particularly at tier 3
level. ➢ The changes in modern governance is leading to new
standards, structures. For ex- growing power of ministers or political executives to exert influence on
the public service, leading to the politicisationThe Restatement
of civil servants by of Valuesin of
ministers Judicial
violation Life
of the is a
principle
of political neutrality. Ministerial control or comprehensive but not exhaustive
contract-based employment codeservices
in public of ethics.
are these
new means of accountability which is causingHowever
big loss toa democracy and ethics.
mechanism for enforcing the code needs to
be evolved. It would be desirable to designate a senior
➢ At the same time there is trend of disaggregating and corporatizing
Judge various Court
of the Supreme ministries and‘Judicial
as the departments into
Values
autonomous entities for efficiency and productivity, which is also reducing opportunities
Commissioner’. The Judicial Values Commissioner of political
representatives to scrutinise their activities and diminished theempowered
should be scope of legislative
to enquiredebates overofprogramme
into cases violation
by autonomous entities which has seen unprecedented growth in managerial autonomy, and
of the Code of Conduct and report the matter hence discretion
to the Chief
which by nature attracts abuse of power (Rising casesJustice
of scams in PSBs.)
of India for taking action. The Judicial Values
➢ With shift from process-oriented to result-oriented performance
Commissioner of should
public agencies or focusover
have jurisdiction on outcome the
the judges
existing means of accountability is being made ineffective. Ex- it becomes difficult to ensure legislative
of the Supreme Court, and members of other judicial and
scrutiny due to the qualitative and controversial nature of publicbodies.
quasi-judicial sector outcomes such as environmental
security, poverty alleviation and community development.
➢ Also, public-private partnerships and exchanges pose a threat to certain means of accountability, since these
modalities are less answerable to normal legislative scrutiny and ministerial supervision. It is often difficult to
find out if joint ventures or business deals have been made to the detriment of public interest or not.

9|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Accountability and Good-Governance

Good governance with above characteristics seeks to ensure:

• That corruption is minimized

• The views of citizens with special care to minorities are taken into account
• That the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making.
• It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.
Thus, without accountability these goals will not be feasible. According to the World Bank, sound development
management is synonymous with the good governance, and later is essential for even sound economic policies. The
government is major stakeholder to ensure markets work efficiently, and for this institutional framework is necessary.
Institutional frameworks conducive to growth and poverty alleviation need incentive and adequate institutional capacity
to create and sustain them. To create and sustain theme is not a smaller task, and there comes the role of
accountability.
Accountability assumes importance in respect of good governance by:

• Ensuring efficiency in investment. Ex- Proper accountability mechanism to ensure MGNREGA fund is used for
quality asset creation
• Production and distribution of public goods and services are done with the citizen at the centre and no scope for
corruption.
• Changing role of the government: Accountability in the private sector through appropriate company and
securities legislation, competitive policy and regulatory oversight. Ex- Corporate governance standards being
formulated
• Ensuring micro-accountability which makes public agency more responsive: In ensuring government
responsiveness to the views and needs of the public for which services are intended. Ex- Updating government
services based on social accountability mechanisms
• Macro accountability through financial accountability (properly functioning government accounting system
for effective expenditure control and cash management; audit mechanism; review and act on the results of
audits) and accountability of overall economic management (review of resource use in public investment
programs and general strengthening of the capacity of governments to monitor and evaluate their own economic
performance).
PROMOTING ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC SERVICES
• Decentralisation of power and accountability standards to bring in responsiveness and better accountability.
• Creating ethical infrastructure based on organizational integrity, transparency and most importantly
accountability through schools to the level of higher institutions as well as training of officials to adhere to such
an infrastructure.
10 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Interlocking accountability: It is a process by which evaluation could be done easily and accountability ensured.
It is a process of accountable to each other laterally as well as vertically, unlike vertical hierarchical
accountability. Civil services should be reformed such that there is clear assignment of duties and
responsibilities with structured and interlocking accountability in which the government servant can be held
accountable for the manner in which he/she performs his/her duty
• There has to be an inbuilt system of rewards and punishments to ensure accountability.
• Duties have to be worded clearly and should also spell out the supervisory responsibilities of the controlling
officers.
• Reducing discretion and maximizing transparency in the system and introducing strict accountability for actions.
• The existing Departmental Manuals and Codes should be thoroughly reviewed and simplified with a
responsibility on the Head of the Department to periodically update such documents and make available soft-
copies on-line and hard copies for sale. These manuals must be written in very precise terms, and phrases like
‘left to the discretion of’, ‘as far as possible’, ‘suitable decision may be taken’ etc should be avoided. This
should be followed for all rules and regulations governing issue of permissions, licenses etc.
• Reducing discretion in official position is an important way to address corruption and ensuring accountability.
• An objective criterion in evaluation or performance appraisal has to evolved. Ex- 2nd ARC notes, little
accountability of reporting officers about the way they evaluate their subordinates. Colourless entries such as
‘nothing adverse has come to notice’ are quite common
• There is criticality of defining the relationship between the Minister and the civil servant more objectively as
current relation between the political executive and the permanent executive is such that accountability always
suffers.
• Without a well-functioning system of financial accountability, government efficiency is difficult to measure,
and there is likelihood of corruption increasing greatly. Special kinds of data regarding both inputs (resources)
and outputs (expected results and consequences).

11 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

ACCOUNTABILITY AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE

Role of ethics in public services is very important as it focuses on how the public administrator should question and
reflect in order to be able to act responsibly. Administering accountability and ethics is a difficult task. The levels of

Accountability at international level

• There is an increasing demand for accountability at the international level sparked by a number of recent
trends. However, the international levels lack any emphatic accountability mechanism, particularly one with
the sanction.
• Though, the global governance in form of the UN, WTO, World Bank etc. has taken shape, yet, binding
mechanisms are very few.
• Along with this there is MNCs and NGOs that are organising not just their commercial activities but also
their lobbying and self-regulation at a global level to protect their transnational activities and opportunities.
• Increasingly, governments are compelled to delegate or cede control over many important domestic matters
to international organisations, networks or other actors. In this kind of a set-up, even in democracies,
governments cannot be held to account for a wide range of decisions.
• Accountability in Global Governance’(2002) document by UNDP says:
• In the industrialised world the accountability gap is being partially plugged by an everexpanding number of
NGOs and active investigative media attention, not only on domestic issues but increasingly targeted at
international actors.
• In the public sector, consumers, parents, and patients are being offered more information and choice about
products, schools and hospitals.
• However, there is also question over too much accountability in industrialised countries.
• In international organisations, developing country governments have little power and influence to wield in
holding these agencies to account.
• In case of powerful countries, the accountability is still more lacking
• In the global private sector, in new public-private expert networks and in ’global civil society’, developing
countries have even less capacity to hold global actors to account. For these reasons, accountability in global
governance and its implications for development need rethinking.

ethics in governance are dependent on the social, economic, political, cultural, legal-judicial and historical
contexts of the country.
Ethics in administration

• The public administrators are the “guardians” of the Administrative State. Hence, they are expected to honour
public trust and not violate it. Thus, the question arises "Who should guard the guardian" or "Why should
guardians be guided". guarded against their tendency to misconceive public interest, promote self-interest,
indulge in corruption and cause subversion of national interest. And they need to be guarded by the external
institutions such as the judiciary, legislature, political executive, media and civil society organisations which
becomes instruments of accountability.
• Ethics through code of ethics and code of conduct also plays important role in enforcing accountability.
• Ethics’ is a system of accepted beliefs, mores and values, which influence human behaviour i.e., it is a system
based on morals.
• The ethical concerns of governance have been underscored widely in Indian scriptures and other treatises such
as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagvad Gita, Buddha Charita, Arthashastra, Panchatantra, Manusmriti, Kural,
Shukra Niti, Kadambari, Raja Tarangani, and Hitopadesh. At the same time, one cannot ignore the maxims on
ethical governance provided by the Chinese philosophers such as Lao Tse, Confucius and Mencius.

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• In the Western thought, ethical governance is differently guided through different philosphy. Aristotle suggests
virtue ethics, whereas Kantian theory suggests of duty being the central element. the Utilitarian viewpoint that
asserts that the guiding principle of conduct should be the greatest happiness (or benefit) of the greatest number.
Apart from this the Western thought issues ethical guidelines to rulers, whether in a monarchy or a democracy.
• Rawl's theory of justice with its two principles are basis of many welfare state in ethical governance today.
Rawls wants these principles to be universal and thus his theory borders on general ethical issues. Thus, based
on his veil of ignorance and original position he suggests two principles are:
1. The first principle guarantees the right of each person to have the most extensive basic liberty compatible with
liberty of others.
2. The second principle states that social and economic positions are to be: (a) To everyone’s advantage, and (b)
Open to all.
The special place of Rawls theory in ethical governance is because it suggests moral conclusions can be reached without
abandoning the prudential standpoint and posting a moral outlook merely by pursuing one’s own prudential reasoning
under certain procedural bargaining.

EVOLUTION OF ETHICAL CONCERNS/GOVERNANCE IN ADMINISTRATION

• Public administration or public services has been initially been influenced by Political Science and the science
of Management.
• The early Political Science was taught as Moral Philosophy and Political Economy, while its current curriculum
is the product of secular, practical, empirical and scientific tendencies of the past century.
• This shift in political science was evident as the old belief that good government was the government of moral
men was thus replaced by a morality that was irrelevant and that proper institutions and expert personnel were
the determining factors in shaping good government. It was reflected in ideas of logical positivism,
behaviouralist which focused on "What is", rather than earlier focus of "What should be".
• However, rise of Post-behaviourism and rise of New Public Administration led to dispute between facts and
values being resolved substantially, with both getting due consideration in governance. This is to say public
service should be a mix of "What is" and "what should be".
• Thus, today values’ of equity, justice, humanism, human rights, gender equality and compassion are given due
prominence in governance and World Bank's focus on "Good Governance" reinstated the ethical and moral
conduct of administrators.
John Kennedy's words is true in this regard:
“No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the higher standards of
ethical behaviour"

• Even, Weberian bureaucracy includes the ethical imperative of bureaucratic behaviour as evident in when he
suggests that the In the rational type, it is a matter of principle that the members of the administrative staff
should be completely separated from ownership of the means of production and administration.
• Weber’s analysis underscores the need to prevent the misuse of an official position for personal gains. The
deviations from the norms and mores have been too glaring to be ignored. Immoral behaviour thus has become
an integral component of `bureaupathology’ and this brings ethical governance in focus.
CONTEXT OF ETHICS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF ETHICAL GOVERNANCE IN PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
1. Historical context: Each country’s history influences the ethical governance there. For ex- USA started with
the Spoils system, however soon the disgruntled mass led to civil services reform there.
In Indian case even the Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions a variety of corrupt practices in which the
administrators of those times indulged themselves. The Mughal Empire and the Indian princely rule were also
13 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

afflicted with the corrupt practices of the courtiers and administrative functionaries, with ‘bakashish’ being one
of the accepted means of selling and buying favours. The East India Company too had its share of employees
who were criticised even by the British parliamentarians for being corrupt.
Thus, history is full of co-existence of probity and immorality and support of prime political-administrative
actors determine type of governance. A long history of unethical
practices in governance are likely to enhance the tolerance level for administrative immorality which is a case
in developing countries which faced colonialism. This is also due to increased gap between the rulers and the
ruled.
2. The Socio-cultural context:
• Values of society permeate in the governance system as well. Ex- Today's society prefers wealth over
anything else, and this side-lines virtue or ethical means with sole eye on the end.
• This focus on end is reflection of society which is increasingly individualistic, materialistic.
• Mahatma Gandhi wanted to reorient society with his focus on ethics and concepts like satisfaction of
needs and not wants. However, society seems to have side-lined these concerns.
• This is reflected in our family values (growing nuclear) as well as education system with hardly any
focus on morality.
• Similarly, the issues of morality or even work ethics may or may not be rooted in cultural or religious
ethos of society. For ex- Indian religious scriptures do not favour pursuit of wealth through foul means.
Interestingly, Thiru Valluvar’s Kural emphasises that earning wealth brings fame, respect and an
opportunity to help and serve others, but it should be earned through right means only.
• The level of integrity among Protestants and Parsees is believed by some to be relatively higher when
compared to other religions and one can find the roots of such integrity in the well-ingrained mores of
these religions
• The cultural system of a country, including its religious orientation, appears to have played a significant
role in influencing the work ethics of its people. For instance, the stress on hard work, so characteristic
of the Protestant ethics, has helped several Christian societies to enhance their per capita productivity.
3. Legal-judicial Context
• This has huge efficacy for the ethical concerns in governance system. A clear, concise law with stress
on the norms of fair conduct and honesty is certain to translate into ethical governance.
• Nebulous laws, with confusing definition of corruption and its explanations, will only promote
corruption for it would not be able to instil the fear of God or fear of law among those violating the laws
of the land and mores of the society
• Along with laws a compliance mechanism is essential too. An efficient and effective judiciary with fast-
track justice system will prove a roadblock to immorality in public affairs
• Complex laws and compliance mechanism promote deviant behaviour. Ex- the anti-corruption
machinery of the government, with its tangled web of complex procedures, unintendedly grants relief
to the accused who are indirectly assisted by dilatory and knotty procedures.
4. The political context:
• The rulers have huge role in ethical governance. In a democracy particularly, all political parties,
pressure groups and the media also influence the orientation and attitudes on moral questions. If
politicians act as authentic examples of integrity, as happens in the Scandinavian countries, or as
examples of gross self-interest, as found in most South Asian countries, the administrative system
cannot remain immune to the levels of political morality.
For ex- Spending millions on the elections `compels’ a candidate to reimburse his expenses through fair
or foul means – more foul than fair. While fair has limits, foul has none.
• The behaviour of politicians has a demonstration effect on civil servants. Thus the falling values in
politics gets reflected in administration as well.
• It is ironical that the moral environment in a country like India is designed more by its politicians than
by any other social group

14 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• In political context the role of media becomes important. If the media is objective and fearless, its role
in preventing corruption can be effective. They can significantly impact ethical governance as well as
accountability standards if the social responsibility rather than sensationalism is favoured.
5. Economic context:
A lower level of economic development, when accompanied with inequalities in the economic order, is likely
to create a chasm among social classes and groups. This may promote forsake principles of honest conduct
while fulfilling their basic needs of existence and security.
ISSUES OF ETHICS AND FOCUS OF ETHICAL GOVERNANCE
• While most of the focus on administrative morality is on
• the aspect of probity within the administrative system, there is a need to consider the
• issue of the responsibility of the governance system (of which the administrative
• system is an integral part) to create and sustain an ethical ambience in the socioeconomic system that would
nurture and protect the basic moral values.
• This is to say the rulers will not be moral themselves but also be the guardians of the morality in the society.
• The crux of administrative morality is ethical decision-making. The questions of facts and values cannot be
separated from ethical decision-making.
• There can be many values important for ethical deciosn-making. However few are more significant like justice,
fairness and objectivity.
CERTAIN SALIENT ASPECTS OF ETHICS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION COULD BE UNDERSTOOD
AS FOLLOWS:
• Maxim of Legality and Rationality: An administrator will follow the law and rules that are framed to govern
and guide various categories of policies and decisions.
• Maxim of Responsibility and Accountability: Accepting responsibility for his decision and actions, holding
himself morally responsible for his actions and for the use of his discretion while making decisions is important.
Moreover, he would be willing to be held accountable to higher authorities of governance and even to the people
who are the ultimate beneficiaries of his decisions and actions.
• Maxim of Work Commitment: An administrator would be committed to his duties and perform his work with
involvement, intelligence and dexterity. As Swami Vivekananda observed: “Every duty is holy and devotion to
duty is the highest form of worship.” This would also entail a respect for time, punctuality and fulfillment
of promises made. Work is considered not as a burden but as an opportunity to serve and constructively
contribute to society.
• Maxim of Excellence: An administrator would ensure the highest standards of quality in administrative
decisions and action and would not compromise with standards because of convenience or complacency. In a
competitive international environment, an administrative system should faithfully adhere to the requisites of
Total Quality Management.
• Maxim of Fusion: An administrator would rationally bring about a fusion of individual, organisational and
social goals to help evolve unison of ideals and imbibe in his behaviour a commitment to such a fusion. In
situation of conflicting goals, a concern for ethics should govern the choices made.
• Maxim of Responsiveness and Resilience: Responding effectively to the demands and challenges from the
external as well as internal environment. He would adapt to environmental transformation and yet sustain
the ethical norms of conduct. In situations of deviation from the prescribed ethical norms, the administrative
system would show resilience and bounce back into the accepted ethical mould at the earliest opportunity.
• Maxim of Utilitarianism: While making and implementing policies and decisions, an administrator will ensure
that these lead to the greatest good (happiness, benefits) of the greatest number.
• Maxim of Compassion: An administrator, without violating the prescribed laws and rules, would demonstrate
compassion for the poor, the disabled and the weak while using his discretion in making decisions. At least, he
would not grant any benefits to the stronger section of society only because they are strong and would not deny
the due consideration to the weak, despite their weakness.

15 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Maxim of National Interest: Though universalistic in orientation and liberal in outlook, a civil servant, while
performing his duties, would keep in view the impact of his action on his nation’s strength and prestige. The
Japanese, the Koreans, the Germans and the Chinese citizens (including civil servants), while performing their
official roles, have at the back of their mind a concern and respect for their nation. This automatically raises the
level of service rendered and the products delivered.
• Maxim of Justice: Those responsible for formulation and execution ofpolicies and decisions of governance
would ensure that respect is shown to the principles of equality, equity, fairness, impartiality and objectivity
and no special favours are doled out on the criteria of status, position, power, gender, class, caste or wealth.
• Maxim of Transparency: An administrator will make decisions and implement them in a transparent manner so
that those affected by the decisions and those who wish to evaluate their rationale, will be able to understand
the reasons behind such decisions and the sources of information on which these decisions were made.
• Maxim of Integrity: An administrator would undertake an administrative action on the basis of honesty and not
use his power, position and discretion to serve his personal interest and the illegitimate interests of other
individuals or groups.
SIGNIFICANCE OF CODE OF ETHICS IN ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND HOW IT SHOULD BE
Even though no ethical code can provide a sure shot answer for every decisional dilemma, such a code can certainly
provide broad guidelines while dealing with critical moral paradoxes in administrative decisions and actions. A judicious
blend of `ought’ and `possible’ will make an ethical code a helpful instrument in sustaining an ethical order and help
promote accountability through self-accountability as well as improve ethical governance. In this respect American
Society for Public Administration (ASPA) code of ethics adopted in 1984 is worth noticing:

• Exercise of discretionary authority to promote public interest

• Recognition and support to the public’s right to know the public business
• Exercise of compassion, benevolence, fairness and optimism
• Prevention of all forms of mismanagement of public funds by establishing and maintaining strong fiscal and
management controls, by supporting audits and investigative activities
• Protection of Constitutional principles of equality, fairness, representativeness, responsiveness and due process
in protecting citizens’ rights
• Maintenance of truthfulness and honesty and not to compromise them for advancement, honour, or personal
gain
• Guarding zealously against conflict of interest or its appearance: e.g. nepotism, improper outside employment,
misuse of public resources or the acceptance of gifts
• Establishment of procedures that promote ethical behaviour and hold individuals and organisations accountable
for their conduct

16 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Work ethics in public services/administration

It means commitment to the fulfilment of one’s official responsibilities with a spirit of dedication, involvement and
sincerity. It means once love for once work, and not treat it as burden. It also means that the efficiency,
productivity and punctuality will be the hallmark of his administrative behaviour
Efficiency: doing one’s best in one’s job, with a concern for maximum possible utilisation of human, material and
financial resources and even for time to achieve the prescribed and desired objectives. an `efficient person is also an
ethical person. He or she possesses administrative morality that is essentially rooted in a conviction in the
desirability of ethical conduct
Productivity: The overall work culture in public systems in India is relatively lower than that prevailing in the public
sector and that existing in the government systems in most developing countries with low per capita productivity.
Poor infrastructure, sloppy monitoring, lackluster control and evaluation and almost an absence of reward and
punishment system are systemic flaws leading to lower productivity, yet, carelessness and callousness on the part of
government functionaries is an important reason which violates principle of ethical governance. This does not
reflect feeling of `one-ness’ with their organisation and their job.
Punctuality: characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously
designated time
Reemphasizing work culture to ensure ethical governance:

• Prescribe specific norms of productivity and work performance for organisational units and even individual
• comprehensive and inclusive performance appraisal system
• maximum delegation of powers at every level with a concurrent system of effective monitoring and work
audit
• System of rewards and punishment
• Administrator should evolve and demonstrate a higher level of emotional as well as spiritual intelligence
that would make them empathetic as well sympathetic to feelings of a common person.

OBSTACLES TO ETHICAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Accountability and ethics are closely related. Effective accountability helps the achievement of ethical standards in the
governance system. Various institutional and non-institutional measures through different platforms like debate,
question hour, public platforms, CAG reports, media’s questioning raises ethical issues.
Ethics can be considered a form of self-accountability, or an `inner-check’ on public administrators’ conduct. It is
related to external accountability which imposes expectations on the former. When these two functions then relationship
can be explained as: The higher the level of ethics, the lower the need for strong instruments of external
accountability and control and vice-versa.
Max Weber had maintained that the outside (extra-agency) checks on public administration were inadequate.
Hence, the value of self-accountability is immense. The desire to be ethical in one’s profession should spring from
within.
Challenges of enforcing accountability of administrators:

• Special Expertise and Information: This makes it challenging for external accountability mediums to enforce
standards. Further control over generation of information also limits accountability norms.
• Full-Time Status: External accountability mechanism like legislators, judiciary, CAG can not compare to
administrators access and control over activities due to their full-time status.
17 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Massive Expansion of Bureaucracy: Regulatory, developmental, promotional and entrepreneurial

responsibilities have been multiplying and with that also its size. This makes vertical accountability difficult to
be achieved. For ex, in large-sized organisations like Public Works Department, Income Tax Department, Police
Department, etc., it is impossible for higher officials to keep an eye on the conduct of their subordinates.
• Lack of Coordination: There are lacunae in the working of the vigilance machinery and absence of harmony
among the various anti-corruption agencies. For years altogether, the permission to prosecute government
officials is not granted to the Anti-Corruption Departments. India lacks an overarching body like that of the
Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in the Office of Personnel in the USA.
• Excessive Security: For ex- We saw in case of Art 311 and how far it goes to protect corrupt and deviant civil
servants.
• Misinterpretation of Role and Obligation: Discretion often translate into civil servants defining their role and
responsibilities in a parochial manner that is either self-centered, group-centred or organisation-centred and
never people-centred. This is today reflected in almost all professional groups, thus there is hardly any
prevention or correction of a parochial interpretation of public interest by the administrative personnel by other
groups. It is further complicated by the political pressures imposed from above also colour the vision of
administrators.
• Orthodox Loyalty: There is a tendency of public employees into socialising into developing loyalty towards
the organisation that they serve and to the superior authority under which they work, which is a common cause
of refraining from criticism of superior. In such a cultural climate, even the honest and conscientious employees
do not speak out against unethical practices of their peers and seniors. And the undue compassion occasionally
shown to the subordinates on their errors of omission and commission also tend to strengthen the sinews of a
`soft state’.
• Trivial and the Substantive Ethics: Focus on dos and donts in conduct rules is like trivialising ethics as it kind
of replaces the more crucial ethical concerns of duty, fairness, objectivity and commitment.
• Employees’ Unions: Their tendency to resist the managerial action against their members even when they have
blatantly violated ethical norms impacts even basic accountability standards in limbo most of the times. This
gets complicated when these unions are aligned with the political parties.
• Corruption: The abuse of official authority for personal gains is the betrayal of public trust and disregard for
any form of accountability and ethical governance standards. Ex- Acceptance of culture of ‘Speed money’ in
India implies a fee to expedite the processing of a governmental favour reflects disregard for accountability
norms. With the protective hands of politicians above them and with a temptation for gaining extra (illegitimate)
benefits, administrators consciously align with their political masters and indulge in corruption. Very rarely, do
the honest and strong administrators stand up to the politician and refuse to succumb to politicians’ pressures
and cajoling.
• Subversion: Though it is lesser in scale compared to endemic corruption, yet, officials insensitive organisations
like ordinance factories, nuclear energy establishments and defence forces, may pass on critical secrets to
enemies in exchange for pecuniary benefits or for the sale of extra-territorial loyalty.
New Public Management (NPM): A Counterview
The traditional Public Administration had laid great emphasis on efficiency and economy. The NPM has focused almost
exclusively on performance and results. achieving high degree of customer satisfaction. It believed that people – in
government or outside – were basically honest and well intentioned and there was no need for wasting time and energy
on focusing on corruption. Trusting them is bound to lead to a favourable climate for ethical behaviour. The cost of
deterring corruption is too high in terms of red tape that such efforts create.
Such a view creates an image of a human being who is creative and honest and if it is true than it won’t need any external
accountability. There are high costs of combating corruption that we should be conscious of. No doubt, such awareness
should not cause a laxity in tackling corruption. Instead, it should help appreciate the value of promoting greater trust
in public system as trust begets trust.

18 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Such a level of trust and de-emphasis on control will be possible in societies having a higher level of integrity and
probity in public life only. Thus, there cannot be any uniform approach to tackling corruption in the governance
system. Much would depend upon the levels of morality and rectitude prevailing in each society.
Role of training:
It is an important part of bureaucratic socialisation. There are three kinds of training:
1. Induction training
2. In-service training
3. On-the job training
In spite of focus on ethical governance, the stress on ethical training in the induction training as well in-service training
is woefully meagre as the feeling is that morality can’t be taught through training. But, We must not however abandon
the option of ethical training and hence not take systematic initiatives to make ethics an integral and prominent part of
induction as well as in-service training.
On the job training is also very significant in addressing corruption and for ethical governance. Principled and honest
superiors and members of the peer group are bound to promote morality in the conduct of a government servant and
vice-versa. Ex- certain departments such as Income Tax, Excise, Customs, Commercial Taxes, Public Works
Department and Police are infamous for their low ethical standards, for the countervailing and corrective forces therein
are feeble.
Role of media in ethical governance:
A free media in an open society has huge role in highlighting unethical practices in the governance system. The role
that Washington Post played in exposing the Watergate Scandal in USA earned laurels from all sections of society.
Similarly in India many newspapers have been acting as a major watchdog., particularly vernacular press in recent times.
Its role is significant as other accountability mechanisms at some point of time has to act on their report.
TOWARDS NEW DIMENSION OF ETHICS
• Openness is the enemy of corruption. RTI, 2005 and similar legislations in many states legislations help in
securing accountability of public employees through such device.
• However, Legislation alone is not enough as it needs state will to enforce it, willingness on the part of
administrators and an initiative coupled with courage on the part of citizens. This would require a substantial
transformation of the mind-sets of administrators in order to reorient the thinking of administration at all levels,
more particularly at the cutting- edge level.
• Citizen’s role to complement the role of legislations like RTI need to be boosted through civil society, media as
well as educational system.
• There is need for stronger whistleblowing protection to create deterrence for wrongdoing which will bring in
better accountability and ethical governance.
• Innovations in system for reporting of deviance from norms is needed. For ex- In the American federal
government, there functions a hotline, called `Fraud Net’, for preventing fraud, waste and abuse. Through this
hotline, employees and others can anonymously report instances of misconduct for investigation to the General
Accounting Office.
Conclusion:
For ethical governance the need is to go beyond the general statements of administrative morality and be more
meticulous in recommending modifications in laws, rules, structures and behavioural patterns in the specific context of
individual departments or organisations.
Globalisation of the economic order is likely to pave the way for the globalisation of governance issues. Not that there
would be universally uniform configurations of the governance systems, much less the bureaucratic systems. But with

19 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

the mitigation of chasm among nations in the realm of the goals, philosophy and strategies of governance, the ethical
concerns are likely to transcend international boundaries.
Thus, there is need to realign efficiency, responsibility, accountability and integrity with the emergent beliefs in equity,
justice, openness, compassion, altruism, responsiveness, human rights and human dignity.
Finally, Ethical behaviour emanates from a pure and kind heart, and therefore, those who are in the business of
serving people should train their heart to be sensitive and compassionate.

20 | P a g e
 https://optimizeias.com/

www.optimizeias.com

Ethics Masterclass
CSE MAINS 2023

TOPIC: PROBITY IN GOVERNANCE

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com/

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow Optimize IAS telegram
channel

1|Page
 https://optimizeias.com/
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEFINITION: ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

PRINCIPLES OF PROBITY:............................................................................................................................................................. 3

WHY IS PROBITY IMPORTANT?................................................................................................................................................... 4

OBJECTIVES OF PROBITY:............................................................................................................................................................ 4

MEASURES REQUIRED:................................................................................................................................................................. 4

CERTAIN STEPS TO INCULCATE PROBITY AMONG POLITICIANS: ....................................................................................... 5

WAY AHEAD:.................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

2|Page
 https://optimizeias.com/

PROBITY IN GOVERNANCE
DEFINITION:

Probity: is “satya nishtha”

Probity can be defined in following way:

Probity can be defined as complete and confirmed integrity, uprightness and honesty. Upholding the highest standards
of probity and integrity enables organizations to safeguard procurement activities to ensure those activities and processes
are robust and can withstand scrutiny.

The quality of having strong moral principles such as honesty, integrity is probity. Probity in governance is an essential
and vital requirement for an efficient and effective system of governance and for socioeconomic development. It is
concerned with procedures, processes and systems rather than outcomes.

An important requisite for ensuring probity in governance is absence of corruption. The other requirements are effective
laws, rules and regulations and their implementation. It is true that instilling a sense of discipline among the citizens is more
the functions of the society, its leaders, political parties and public figures and less a matter which can be legislated upon.

Corruption today poses a danger not only to the quality of governance but is threatening the very foundation of our society
and the State. Corruption in defence purchases, in other purchases and contracts tend to undermine the very security of the
state.

PRINCIPLES OF PROBITY:

1 Accountability: Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness,
liability, and the expectation of account-giving.
It includes following:

3|Page
 https://optimizeias.com/

Transparency - citizens has access to information about commitments state made e.g. RTI

Answerability - citizens are able to demand that state justifies its actions

Enforceability - citizens are able to sanctions state if it fails to meet certain standards

2 Confidentiality: government servants under civil services rules are under obligation not to disclose any information
acquired during official duty to anyone

3 Managing conflict of interest: A conflict of interest is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple
interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another.

4: Maintaining objectivity and fairness: staying impartial and objective decision making without any outer influence eg
TN Sheshan as ECI

WHY IS PROBITY IMPORTANT?

• To tackle the menace of corruption and bring socio-economic development to the country.

• 2 To bring an efficient and effective system of governance through transparency, justice, fairness, responsibility,
accountability, responsiveness etc.

• 3 To develop trust, credibility and social capital.

• 4. To fulfill the expectation of society from those elected or appointed to the public office.
The positive outcomes that should result from procedural integrity include:
• avoidance of conflicts/problems
• avoidance of corrupt practices
• reassurance to stakeholders and those wishing to do business the process and outcome can be trusted
• provision of an objective and independent view on the probity of the process; and
• Minimization of the potential for litigation.

OBJECTIVES OF PROBITY:
● Ensuring accountability, transparency and integrity in public service.
● Ensuring compliance in all processes.
● Preserve public faith and confidence in the government processes.
● Avoid misconduct, fraud and corruption.

MEASURES REQUIRED:
● Officers should avoid conflict of interest situations and work with keeping public interest as priority.
● Adherence to the principles enshrined in the constitution, Code of Conduct for service and Citizen Charter.
● Judicious use of RT I for maintaining transparency in the system.
● Integrating the government services with IT and innovative use of social media so that the public is informed of
all government activities.
● Putting in place CVC, CIC, Lokpal to prevent and investigate unauthorized activities.
● Effective feedback and suggestion mechanism to ensure public participation in public services.
● Necessity for a law providing for confiscation of illegally acquired assets of public servants.
● Strengthening of the criminal justice system.
NCRWC on probity in governance:

4|Page
 https://optimizeias.com/
Unfortunately for India, discipline is disappearing fast from public life and without discipline, as the
Scandinavian economist- sociologist, Gunnyar Myrdal, has pointed out, no real progress is possible.
Discipline implies inter alia public and private morality and a sense of honesty. While in the West a man
who rises to positions of higher authority develops greater respect for laws, the opposite is true in our
country. Here, the mark of a person holding high position is the ease with which he can ignore the laws
and regulations. We are being swamped by a culture of indiscipline and untruth; morality, both public
and private, is at a premium.

It is true that instilling a sense of discipline among the citizens is more the function of the society, its
leaders, political parties and public figures and less a matter which can be legislated upon. Even so, things
have come to such a pass that measures need to be contemplated.

Thus, it suggest to focus on following legal frameworks:

• Need for enforcing section 5 (All properties held benami shall be subject to acquisition by such
authority, in such manner and after following such procedures, as may be prescribed.) of the
Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988. The rules under sections need to be clearly
brought out and implemented.
• Misfeasance in public office (wrongful exercise of lawful authority) to be addressed. The public
servants should be held personally responsible for their mala fide acts in the discharge of their
functions as public servants as their role in distribution of wealth is increasing.
• Necessity for a law providing for confiscation of illegally acquired assets of public servants
• Enactment of a Public Interest Disclosure Act: In this regard Whistleblowing act is enacted,
however it need more protection for whistleblowers
• Enactment of a Freedom of Information Act (RTI is implemented)
• Necessity for enacting a Lok Pal Bill in addition to the Central Vigilance Commission Act
(Lokpal Act passed but is facing many challenges in its functioning today)
• Strengthening of the Criminal Judicial System

CERTAIN STEPS TO INCULCATE PROBITY AMONG POLITICIANS:

1 Declaration of assets: Mandatory declaration of assets, liabilities and business interests by politicians before elections
should be accompanied by a proper audit of these declarations by empowering the Election Commission.
Eg: The Chief Minister of Tripura is one of the poorest in terms of assets and can be considered as a living example of the
probity practiced by him in his professional life. This is seen from the state faring well in HDI, when other north eastern
states are marred with insurgency and violence.

2: Code of ethics and Code of conduct for politicians: A dedicated unit to oversee violation of Code of ethics and Code
of conduct by politicians be set up both at state and centre level. Code of Ethics (CoE) & Code of conduct(CoC) for
politicians should be laid down in the public domain indicating violations for public awareness.

3. Parliamentary conduct ethics must be taught to MPs. For example, a year back an MP used pepper spray to disrupt
proceedings. Similarly, frequent disruptions happen because of MPs coming into well. These must be stringently acted
upon.

4. Tackling corruption in elections Illegal expenditure during elections is root cause of corruption among politicians,
partial state funding of elections could be the way forward in controlling it.

5. Tackling conflict of interest: Schemes like MPLAD and MLALAD should be abolished to do away with the conflict
of interests among legislators.

5|Page
 https://optimizeias.com/
6. Training for politicians: Short duration training like civil servants on ethical aspects can be provided to first time MPs
and MLAs.

Understanding probity standards through Probity in public procurement

Probity is the evidence of ethical behaviour, and can be defined as complete and confirmed integrity, uprightness
and honesty in a particular process. Thus, in public procurement decision-making should be:

• Helpful: Probity should be used to facilitate discussion of current approaches to market with suppliers in
order to promote genuine engagement,
• Inclusive: Probity processes should be designed to enable innovative approaches to be adopted if required.
• Tailored: Probity roles can be tailored to the business need and range from using internal expertise through
to engaging external specialist advice.
• Sensible: Each individual process may require a different approach; one size will not fit all.
• No special treatment: In a tender process if an information which is passed to one stakeholder and is any
way essential for level-playing field then it must be passed to other stakeholder as well

Challenges/Issues Civil servants face in adhering to Probity standards:

• Poor ethical standards and moral environment: It leads to a culture of “Chalta hai” which leads to frequent
violation of probity standards.
• Political-Bureaucracy nexus and political pressures for wrongdoing: A complicit as well as threatening
environment w.r.t. transfer, suspension through political pressure acts as a barrier.
• Lack of support from seniors: Honest officers are rather seen as a burden in hierarchical organization at times and
hardly has any support from top.
• Risks to career of honest officers and side-lining to insignificant posts acts as deterrent to uphold ethical and
moral norms.
• Frequent transfers and inconvenience to family of a civil servant who is a honest, full of integrity individual.
• Absence of Code of ethics and Proper compliance of even disciplinary proceedings against those violating norms
(Ex- The Hota Committee which had gone into some aspects of such proceedings had also drawn attention to the
delays and procedural aspects therein which prevent disciplinary penalties from becoming a tool for ensuring
efficiency and probity).

6|Page
 https://optimizeias.com/
WAY AHEAD:
2nd ARC on standard of probity
The upholding of ethical norms and probity
standards is highest desired quality of a civil • The standard for probity in public life should be not only
servant. There are several challenges but that conviction in a criminal court but propriety as determined by
is the test of probity. suitable independent institutions specifically constituted for the
• Honest officers have to be prepared purpose.
to make sacrifices for principles. • Ministers in Tony Blair’s government have had to resign on
Virtue is its own reward. They can such minor improprieties as a telephone call to the concerned
gently oppose improprieties.
person to fast track the issue of a visa for the ‘nanny’ of the
• They can appeal to the good
sentiments of seniors and political Minister’s child or the grant of British citizenship to a
leaders. generous contributor to a cause supported by the Government.
• Utilizing the existing checks and Such principles were upheld and pronounced by Jawaharlal
balances. Ex- Vigilance Nehru in the Mudgal case in which the said Lok Sabha
mechanisms, Whistle blowing Member was expelled by Parliament on 24th September, 1951
protection etc. even when the Member volunteered to resign.
• Bringing in a code of ethics along • The standard should be one of not only the conduct of Caesar’s
with a compliance mechanism.
wife but of Caesar himself.
• Hota committee had also suggested
measures to create enabling
conditions for honest officers as well
as deterrent for others: More frequent resort to proceedings for minor penalties, relieving the inquiry officer of all
other duties while conducting the inquiry, and furnishing copies of the documents proposed to be utilized to prove
the case against the accused employee along with the charge-sheet etc.
• Declaration of assets norms to be mandatorily enforced.

7|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

www.optimizeias.com

MAINS MASTER NOTES

Subject: GS 2 (Governance)
Topic: Transparency and Accountability
(Right To Information Act, 2005)

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com/

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow Optimize IAS telegram
channel

1|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3

EVOLUTION OF RTI ................................................................................................................................................................ 3

OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT AND OTHER LAWS ...................................................................................................................... 4

OSA CRITICAL EXAMINATION: ............................................................................................................................................ 4

RIGHT TO INFORMATION.................................................................................................................................................. 5

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION ....................................................................................................................... 5

RECOMMENDATIONS OF VARIOUS COMMISSIONS.......................................................................................................... 6

PRESENT STATUS OF RTI: 15 YEARS ................................................................................................................................... 6

RECENT AMENDMENT ARGUMENTS .................................................................................................................................. 8

GOVERNMENT'S JUSTIFICATION IN BRINGING THE AMENDMENT TO THE ACT: ............................................... 9

CONCLUSION: ................................................................................................................................................................. 9

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT ............................................................................................ 9

2|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

INTRODUCTION
The Right to Information Act is a path-breaking legislation which signals the march from darkness of secrecy
to dawn of transparency. It lights up the mindset of public authorities, which is clouded by suspicion and secrecy.
Openness in the exercise of public power – Executive, Legislative or Judiciary – is a culture, which needs to be nurtured,
with privacy and confidentiality being an exception. The right to information will also be a powerful means for fighting
corruption. The effective implementation of the Right to Information Act will create an environment of vigilance which
will help promote functioning of a more participatory democracy.

James Madison once said, “A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with power
that knowledge gives”. In India, the Official Secrets Act, 1923 was a convenient smokescreen to deny members of the
public access to information. Public functioning has traditionally been shrouded in secrecy. But in a democracy in which
people govern themselves, it is necessary to have more openness. In the maturing of our democracy, right to information
is a major step forward; it enables citizens to participate fully in the decision-making process that affects their lives so
profoundly

Right to information has been seen as the key to strengthening participatory democracy and ushering in
people centred governance. Access to information can empower the poor and the weaker sections of society to
demand and get information about public policies and actions, thereby leading to their welfare. Without good
governance, no amount of developmental schemes can bring improvements in the quality of life of the citizens.
Good governance has four elements- transparency, accountability, predictability and participation. Transparency
refers to availability of information to the general public and clarity about functioning of governmental institutions

This law is very comprehensive and covers almost all matters of governance and has the widest possible reach,
being applicable to government at all levels – Union, State and Local as well as recipients of government grants. Access
to information under this Act is extensive with minimum exemptions

EVOLUTION OF RTI
From time to time, there have been many moves by government as well as private institutions to bring right to
information to the citizen. I have listed below various important events in the evolution of the RTI Act, 2005 that made
history of RTI Act 2005 in India.

1. 1986: In the famous case of Mr. Kulwal v/s Jaipur Municipal Corporation the Supreme Court gave clear
cut directive that Freedom of Speech and Expression provided under Article 19 of the Constitution clearly
implies Right to Information as without information the freedom of speech and expression cannot be fully used
by the citizens.
2. 1990: Heading the National Front government, Prime Minister V.P Singh, first politician to lay emphasis on
RTI.
3. 1994: Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan (MKSS) started a grassroots campaign for Right to Information –
demanding information concerning development works in rural Rajasthan. This movement grew and the
campaign resulted in the government of Rajasthan enacting a law on Right to Information in 2000.
4. 1997: Tamilnadu became the first state in India to have passed a law on Right to Information.
5. 1997: The Working Group, under Chairmanship of H D Shourie, appointed by the United Front government,
drafted the Freedom of Information Bill,
6. 1999: Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before Supreme Court to: Lift restraint on Ministers; Declare
Section 5 of Official Secret Act, 1923 unconstitutional; Ask Government of India to issue suitable instructions
for RTI, pending legislation..
7. 2002: Freedom of Information Bill, 2000 was passed in both houses of Parliament in December 2002. This
was a watered down version of the bill proposed by NCPRI and other organizations.

3|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

8. 2004: Finally, on 23rd December 2004, UPA Government tabled the RTI Bill 2004, applicable only to the
Union Government.. After heavy lobbying by NCPRI and other organizations the Right to Information Act,
2005 was passed with 150 amendments. Bill is now applicable to States also.
9. 2005: RTI Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on 11th May 2005, and in Rajya Sabha on 12th May 2005. It
received assent of President of India on 15th June 2005, and was published in the Gazette of India on 21st June
2005. RTI Act, 2005 came into force with effect from 12th October 2005, and known as Right to Information
Act, 2005 .

OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT AND OTHER LAWS

• Official Secrets Act, 1923 (hereinafter referred to as OSA), enacted during the colonial era, governs all matters
of secrecy and confidentiality in governance. The law largely deals with matters of security and provides a
framework for dealing with espionage, sedition and other assaults on the unity and integrity of the nation.
• ‘Official Secret’ means any information the disclosure of which is likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty
and integrity of India, the security of State, friendly relations with foreign states, economic, commercial,
scientific and technological matters relating to national security and includes: any secret code, password, sketch
plan, model, article, note or document in relation to a prohibited place.”
• OSA created a culture of secrecy. Confidentiality became the norm and disclosure the exception. While
Section 5 of OSA was obviously intended to deal with potential breaches of national security, the wording
of the law and the colonial times in which it was implemented made it into a catch-all legal provision
converting practically every issue of governance into a confidential matter.
• Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, enacted in 1872, prohibits the giving of evidence from unpublished
official records without the permission of the Head of the Department, who has abundant discretion in the
matter.
• The Right to Information Act has a non-obstante clause: “Sec. 8(2): Notwithstanding anything in the Official
Secrets Act, 1923 nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub-section (1), a public authority
may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interest.

There are certain criteria to classify the official information depending upon the level of sensitivity of the
information are as follows:
1. Top secret: It is the information that is to be kept secret for the security of the nation, and its disclosure could
cause “exceptionally grave damage” to the public interest in large. This is reserved for the utmost
confidentiality in the workings of the government.
2. Secret: It is the information to promote the social security of the nation whose disclosure could cause “serious
damage” to the security and confidentiality of the nation. This category is generally reserved for the matters
highly important for the security of national interest.
3. Confidential: It is for information that can cause “threat or damage” to national interest and provide
significant damage to the government if disclosure of information has been made without proper
authorization. Further, the disclosure of the information would be prejudicial to the interest of the nation.
4. Restricted: It is that information which is communicated only for the purpose of official use and not to be
shared without authorization to any person except for official use.

OSA CRITICAL EXAMINATION:

Arrest of a Delhi journalist under Official Secrets Act (OSA) on charges of supplying information to Chinese
side at the peak of Indo-China tension and controversy over invocation of OSA on reporting of Rafale deal point’s
conflict between security and freedom of expression/transparency.
The Official Secrets Act is a 1923 anti-espionage law enacted by Britishers that was designed primarily to prevent all
such actions that could help in any way the enemy states. It protects information considered ‘secret’. But its necessity
is questioned in current Indian democracy on many grounds:

4|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

1. Transparency: RTI, Act 2005 heralded a revolutionary era for Indian democracy by promoting a transparent
and accountable governance. But, OSA being used under exception (Section 8(1) of RTI) to deny information
attacks aim of transparent government and denies Right to information as guaranteed under art 19(1).
2. Violation of Right to freedom of speech and Expression under art 19(1)(a) as seen in Rafale reporting case
when even the Supreme court said that such cases point to attack on freedom of expression and right to know.
Ex- In 2011, one journalist was booked under OSA for reporting the poor condition under which sophisticated
weapons were kept (later the High Court dismissed the case).
3. Misuse of OSA and corruption: It is alleged that the government under section 5 of the OSA classifies many
things as Secret and thus, denies access under RTI, Act. This at times is said to breed corruption.
4. Threat to democracy: Targeting press and activists under OSA shows high-handedness of the government and
such an approach throttles opposition in a democracy.
5. Vague use of the term ‘Secret’ as The OSA does not define “secret” or “official secrets”. Public servants could
deny any information terming it a “secret” when asked under the RTI Act.
6. Colonial legacy aimed at suppressing dissent is no more relevant in an era where Good Governance is the
aim of the states.
7. Public Interest: Section 8 (2) of the RTI Act allows disclosure under RTI, if public interest outweighs the
secrecy. Further, section 22 of the RTI says it has an overriding effect over OSA in case of conflict.

On the other hand, support to the act comes mainly on below grounds:

1. National security: India faces both internal security challenges (Ex- Naxalism, separatism in North-East and J&K
etc.) and external security challenges from its northern neighbours. This needs protection of military secrets and
intelligence.
2. National Credibility: The most important function of the state is security. Amidst rising terror threats, crime,
secessionism there is need for special laws to ensure national credibility.
Way forward:
The OSA, 1923 is not only a colonial legacy, but also law made without debate and opposition. Thus, we need a balance
between transparency and security. This can be achieved with the 2nd ARC recommendation of repealing the Act and
including its security related provisions in National Security Act. Law commission report in 1971 also suggested
merging all security related acts into one National Security Bill.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION
RTI is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India. Thus, the citizens of the
country have the right to have information regarding the operations of the government. The important drawback of OSA
is that there is a lack of a clear meaning of the term ‘secret’ in the Act and the government has immense power to declare
any information or documents as secret. The OSA generally promotes secrecy and confidentiality in government
operations which is against the provisions of the RTI. Sometimes, records which are generally kept aside for the purpose
of secrecy are crucial in bringing it to the public notice. In every instance, the OSA hampers the progressive democracy
in society. Further, it is also clear that provisions of the RTI override the OSA. The provisions of OSA are in clear
transgression of the RTI and there are a lot of contradictions between the two laws.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION

It is noted that Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India provides freedom of speech and expression which
includes freedom of the press to every citizen of the country and it is considered as the backbone of the democratic
country. However, Section 5 of OSA contains provisions against the breaches of national security and the criminal
offence of espionage.
In Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras (1950), the Apex Court held that freedom of the press is not expressly
mentioned within Article 19 of the Indian Constitution but interpreted within the ambit of this article. It was observed
that freedom of press lays down the foundation of all democratic organizations and it can only be restricted if it comes
within the ambit of restrictions enshrined under Article 19(2). It was further observed that where fundamental rights of
an individual are in question, a court should be cautious while accepting the views in contradiction of it. .

5|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

CONCLUSION
Therefore, we can say that OSA is nothing but an act which encroaches upon the freedom of speech and
expression enshrined under the Constitution of India. It is noted that freedom of speech and expression is not absolute
under the constitution but what matters is that those restrictions imposed under Article 19(2) are not misused by political
forces to limit public scrutiny of politics and actions that have an impact on the integrity of a nation. Therefore, the
provisions of the act are against the basic principles of the Indian Constitution. The journalists use their freedom of the
press to provide authentic information to the general public regarding the operations of the government and not to create
panic amongst citizens.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF VARIOUS COMMISSIONS

Due to the increase of unscrupulous and arbitrariness in the workings of government in the name of Official
Secrets Act, 1923, various committees were formed to reform the provisions of the said Act:

• The law commission of India made an observation regarding rampant misuse of the provisions of the Act in
1971. It was observed by the committee that “merely because a document or a piece of information is treated as
secret and classified, it should not be taken into consideration under the purview of the OSA and its provisions.
The law commission also mentioned that all the legislation pertaining to the security of the nation should be
merged in one act and pass the “National Security Bill”. However, the commission had not suggested any changes
and amendments under the Act.
• The Shourie Committee was formed with a view to making certain amendments in the provisions of the act. The
committee suggested that there should be an amendment to Section 5(1) of the Act and stated that the penal
provisions of the section should be applicable only to violations affecting the national interest. The commission
also mentioned that the disclosure of information has to be the rule or norm and keeping it secret from the general
public must be an exception.
• Further, the administrative reforms commission was set up to observe the provisions of the Act. The
commission submitted its report and stated that “Right to Information is the master key to good governance in the
country”. Thus, there is a need to repeal the Official Secrets Act, 1923. But the government rejected the view of
commission as the OSA is the only law to prevent the prejudicial of national interest and deal with the cases of
espionage and communication of secret and sensitive information or documents to the enemy of the country which
could have a detrimental impact on the security of the nation.

PRESENT STATUS of RTI: 15 YEARS

Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI) seeks to empower people by strengthening their fundamental right to information
under Art. 19(1) through access to public information. Under this the public authorities are required to make disclosures
on various aspects of their structure and functioning. The citizens can also demand such information from public offices
as the RTI Act provides for.
Success of RTI over 15 years:
1. Empowering people: Constructive use of RTI has seen people fighting effectively for their rights. Ex- Vedanta
group’s plan to build a university in Odisha was stalled in 2006when RTI revealed that the government didn’t give
them an opportunity to be heard under Land Acquisition rules.
2. Promoting transparency: Every year 5-8 million RTI queries point to the fact that governance is not opaque as it
used to be.
3. Higher accountability standards: Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) whose effort led to finding out
ghost entries in wage payment in Rajasthan and cause formulation of RTI act has become norms in many parts of
India today.
4. Tackling Corruption: Adarsh Society Scam, Commonwealth Scam etc. were exposed due to RTI queries.
5. Good Governance: RTI has positive impact as seen in institutionalization of social audit (Meghalaya became first
state to make law for it) as well as digitizing government.

ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS IN RTI:

1. Demand-side issues (Information seeker):
6|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

a) Low Public awareness: According to a survey by PwC, the awareness about RTI is 15% among people. Further,
it is 12% in women compared to 26% in men. Similar low awareness is reflected in rural and urban people.
b) Constraints faced in filing applications: Non-standardized RTI application forms, Non-friendly attitude of
Public Information Officers (PIO) and insufficient arrangement for online filing has been an issue.
c) Poor quality of information: It is more so at the earliest stage. According to the PwC Survey, 75% of people
were dissatisfied with the information, which was mostly incomplete.

2. Supply-side issues (information provider):

a) Failure to provide information within 30 days: Though RTI mandates information within a stipulated time,
yet, government’s traditional record keeping practices makes it impossible for PIOs to do it within time.
b) Inadequately trained PIOs and First Appellate Authority: PIOs without training as per reports has been as
high as 55% at national level and up to 75% in states like Odisha.
c) Obsolete Record Management practices: In absence of electronic record management systems in many
departments information collection needs to be done at field level which is challenging and time taking.
d) Non-availability of basic infrastructure: At the block level limited or no use of IT, absence of photo copy
machines etc. creates hurdles in providing information.
e) Lack of Motivation for PIOs: Though RTI imposes penalty, yet, no incentive for PIO has seen non-cooperation
at the grassroots level.
f) Ineffective steps by the government for Suo-motu disclosure under section 4(1) (b) of RTI act has also
been a constraint.

3. Issues faced at information commissions level:

a) Absence of centralized information system at state/centre level, leniency towards PIOs, absence of monitoring
mechanism (mostly information commissioners are busy hearing and disposing appeals and penalty for non-
compliance by PIOs remain neglected.)
b) Huge pendency at Information commissioner level: According to National Campaign for People’s right to
information only with CIC the pendency in 2015 was more than 2300 cases. For states like Maharashtra
cumulative pendency goes up to 120%.
c) Geographical spread of the Information Commissions mostly in capital is another huge constraint.

4. Other issues: Attack on RTI activists (reports of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative says 65 RTI activists
killed till 2017), Mis-use by vested interest (Naxals using it for finding detail of contractor for kidnapping), Dilution
of Whistle-blower Protection Act and exception in form of Official Secrets Act to curb info are other issues in
RTI’s implementation.

Road for any revolutionary beginning is never smooth and so in case of RTI with several issues and constraints. There
is need for simultaneous improvement at all the fronts:
1) Demand-Side: Awareness campaign organised at Gram Sabha level and standardization of forms
2) Supply-side: Continuous Training of PIOs, accepting 2nd ARC recommendation to allocate 1% of fund of flagship
schemes for basic infrastructure for RTI, target-based creation of electronic management system etc.
3) Information Commissioner level: Creating more regional offices, New monitoring and review mechanism under
CIC/SIC
4) Strong Whistle-blower Act to protect such persons, Suo-motu disclosure standards to be put in the law to RTI
successful.
• According to an estimate, between 40 and 60 lakh RTI applications are filed every year, but less than 3 per
cent Indian citizens have ever filed an RTI plea.
• Of the applications filed, less than 45 per cent received the information they had sought, according to the
‘Report Card of Information Commissions in India, 2018-19’ released by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SSN)
and the Centre for Equity Studies (CES). But of the 55 per cent who didn’t receive the information, less than
10 per cent filed appeals.

7|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• It doesn’t help that the Chief Information Commission (CIC) and the State Information Commissions (SICs)
have an unwritten rule about not penalising erring public information officers for their failure to respond to
RTI applications properly and in time. And then there is the matter of huge backlog.
• The ‘Report Card’ revealed that as of 31 March 2019, there were 2.18 lakh appeals and complaints pending
before the SICs. The study added that it took an average of more than a year for most SICs to dispose of
complaints/appeals. While the SIC of Andhra Pradesh would take 18 years to dispose of a complaint, West
Bengal SIC would take seven years and five months
• Reduced Capacity: Of the 29 ICs, two ICs -Jharkhand and Tripura -were found to have no
commissioners for varying lengths of time. They were completely defunct.4 were functioning without
a Chief Information Commissioner -Bihar, Goa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Under the RTI 2005
act, every commission should have a chief and up to 10 commissioners.
• Delays and Backlogs: The assessment found that on average, the CIC takes388 days (more than one year)
to dispose of an appeal/complaint from the date that it was filed before the commission.
The highest number of pending appeals, with over 59,000 cases were in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar
Pradesh and the Central Information Commissions (CIC).
• No Penalties: The report found that the Government officials face hardly any punishment for violating
the law. Penalties were imposed in only 2.2% of cases that were disposed of, despite previous analysis
showing a rate of about 59% violations which should have triggered the process of penalty imposition.

RECENT AMENDMENT ARGUMENTS

Criticism alleging weakening of Enforcer and therefore RTI itself:

1. Curtailing independence of Information Commissioners: By diminishing their statutory protection and high
status under original RTI, Act and diminishing status from that of Election Commission will compromise
independence of watchdog severely.
2. Weaken separation of power: As watchdogs like the Information Commissioner are mainly to question
government only and its control by same will weaken this separation.
3. Threaten State Information Commissions and thereby impact federalism: As now salary, terms of service
will have no statutory backing, but it will be exercised by the Centre.
4. Secrecy may override transparency: Such a control over enforcers may signal them against inconvenient
disclosures.
5. National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) held that no public consultation is itself against
the transparency envisaged under RTI.
6. However, the Information Commissioner's weak position is not just a result of recent amendments, which are
minor rule-making changes with regard to tenure, salary and terms of service. But there are other factors which
reflect a weakening of enforcers:
7. The CIC has been headless for the 5th time in the last 6 years with similar approach by states. This has
increased the pendency of appeals and stalled many applications.
8. Empty offices: Even after Supreme court judgement to fill all vacancies, 6 out of 11 posts are vacant.
9. Supreme Court mandated process in Namit Sharma Vs Union of India SC case in 2012 through empanelment
of candidates by DoPT (Concerned ministry at state) has not been followed. Ex- Kerala’s alleged political
appointment of 4 ICs has been challenged in High Court.
10. Reluctance of Information Commissioner in sanctioning Public Information Officers for inordinate delay
in orders even after complete hearing has been weakening whole institutions.
11. The concerns regarding amendments need to be addressed through assurance by the government. While the
amendment does not weaken enforcers as such, and if focus on aspects like filling up offices, strengthening
sanctioning mechanism by following stipulated timelines in the RTI act are done it will augur well for
transparent government in India.

8|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

GOVERNMENT'S JUSTIFICATION IN BRINGING THE AMENDMENT TO THE ACT:

1. The government claims that the equivalence drawn between the Election Commission of India and the Central
& State Information Commissioners are flawed through these amendments. It attempts to streamline and
reinforce the Act, and also bringing greater transparency.
2. The Election Commission of India is a constitutional body established under Article 324 of the Constitution of
India while on the other hand Central and State Information Commissioners are the statutory bodies established
under the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005. Thus, their status needs to be rationalized accordingly.
3. CIC has been given equal status as that of the Judge of the Supreme Court, but the judgments of the CIC can be
challenged in the High Courts.
4. These amendments are brought to strengthen the overall RTI structure.

CONCLUSION:
The main aim of the RTI Act, 2005 which was to promote transparency, accountability in the working of every public
authority and the citizens' right to secure the access to information is being crippled by this amendment bill, 2019. This
is an attempt to take away the free flow of unbiased information and place before the general public, the filtered
information by the public authorities in order to please the government.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT

1. Building Institutions
Neither the CIC nor the SICs have established offices at places other than the Capitals. For an overly citizen
friendly law to be effectively implemented it is vital to have easy access in a vast country like ours. The Commission
is therefore of the view that the CIC should be dispersed in atleast 4 regions. Similarly the SICs in larger States
should be dispersed depending on population density and geographical area

Recommendations
• The GOI should ensure the constitution of SICs in all States within 3 months.
• The CIC should establish 4 regional offices of CIC with a Commissioner heading each. Similarly regional
offices of SICs should be established in larger States.
2. Designating Information Officers and Appellate Authorities:
All Union Ministries/Departments have designated PIOs thus complying with the stipulation of
designating PIOs. There is however a wide variation in the numbers of PIOs appointed, and the level of officers
appointed {Annexure-V(2)}. Where more than one PIO is appointed for an office an applicant is likely to face
difficulty in accessing the appropriate PIO
Recommendations: (i) All Ministries/ Departments/Agencies/Offices with more than one PIO have to
designate a nodal Assistant Public Information Officer

3. Organising Information and Record Keeping:

Pro-active disclosure of important information by governmental agencies constitutes the essence of
transparency in governance. the suo motu disclosure is of an acceptable quality the question of its access still
remains. While the present practice of web publication should continue with regular up-dating, there are inherent
limitations in electronic communication.

4. Perhaps the weakest link in our information system is the total neglect of record keeping. The Tenth Finance
Commission took note of it and recommended special grants to the States for improving record keeping. Land
records are probably the most important public documents in any governance system. A vast number of people
need them as a proof of title; dispute resolution relies heavily on records; access to credit is usually dependent
on land ownership

9|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

5. Need for a coordination mechanism: Although the Act is applicable to both the Union and state governments,
the field situation varies from state to state. Moreover the State Information Commissions are independent of
the Central Information Commission. It is likely that many similar issues crop up before various Information
Commissions

6. Right to Information would be honoured only if the information exists and when it exists, it is easily retrievable
and intelligible. A combination of measures is required to achieve this: record keeping procedures need to be
developed, reviewed and revised; catalouging, indexing and orderly storage should be mandatory; all documents
need to be converted into rational, intelligible, retrievable information modules. A road map needs to be made
for digitizing of record

Reccomendations: independent Public Records Office (PRO) should be established in GOI and in each State
Government

7. The Public Records Office would be a repository of technical and professional expertise in management of
public records. Adequate funding needs to be assured for these agencies. As a one-time measure, the GOI may
allocate one per cent (1%) of funds of the ‘Flagship Programmes’5 for a period of five years for improving the
infrastructure, creating manuals, providing technical support and establishing Public Records Office

Recommendations: a. Suo motu disclosures should also be available in the form of printed, priced publication
in the official languagePublic Records Offices should be established as an independent authority in GOI.GOI
may create a Land Records Modernisation Fund for survey and updation of all land records.

8. Capacity Building and Awareness Generation,Training programmes: The enactment of Right to Information
Act is only the first step in promoting transparency in governance. The real challenge lies in ensuring that the
information sought is provided expeditiously, and in an intelligible form. The mindset of the government
functionaries, wherein secrecy is the norm and disclosure the exception, would require a revolutionary change.

CASE STUDY
1. United Kingdom has published an ‘Awareness Guidance’ series to assist public authorities and, in particular,
staff who may not have access to specialist advice about some of the issues, especially exemption provisions.
2. The Tamil Nadu Right to Information (Fees) Rules provides that an application fee of Rs 50 has to be paid for
each request

Recommendations:

• Training programmes should not be confined to merely PIOs and APIOs. All government functionaries should
be imparted atleast one day training
• In all general or specialized training programmes, of more than 3 days duration, a half-day module on Right to
Information
• Awareness campaigns may be entrusted to credible non profit organizations at the State level
• Appropriate governments should bring out guides and comprehensible information material within the
prescribed time. e. The CIC and the SICs may issue guidelines for the benefit of public authorities and public
officials in particular and public in general about key concepts in the Act

9. Monitoring Mechanism

A strong monitoring mechanism is a basic necessity for ensuring successful implementation of the Act. The
monitoring mechanism apart from exercising a supervisory role, should be able to detect problems in the process of

10 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

implementation and trigger corrective measures. This monitoring should be done at several levels –within the public
authority

Recommendations: a. The CIC and the SICs may be entrusted with the task of monitoring effective implementation
of the Right to Information Act in all public authorities. (An appropriate provision could be made under Section 30 by
way of removal of difficulties). b. As a large number of Public Authorities exist at regional, state, district and sub district
level, a nodal officer should be identified wherever necessary by the appropriate monitoring authority (CIC/SIC) to
monitor implementation of the Act. c. Each public authority should be responsible for compliance of provisions of the
Act in its own office as well as that of the subordinate public authoritie

10. Application to Non-Governmental Bodies: Under the Act, a non-governmental body needs to be substantially
financed by government to be categorized as a public authority under the Act. There is however no definition of
“substantially financed.”

Recommendations: a. Organisations which perform functions of a public nature that are ordinarily performed
by government or its agencies, and those which enjoy natural monopoly may be brought within the purview of
the Act. b. Norms should be laid down that any institution or body that has received 50% of its annual operating
costs, or a sum equal to or greater than Rs.1 crore during any of the preceding 3 years should be understood to
have obtained ‘substantial funding’ from the government for the period and purpose of such funding. c. Any
information which, if it were held by the government, would be subject to disclosure under the law, must remain
subject to such disclosure even when it is transferred to a non-government body or institution. d. This could be
achieved by way of removal of difficulties under section 30 of the Act.

11. Other Issues in Implementation

1. The implementation of the RTI Act is an administrative challenge which has thrown up various structural,
procedural and logistical issues and problem
2. Facilitating Access: Facilitating Access: ]seeking information, a process as prescribed under the Act has to be
set in motion. The trigger is filing of a request. Once the request is filed the onus of responding to it shifts to the
government agency Complicated system of accepting requests. • Insistence on demand drafts. Difficulties in
filing applications by post. • Varying and often higher rates of application fee. • Large number of PIOs.
3. Inventory of Public Authorities: The Act defines public authorities to include a vast array of institutions and
agencies. For people to access information, a catalogued and indexed list of all public authorities is necessary.
In a vast and diverse country with a federal structure, listing out all the public authorities is a Herculean task.
4. Single Window Agency at District Level: t becomes difficult for an applicant to identify the Public Authority
and to locate it. Therefore it is necessary to have a Single Window Agency, which could receive 40 41 Right to
Information – Master Key to Good Governance Issues in Implementation requests for information on behalf of
the public authorities/PIOs which have jurisdiction over the district and then forward them to the respective
public authority/PIO

12. Mechanism for Redressal of Public Grievances

• Experience has shown that functionaries/departments tend to be defensive rather than proactive in redressing a
grievance (or even in disclosing information) particularly when it directly pertains to their conduct (or
misconduct). This proclivity underlines the need for an independent forum to hear complaints into acts of
omission and commission, harassment, corruption et
• Public Grievances Commission An appeal involving a request for information as to why the Registration
Department continued to use antiquated rules to register land transactions led to the PGC commissioning an
independent report on the working of the Registration Department, with recommendations for its reforms.

11 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

CASE STUDY

1. BBC News story “When Rakesh Shukla, a poor farmer from the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, asked
local authorities for information on paddy field purchases in his area, he was handed a bill for 182,000 rupees.
Authorities told him that the bulk of the expenses-108,000 rupees had been spent photocopying over 90,000
copies of official papers relating to the purchases. The documents filled an entire room.”
2. Comprehensive land surveys have not been carried out over the past 70 years anywhere in India. This vital area
of administration, while it is a part of land management, also forms an important part of transparency in
governance

CONCLUSION

The Right to Information law of 2005 signals a radical shift in our governance culture and permanently impacts
all agencies of state. The effective implementation of this law depends on three fundamental shifts: from the prevailing
culture of secrecy to a new culture of openness; from personalized despotism to authority coupled with accountability;
and from unilateral decision making to participative governance. Obviously one single law cannot change everything.
But this fine legislation is an important beginning.

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

www.optimizeias.com

MAINS MASTER NOTES

SUBJECT: GS 2 (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS)

TOPIC: GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CITIZEN CHARTER

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com/

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow Optimize IAS telegram
channel

1|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

GOOD GOVERNANCE
THE CONCEPT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
The concept of good governance is not new. Kautilya in his treatise Arthashastra elaborated the traits of the
king of a well governed State thus: “in the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness, in their welfare his welfare,
whatever pleases himself, he does not consider as good, but whatever pleases his subjects he considers as good”.
Mahatma Gandhi had propounded the concept of ‘Su-raj
The 4 pillars on which the edifice of good governance rests, in essence are:
• Ethos (of service to the citizen),
• Ethics (honesty, integrity and transparency),
• Equity (treating all citizens alike with empathy for the weaker sections), and
• Efficiency (speedy and effective delivery of service without harassment and using ICT increasingly). Citizens are thus
at the core of good governance.
The Tenth Plan drew attention to the implementation of good governance in the following terms: ‘Governance relates
to the management of all such processes that, in any society, define the environment which permits and enables
individuals to raise their capability levels on the one hand, and provide opportunities to realize their potential and enlarge
the set of available choices, on the other
• As a democratic country, a central feature of good governance is the constitutionally protected right to elect
government at various levels in a fair manner, with effective participation by all sections of the population
• The government at all levels must be accountable and transparent. Governments at lower levels can only
function efficiently if they are empowered to do so.
• An overarching requirement is that the rule of law
Common Bottlenecks in Implementation of Projects
Among the most commonly noted bottlenecks in implementation of projects are:
• Multiplicity of laws governing same or similar set of issues.
• Requirement of a large number of approvals/permissions.
• Separate clearances/approvals required from different authorities on same or similar issues.
• Too many points of contact between investor and authorities.
• Lack of transparency in the administration of clearances and approvals.
• Large number of returns and amount of information to be provided to many departments/agencies.
• Little communication and information-sharing among related departments.
Source: Report on Reforming Investment Approval & Implementation Procedures – November 2002.
PERCEPTIONS ABOUT GOVERNANCE IN INDIA
• Public administration in India is generally perceived to be unresponsive, insensitive and corrupt
• The observations by citizens were about the poor quality of services provided by the Government, the indifferent
attitude of government servants, corruption and abuse of authority and lack of accountability. A common
complaint pertained to excessive red-tapism and the long-time taken to get even routine work don
• The Sixth Central Pay Commission’s comments in this connection are worth noting: “For the common man,
bureaucracy denotes routine and repetitive procedures, paper work and delays.
• Centre for Media Studies (CMS) study shows that a majority of citizens are not satisfied with the delivery of
public services. In seven out of the 11 departments covered the study, less than one-third of the citizens are
satisfied with the services delivered. In fact, in most need-based services such as the police, judiciary and
municipalities, (which enjoy a greater discretion and power), not even 20 per cent of the households are satisfied
with their services

2|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

BARRIERS TO GOOD GOVERNANCE

• Lack of awareness about rights and duties and callous approach to compliance to laws on the part of some of
the citizens
• weak and ill-conceived
• Attitudinal Problems of the Civil Servant e wooden, inflexible, self-perpetuating and inward looking
• Lack of Accountability authority is divorced from accountability leading to a system of realistic and plausible
alibis. Cumbersome disciplinary procedures have added to the general apathy towards discipline in Government.
• Red Tapism expected to adhere to rules and procedures which are, of course, important for good governance.
However, at times, these rules and procedures are ab-initio ill-conceived and cumbersome
• Low levels of Awareness of the Rights and Duties of Citizens, low levels of compliance of Rules by the citizens
also acts as an impediment to good governance;
• Ineffective Implementation of Laws and Rules
• Sound Legal Framework
PRE-CONDITIONS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE
• Robust Institutional Mechanism for Establishing Rule of Law : The country has, over the years, created and
sustained strong and effective institutional mechanisms to ensure that the rule of law is maintained and the rights
of our citizens are well protected and human dignity upheld
• Some of the pre-conditions a. Sound legal framework. b. Robust institutional mechanism for proper
implementation of the laws and their effective functioning. c. Competent personnel staffing these institutions;
and sound personnel management policies. d. Right policies for decentralization, delegation and accountability
• Competent and Dedicated Workforce A sound legal system and a robust institutional mechanism need to be
buttressed by ensuring that competent and motivated personnel run the system in order to provide a vibrant
citizen centric administration.
• Decentralization, Delegation and Accountability The central idea of subsidiarity is that citizens as sovereigns
and stakeholders in a democracy are the final decision-makers. The citizen-sovereign-consumer must exercise
as much authority as practicable, and delegate upward the rest of the functions which require economies of
scale, technological and managerial capacity or collective amenities
• Transparency and Right to Information Transparency and Right to Information are an essential pre-condition
for good governance. Access to information empowers the citizens to demand and get information about public
policies and programmes, thus making the government more accountable and helps to strengthen participatory
democracy and citizen centric governance
• Accountability also means answerability i.e. questions asked of public officials have to be answered by them.
There are two types of questions that can be asked. One type as under the RTI Act merely seeks information/data
and involves one way transmission of information Th e second type of question enquires not just as to what was
done but why;
• Focus on Outcomes – Evaluation and Monitoring
• Grievance Redressal Mechanisms In a welfare State like India, citizens have a variety of interactions with the
Government in its myriad forms – as a service provider, a regulator, as a provider of social and physical
infrastructure etc
• Active Citizens’ Participation – Information Dissemination, Mechanisms, Target Group Consultation
• Process Simplification As the Commission has noted in its Report on ‘Ethics in Governance’, simplifying
transactions focusing on adoption of Single Window Approach, minimising hierarchical tiers, up-dating and
simplification of existing department manuals and codes et
Core Principles for Making Governance Citizen Centric
• Rule of Law-Zero Tolerance Strategy: The Commission in its Fifth Report on ‘Public Order’ has stated that
in our country there is a tendency for some enforcement agencies not to rigorously enforce the provisions of
law.
• Making Institutions Vibrant, Responsive and Accountable
• Active Citizens’ Participation – Decentralization and Delegation
• Transparency is one of the core principles of good governance. Transparency in decision making, disclosure of
standards of deliver

3|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Service Reforms Civil servants man various institutions of Government. Their attitude, competence, efficiency
and approach to governance determines the experience that a citizen has with government.
• Ethics in Governance Ethics is a set of standards that society places on itself and which helps guide behaviors,
choices and actions.

4|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

CITIZENS’ CHARTERS
INTRODUCTION:
Definition:
• The Citizens’ Charter is an instrument which seeks to make an organization transparent, accountable
and citizen friendly
• A Citizens’ Charter is basically a set of commitments made by an organization regarding the standards
of service which it delivers.
ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF CITIZEN CHARTER
1. Vision and Mission Statement of the organization: This gives the outcomes desired and the broad strategy
to achieve these goals and outcomes. This also makes the users aware of the intent of their service provider
and helps in holding the organization accountable.
2. Types of services are their standard: In its Citizens’ Charter, the organization must state clearly what
subjects it deals with and the service areas it broadly covers. This helps the users to understand the type of
services they can expect from a particular service provider. These commitments/promises constitute the
heart of a citizens’ charter. Even though these promises are not enforceable in a court of law, each
organization should ensure that the promises made are kept and, in case of default, a suitable
compensatory/remedial mechanism should be provided.
3. Responsibilities of Citizens: Citizens’ Charter should also stipulate the responsibilities of the citizens in
the context of the charter.
EVOLUTION OF THE CITIZENS’ CHARTER
• The Citizens’ Charter, when introduced in the early 19 90’s, represented a landmark shift in the delivery of
public services. The emphasis of the Citizens’ Charter is on citizens as customers of public services.
• The Citizens’ Charter scheme in its present form was first launched in 1991 in the UK. Th e Citizens’ Charter
will raise quality, increase choice, secure better value and extend accountability.
“The Citizens’ Charter sees public services through the eyes of those who use them. For too long the provider has
dominated and now it is the turn of the user... The Citizens’ Charter will raise quality, increase choice, secure better
value and extend accountability (Cabinet Office, U.K., 1992)”.
Prime Minister John Major
A Citizens’ Charter is a public statement that defines the entitlements of citizens to a specific service, the
standards of the service, the conditions to be met by users, and the remedies available to the latter in case of non-
compliance of standards.
The Charter concept empowers the citizens in demanding committed standards of service. Thus, the basic thrust of
Citizens’ Charter is to make public services citizen centric by ensuring that these services are demand driven rather than
supply driven. In this context, the six principles of the Citizens’ Charter movement as originally framed were:
i. Quality - improving the quality of services;
ii. Choice - for the users wherever possible;
iii. Standards - specifying what to expect within a time frame;
iv. Value - for the taxpayers’ money;
v. Accountability - of the service provider (individual as well as Organization); and
vi. Transparency - in rules, procedures, schemes and grievance redressal.

These were revised in 1998 as nine principles of service delivery in the following manner:
i. Set standards of service;
ii. Be open and provide full information;
iii. Consult and involve;
iv. Encourage access and promote choice;
v. Treat all fairly;
vi. Put things right when they go wrong;
vii. Use resources eff ectively;
viii. Innovate and improve; and
ix. Work with other providers

5|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

CHARTER MARK
The Charter Mark Scheme was introduced in 1991 in the United Kingdom to improve the efficacy of the
citizens’ charters. It was a tool designed to help organisations focus on, and improve, their customer service and delivery
to users.
A set of six criteria made up the Charter Mark standard:
▪ Criterion 1: Set standards and perform well
▪ Criterion 2: Actively engage with your customers, partners and staff
▪ Criterion 3: Be fair and accessible to everyone and promote choice
▪ Criterion 4: Continuously develop and improve
▪ Criterion 5: Use your resources effectively and imaginatively
▪ Criterion 6: Contribute to improving opportunities and quality of life in the communities you serve
The key drivers of customer satisfaction within public services
• Delivery of promised outcomes and handling problems eff ectively;
• Timeliness of service provision;
• Accurate and comprehensive information, and progress reports provided;
• Professionalism and competence of staff and treating customers fairly; and
• Staff attitudes – friendly, polite and sympathetic to customers’ needs
THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE OF CITIZENS
• The Government of India in 1996 commenced a National Debate for Responsive Administration. A major
suggestion which emerged was bringing out Citizens’ Charters for all public service organisations. –
• The idea received strong support at the Chief Ministers’ Conference in May 1997.
• One of the key decisions of the Conference was to formulate and operationalise Citizens’ Charters at the Union
and State Government levels in sectors which have large public interface such as Railways, Telecom, Post &
Public Distribution Systems, Hospitals, and the Revenue & Electricity Departments. The momentum for this
was provided by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DAR&PG) in consultation
with the Department for Consumer Affairs.
• The Department of AR & PG simultaneously formulated guidelines for structuring a model charter as well as a
list of do’s and don’ts to enable various government departments to bring out focused and effective charters.
Since May 1997, when the programme was launched in India, different Ministries, Departments, Directorates
and other organizations at the Union level have formulated 115 Citizens’ Charters. -ere were 650 such Charters
developed by various Departments and agencies of the State Governments and Union Territories (as on February
2007) Government of India in 1996 commenced a National Debate for Responsive Administration. The Chief
Ministers’ Conference in May 1997; one of the key decisions of the Conference was to formulate and
operationalise Citizens’ Charters at the Union and State Government level.

The DARPG set out a series of guidelines to enable the service delivery organisations to formulate precise and
meaningful Charters to set the service delivery parameters. These were as follows:
• To be useful, the Charter must be simple
• The Charter must be framed not only by senior experts, but by interaction with the cutting edge staff who will
finally implement it and with the users (individual organizations)
• Merely announcing the Charter will not change the way we function. It is important to create conditions through
interaction and training for generating a responsive climate;
• Begin with a statement of the service(s) being offered
• A mention is made against each service about the entitlement of the user, service standards and remedies
available to the user in case of non-adherence to standards; f. Procedures/costs/charges should be made available
on line/display boards/ booklets/inquiry counters etc at places specified in the Charter
• Indicate clearly, that while these are not justiciable, the commitments enshrined in the Charter are in the nature
of a promise to be fulfilled with oneself and with the user.
• Frame a structure for obtaining feedback and performance audit and fix a schedule for reviewing the Charter at
least every six months
• Separate Charters can be framed for distinct services and for organizations/ agencies/attached or subordinate to
a Ministry/Department.
DAR & PG, in collaboration with the Consumer Coordination Council, New Delhi, undertook an evaluation of the
Citizens’ Charter programme in 1998. The initiative at that time was at a nascent stage, but the findings were
6|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

encouraging. Subsequently, a professional agency was engaged from 2002 to 2003 to develop a standardized model for
internal and external evaluations of Charters. Some of the findings of the agency were:
• In a majority of cases, the Charters were not formulated through a consultative process;
• By and large, service providers were not familiar with the philosophy, goals and main features of the Charter;
• Adequate publicity to the Charters had not been given in any of the Departments evaluated. In most
Departments, the Charters are only in the initial or middle stage of implementation; and
• No funds have been specifically earmarked for awareness generation of Citizens’ Charter or for orientation of
the staff on various components of the Charter.
The Report of PAC has also brought out the following general deficiencies:
• Poor design and content: Most organizations do not have adequate capability to draft meaningful and succinct
Citizens’ Charter. Most Citizens’ Charters drafted by government agencies are not designed well. Critical
information that end-users need to hold agencies accountable are simply missing from a large number of
charters. Thus, the Citizens’ Charter programme has not succeeded in appreciably empowering end-users to
demand greater public accountability.
• Lack of public awareness: While a large number of public service providers have implemented Citizens’
Charter, only a small percentage of end-users are aware of the commitments made in the Citizens’ Charter.
Effective efforts of communicating and educating the public about the standards of delivery promise have not
been undertaken.
• Inadequate groundwork: Government agencies often formulate Citizens’ Charters without undertaking
adequate groundwork in terms of assessing and reforming its processes to deliver the promises made in the
Charter
A study sponsored by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on evaluation of the
Citizens’ Charters was carried out by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (2008). Some of the observations/
findings of this study are;
• Citizens’ Charters have still not been adopted by all Ministries/Departments.
• There was lack of precision on standards and commitments in several cases.
• There is often little interest shown by the organizations in adhering to their Charter
• . On the communications front, the Charter programme has been throttled on account of poor planning and
resource commitment for publicity.
• In some cases, the Charters have become a one-time exercise, frozen in time.
• There was general lack of accountability and review mechanisms.
• Charters are rarely updated: Charters reviewed for this report rarely showed signs of being updated even
though some documents date back from the inception of the Citizens’ Charter programme nearly a decade ago.
Only 6% of Charters reviewed even make the assurance that the document will be updated sometime after
release. In addition, few Charters indicate the date of release. Needless to say, the presence of a publication date
assures end-users of the validity of a Charter’s contents.
• End-users and NGOs are not consulted when Charters are drafted: Civil society organizations and end-
users are generally not consulted when Charters are being formulated. Since a Citizens’ Charter’s primary
purpose is to make public service delivery more citizen-centric, agencies must investigate the needs of end-
users when formulating Charters by consulting with ordinary citizens and civil society organizations.
• The needs of senior citizens and the disabled are not considered when drafting Charters: Just one Charter
reviewed for this report assured equitable access to disabled users or senior citizens. Many agencies actually do
cater to the needs of the disadvantaged or elderly, but do not mention these services in their charter. g. Resistance
to change: Th e new practices demand significant changes in the behaviour and attitude of the agency and its
staff towards citizens. At times, vested interests work for stalling the Citizens’ Charter altogether or in making
it toothless

MAKING CITIZENS’ CHARTERS EFFECTIVE – AN AGENDA FOR REFORM

The Commission has briefly dealt with the issue of Citizens’ Charters in its Fourth Report on ‘Ethics in
Governance’. The Commission observed that in order to make these Charters effective tools for holding public servants
accountable, the Charters should clearly spell out the remedy/penalty/compensation in case there is a default in meeting
the standards spelt out in the Charter. It emphasized that it is better to have a few promises which can be kept than a
long list of lofty but impractical aspirations.

7|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Internal restructuring should precede Charter formulation: As a meaningful Charter seeks to improve the quality
of service, mere stipulation to that effect in the Charter will not suffice. There has to be a complete analysis of the
existing systems and processes within the organization and, if need be, these should to be recast and new initiatives
adopted. Citizens’ Charters that are put in place after these internal reforms will be more credible and useful than those
designed as mere desk exercises without any system re-engineering.
One size does not fi tall: This huge challenge becomes even more complex as the capabilities and resources that
governments and departments need to implement Citizens’ Charters vary significantly across the country. Added to
these are differing local conditions. Th e highly uneven distribution of Citizens’ Charters across States is clear evidence
of this ground reality. For example, some agencies may need more time to specify and agree upon realistic standards of
service. In others, additional eff ort will be required to motivate and equip the staff to participate in this reform exercise.
Such organizations could be given time and resources to experiment with standards, grievances redressal mechanisms
or training. They may also need more time for internal restructuring of the service delivery chain or introducing new
systems. Therefore, the Commission is of the view that formulation of Citizens’ Charters should be a decentralized
activity with the head office providing broad guidelines. Wide consultation process: Citizens’ Charters should be
formulated after extensive consultations within the organization followed by a meaningful dialogue with civil society.
Inputs from experts should also be considered at this stage.
Firm commitments to be made: Citizens’ Charters must be precise and make firm commitments of service delivery
standards to the citizens/consumers in quantifiable terms wherever possible. With the passage of time, an eff ort should
be made for more stringent standards of service delivery. v. Redressal mechanism in case of default: Citizens’ Charter
should clearly lay down the relief which the organization is bound to provide if it has defaulted on the promised standards
of delivery. In addition, wherever there is a default in the service delivery by the organization, citizens must also have
recourse to a grievances redressal mechanism. This will be discussed further in the next chapter on grievances redressal
mechanisms
Periodic evaluation of Citizens’ Charters: Every organization must conduct periodic evaluation of its Citizens’
Charter preferably through an external agency. This agency while evaluating the Charter of the organisation should also
make an objective analyses of whether the promises made therein are being delivered within the defined parameters.
The result of such evaluations must be used to improve upon the Charter. This is necessary because a Citizens’ Charter
is a dynamic document which must keep pace with the changing needs of the citizens as well as the changes in underlying
processes and technology. A periodic review of Citizens’ Charter thus becomes an imperative.
Benchmark using end-user feedback: Systematic monitoring and review of Citizens’ Charters is necessary even after
they are approved and placed in the public domain. Performance and accountability tend to suffer when officials are not
held responsible for the quality of a Charter’s design and implementation. In this context, end-user feedback can be a
timely aid to assess the progress and outcomes of an agency that has implemented a Citizens’ Charter. This is a standard
practice for Charters implemented in the UK.
Hold officers accountable for results: All of the above point to the need to make the heads of agencies or other
designated senior officials accountable for their respective Citizens’ Charters. The monitoring mechanism should fix
specific responsibility in all cases where there is a default in adhering to the Citizens’ Charter.
Include Civil Society in the process: Organizations need to recognize and support the eff orts of civil society groups
in preparation of the Charters, their dissemination and also facilitating information disclosures. There have been a
number of States where involvement of civil society in this entire process has resulted in vast improvement in the
contents of the Charter, its adherence as well as educating the citizens about the importance of this vital mechanism

Stipulations in IS 15700:2005 The Citizens’ Charter shall contain:

1. Vision and mission statement of the organisation.
2. List of key service(s) being offered by the organisation, and
3. Measurable service standards for the service(s) provided and remedies available to the customer for non-compliance
to the standard

SEVOTTAM MODEL
Sevottam is a Service Delivery Excellence Model which provides an assessment improvement framework to
bring about excellence in public service delivery. Th e need for a tool like Sevottam arose from the fact that Citizens’
Charters by themselves could not achieve the desired results in improving quality of public services. Besides, the absence
of a credible grievances redressal mechanism within organizations was also becoming a major impediment in improving
service delivery standards

8|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• The Sevottam model works as an evaluation mechanism to assess the quality of internal processes and their
impact on the quality of service deliver
• The second component of the model, ‘Public Grievance Redress’ requires a good grievance redressal system
operating in a manner that leaves the citizen more satisfied with how the organization responds to
complaints/grievances, irrespective of the final decision.
• The third component ‘Excellence in Service Delivery’, postulates that an organization can have an excellent
performance in service delivery only if it is efficiently managing well the key ingredients for good service
delivery and building its own capacity to continuously improve service delivery

ARC Seven Step Model for Citizen Centricity

• Define all services which you provide and identify your clients.
• Set standards and norms for each service.
• Develop capability to meet the set standards. Citizens’ Charters
• Citizen Centric Administration – The Heart of Governance
• Perform to achieve the standards
• Monitor performance against the set standards
• Evaluate the impact through an independent mechanism. g. Continuous improvement based on monitoring and
evaluation results.
Peoples’ Participation in Governance.
Governance comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which collective decisions are made
and implemented, citizens’ groups and communities pursue their vision, articulate their interests, exercise their legal
rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences. (UNDP 1997)
Citizens’ participation in governance embodies a shift in the development paradigm from citizens as the
recipients of development to one that views them as active participants in the development process. Equally, it involves
a shift from a “top-down” to a “bottom-up”

CASE STUDY
1. Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) was set up in 1999 with the goal of transforming Bangalore into a world
class city with the participation of its leading citizens including the heads of its major IT companies, as well as
prominent members of the Bangalore civic community. BATF was asked to explore how to improve city
services and infrastructure, expand the city resource base and enhance the administrative capacity of the city
corporation. BATF held public summits in the presence of the media and the Chief Minister every six months
to follow up these objectives
2. Citizen Report Cards (CRC) – Bengaluru Th e Public Affairs Centre, Bengaluru presented three Citizen Report
Cards
Enabling Women’s Participation
• Because of socio-cultural mores and seclusion norms, women in many parts of our country find it more difficult
to approach.Encouraging full participation of women as a part of citizen centric administration and obtaining
their feedback will ensure that their suggestions and perspectives based on ground realities are adequately
reflected in various policies and programmes including in grievance redressal and other mechanism
Recommendations:
• Ensuring the full participation of women should be a specific aim of citizen centric administration and this
should be reflected in various policies and programmes, including citizens’ charters and grievances redressal
mechanisms.
• Government may constitute an expert committee to identify the areas where special provisions for the physically
challenged should be made mandatory. These areas could be reviewed and expanded every five years.
• Government should adopt a more proactive approach for detection and registration of the physically challenged
persons.
• To achieve this, responsibility should be cast on the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to identify all such cases
in their jurisdiction and to get the evaluation of the disabilities done. To enable the PHCs to discharge these
responsibilities, adequate resources should be placed at the disposal of the Medical Officer, PHC along with
delegation of commensurate authority and changes in the relevant rules.
• Organization of camps at PHC level, attended by the concerned medical personnel, would greatly help in issuing
certificates of disability on the spot.

9|P a ge
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Further, steps should be taken to create a database for all the Disabilities Certificate holders with integration at
District, State and National levels.

10 | P a g e
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

www.optimizeias.com

Ethics Masterclass
CSE MAINS 2023

TOPIC: WORK CULTURE

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com/

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow Optimize IAS telegram
channel

1
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3

IMPORTANCE OF WORK CULTURE...................................................................................................................................... 3

STRONG VS WEAK WORK CULTURE ................................................................................................................................... 3

WORK CULTURE – TYPES:..................................................................................................................................................... 4

CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTHY WORK CULTURE ......................................................................................................... 4

POSITIVE WORK CULTURE ................................................................................................................................................... 5

WORK ETHICS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORK ETHICS............................................................................................................................ 6

DIFFERENCES WORK CULTURE: .......................................................................................................................................... 6

WORK CULTURE IN INDIA .................................................................................................................................................... 7

REFORMS UNDERTAKEN ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

WAYS TO IMPROVE WORK CULTURE IN INDIA ................................................................................................................ 9

CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................................... 10

2
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

INTRODUCTION:
Work culture is regarded as a set of practices, values and shared beliefs that arise within an
organization, amidst its employees and what is generally regarded as appropriate ways to think and act.

It encompasses the whole ecosystem of an organisation ranging from leadership, recruitment

procedures, training, career advancement to work life balance.

It is the work culture which decides the way employees interact with each other and how an organisation
function.

It basically refers to the mentality of the employees which further decides the ambience of the
organisation.

The work culture of an organization is a product of its history, traditions, values, and vision.

Desirable work culture includes-

• Shared institutional values
• High performance and commitment
• Diversity in thought and action
• Priorities
• Rewards and other practices which foster inclusion

IMPORTANCE OF WORK CULTURE

• Transparency, Innovation and Discipline: Healthy work culture promotes transparency, innovation
and discipline in an organisation.
• Reduced Conflicts: Good work culture promotes rational communication and helps in reducing
conflicts among individuals/team during work.
• Increases Productivity and Quality: Transparency, responsibility, unbiased are underpinnings of
good work culture. These will enable individuals and teams to become self-organized which in turn
improves quality and productivity.
• Sustainable Work: Good work culture includes peer respect, recognition of hard work, and freedom
to bring new ideas (innovation). These will help in long term prospects of the organization.
• Effective Communication: Healthy work culture provides a platform for effective communication
among the verticals and horizontals of the organisation which helps in getting work done effectively.

STRONG vs WEAK WORK CULTURE

In a strong work culture, the employees follow the rules and regulations of the organization and
adhere to the existing guidelines.

However, in some organizations, employees are reluctant to follow the rules and are made to work only
by strict procedures. Such organizations have weak work culture.

STRONG WORK CULTURE WEAK WORK CULTURE

Values are shared throughout organization Values limited to a few people (usually top employees

Most employees know this history of the Employees get contradictory message
organisation
Employees strongly identify with the culture Employees have little identification with culture

3
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

Strong connection between shared values Little connection with shared values and behaviors
and behaviors

WORK CULTURE – TYPES:

BUREAUCRATIC WORK CULTURE COMMUNITY WORK CULTURE
➢ It is the one which has well defined, formal ➢ It is a friendly environment work culture where
and structured work environment. people are allowed to express themselves more
➢ It addresses to strict authority, hierarchy and openly.
procedures ➢ Focus is on high level of involvement and
➢ The focus is on accuracy and efficiency in teamwork. Great value is placed upon trust and
task completion. morals. Such organizations have more flexibility
➢ The downside is that it works on top-down in their procedures.
approach & witnesses red tapism. ➢ Leadership is more of a mentorship.
➢ Leadership is authoritative. ➢ Examples: Non-government organization, for
➢ Examples: Municipality offices, Government instance FEEDING INDIA, BACHPAN
Department offices etc. BACHAO etc.
COMPETITIVE WORK CULTURE ENTREPRENEURIAL WORK CULTURE
➢ Such work culture is more customer focused ➢ It is one where risk taking, experimentation,
and goal oriented with strong emphasis on creativity and innovation are more important
delivering results. than policies and procedures.
➢ The whole organization works towards ➢ Individual initiative is encouraged and loosely
satisfying the demands of the market. defined roles.
➢ Top performers are highly regarded to ➢ Leadership emerges according to the demand of
motivate others to perform the like. the work.
➢ Leadership plays the role of a coach. ➢ - Examples: New startups launched by friends
➢ Examples: Network marketing firms, e- each providing her\his expertise in performing
commerce companies etc. different tasks.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTHY WORK CULTURE

• One respects his fellow worker, i.e., employees are cordial with each other.
• Conflicts are minimum and they are resolved after considering the underlying causes.
• Each employee is treated in alike manner. It is recognized by the employer and managers that
partiality leads to dissatisfied employees and eventually an unhealthy work culture.
• Employees are judged only by their work and nothing else.
4
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

• Performers are encouraged. And the ones, who have not performed well, are not criticized but are
asked to pull up their socks for the next time.
• Employees' participation in decision making and quality suggestion is encouraged. (As per the
directions provided in our CONSTITUTION under DPSP Article- 43A)
• There is a two-way communication. Employees' feedback, negative or positive, is well taken into
consideration.
• Workshops, seminars and presentations are frequently conducted to upgrade the existing skills
of the employees.

POSITIVE WORK CULTURE

The working of most of the government organizations is based on the WEBERIAN PRINCIPLE OF
DECISION MAKING governed by rules and regulations to ensure objectivity and uniformity. However, a
positive work culture should not only include the Weberian model but also includes the Indian
organisational ideologies indicated by Swami Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi as well.

Elements of Positive Work Culture:

• Efficiency and economy of time as well as performances
• Punctuality
• Promptness: quick response reduces cost overruns
• Simplicity of rules and regulations
• Flexibility in operation
• Goal orientation
• Organizational humanism
• Quality of service
• Authority-responsibility balance
• Climate of self-motivation should prevail.

Merits of Positive Work Culture -

• A happy and stress relaxed organization
• Higher productivity and efficiency
• Enhanced creativity
• Improved job satisfaction leading to higher morale
• Higher level of client/citizen satisfaction
• Timely and quality service delivery
Example: ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)
✓ It was founded in the 1960s and has since then contributed immensely in the development of the
nation.
✓ Despite India being a third world country, ISRO against all odds has launched various space
programs, the most recent being Chandrayan 2.
✓ It cannot be denied that one of the most important factors of ISRO’s success is its healthy work
culture.

WORK ETHICS
• An important dimension of ethics in public administration is work ethics.
• It represents a commitment to the fulfilment of one's official responsibilities with a spirit of
dedication, involvement and sincerity.
• It also implies that a government functionary would love his work and not treat it as a burden or a
load. And that efficiency, productivity and punctuality will be the hallmark of his administrative
behaviour.

5
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORK ETHICS

• VALUES - At the centre of an ethical organisation are its values. In other words, an organization's
values are its lifeblood. Just as blood nourishes the body, they must flow vigorously through every
cell of an organization.
• LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS- The ethical organization will have leaders who both 'talk the
talk' and 'walk the walk' of ethical practice. Leaders must embody the organization's values in their
own behaviour and must articulate those values in a compelling way for employees. Leaders set the
tone that permeates an organisation's culture. If employees perceive that top leader cares more about
results than about how those results are achieved, this perception can encourage the bending or even
breaking of rules.
• STAKEHOLDER BALANCE- The ethical organization model recognizes that needs and
demands of different stakeholder groups frequently exist in tension with one another. Customers
want higher quality of wages and increased benefits; owners/investors want a greater return;
suppliers want to be paid more; communities want companies to invest more in them; and
competitors want fair competition. The ethical organization recognizes these tensions and works to
maintain a balance between them. Focusing too much on any one stakeholder, whether
owners/investors, customers or employees, will create a distortion that can lead to ethical lapses.
• PROCESS INTEGRITY- Process integrity is a focus on the system’s dimension of
organizational life. The ethical organization's values must be built into every operational process.
All of its operational systems (e.g., recruiting, hiring, evaluating, compensating, promoting,
demoting, firing, marketing, sales, production) need to be aligned with its values. At best,
misaligned process create confusion and poor decision making with the organisation; at worst, they
create ethical breaches and chaos.
• LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE- A fundamental characteristic of an ethical organization is the
devotion of its leadership to strategic planning for the long term. This characteristic evokes the
question, "what is the purpose of this business?" For some, the answer is to maximize shareholder
values, but for others, the goal of business is found in balancing the interests of numerous
stakeholders- owner/investors and employees, customers and suppliers, communities and even
competitors.

DIFFERENCES WORK CULTURE:

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INDIAN WORK CULTURE AND WORK CULTURE IN WESTERN

COUNTRIES-
• Time: In all the Western countries, especially USA, people strictly adhere to the time. They work
in the office for eight hours a day. They attend the meetings sharply in scheduled timings. On the
contrary, in India, people do not adhere to the timings. They are not very imperative on deadlines
and keep negotiating for extension of timeline. Sometimes scheduled meetings are cancelled, due to
absence of some key persons.
• Work-life balance: In Western work-culture, they give more value to the time spent for their
personal life. They do not carry the workplace pressures or stress to home. Eventually work is a part
of their life, but not the life itself. Most of the Indians think workplace as an opportunity to build
their future and put forth extensive efforts to climb the corporate ladder and earn monetary benefit.
They work day and night beyond limits, which results in losing work-life balance.
• Employer Employee Relationship: The relationship between the boss and subordinates is
believed to be more formal and hierarchical in India. People in power openly display their ranks
according to which importance is given. Employees are not supposed to expect clear guidance from
the managers and they are often not assigned with important work. Subordinates are expected to take
the blame for things that go wrong. Whereas in western work culture the relation between boss and
6
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

subordinate is not more formal and hierarchical, superiors treat subordinates with respect and do
not demonstrate ranks. Subordinates are entrusted with important assignments. Blame for things that
go wrong is either shared or is often accepted by the superior, due to it being their responsibility to
manage.
• Mentoring: Indian managers are a bit soft in critical assessments. Seniors tend to lean more on
positive feedback during an appraisal, leaving the criticism unsaid. In India either due to the
appraisal process or due to the lack of skill of the appraiser, the much-needed critical assessment is
often held back. In the US, there is a better balance in practice.
• Adaptability and Acceptance: In Indian work-culture, people do not accept change easily; lot of
resistance is encountered in order to implement change. In western work-culture, people are
adaptive and conductive to change implementation.
WORK CULTURE IN INDIA
• India is a multilingual, multi-ethnic and pluralistic society.
• The ancient Indian ethos of DUTY being the highest virtue is as much alive today also. Workplace
duty is given priority to personal matters.
• Dress code- on special occasions and events, the traditional dress code of Saree for women and
Safari Suit for men is followed.
• Indian work culture is considered more flexible than western encounter parts.
• The colleague relationship is friendlier.
• Collective dining and celebrating festivals in the offices is also a unique feature of Indian work
culture.
• Despite the above good elements, vast cultural differences can be seen between North and South
India and this diversity is reflected in the workplace also.

Reasons for Poor Work Culture in India-

The expanse of governance, the complexities and above all the aspirations of citizens have changed
substantially in the last few decades. Though there have been sporadic attempts at modifying the old rules
and procedures, there has not been an exhaustive and thorough examination of these especially keeping
citizens at the centre stage. The reason for poor work culture in India can be attributed to-
1. British legacy
2. Inappropriate Personnel Management
3. Poor office layouts and File management
4. Social causes- centralization of decision making have made participatory zeal low. In Indian
society, socio-psychological aspects are not managed rationally.

Impacts of Poor Work Culture in India-

• Manual labour is despised and mental work is preferred.
• Attitude of casualness.
• No perceptible feeling of nationalism or loyalty towards organization.
• Holiday culture

Administrative / Bureaucratic Work Culture in India

7
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

Issues with Indian Administrative / Bureaucratic Work Culture

1. Poor performance on International Ratings: A 2015 survey of the leading economies of Asia,
revealed Indian Bureaucracy to be not only the least efficient among Singapore, Hong Kong,
Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines and Indonesia, but
also that working with India's civil servants was a "slow and painful" process.
2. Inefficiency and Misalignment with Strategic National Goals: The Indian bureaucracy is a self-
serving elite clique of babus (public servants) which works in silos and does not serve the national
interest. It focuses more on the process rather than the positive outcome. It resists changes and
reforms.
3. Institutionalised Corruption: A study done by the Transparency International in India found that
more than 92% of the people had first-hand experience of paying bribes or peddling influence to get
services performed in a public office.
4. Criminalisation: In 2011, over a period of preceding three years more than 450 charge sheets for
criminal cases of corruption were filed and a total of 943 corruption cases were at different stages of
investigation by CBI against civil servants.
5. Misappropriation of Funds: ₹1 lakh crore (US$14 billion) losses through corruption, waste and
fraud occurred from the government's NRHM healthcare programme, and several arrested high-level
public servants died under mysterious circumstances including one in prison.
6. Tendering processes and awarding contracts: A 2006 report stated that the state-funded
construction activities, such as road building were dominated by construction mafias, consisting of
cabals of corrupt public works officials, materials suppliers, politicians and construction contractors.
7. Theft of state property: Corrupt officials steal the state property. In cities and villages throughout
India, groups of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians, judicial officers, real
estate developers and law enforcement officials, acquire, develop and sell land in illegal ways.
8. Political Interference: Interference by politicians and politicians-babus nexus in corruption is an
ongoing concern. In October 2013, the SC, in the case of TSR Subramanian & Ors Vs UOI and
Ors ordered both GOI and State Govts to ensure fixed tenure to civil servants. The court asked senior
bureaucrats to write down the oral instructions from politicians so that a record would be kept of all

8
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

the decisions. This judgement was seen on the similar lines of the Supreme Court's 2006 judgement
in Prakash Singh case on Police reforms.

Reforms Undertaken:
1. Central Civil Services Authority: In order to professionalize the Civil Services, then Defence
Minister A.K.Antony led in decision on creation of a Central Civil Services Authority (CCSA) to
oversee the higher bureaucracy.
2. Alignment with strategic national goals: Under the present regime principle of "minimum
government and maximum governance", government undertook several reforms to align country’s
civil service with the strategic national goals, including lateral entry, forcibly retiring inept and
corrupt officers, etc.
3. 360-degree appraisal: In 2014, to align the country’s civil service systems with the strategic
national goals, government implemented a new 360-degree appraisal system which entails "Annual
Confidential Report" (ACR), review of work-related attitude and behavior based on confidential
feedback from peers, subordinates, outsiders, and stakeholders who have dealt with the officer. This
new system replaced the earlier archaic annual performance appraisal based solely on the ACR
written by an officer's boss.
4. Lateral entry of domain experts: From 2018, to attract the best domain expert candidates from
across the world for the senior civil servants’ job, vacancies which were earlier available only
through promotion of officers were opened for direct hire or lateral entry as well
5. Removal and punishment of corrupt officers
6. Empowerment of citizens to sue corrupt officer: In 2016, the government decided to empower
citizens to seek prosecution of corrupt IAS officers. The Department Personnel and Training (DoPT)
has accepted to receive requests from private persons seeking sanction for prosecution in respect of
IAS officers without any proper proposal and supporting documents. In 2019, Government of India
dismissed 12 (IRS IT) and 15 (IRS Customs and Central Excise) officers for corruption and bribery
charges.
7. Forced retirement of corrupt and inept officer: In 2016, the Finance Ministry dismissed 72 and
prematurely retired another 33 Indian Revenue Service officers for the first time for non-
performance and on disciplinary grounds.

Ways to Improve Work Culture in India

Work culture in administration can be externally as well as internally improved. Following are few of
the ways to improve work culture:
• Leadership of the organisation, should be emotionally and socially intelligent enough to
promote coordination and enthuse the employees of the organisation. Boss should act as a mentor
or coach rather than dictator.
• Security of Tenure to the employees will ensure greater loyalty and respect for the organisation.
• Rewarding and incentivizing the good performers and encouraging the back laggers to improve
upon.
• Decision making: Impartiality in decision making and meritocracy should overthrow nepotism.
• Rule of code of conduct and code of ethics should prevail in the organisation.
• Redressal mechanism: strong and quick grievance redressal system to look into the complaints
and take the feedback.
• Collective and conducive work culture i.e., employee friendly policies and practical guidelines
with reachable targets should be set.
• Team building and group tasks enhances coordination and understanding among the employees.
Collective dining and group holidays can keep up the moral of the employees.
• Decentralization of duties and powers gives a sense of responsibility and respect to the employees
which helps in enhancing the productivity.
9
 HTTPS://OPTIMIZEIAS.COM/

• 5th Pay Commission Recommendations:

✓ Transparent transfer policy: Arbitrary transfer and removal from a posting without any
fair trial or hearing spoils the work culture and lowers down the morale of the employees.
✓ Remove Arbitrariness: Each department must formulate and publicise comprehensive
transfer policy which should be properly adhered to.
✓ Administrative Continuity and Stability: Fixed Tenure system should be put in place
with Maximum and Minimum years so that no punishment transfer would happen and
Nexus will not build between them due to long term. Valid strong and written reason
should be provided with proper hearing for premature transfer of officials
✓ Appeal system: Prior intimation and provision of a fair chance to appeal against transfer.
• ARC Recommendations include:
1. Bring simplification of methods to the centre-stage of administrative reforms.
2. The existing departmental Manuals and codes should be thoroughly reviewed and
simplified.
3. A system of rewards and incentives for simplification and streamlining of procedures
may be introduced in each government organization.
4. The principle of 'positive silence' should generally be used.
5. Proper and regular Supervision in a time bound manner.
6. Monitoring and Evaluation.

Thus, our Honourable PM of India has emphasized that ‘Government is generally trapped in
‘ABCD’ culture from top to bottom. A means Avoid, B means bypass, C means Confuse, D means Delay.
Our effort should be to move from this culture to ‘ROAD’ culture where R stands for Responsibility, O-
Ownership, A- Accountability, D- Discipline.
CONCLUSION:
On the whole, it is good news that government work culture in India is improving. The reasons for this are-
the growing competition between public and private organisations to provide the effective and time
bound public service delivery, enlightened citizenry, practice of preparing RFD; emergence of new
accountability forces like NGO, RTI etc. However, Indian work culture is still marred by rigidity, laziness,
lack of transparency etc. Hence, there are further needs of improving work culture if the country has to see
progress in quick time.

10
 https://optimizeias.com/

www.optimizeias.com

Ethics Masterclass
CSE MAINS 2023

TOPIC: ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com/

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow Optimize IAS telegram
channel

1|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 3
WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL ETHICS? .................................................................................................................................... 3
ROLE/SIGNIFICANCE OF ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: .............................................................................. 3
REALIST APPROACH: ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
IDEALIST APPROACH............................................................................................................................................................. 4
COSMOPOLITAN APPROACH ................................................................................................................................................ 5
CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH.............................................................................................................................................. 5
PLURALIST APPROACH ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS........................................................................................................... 6
ETHICS OF WAR AND PEACE ............................................................................................................................................ 6
ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL FUNDING .......................................................................................................... 7
ETHICS AND GLOBAL COMMON GOOD .......................................................................................................................... 7
APPROACH TO ADDRESS MANAGEMENT OF GLOBAL COMMONS ........................................................................... 8
OTHER MAJOR ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ........................................................................... 8
DISARMAMENT AND NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION .......................................................................................... 9
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPRS) ................................................................................................................ 9
HUMAN RIGHTS:............................................................................................................................................................. 9
ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CORONA PANDEMIC ............................................................................ 9

2|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Human history has been full of brutal wars, killing of innocents, stronger state suppressing weaker
or poor ones etc. All these naturally raises question of morality and ethics in international affairs as
evident in questions like:
Is War justified?
Does nuclear weapon bring peace?
Should conditionalities in international aid adhere to principle of ethics?
What is the role of ethics in addressing global challenges before the world today?
Is NATO intervention in Libya justified?
Is Russian invasion of Ukraine ethical?
However, unlike at the level of individual, society or within states where there is some sort of agreement that
ethics is important (however approaches may vary), there has been question mark over the role of ethics in
international relations, particularly by most dominant political approach of IR i.e., “REALISM”.
Still, wherever question of “Right” or “Wrong” comes, morality and ethics automatically come. This logic is
behind the effort towards disarmament or criticism on action against states violating human rights of citizen
etc.

WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL ETHICS?

International Relations basically refers to the relations of States with each other and with International
Organizations and certain subnational entities. Thus, ethics in international relations concerns the extent
and scope of ethical obligations between states, and global bodies in an era of globalization, with state
being the main agent. Thus, under this, focus is on what ought to be the state’s approach towards other
states, outside actors (Ex- Refugees) or to the global issues etc.

ROLE/SIGNIFICANCE OF ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:

• Achieve the idea of justice
• Peace in the world
• More equal world
• Protection of human rights
• Guide actors of IR
• Develop an international community guided by certain universal principles of love, equality,
justice, liberty, brotherhood etc
• Respect States’ sovereignty and self- determination of international actors
• Enhance respect for norms, values and morals by the way of treaties, customary laws
• Promotion of Human Security, “the freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom to live in
dignity” (HDR, 1994)
However, the clear understanding of international ethics could be from the study of different approaches to
ethics in international relations.

REALIST APPROACH:
Realist Approach is guided by the Machiavelli’s idea of “Divorcing politics from ethics” i.e., politics at
international level is autonomous and ethics has no role in it.

3|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
For Realist, only thing that matters is the Power, all other subsystems like morality, ethics, society don’t
matter.
For Realist scholars, states are the main actors of IR with sovereignty as the basis. With all states in
principle being ‘sovereign’ or ‘supreme’ in their jurisdiction, the IR is a place of “Anarchy”. Thus, the anarchy
at the IR level has no role of ethics, rather it has to be guided by “Politics as it is”. Ex: Russian invasion is
precisely aimed at denying the people of Ukraine the right (rights to “territorial integrity” and “political
sovereignty”) to determine the shape of their own political community. Russia sent tanks across the border
(violated territorial integrity) with the aim of deciding for itself Ukraine’s political future (violating political
sovereignty), it not only violated Ukraine’s right to self-determination but also threatened the order of the
world.
Thus, for realists at international level, the approach of the state is guided purely by national interest and
thus, ethics hardly has any role in it. The main element in realist approach is “National Interest” and that needs
“Power” over others.
The anarchical international system, with no overarching authority over states, makes the
role of ethics secondary to states’ power.
So, for realists, a state’s action is justified when it goes to war against other country for its own security or to
remain powerful (because for the IR is a place of anarchy, and if you are not powerful someone else will
overpower you). Even aid to any poor country has to be guided by its own national interest. Ex- Foreign
aid with conditions like opening up market, reducing taxation so that the powerful country can have market.
For realists, even nuclear proliferation (particularly by responsible states) is right as it creates peace at the
international level though balance of terror.
For realists, the role of ethics is rather in the protection of the own citizens, and considers that States behave
ethically in the respect of their national interest and survival.
However, realists do not entirely reject a role for ethics, values and morality in foreign policy formulation.
Such values are simply subordinate to other essentials.
For Example, the neutral stance of India and not condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not only
because India has a historic friendship with Russia but also depends on Russian weapons which accounts for
more than half of its weapons imports creating various profound dilemmas for Indian security. India’s
national interest to cooperate with Russia highlights the interests-values conundrum where human rights or
values decreased while pursuing national interest.

IDEALIST APPROACH
This approach though accepts the claim of realists that power is significant at the level of IR, yet, there is
place for “Common interests”. Thus, idealists bring in role of laws, morality, ethics at the international level,
particularly to overcome common challenges.
It tries to cater to mutual interest and common concerns.
This is evident in Human rights regime, UN as a global body.
Idealist approach highlights the role of ethics in providing order and justice in
International Relations by promoting Order, Liberty, Justice and Toleration into
International Relations.

4|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
Thus, idealist approach becomes the basis of protection of human rights world-wide and even it gives basis
to humanitarian intervention to protect human rights as in case of Libya. However, it has become
controversial as it is seen as an instrument of stronger states to target other states.
Idealist approach also gives the basis to global governance structure to uphold laws and ethics to ensure
collective security. It suggests promotion of dialogue, the respect of norms and values through
cooperation and the interdependence of international actors.

COSMOPOLITAN APPROACH
Cosmopolitanism is the belief in cosmopolis or ‘world state’. Moral cosmopolitanism is
the belief that the world constitutes a single moral community, in that people have
obligations (potentially) towards all other people in the world, regardless of nationality,
religion, ethnicity and so forth.
It believes that every individual is of equal moral worth, most commonly linked to the doctrine of human
rights. In the end, it believes there should be global political institutions, and possibly a world government.
Ex: Strengthening the United Nations and other international organizations by creating a World
Parliamentary Assembly.
Four dimensions of cosmopolitanism:
1. Moral cosmopolitanism refers to the moral claim that every human being is a source of valid moral
consideration for all other human beings.
2. Institutional cosmopolitanism refers to the political claim that there should be transnational
or global political institutions.
3. Civic cosmopolitanism refers to transnational democratic practices and transnational forms of
citizenship.
4. Cultural cosmopolitanism refers to an understanding of cultures and identities as being hybrid
and shaped by the contact with many cultures from all over the globe.
The advance of globalization has undoubtedly had an ethical dimension, in that it has renewed interest in
forms of cosmopolitanism.
For them, states have the duty and responsibility to recognize humanity everywhere in the world, and
they should consider the rights of their citizens equally to the rights of foreigners, without discriminations.
The cosmopolitan consideration of the role of ethics is based on the deontology, which refers to the nature
of human duty and obligation and based on the fact that “morality itself is universal”.
It believes in individualism, in that human beings, or persons, are the ultimate unit of moral concern. Second,
it accepts universality, in the sense that individuals are of equal moral worth. Third, it acknowledges
generality, in that it implies that persons are objects of concern for everybody, not just their compatriots.
However, Cosmopolitan approach is criticised for its idea of global justice or world ethics on the grounds
that it is impossible to establish universal values that are binding on all people and all societies. Cultural
relativists or communitarian believes there cannot be a thing like global justice.

CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
Theorists believe that people and nation-states construct the world in which they live, suggesting that
the world operates through a kind of ‘inter-subjective’ awareness. Constructivists have thrown
mainstream theory’s claim to objectivity into question.
• So, constructivist approach is basically a critical approach to existing mainstream theories and it
believes that the anarchical nature of the world or even problems like cold war was a construction.
Once that constructed world or idea was over cold war was over.

5|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
• They believe that nations’ resist any threat to their identities, nationalism, and national
sovereignty, are mere a construction. They need not be real at all. However, this act works against
the attempts that try to make the world a better place or to change world systems or world order.
• A new construction of world led by ethics can change the world and push it to make a better place.

PLURALIST APPROACH
It emphasizes on coexistence of international actors protecting their sovereignty and
tolerance among actors.
• It is about the ethics of tolerance and coexistence between political communities.
• They, however don’t seem to support the consideration of human rights in diplomacy, as it creates the
limitation of state’s sovereignty and excuses for some states to “violate others borders”.
• Rawls’s “law of peoples” (1999) considers the role of ethics in IR in terms of the respect of states
sovereignty and self-determination, in terms of the observance of the norms of international law
for a peaceful relationship between states. Rawls claim the protection and honour of human rights
using specific rules of war, and the capacity of states to self- defense in case of aggression.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The dominant perception in IR or role of ethics in politics is that state as the main actor is more concerned
with the “Battle of survival”. However, the events at the level of IR affect people everywhere i.e., actions
have impact on other’s life. This automatically brings in question of right and wrong.
Ethical Norms in International Relations by Robert Jackson
1. Sovereign Equality of states
2. Non Intervention
3. Self-Determination
4. Respect for Human Rights
Even in today’s globalized world of inter-connectedness, one cannot just drop an atom bomb on other states
and argue it as an action of self-defence. Similarly, violation of Rohingya’s human rights cannot be just
claimed as internal matter, as it raises the very basic question of justice and right and wrong. Thus, based
on this we can see some major ethical issues in international relations.

ETHICS OF WAR AND PEACE

Just war theory is most important from an ethical perspective. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-
establish peace. No war is praiseworthy for being strategic, prudent, or bold. However, it is justified on
following six grounds:
I. Just cause (Ex- self-defence from external attack; the defence of others from such attack; the
protection of innocents from brutal, aggressive regimes; and punishment for a grievous wrongdoing
which remains uncorrected). Ex- War against Nazi invasion or Kuwait invasion of Iraq in 1990.
II. Right Intention: The only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury. Ulterior
motives, such as seizing land or power or irrational motives, such as revenge or ethnic hatred, are
inadmissible.
III. Proper authority and public declaration: A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority
and internationally agreed conventions regulating war must be obeyed.
IV. Last Resort: A state should opt for war only after exhausting all peaceful alternatives.
V. Probability of success: i.e., preventing mass violence which may prove futile.
VI. Proportionality: Only if the benefits are proportional to, or ‘worth’ the war action proceed.

6|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are
never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. The deaths of
civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims of a deliberate attack on a military target.
1. Realist: They deny any role of moral concepts in war. Power and national security guide states in
wartime, talk of the morality of warfare is fictitious. Ethics have no role in the harsh domain of
global politics.
2. Pacifism: For them, morals are relevant in international affairs. Pacifism argues that war should
never be undertaken. Just war theory considers that some wars are just and permissible; pacifism
always prohibits wars. Pacifists regard war as always wrong for a problem and there is always a
better solution than war.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL FUNDING

Post-1970s there has been rise in idea of development through an “aid regime” led by international
organisations like IMF and WB as well as major developed nations.
Unlike earlier aid regime, this phase saw “Conditionalities” being inseparable part of the aid regime.
Under the conditionalities opening up market for imports, austerity measures, tax reforms, reducing
fiscal spending etc. was done. The so called conditionalities was called reform in a marked-led world

Issues in International funding attached with conditionalities

• Undermining the sovereignty of the country by imposing policy measures.
• People’s rights, choices and decision-making are severely undermined.
• Altruistic motive to actions that may be essentially self-serving, as aid often comes with ‘strings attached’.
• Indigenous ownership and diversity framework ignored in favour of common market-led approach.
• Funding is not on equal terms, rather it reflects a relationship of sub-ordination or neo-colonialism.
• Cultural relativists argue that in the garb of aid the stronger countries impose their norms (For ex- Human
rights).
• Economic liberals have even gone as far as to argue that aid is a ‘poverty trap’ helping to entrench
deprivation and perpetuate global disparities by promoting dependencies, sap initiatives.
• Corruption: With the aids to developing countries there has been rise in corruption level as well for power
is enjoyed by few.
Why aid should be given then?
• Cosmopolitan ethics where world has to be seen as one place and each one should help in developing
other.
• Aid towards a right end: Supporter of conditionalities and norms in aid say that it is an important means of
standing up for your values and in what ethics guides you to.
• Ethical nationalism suggests that concern about the plight of other peoples and other countries should be
informed by a kind of enlightened self-interest, in which, for example, rich countries provide international
aid primarily to support the creation of new and more vibrant markets for their own good.
• The principle of general benevolence: To ensure overall happiness and reduce overall levels of pain and
suffering.
• Rectifying past injustices to create an equal world.

economy.
However, in practice the phase saw developed countries making faster gains at the cost of those who
received aid due to newer market for its product, investment opportunities. While those at the receiving aid
either grew slowly or faced crisis.

ETHICS AND GLOBAL COMMON GOOD

7|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
The global commons are the resources we all need to survive, thrive and prosper. These are outside the
sovereign boundaries of each of the nations and anarchy-led IR cannot be the right approach for management
of global commons.
The international law acknowledges: High seas, Outer Space, Antarctica and Atmosphere as common hoof
for human. However, recent times have seen huge controversies around even these areas. Example:
• High seas: So far it has been guided by free access to all, freedom of navigation rights etc. However,
current geo-political contestation with sea being the focus (from Indian ocean to South China Sea to
Mediterranean Sea), the biggest issue to arise has been that of who owns the seas or who has the
sovereign rights over the seas.
The ethical dilemma arises that whether the nations in need for development claim sovereignty over
seas or it should respect international laws in form of UNCLOS.
The other ethical issues surrounding high seas include environmental ethics, in which humans
through their consumption and material culture is burdening the sea with huge pollution (particularly
plastic) leading to deaths of sea organisms as well as pollution.
• Antarctica and Arctic: So far, undisturbed area of the earth is facing the heat of climate change,
increased claim over the region etc. So, the ethical concern is if nations in their search for resources
and growth justified in disturbing these undisturbed areas.
• Outer space: This sphere is not only facing the challenges of debris accumulation by irresponsible
launch and management of satellite, but also question arises if nations are right in weaponizing outer
space.
• Atmosphere: Atmosphere again knows no boundary. But, human-led climate change, pollution etc.
has led to destruction and deterioration in quality of atmosphere. The major issues in international
relations is who is responsible for this state of atmosphere or who should have more responsibility.
Bases on the idea of climate justice, the developing nations prefer Common but Differential
responsibilities. However, developed nations does not want to share the burden of its ancestors.
The ethical issues also involve mechanism of funding to address climate change worries.

APPROACH TO ADDRESS MANAGEMENT OF GLOBAL COMMONS

IR dominated by nation-state also have some form of international law and norms. For ex- No country used
nuclear weapon post-1945 shows the importance of norms and values. Thus, at least for effective management
of global commons and keeping it shape, the approach has to be guided by cosmopolitan ethics or feminist
ethics (“Ethics of care”).

OTHER MAJOR ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• Humanitarian Intervention: NATO intervention in Libya or Coalition of Willing intervention in Iraq
was justified on the grounds of:
I. Protection and promotion of democracy
II. Human rights protection
III. Protecting people’s choice
So far so good as these are aspirational values which needs action on the part of those in responsible position.
However, the concern has been that these interventions are not to protect the above values, but for:
I. Strategic and geo-politic reasons
II. Controlling resources
III. Eliminating threat to once powerful position at the level of global politics
IV. Most importantly it violates most important principle of international relations, i.e., Sovereignty.

8|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
DISARMAMENT AND NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION
I. Biggest ethical concern here is that these are promoted
by those countries who have huge arsenals of weapon, Joseph Nye (famous Political Science
particularly nuclear weapons. USA and Russia together scholar) talks of five ‘maxims of nuclear
control 98% of nuclear weapons. ethics’. These are:
II. Such weapons violate each of the principles of Just (1) The only acceptable reason for
War theory: discrimination, proportionality and possessing a nuclear deterrent is self-
humanity. defence
III. Ethical question over nuclear weapons and weapons of (2) Nuclear weapons should never be
mass destruction by pacifist ethics and those supporting treated as ‘normal’ weapons
“right means over end”.
IV. Mass killings by these weapons cannot be justified by (3) The purpose of any nuclear strategy
must be to minimize harm to innocents
any set of ethical standards.
(that is, non-combatants)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPRS)
(4) We should work to reduce the risks of
I. Here the ethical dilemma arises between Right to use or war in the near term
benefit from own innovation vs right of people or
countries to have access to basic necessities like (5) We should work to reduce the
medicine as part of right to life. reliance on nuclear weapons in the
II. Liberal ethics put value in protection of IPR as it seeks longer term
to protect agency.
III. However, the general benevolence principle supports flexibility in IPR regime so that everybody
benefits. Ex- IPR exemption in case of Covid-19 vaccination amidst high threat of pandemic.
IV. Denial of justice to poor countries: Historically, they have been deprived of wealth and now by denying
them technology in the name of IPR denies them oppurtunity to develop as they hardly have resources
to invest in R&D.
HUMAN RIGHTS:
• For a long time international relations (IR) have been regarded as a playing field for states, where
human beings are subordinated to each state through social contract. IR theories have primarily
sought to understand the relations between states whether the relation being conflictual or
cooperative. As human rights gained increasing importance after the Second World War, these
theories have provided some useful perspectives in studying human rights. The role of human rights
in international relations, in a very simple phrase, is to achieve justice.

All this ethical issue is majorly fight between ethics and the national interest. Traditionally, IR guided by
National interest needs to be flexible and acknowledges ethical responsibility in a more connected world.
Today, no country can claim to be untouched by dependence on other countries. This needs cooperation
and formulation of new set of international ethics with aim of human security, removing inequality,
ensuring human rights, right to self-determination, sovereignty.

ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CORONA PANDEMIC

Vaccine Nationalism vs Vaccine Diplomacy
The UK had secured 400 million doses in total by the start of February — more than six times its total
population, whereas many developing and even developed nations were still looking for vaccines for its
population. On the other hand, India emerged as major player in supply of vaccine to the world bilaterally,
through COVAX and commercially, but soon its Covid-crisis challenged its covid diplomacy when its own
house was not in order. This has raised the dilemma the world is facing: Vaccine nationalism vs vaccine
diplomacy.

9|P a ge
 https://optimizeias.com/
What is Vaccine Nationalism?
Governments in wealthy countries particularly signing deals with pharmaceutical companies directly, to
secure vaccines for their own populations, thereby limiting the stock available for others. This puts the interest
of a single nation first, above others, for economic or security reasons. This is called vaccine nationalism.
What is Vaccine Diplomacy?
It refers to the global diplomatic efforts to achieve efficient and fair distributions of Covid-19 vaccines
around the world, especially to low- and lower-middle-income countries, thereby boosting foreign
relations and global influence.
Analysing Vaccine Nationalism:
Countries like Britain, France, Germany, and the US have already entered into agreements with the vaccine
manufacturers driving race for accessibility and affordability, drawing the criticism of a self-first approach.
Why Vaccine Nationalism is being followed by many of the states with the capacity?
• States' main function is to protect its own citizens from whom it gets its sovereign power.
• Realist ethics: i.e., securing own national interest first.
• Utilitarian ethics: Each person (or countries) will prefer to first ease its pain and do everything in its
capacity to achieve it.
• Altruism without first securing oneself may create challenge for all: Ex- India which emerged as
one of the biggest suppliers of vaccines globally along with the China, has to put a temporary ban on
exports as in second wave it emerged as biggest victim with threat even to the world through
transmission.
Concerns with the Vaccine Nationalism:
• Commandeering and Hoarding vaccines for their own citizens with no care for lives and human
rights for people elsewhere.
• Violates equity, fairness and solidarity in access to vaccine to fight Covid-19.
• Responsibility to protect as part of global community: UN talks of "Responsibility to protect"
which is responsibility of all members, particularly those with capacity to do so.
• Cost benefit analysis is against vaccine nationalism as it threatens global economy: Ex- WEF says
vaccine nationalism with no access to developing countries could slow the global economic recovery,
costing high-income countries $119 billion per year (non-profit organisation RAND Europe puts it at
$1.2 trillion), whereas the cost of supplying low-income countries with vaccines has been estimated at
$25 billion.
• Handicaps the global health recovery: The world’s richest nations have pre-ordered billions of doses
of vaccines – enough to protect some populations several times over. However, in doing so they have
left less for others and may push up treatment prices, too.
• Prolonging the pandemic: It would also lead to a prolonged pandemic as only a small number of
countries would get most of the supply. Vaccine nationalism only helps the virus.
• Challenges the vaccine production upscaling: Despite the fact that vaccines are manufactured
through long and complex global supply chains, nationalism makes the production networks struggle
harder—they had to reinvent their processes and systems and work at a scale never seen before.
Analysing Vaccine Diplomacy:
India and China emerged as two major players in vaccine diplomacy amidst the current Covid-19 crisis.
India launched its “Vaccine Maitri” or “Vaccine Friendship” in early 2021. With the state-controlled or
regulated pharmaceutical sector it has been easy for two to go for vaccine diplomacy.
10 | P a g e
 https://optimizeias.com/
Advantages of Vaccine Diplomacy:
• Greatest good of greatest number as per utilitarian ethics is achieved through vaccine diplomacy.
• Helps the international community to combat the coronavirus i.e., achieve altruistic goals and showing
empathy in the process.
• Access to vaccine to poor and developing countries
brings in fairness in distribution of vaccine. India’s vaccine diplomacy as of mid-
• Interdependence and cooperation at the March 2021:
international level is achieved. While 80.75 lakh doses have been sent as
• Ethics of care is the basis of vaccine diplomacy along gift, free of charge, 165.24 lakh doses have
with altruism and national interest. been delivered as part of Covax
• Repair strained relations. Ex- Many argue that one of mechanism under the aegis of the Global
the goals of India's vaccine diplomacy “Vaccine Maitri” Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation
(GAVI). An estimated 339.67 lakh doses
was initially designed to repair India’s strained relations
have been sent as part of commercial deals.
with South Asian neighbours
• Soft power, showcase their technological prowess,
give their firms to foothold in new markets.
• Goodwill both Domestically (with its role and influence globally) and internationally (Ex- It can help
India in its global aims like UNSC membership support).
• Boosting its international status or seeking economic and other opportunities.
Concerns in Vaccine Diplomacy
• Commercial, political, strategic interest being served in the name of diplomacy: Ex- Chinese mask,
PPE kit and now Vaccine diplomacy starting with “free samples” would result in the recipient
country’s interest in purchasing the vaccines.
• National interest as the sufferer: Foreign Minister S Jaishankar declared that “Vaccine Maitri” has
“raised India’s standing and generated great international goodwill”. However, soon the second wave
which made India the worst victim questioned India's focus on vaccine diplomacy without first
accounting for its own citizens.
• Conditions attached directly or indirectly as in international aid/donation as realist ethics says that
diplomacy is always guided by national interest.
So, the debate over vaccine nationalism and vaccine diplomacy is natural as global problems need
global solutions, but, vaccine nationalism act as a roadblock in that. However, vaccine diplomacy at the
bilateral level also have limitations as was evident in case of India.
Way Forward:
Diplomacy is to serve a country’s national interests. Regardless of the forms, all diplomatic activities
are supposed to help smooth a country’s foreign relations. It is disingenuous to claim that a country
conducts diplomacy altruistically. Thus, the best way to synchronise the dilemma between the two is to follow
an internationally coordinated effort like the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, which says to the equal-access,
COVAX vaccine fund as the best way to end the acute phase of the pandemic and granting of IPR waiver on
vaccine at WTO to upscale the production.
In this way, vaccine diplomacy would also not strain a country’s own priority, while also take care of
equity, access to vaccine for all.

11 | P a g e
https://optimizeias.com/

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

www.optimizeias.com

Ethics Masterclass
CSE MAINS 2023

Topic: Contributions of Moral Thinkers and Philosophers from India

and World.

1|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Contents
Buddha .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Mahatma Gandhi .................................................................................................................................... 4
Gandhian social sins ............................................................................................................................ 4
Four Pillars of Gandhian ethics: .......................................................................................................... 5
Means and End.................................................................................................................................... 6
Rights and Duties ................................................................................................................................ 6
Inner voice .......................................................................................................................................... 6
How does Mahatma Gandhi suggest to solve a moral dilemma? ...................................................... 7
Service ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Non-violence or Ahimsa ...................................................................................................................... 7
Swaraj.................................................................................................................................................. 8
Trusteeship principle: ......................................................................................................................... 8
Concept of Bread Labour .................................................................................................................... 8
Gandhiji and conflict resolution .......................................................................................................... 8
Gandhi and equity ............................................................................................................................... 9
Gandhi and Sustainable Development ............................................................................................... 9
Gandhi and Happiness ...................................................................................................................... 10
Swami Vivekananda .............................................................................................................................. 10
YOGA and philosphy.............................................................................................................................. 11
Manusmriti............................................................................................................................................ 12
Kautilya ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Socrates................................................................................................................................................. 14
Plato ...................................................................................................................................................... 15
Aristotle................................................................................................................................................. 16
Nelson Mandela .................................................................................................................................... 19
Confucius............................................................................................................................................... 19
Dalai Lama ............................................................................................................................................. 19

2|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Buddha

The essence of Buddha’s teaching is contained in the Four Noble Truths. Buddha
recognised that that the world offers both happiness and unhappiness. However, the states of
happiness are transitory and changing, which gives us a sense of dissatisfaction. However, his
focus on suffering is not pessimistic, but to understand reasons and way to address it.
It set out path for an individual’s enlightenment:
1. Life has inevitable suffering
2. There is cause to the suffering
3. There is an end to the suffering
4. The end of the suffering is in eight-fold path
Eight-fold path
It is the way to end suffering.

Right view (intellectual aspect of wisdom), right intention (psychic energy which controls
human actions and it is commitment to moral and mental self-improvement) and right speech
(route to moral discipline which sustains other virtues) help understand the nature of
suffering. Right action (acting kindly and compassionately; to be honest; to respect the
belongings of others; and to avoid sexual misconduct) is practical means of overcoming
suffering follow
Right livelihood refers to righteous means of earning bread.

Buddha’s five virtues are:

1) Do not kill

3|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

2) Be truthful, do not slander nor lie,

3) Take from non by greed or force or fraud, what is his own
4) Have a clear mind, clean body, shun drinks, and drugs
5) Touch not thy neighbour’s wife, neither commit the sins of flesh.
Thus, Buddha says that the men should overcome hatred with love, and evil with good.
Otherwise, hatred and evil will only grow. Returning good for good is great, but returning
good for evil is greater. Thus, he does not support violence to be met by violence.
Buddha on altruism
It advocates universal compassion, benevolence and kindness to all life forms. It reacted
against cruel animal sacrifices, rigid occupational classification of society, and religious
metaphysics.
Middle Course of Buddhism
It suggests middle path of extreme self-denial and excessive pursuit of material pleasures.
Thus, its practicality is evident where it does not support self-denial as way of life.
Physiological needs of body like food, clothing, and minimum comforts of existence are
necessary. Otherwise, the mind will fail to reach the composure necessary for meditation.
Thus, Buddha here is quite nearer to the Aristotle’s Golden mean principle. Or, it is a balance
between hedonism and asceticism.

Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhian though is multi-dimensional and covers political, social, economic, religious and
ethical aspects of human life. However, we must remember Gandhi was not a thinker per se,
rather, as a mass leader, he was concerned more with praxis or practice than with theory.
Thus, his ethics is part of his learning and the freedom struggle, which modified and
strengthened his belief, along with some religious as well as philosophical influence.

Gandhian social sins

The Seven Social Sins, as quoted by Mahatma Gandhi in “Young India,” 1925. He said
these seven Mahatma Gandhi said that seven things will destroy us.
1. Politics without principles: A politics without principle is superficial, image building to
get to power and then it is all about corruption, abuse of power etc., because without principle
there is no truth, hence no accountability.
2. Wealth without work: It is to say getting something without doing anything.
Manipulating markets and assets, many fraudulent network marketing etc. are some examples
which ultimately destroys individual with repercussion for society.
3. Leisure without conscience: It leads to sense of social responsibility or accountability in
our pleasurable activities. The ultimate costs of pleasures without conscience are high as
measured in terms of time and money, in terms of reputation and in terms of wounding the

4|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

hearts and minds of other people who are adversely affected by those who just want to
indulge and gratify themselves in the short term.
4. Knowledge without character: It is more dangerous to little knowledge as it can cause
huge cost to society and polity.
5. Commerce without morality: If we ignore the moral foundation and allow economic
systems to operate without moral foundation and without continued education, we will soon
create an amoral, if not immoral, society and business. Economic and political systems are
ultimately based on a moral foundation.
6. Science without humanity: It quickly degenerates into man against humanity. Ex-
Nuclear weapon
7. Worship without sacrifice: If worship is seen as part of just another hierarchical system,
its members won't have a sense of service or inner worship. Instead, they will be into outward
observances.

Four Pillars of Gandhian ethics:

1. Truth
2. Non-violence
3. Service
4. Swaraj
Truth
“There is no god higher than truth”.
“Truth never damages a cause that is just”.
“Even if you are a minority of one, truth is a truth”.
For Mahatma Gandhi, all actions must be guided by truth. Truth lends credibility and
inculcates trust in all stakeholders. Thus, transparency is not only required in financial
matters but in all spheres of actions.
1. Transparency of action
2. Transparency of intension
Generally, truth is understood merely to mean that we must speak the Truth. But we in the
Ashram should understand the word Satya or Truth in a much wider sense. There should be
truth in thought, truth in speech, and truth in action.
He equates god with the truth and his religion as the “Religion of truth”. For him truth may
be called the highest goal, highest good, absolute existent, god, ultimate moral standard etc.
Truth was sacred to Gandhi -the supreme value in ethics, politics and religion, the ultimate
source of authority and of appeal, the raison d’ ester of all existence.
The Gandhian concept of truth is much wider and deeper than the concept of integrity but it
won’t be wrong to say that integrity is the modern day transformed concept of truth. Both of
them stick on the idea that it is important to be true to your own self and true to others.

5|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Means and End

“The means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree and there is just the same
inviolable connection between means and ends as there is between seed and tree”.
1. Moral means will inevitably lead to moral end. Recourse to immoral means sets in a chain
reaction and ultimately distorts the vision. He was of the view that if ones take care of means,
the end will take care of themselves.
2. He believed that where means are clean, there, God is undoubtedly present with blessings.
3. Means and ends are the same sides of the coin.
Many scholars like Kautilya, Machaivelli gives preference to “Ends” over “Means”. Here,
Mahatma Gandhi disagrees with them and like Kantian approach and suggest purity of means
as “One can’t expect a rose flower by sowing the seeds of Babool”. He said that in the
short term there might be some gains, but in the end it will be counter-productive. Ex-
In current time Gandhian idea of means purity was evident as USA in 1980s promoted
Mujahidins against Russian influence, which in current times have haunted them badly.
Gandhi constantly emphasised that means have to be pure. This follows from the conception
of God as the embodiment of virtues.

Rights and Duties

• Gandhi believed that "a duty well performed creates a corresponding right". He
believed that real rights are a result of performance of duty.
• Gandhi is influenced by the Gita which focused on duties ("Nishkama Karma") rather
than the ends. Thus, he says that the rights are present in duty in "embryonic sense".
• He suggests a harmonious relation between two as he does not believe n the idea od
an "atomistic or isolated man". As man belongs to the society, duty becomes
important as well for harmonious balance between the individual and society.

Inner voice:
There are times when you have to obey a call which is highest of all, i.e. the voice of
conscience even though such obedience may cost many bitter tears, and even more separation
from friends, from family, from the state to which you may belong, from all you have held as
dear in life itself. For this obedience is the law of our being. To deprive a man of his natural
liberty and to deny him the ordinary amenities of life is worse than starving the body, it is
starvation of the soul, the dweller in the body.
The commitment to service as per Gandhi, demands a strong sense of conscience (moral
imperative), courage (fearlessness, bravery, initiative), and character (integrity). To Mahatma
Gandhi, 'inner voice' was synonymous with conscience. Leaders need to develop and follow
their conscience even more than ordinary people as they set the path for others. Hence, he
wrote: "None of us, especially no leader should allow himself to disobey the inner voice
in the face of pressure from outside”.

6|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

How does Mahatma Gandhi suggest to solve a moral dilemma?

“Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man you may have seen and ask yourself if
the step you contemplate to take is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything?”

Service
• Realisation of God is the ultimate aim of life. The only way to see God is through his
creation and by identifying oneself with it. This is possible only through service to
humanity. For him be the be-all and end-all of their life.
• He says that all men are god creation and underline unity of mankind and life. Thus,
service is a natural proposition.
• For the spirit of service to materialize we must lay stress on our responsibilities and
duties and not on rights. He illustrated it through the example of "concentric circles":
one starts with service of those nearest to one and expands the circle of service until it
covers the universe, no circle thriving at the cost of the circles beyond. Service to him
implied self-sacrifice.

Non-violence or Ahimsa
"True ahimsa should mean a complete freedom from ill-will and anger and hate and an
overflowing love for all".
“Ahimsa is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and ahimsa don’t go together with any
more than water and fire.”
It is the foundational principle of the Gandhian thought present is some or other form in all
his principles. This principle is not limited to the human world but also applied to the plants,
animals and environment. It acts as a path for the attainment of the truth or god.
Ahimsa or non-violence of Gandhi has both negative and positive connotation:
Negative aspect of Ahimsa concept Positive aspect
It is refraining from killing or injuring Non-violence does not just mean that one
others. One should not harm anyone by avoids injuring others. One should also
thought, word or deed. show overflowing love to mankind and all
Violence has to be shunned in all its aspects. living beings.
Ahimsa is closely linked to truth, and to
man’s search for God. As God is truth and
love and as love is ahimsa, man can realise
God only by pursuing ahimsa. Gandhi
regards truth and non-violence to be
inseparable.

The positive concept non-violence is one of love and brotherhood, which inspires people to
suffer for principle, rather than go for violence and weak can’t do it. Thus, non-violence in a
way also enlightens our soul.
Gandhi insists that non-violence is not a creed of inaction. Nor is it for the weak or the timid.
Non-violence does not signify meek acceptance of evil. It is better to be violent than to be
cowardly

7|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Truthfulness and fearlessness are an important prerequisite of non-violence. Apart from this it
needs selflessness, absence of anger, pride and hate, benevolence, altruism, courage,
magnanimity, humility and total submission to God. It implies complete self-purification.
Anger and hatred are the opposite poles of ahimsa. Hatred is a very subtle form of violence.
Men should rather win over their enemies by love.

Swaraj
The word swaraj means self-rule. Gandhian interpretation of the term encompasses all
spheres of life.
• Individual level: the capacity for dispassionate self-assessment, ceaseless self-
purification and growing swadeshi or self-reliance
• Political level: self-government or continuous effort to be independent of government
control, whether it is foreign government or whether it is national.
• Economic level: full economic freedom for people through a self-sufficient village

Overall, Gandhian swaraj is swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-
rule, self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation

Trusteeship principle:
Trusteeship is a socio-economic philosophy that was propounded by Mahatma Gandhi. It
provides a means by which the wealthy people would be the trustees of trusts that looked
after the welfare of the people in general. Gandhi believed that the rich people could be
persuaded to part with their wealth to help the poor.
Wealthy people have no moral right to what is more than their proportionate share in national
wealth. They simply become trustees for the disproportionate share of God’s property they
hold. They have to use it for helping the poor.
Putting it in Gandhiji's words "Supposing I have come by a fair amount of wealth – either by
way of legacy, or by means of trade and industry – I must know that all that wealth does not
belong to me; what belongs to me is the right to an honourable livelihood, no better than that
enjoyed by millions of others. The rest of my wealth belongs to the community and must be
used for the welfare of the community”. Example: JRDTata, GDBirla

Concept of Bread Labour

It basically seeks to emphasize on the dignity of labour. It means everyone should perform
some amount of manual labour to understand the pain and hardships of others who perform
such jobs. It emphasizes on equal respect for all works.

Gandhiji and conflict resolution

“Winning in Gandhian sense requires transformation of relationships”. Jurgensmeyer has
listed ten basic rules of Gandhian conflict resolution

8|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

1. Do not avoid confrontation. Avoidance simply prolongs conflicts.

2. Stay open to communication and self criticism
3. Find a solution and hold fast to it.
4. Regard your opponent as a potential ally.
5. Make your tactics consistent with your goal.
6. Be flexible.
7. Be temperate.
8. Be proportionate.
9. Be disciplined
10. Know when to quit.

Gandhi and equity

Gandhi believed in Sarvodaya and therefore the welfare of all was the basis of his thinking;
hence his community centred approach towards sustainability emphasized on 'betterment of
human life' and 'ensuring fulfilment of basic needs of all human needs'. Welfare of the human
beings being the ultimate goal by avoiding all sorts of exploitations, Gandhi felt that human
dignity needs to be established.
For Gandhiji development must be based on ecological principles of environmental harmony,
economic efficiency, resource conservation, local self-reliance.

Gandhi and Sustainable Development

9|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

In Mahatma Gandhi's opinion, in any scheme of development, man should be at the centre. A
long-term view of development has to be taken, for we owe our debt to prosperity as well.
Man has to make a judicious use of natural resources. The ecological balance should not be
disturbed. The objective should not be to build the islands of prosperity in the ocean of
poverty; but to raise the level of standard of life and to combat poverty.
Gandhi believed in Sarvodaya and therefore the welfare of all was the basis of his thinking;
hence his community centred approach towards sustainability emphasized on 'betterment of
human life' and 'ensuring fulfilment of basic needs of all human needs'.
His sustainable development is based on a holistic paradigm which lays stress on all round
development of individual and society in relation with nature. It is an idea of a judicial shift
from the consumer society to the Conserver Society seems to be the demand of modern age.

Gandhi and Happiness

Man’s happiness lies in contentment. He who is discontented, however much he possesses,
becomes a slave to his desires. His idea of happiness is: “When what you think, what you
say, and what you do are in harmony.” Thus he supports a life full of integrity to be happy.

Swami Vivekananda
Renunciation is the very basis upon which ethics stands. There never was an ethical code
preached which had not renunciation for its basis.
Ethics always says, "Not I, but thou." Its motto is, "Not self, but non-self." The vain ideas of
individualism, to which man clings when he is trying to find that Infinite Power or that
Infinite Pleasure through the senses, have to be given up--say the laws of ethics. You have to
put yourself last, and others before you. The senses say, "Myself first." Ethics says, "I must
hold myself last." Thus, all codes of ethics are based upon this renunciation; destruction,
not construction, of the individual on the material plane.
He denied any dichotomy between science and religion and described religion as the science
of consciousness. This universal conception frees religion from the hold of superstitions,
dogmatism, priest–craft and intolerance, and makes it the highest and noblest pursuit of
freedom, knowledge and happiness.
His principle of morality and ethics: Moving away from prevalent idea of morality based in
fear, Vivekananda has given a new theory of ethics and new principle of morality based on
the intrinsic purity and oneness of the Atman. We should be pure because purity is our real
nature, our true divine Self or Atman. Similarly, we should love and serve our neighbours
because we are all one in the Supreme Spirit known as Paramatman or Brahman.

10 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Success according to Swami Vivekanand: Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three
essentials to success, and above all, love.

YOGA and philosphy

Yoga is not mere postures rather it is integrating the principles of yoga into your
thoughts, words and actions. The Eight Limbs of Yoga are core principles that serve as
a compass for living a meaningful and purposeful life.

Yamas: These are essentially moral commandments or ethical guidelines,which deal with
underlying principles governing our relationships with other human beings. Yamas are ethical
considerations to help guide interactions with others. There are five yamas:
1. Nonviolence (Ahimsa)
2. Truthfulness (Satya)

11 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

3. Non-stealing (Asteya)
4. Chastity and fidelity (Brahmacharya)
5. Non-coveting (Aparigraha)

Manusmriti
These ancient legal text and constitution among the many Dharma sastras of Hinduism. It
prescribes a set of obligations for different stages of life. Manusmriti furnishes ten
foundations of self –governance or dharma.These are:
1. Dhriti (patience)
2. Kshama (forgiveness)
3. Dama (self-control)
4. Asteya (Non-stealing or non-covetousness)
5. Shaucha (purity or cleanliness)
6. Indriya –nigraha (restraint of sense)
7. Dhi (Intuitive intelligence) 8. Vidya (learning)
9. Satya (Truth)
10. A-Krodham ( freedom from anger)

Kautilya:
One of the leading political philosophers is also celebrated for his diplomacy and
statesmanship. He is known for his political realism and is sometimes known as Indian
Machiavelli. He also wrote the Arthashastra, the oldest known text on public administration.
Kautilya believed in the adage “Yatha Raja Thatha Prajah” (As the King is, so will be the
people”). Therefore, he laid down the condition that “an ideal King is one who has the
highest qualities of leadership, intellect, energy and personal attributes”. According to
Kautilya, the King needs to check the integrity of those whom he wants to appoint as
advisers.
Kautilya seriously addresses the problem of corruption. He lists nearly forty methods by
which officials can swindle government funds. But he is sceptical off finding easy solutions.

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

It is as difficult, he says, to discover the honesty or dishonesty in an officer as it is to discover

whether or not it is the fish that drank the water. He recommends strictest deterrent
punishment to offenders. He makes a observation that stability will prevail if rulers are
responsive, accountable, removable and recallable.
Kautilya’s leadership lessons which he gives to the King and through his book to others:
He wants leader or king to be energetic as if the king is energetic, his subjects will be
energetic. If he is lazy, the subjects will also be lazy, thereby eating into his wealth. -
Chanakya
1. Intelligent and dynamic
2. Associate with elders
3. Truthful in speech
4. Doesn’t break promises
5. Grateful
6. Desirous of training
7. Easily approachable
He also highlights the duty of a king or leader which is the welfare of its people. He says, “In
the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness, in their welfare lays his welfare.
He shall not consider as good as only that which pleases him but treat as beneficial to
him whatever pleases his subjects". The King's dharma is to be just, fair and liberal in
protecting his people. His boldness to his people should be like attitude of a father towards
his children.
He defines an ideal leader as the Rajarshi or Sage-like King. It is a king wise like sage who
has self-control, having conquered senses, cultivates the intellect by association with elders,
is ever active in promoting the security and welfare of the people by enriching them and by
doing good to them and avoids day dreaming, capriciousness, falsehood and extravagance.
Government by rule depended on the self-discipline of the king. This idea is quite closer to
the Plato’s Philosopher King.
Kautilya on character of King
If the king is pious, the subjects become so; but if the king is vicious, the subjects become the
same. If he will be indifferent to both (virtue and vice), then they too bear the same character.
In short, as is the king so are his subjects. So, he suggests following for character building:
1. Read scriptures
2. Associate with elders

13 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Greek Philosophy
• The ancient Greeks regarded agent evaluation (evaluating someone’s moral character)
as more fundamental than act evaluation (evaluating particular actions). The central
ethical question they addressed was, “What sort of person should I be?”.

Socrates
• Socrates was Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western
philosophy. He has come to be symbolised for relentless pursuit of truth. Socrates
believed that moral judgements and standards are objective and universal. He
supported acquisition of knowledge.
• Socrates (and Plato) referred to the final end of conduct as ‘the art of dealing with
human beings’; ‘the art of behaving in society’; and ‘the science of human happiness’.
The soul can be perfected by acquiring virtues. In modern terminology, for Socrates,
virtue is the highest psychological good and is always to be preferred to material
good. Life is not worth living if soul is destroyed, and wrong doing corrodes it.
• He said that we should not act wrongly or unjustly, even when others are unjust to us.
This was seen when he was to be hanged and his friends arranged for escape, he
denied it calling it unjust.
• For Socrates “Knowledge is virtue”, as it helps in understanding what is good for us.
Socrates and knowledge
• Socrates equated knowledge with virtue, which ultimately leads to ethical conduct.
• Knowledge equals virtue and Ignorance equals vice. He says:
• 1. Wisdom begins with admitting your own ignorance.
• 2. Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue
• 3. People can arrive at truth by questioning
• 4. An unexamined life is not worth living (here his focus is on need of critical
reasoning)

14 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Plato
Idea of philosopher king
For Plato the best form of the government is one which is ruled by a philosopher king. It’s
measure features are:
• Guards in the sense of guardians
• Understand the moral value and know the real virtue.
• Dedicated to what is good for the city: The Spirit of Justice is Supreme in the Ideal
State. Justice in the state means the due performance by each individual of the
functions for which he is best fitted by aptitude and training. A philosopher king by
virtue of his training is fit to ensure impartially.
• Virtuous and selfless
• Knowledgeable and hence has idea of good life
Plato’s philosopher king is criticised for its absolute power to a single king and laying down a
system which is autocratic.
Theory of virtue
He is influenced by Socrates in this theory, particularly his idea on knowledge as virtue. He
identifies virtue with knowledge. From this it follows that virtue is teachable, and that men
can learn morality just as they can learn any other subject.
Plato makes a four-fold division of morals, and associates them with different parts of the
soul. The four virtues are wisdom or prudence, valour, temperance and justice. These four
virtues are important for good life and thus called as the “Cardinal values”. Plato accords a
privileged position to justice as the overarching virtue.
Plato divides soul into three parts–rational (Virtue: Wisdom or prudence), spirited (Virtue:
Courage) and appetitive (Virtue: Temperance). He accords highest importance to rational
soul (virtu: Wisdom. Wisdom is the directing or measuring virtue. For instance, without it,
courage will become a rash impulse, and quiet endurance will degenerate into stony
indifference).

15 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Valour is the virtue of spirit, the second part of the soul. Valour preserves the rational
intelligence which is often beset with anxieties in its struggle against pain and pleasure,
desire and fear. The third part of the soul consists of biological appetites. It is necessary to
control their propensity towards excess. Temperance regulates human passions and signifies
the submission of non-rational elements to reason.
Justice refers to the harmonious functioning of the related elements of the soul – the
appetitive, the spirited and the rational. Justice in Plato’s sense makes an individual
concentrate on his duties; it can be thought of as the sense of duty.

Aristotle
He is more of a practical philosopher unlike his teacher Plato. Thus, he places morals within
the frame of ordinary human life. In his famous treatise, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle
mainly discuses two aspects of Ethics-happiness and virtues (both are dealt in ethical theories
notes).
For Aristotle, happiness and virtue go together. The idea that a virtuous man should lead
miserable life somehow does not appeal to Aristotle.
Aristotle discusses the “summum bonum” which is the final end towards which human
activity is directed. But many ends are means to other ends or ways of achieving the other
ends. But finally, we reach an end which is ultimate and does not serve as a means to any
other end. This is summum bonum.

16 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Necessary conditions for happiness: 1. Virtue 2. Practical wisdom 3. Friendship

(utility,erotic and complete friendship) 4. External good fortune 5. Pleasure 6. Right habit
7. Education 8. Right political conditions.
Ethics of virtue was discussed in Nihomachean ethics. The kernel of the theory was that
human beings have to be good. This good is happiness. This happiness is an activity of the
soul in conformity with the virtue. The list of virtues comprised in it are: 1. Courage 2.
Temperance 3. Liberty 4. Munificence 5. Pride 6. Prudence 7. Friendliness 8. Truthfulness
9. Wittiness 10. Shame 11. Justice 12. Honour

His approach
Aristotle's method, in ethics as in all other fields, was critical and empirical. In the study of
any subject he began by collecting, analyzing, and grouping all relevant facts in order to
determine their meaning and relations with each other, and this gave him a systematic and
factually correct basis from which to generalize about underlying rules or principles. In
generalizing, he used either the inductive approach, reasoning from many observed single
instances to a universal proposition, or the syllogism, a means of deductive reasoning which
he invented, and defined as "certain things being stated, something else follows of necessity
without need of further testimony," i.e., proceeding from previously established general rules
or facts down to particular instances.
The syllogism is used frequently by Aristotle in analytical sections of the Nicomachean
Ethics. It has two premises — one major (universal) and the other minor (particular), and in
its simplest form works as follows: Major Premise: All A is B or: All men are mortal. Minor
Premise: C is part of A: Socrates was a man. Conclusion: C is B: Socrates was mortal.
Aristotle’s Golden Mean:

17 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

For Aristotle, virtue implies moderation and he does not believe that virtue must include
asceticism. Rather a mean of extremes are best principle.
Aristotle’s Concept of Justice
For Aristotle, justice is a virtue of the State and not of the individual. He mentions two types
of justice: distributive and corrective.
In Aristotle’s thinking, distributive justice refers to rewarding people according to merit.
Honours and rewards have to be assigned based on the worth of individuals.
Corrective justice has to do with inflicting punishment for wrong doing. Anyone who gains
undue profit by unfair means should be made to suffer corresponding loss through a fine or
penalty.
Aristotle view on Incontinence
It refers to a lacking in moderation or self-control, especially related to sexual desire,
incontinence may also be called wantonness. Aristotle considered one could be incontinent
with respect to money or temper or glory, but that its core relation was to bodily enjoyment.
Its causes could be weakness of will, or an impetuous refusal to think.
At the same time, he did not consider it a vice, because it is not so much a product of moral
choice, but instead, a failure to act on one's better knowledge.

What is the purpose of politics for Aristotle?

18 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

It is to form good citizens and to cultivate good character. For him politics is ethics of the
state. An individual finds its end in the state without which summum bonnum for individual
is not possible. It is because welfare of citizens is the objective of the State, and people can be
happy and virtuous only in a State. Man is a political animal. The State educates men
in(civic) virtues and provides opportunities for exercising virtues.

Aristotle’s criticism: Aristotle is criticised for elitist approach sometimes as his citizenship
was reduced to few. He is also criticised for his support on slavery. However, his contribution
to ethics is unparallel, particularly to virtue ethics and view on happiness.
Other great leaders

Nelson Mandela
Compassion and forgiveness: One of the clear things that propelled Mandela to greatness
amidst his suffering and depersonalization in prison, was forgiving his jailors, feeling
compassion for those who had caused him pain and his desire for reconciliation. Mandela had
the capacity to transcend himself for the sake of those around him and higher causes.
Persistence and faith: 27 years in prison is testimony to the power of persistence. And yet,
persistence by itself is not the mark of greatness. More remarkable is that those prison
decades did not poison his spirit. Such is the power of hope.

Confucius
He put high importance on virtue or character.
Concept of ren, “compassion” or “loving others: Cultivating or practicing such concern for
others involved deprecating oneself. This meant being sure to avoid artful speech or an
ingratiating manner that would create a false impression and lead to self-aggrandizement.).
Those who have cultivated ren are, on the contrary, “simple in manner and slow of speech” .
For Confucius, such concern for others is demonstrated through the practice of forms of the
Golden Rule: “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others;” “Since you yourself
desire standing then help others achieve it, since you yourself desire success then help others
attain it”. He regards devotion to parents and older siblings as the most basic form of
promoting the interests of others before one's own.

Dalai Lama
• Universal humanitarianism is essential to solve global problems; Compassion is the
pillar of world peace;
• All world religions are already for world peace in this way, as are all humanitarians of
whatever ideology;
• Each individual has a universal responsibility to shape institutions to serve human
needs.

19 | P a g e
 www.optimizeias.com

www.optimizeias.com

Ethics Masterclass
CSE MAINS 2023

Topic: Challenges of Corruption

1|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CORRUPTION: ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 4

WHAT IS CORRUPTION? ............................................................................................................................... 4

TYPES OF CORRUPTION ............................................................................................................................... 5

CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN INDIA........................................................................................................... 5

CHALLENGE OR COST OF CORRUPTION: ................................................................................................. 7

LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE: ................................................................................................. 8

THE PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACT, 1988 AND 2018 AMENDMENT: ........................................ 9

PROHIBITION OF BENAMI TRANSACTIONS: ........................................................................................... 9

RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005........................................................................................................ 10

WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTION ACT 2014 ......................................................................................... 10

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS CORRUPTION IN INDIA ................................................ 11

CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER (CENTRAL) ........................................................................... 11

LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTA: ..................................................................................................................... 12

ISSUES IN LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT ..................................................................... 13

2|Page
www.optimizeias.com

3|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

CORRUPTION:

Introduction
Corruption is as old as human history. Aristotle while developing his political philosophy
studied more than 150 constitutions and classified the government into “ideal” and “perverted” one (Ex-
Monarch as a rule was an ideal one than tyranny as a rule since it was a perverted or corrupted form).
Kautilya writes:
“Just as it is not possible not to taste honey or poison placed on the surface of the tongue, even so it
is not possible for one dealing with the money of the king not to taste the money in however small a
quantity.”
(Or)
“It is possible to know even the path of birds flying in the sky, but not the ways
of officers moving with their intentions concealed”.

Coming to the present:

• The World Economic Forum estimates the global cost of corruption to be at least $2.6 trillion,
or 5 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
• According to the World Bank, meanwhile, businesses and individuals pay more than $1 trillion
in bribes every year.
Hence, Corruption is an evergreen phenomenon. But, in today’s times with the rise in wealth and fall
in ethical values, corruption has gained prominence and huge currency is imposing cost on virtually all
aspects of life.

What is Corruption?

The World Bank defines it as "the abuse of public office for private gain".
Transparency International defines corruption as ‘the abuse of entrusted power for private gain’.
In a narrow sense, corruption is generally referred to as for “bribery”. But in broader sense, it can be
seen in many forms:

4|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

1. Bribery: (A) offers or gives some benefit to another person (B) as an inducement for that person
(B) or another person (C) to act dishonestly or improperly. It may also occur where B requests
or solicits a benefit from A as an inducement for B or another person (C) to act dishonestly or
improperly. It can be both: "Institutional bribery" (bribe may be paid or received with the full
approval of the organisation. Ex- A private firm director with firm's support offers bribe for
contract) and "Personal bribery" (bribery at the individual level. The officer taking bribe is an
example of personal bribery as the organisation bars such things).
2. Fraud: A person deceiving another person(s) in order to gain some financial or other advantage.
Ex- Manipulation of pre-qualification or tender requirements so as to favour a particular bidder,
hiding defect or issues to sold product or services.
3. Extortion: Threats against another person of adverse consequences unless demands (usually
for payment) are met by the other person.
4. Cartels or collusion: two or more organisations unlawfully collude in relation to the bidding
for contracts or the pricing of equipment, services or materials.
5. Abuse of power: person in public office deliberately or recklessly acts in a way that is contrary
to her/his duty and is in breach of her/his position of public trust.
6. Embezzlement: wrongful appropriation of funds which you have a duty to safeguard. For
example, a public official who diverts public funds to her/his private bank account.
7. Money-laundering: Moving and utilizing cash obtained by criminal activity through the
financial system.
8. Nepotism: Practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends.

Types of Corruption
1. Grand Corruption: It is the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few at the expense of
the many. It occurs at the highest level of the government. It mainly benefits those at the top
with public good being the sufferer. This happens generally in countries with poor
legal/institutional safeguards against corruption.
2. Petty corruption: Corruption done at the small scale or on the lower level.
It is the everyday abuse of entrusted power by low- and mid-level public officials in their
interactions with ordinary citizens who often are trying to access basic goods or services in
places like hospitals, schools, police departments, and other agencies. It can include exchange
of small gifts or showing off personal connections.
Coercive and Collusive Corruption:
Coercive corruption is more harmful. When citizens are forced to bribe someone due to extortion
culture, it is called coercive corruption. Here coercion is due to delays, harassment, loss of opportunity,
loss of wages, uncertainty, loss of life or limb etc. due to no fault of anyone and bribe or corruption
offers them way out of these challenges.
Collusive corruption: Prior agreement between the giver and public servant making corruption a
voluntary act. Awards for public works (officials and contractor), evasion of taxes (tax officials and tax
payers), recruitment (official and beneficiary), adulteration of food (dealer and food inspector).
Note: 2nd ARC says that as the state frees economy, threat of collusive corruption increases and
undermines our democracy and endangers whole society and it is of more concern today.

Causes of Corruption in India

MONOPOLY+DISCRETION-ACCOUNTABILITY = CORRUPTION
1. Historical: Colonial legacy of unchallenged authority and propensity to exercise power
arbitrarily. This has led to worship of power culture in society i.e., both high monopoly of
power and discretion with ineffective accountability leading to corruption.

5|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

Context of development and path taken led to policy which caused over regulation, severe
restrictions on economic activity, excessive state control, near-monopoly of the
government in many sectors and an economy of scarcity all created conditions conducive to
unbridled corruption. This concentration of power weakens the citizens’ capacity to resist
extortionary demands.
2. Social:
• Asymmetry of power in society i.e., 90% of people in unorganised sector with precarious
existence. And nearly 70% of the organized workers with job security and regular monthly
wage are employed by the state directly or through public sector undertakings. Almost all
these employees are ‘educated’ in a largely illiterate and semiliterate society and
economically even the lowliest of public servants are better off than most people in the
country. What is more, their employment in government comes with all the trappings of
power. Such asymmetry of power reduces societal pressure to conform to ethical
behaviour.
• Social prestige is associated with money, material possession etc. and not how those have
been appropriated. Ex- Patronage culture in India.
3. Economic:
• India has high marginal tax rates and numerous regulatory bodies, land acquisition and
environmental clearance delays which effects economic activities and corruption is
considered as a means of oiling the jaded machinery.
4. Politicians-Criminals Nexus:
• It is the participation of criminal elements in the electoral process, which 2 nd ARC says as
“the soft underbelly of our political system”.
• This has led to incentivisation of perverse or corrupt act as the message which comes out of
this system is that criminal elements have “welcoming environment” with potential to make
huge gain.
• Over-centralisation of power: The more remotely power is exercised from the people, the
greater is the distance between authority and accountability breeding more corruption.
5. Legal/Institutional:
• Complex laws and procedures, high taxation and red-tapism.
• Culture of controlling investigating agencies (Ex- Even the SC called the CBI "Caged
parrot").
• Acts & policies made in our country are such that they leave lot of discretion for Civil
Servants.
• Poor protection to whistle-blower (Ex- Dilution of Whistle-blower Act and it is limited to
public sector, when major area of activities is in private sector).
6. Ethical:
• 2nd ARC says that corruption is an important manifestation of fall in ethics.
• Values guide individual and help them make correct choices. But the falling standard of
values and rise in preference to material pleasure has led to breeding ground of
corruption.
• Penetration of greed and materialism in society.
7. Behavioural:
• “Chalta hai culture” which accepts small scale corruption and in turn promotes large scale
corruption.
8. Others
• Poor citizen awareness about laws, rights and grievance redressal.
• Delayed justice and justice delivery system where cost for going for justice is much
more than being part of corruption in terms of time and money.

6|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

ETHICS is a global phenomenon

• Corruption is a global phenomenon and has also become a serious global concern. The
United Nations Convention against Corruption was adopted by the UN General
Assembly in October 2003, providing an international instrument against corruption.
• The ADB-OECD Anti-Corruption Action Plan, which has been signed by the
Government of India, is a broad understanding to further the cause of inter-regional
cooperation in the matter of prevention of corruption.
• The World Bank has also declared war against corruption by refusing to fund projects
whose implementation is tainted by corrupt practices. At the annual meeting of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Singapore in 2006, a joint
statement was issued with major multilateral financial institutions agreeing on a
framework for preventing and combating fraud and corruption in the activities and
operations of their institutions.

Challenge or Cost of Corruption:

1. Public Good: The major sufferer of corruption is public good which otherwise would have received
the benefit of the funds. E.g.- Ex-PM Mr Rajiv Gandhi said that in India if Rs 1 is sanctioned only
15 paise gets reached. Thus, public
good in form of education, health, Corruption Perception Index (By Transparency
roads, ration etc. are the sufferers. International)
2. Good Governance: It is based on First launched in 1995 by the Transparency International,
the principle of transparency, the Index has been widely credited with putting the issue
accountability, responsiveness, of corruption on the international policy agenda.
citizen participation, choice etc.
Corruption as a perverted form of Transparency International is a non-profit, non-
governance ignores all this. governmental organisation dedicated to fighting
3. Society: corruption. It was founded in 1993 and is based in Berlin,
• First of all, it impacts Germany.
participation and trust in The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by
government. their perceived levels of public sector corruption according
• Corruption severely constrains
to experts and business people, uses a scale of 0 to 100,
poverty alleviation and where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
economic development. In
2017, nearly 10% of Asians, India’s Rank
around 400 million, lived in
India’s rank is 85th (improved to one place) among 180
extreme poverty. Corruption
countries in the Corruption perception index (CPI) in
siphons off funds intended for
2021.
poverty alleviation.
• Further, it also is a major cause India’s score was 40. “India was ranked at 80th position out
of poor social capital as fund for of 180 countries in 2019 and fell to 86th in 2020. However,
education, training, hospitals are the CPI score for India is constant for all these years,” the
siphoned off. Ex- Teacher index said.
recruitment scam in Haryana.
• Corruption also shows decadence ofThis year,
society in New
termsZealand
of moraland
andDenmark were ranked at first
ethical terms.
position with scores of 88. Somalia and South Sudan were
4. Economic Growth: ranked lowest at 179th position with scores of 12.
.
7|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

• Developing countries and countries with high levels of income inequality tend to have higher
levels of perceived corruption than do developed countries and countries with a more equal
distribution of income.
• According to the UN, more than 5% of global gross domestic product is lost annually as a result
of corruption. Estimates suggest that approximately US$1 trillion is paid in bribes and that
US$2.6 trillion from public funds is stolen.
• Generally, higher level of corruption is associated with lower levels of economic growth in
long-term.
• Corruption impedes investment, with consequent effects on growth and jobs.
• The Central Vigilance Commission cited a $1.8 billion misappropriation of funds, costing
almost 18 times the Commonwealth Games’ budget in Common Wealth scam.
• According to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the 2G scam cost a loss of an
estimated $39 billion to the Indian National Exchequer.
5. Political Cost:
• It attacks citizens freedom as well as rule of law.
• Cost to rule of law is clear as most of the acts of corruption are almost universally prohibited.
Yet, it flourishes compromising rule of law.
• Freedom of citizen is also compromised as it impacts their capacity formation (by misusing
public fund), to hide corruption information is denied and even freedom of speech and life of
whistle-blowers and activists are threatened.
6. Environment Cost:
• Corruption also attacks healthy environment and a sustainable future by misappropriation of
fund, fraud in clearing projects etc.
7. Impact on Poor and Vulnerable:
• Increasing costs reduce poor people access to services, including health, education and justice.
• Corruption in the procurement of drugs and medical equipment drives up costs and can lead to
sub-standard or harmful products.
• The human costs of counterfeit drugs and vaccinations on health outcomes and the life-long
impacts on children far exceed the financial costs. Unofficial payments for services can have a
particularly pernicious effect on poor people.
• Empirical studies have shown that the poor pay the highest percentage of their income in bribes.

LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE:

• The definition of ‘Public Servant’ under the IPC was expanded (The Santhanam Committee
had also recommended an expanded definition of the term ‘Public Servant’).
• Significant amendment in CrPC in 1964 to address corruption was made on the
recommendation of Santhanam Committee.

8|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and 2018 Amendment:

• It consolidates the
provisions of the PCA (2018) Amendment
Prevention of Corruption • Punishment for bribe-taking enhanced: Minimum
Act 1947, the Criminal punishment of 3 yrs, extendable up to 7 yrs with fine;
Law Amendment Act, from the earlier 6 months, with extension up to 3 yrs.
1952 and some • Prior permission for investigation of corruption
provisions of IPC. offences was required from the government.
Besides, it has certain • ‘Undue Advantage’ expanded: The earlier limited
provisions intended to definition of “undue advantage” expanded to now
effectively combat include “anything other than legal remuneration”.
corruption among public • Gifts criminalised: Gifts received for established
servant. undue advantage/mala-fide motive are now
• It also punishes anyone considered an act of corruption.
who helps him or her • Collusive bribe-givers criminalised: For the first
commit the crime, time, the giving of bribe has now been made a direct
corruption or bribery. offence on par with taking of bribe. At the same time,
• Offences under IPC was protection has been built-in against coercive bribery,
brought into it. as long as the victim comes forward within 7 days.
• Proceedings of court in • Corporate bribery criminalised: Superiors to be
corruption cases on day- held if employee/agent has bribed with their approval,
to-day basis. for advancement of the organisation’s interests.
• All cases to be tried by • Immediate forfeiture: Law enforcement empowered
special judges. for immediate attachment & forfeiture of illegal
• Immunity to bribe givers, property of a public servant, invoking provisions of
investigation by DySP. the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
• Enhanced penalties for • Timely trial mandated: To conclude the
act of corruption. investigation and trial within 2 yrs, extendable up to 4
yrs.

PCA Act punishes:

• When a public servant accepts money or gifts over and above their salary, in return for
favouring a person in their official duty.
• When a public servant accepts gifts from a person with whom they have a business or
official relationship without paying them.
• When a public servant is guilty of criminal misconduct such as regularly accepting
bribes to favour people during their official duty.
• If any person accepts money or gifts in return for influencing the public servant by using
his personal connection or through illegal or corrupt methods, this person can also be
punished.
• Any person helping the public servant commit these crimes can also be punished.
• According to the recent amendment in the act, a person offering the gift or a bribe will
also be punished.

Prohibition of Benami Transactions:

“Benami property” is those which are acquired in the name of other person to evade taxation and gain
undue advantage. Benami Transaction Act, 2016 was passed to check this:

• It amended Benami Transaction Act 1988

9|Page
 www.optimizeias.com

• Changed definition of Benami: “A transaction where a property is held by or transferred to a

person, but has been provided for or paid by another person. It includes transaction in fictious
name, owner unaware of property, person providing for property untraceable”. It excludes
property held by Hindu Undivided family and if transaction is made in fiduciary capacity or in
the name of the spouse or child.
• Creates adjudicating authority and appellate tribunal.
• Penalties of 3 year jail or fine or both.
• Certain session court to be designated as special court.

Right to Information Act, 2005

It is one of the revolutionary legislations to address corruption by information as right to people and
pro-active disclosure thereby bringing in a regime of transparency and accountability.

Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2014

• It defines whistle-blowers as one who reports a problem or violation to the authorities,
especially an employee or former employee w.r.t activities in an organisation.
• Protects against offences under PCA, 1988; Wilful misuse of power or discretion resulting in
significant loss to the govt; Offence or act of serious criminal offence by the civil servant.
• Protects against victimisation: Complainant has to file application before competent authority
and burden of proof of victimisation on competent authority.
• Any public servant or any person including NGO can make a complaint.
Complaint has to include whistle-blower’s identity (Concern: Threatens identity)
Vigilance Commission not to disclose identity (penalises for disclosing identity)
Need for Whistle-blowers Act: Dilemma whistle-blower faces
1. Promotes disclosure of violations 1. Personal Safety or Larger Public interest
2. Loyalty to Organisation or Public Interest
2. Prevents victimisation 3. Obedience to hierarchy, discipline or
3. Address systemic corruption organisational values
4. Whistleblowing within organisation or in public
Why important? domain (as within an organisation can be
threatening sometimes)
1. Information about corruption
2. Deterrence for fraud
3. Better ethical standard framework
Bill for Amendments to Whistle-blower Protection Act (2015): The Bill prohibits the reporting of a
corruption related disclosure if it falls under any of the following categories of information.
• These categories include information related to: (i) economic, scientific interests and the
security of India; (ii) Cabinet proceedings, (iii) intellectual property; (iv) that received in a
fiduciary capacity, etc. These are in line with provisions of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act, 2005.
• The original Act of 2014 permits disclosures that are prohibited under the Official Secrets Act
(OSA), 1923. This Bill reverses this to disallow disclosures that are covered by the OSA.
• Any public interest disclosure received by a Competent Authority will be referred to a
government authorised authority if it falls under any of the above prohibited categories. This
authority will take a decision on the matter, which will be binding.
Concerns in Whistle-blower protection Act:

10 | P a g e
 www.optimizeias.com

• Dilution of original act: Limiting disclosure Famous cases of Whistleblowing in

under few categories, prohibit disclosure India
against OSA.
• Restricted to Public sector (today most of the 1. Manjunath Shanmugam Case: An
activities involve private sector) Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
• No encouragement or incentive to employee who died after Whistle-
whistleblowing blowing on adulteration by the petrol
• No definition of victimisation pump owners.
• No anonymous complaint 2. Satyendra Dubey: Working in
National Highways Authority of India
Others: Prevention of Money laundering Act. (NHAI) after he exposed the rampant
corruption in construction was found
2nd ARC recommended:
dead.
• Whistle-blowers exposing false claims, fraud
or corruption should be protected by ensuring
confidentiality and anonymity, protection from victimization in career, and other administrative
measures to prevent bodily harm and harassment.
• The legislation should cover corporate whistle-blowers unearthing fraud or serious damage to
public interest by wilful acts of omission or commission.
• Acts of harassment or victimization of or retaliation against a whistle-blower should be made a
criminal offence with substantial penalty and sentence.

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS CORRUPTION IN INDIA

1. Union Government: The Administrative Vigilance Division of the Department of Personnel &
Training is the nodal agency for dealing with Vigilance and Anti-corruption.
2. Other institutions and agencies at the Union level are - (i) The Central Vigilance Commission
(CVC); (ii) Vigilance units in the Ministries/Departments of Government of India, Central public
enterprises and other autonomous
Constitutional Bodies to address Corruption
organisations (provides a link between his
organisation and the Central Vigilance CAG: Comptroller and Auditor General is the
Commission on the one hand and his supreme constitutional audit authority of India.
organisation and the Central Bureau of CAG is the ‘watchdog’ on each and every financial
Investigation on the other); and (iii) the transaction of Central or State department such as
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). railway, telecom, public sector organizations etc.
Central Vigilance Commissioner Election Commission: Supreme authority to
(Central) conduct free and fair elections, prevent corrupt
• Central Vigilance Commission practices and infiltration of corruption into the
(CVC) is an apex Indian representative foundation of India.
governmental body created in 1964.
Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of India is
• CVC was set up based on the the highest judicial court and the final court of
recommendations of the Committee appeal under the Constitution of India, with the
on Prevention of Corruption, headed power of judicial review and ensure that just law
by Shri K. Santhanam. prevails.
• The CVC became a Statutory Body
with the enactment of CVC Act,
2003.
• The CVC is an independent body, free of control from any executive authority, (It is NOT
controlled by any Ministry or Department).
• The CVC is responsible only to the Parliament.

11 | P a g e
 www.optimizeias.com

• The CVC is NOT an investigating agency. The CVC may have the investigation done through
the CBI or Chief Vigilance Officers (CVO) in government offices.
Functions of CVC
• The CVC monitors all vigilance activity under the Central Government.
• It advises various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing,
reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
• The CVC recommends appropriate action on complaints on corruption or misuse of power.
• Lokpal, Central Government or Whistle blowers can approach the CVC regarding complaints.
• The CVC – Under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – can inquire into offences reported
against certain categories of Public Servants. (However, CVC is NOT an Investigating agency).
• The Annual Report of the CVC not only gives the details of the work done by it but also brings
out the system failures which leads to corruption in various Departments/ Organisations, system
improvements, various preventive measures and cases in which the Commission’s advises were
ignored etc.
3. Vigilance Systems in State Governments: At the level of state governments, similar vigilance and
anti-corruption organisations exist, although the nature and staffing of these organisations vary between
and across state governments. However, some states have Vigilance Commissions and anti-corruption
bureaus as well.
In the Union Territories, the Chief Secretary himself acts as the Vigilance Commissioner. Some
States have adopted the pattern of the Union Government and set up internal vigilance organizations
with dual responsibility of reporting to the Vigilance Commissioner and the departmental head with
subordinate units in offices of Heads of Departments and the districts reporting to the higher formations
and the Vigilance Commissioner.

Lokpal and Lokayukta:

• The office of Lokpal and the Lokayukta at the state level was created under the Lokpal and
Lokayukta Act, 2013.
About the Act
• It envisages establishment of the anti-graft body Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in
states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants.
• The Lokpal selection committee is headed by the Prime Minister and consists of the Lok
Sabha Speaker, Leader of the Opposition in the lower house, the Chief Justice of India or a
judge of the apex court nominated by him, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by
the President or any other member.
• Separate enquiry wing to conduct preliminary enquiry.
• Lokpal through notification will create a prosecution wing.
• It has powers to superintendence over any central investigation agency including CBI and to
give directions to CBI for the cases referred to it.
• Powers to authorize CBI for search and seizure operations connected to such case.
• The jurisdiction of the Lokpal will include the Prime Minister except on allegations of
corruption relating to international relations, security, the public order, atomic energy and space
and unless a Full Bench of the Lokpal and at least two-thirds of members approve an inquiry.
• The Lokpal will also have jurisdiction over Ministers and MPs but not in the matter of anything
said in Parliament or a vote given there. Lokpal’s jurisdiction will cover all categories of public
servants.

12 | P a g e
 www.optimizeias.com

Composition of Lokpal

• There is a provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal. Of
these, four need to be judicial members.
• Not less than 50 per cent of the members of the Lokpal shall be from amongst the persons
belonging to the SCs, the STs, OBCs, minorities and women.
Terms of Office
• Upon selection, the chairperson and members shall hold office for a term of five years or till
they attain 70 years of age.
• The salary and allowances of the chairman of the Lokpal will be same as that of the Chief
Justice of India, and that of members will be same as that of a Judge of Supreme Court.
• The chief and members of the Lokpal are not eligible for reappointments.
• They will also not be eligible for any diplomatic assignment, appointment as administrator of
a Union territory and for further employment to any other office of profit under the Government
of India.
Issues in Lokpal Act and implementation
• No protection to whistle-blower in the act which was the main demand of the Movement
Against Corruption after which the act came.
• Lokayukta effectively left on the states which sees wide variations across the states.
• Judiciary and armed forces not under it.
• For a long time, no Lokpal was appointed on one and other ground and finally when it did, it
was the prodding of the court.
• The Lokpal has power over CBI only in cases referred to it.
• No provision for appeal against the Lokpal.

ISSUES IN LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

• The conviction rate in cases by CBI is low compared to the cases registered, which
nevertheless is double that of the State Anti-Corruption organisations (2nd ARC).
• Huge pendency of corruption cases further encourages corruption.
• Control of the institutional machinery by the executive. Ex- Even the SC called the CBI as the
‘Caged Parrot’.
• No ombudsmen at the local level even after decentralisation of power under the 73rd and 74th
Amendment act.
• Dilution of laws in recent years (Amendment to PCA, 1988 or Whistle-blower Act)
• Executive interference through appointment in important offices.
Addressing Corruption
Fixing corruption needs preventive measures as well as punitive measures. And this would necessitate
systemic reforms in diverse areas. These systemic reforms need to be accompanied with:
1. Pragmatic approach
2. Pragmatic planning
3. Pragmatic leadership
Areas of Systemic reforms:
In this, punitive measure will act as deterrence and preventive measures reduce opportunities for
corruption by bringing in transparency, accountability, reducing discretion, rationalising
procedures etc.
System reforms with focus on preventive measures can eliminate middle-men, decongest front-desk
crowding in public offices etc. Ex- NEET Exam for medical seats seeks to ensure merit-based selection

13 | P a g e
 www.optimizeias.com

by eliminating capitation fees, addressing corruption in recruitment etc. Thus, systemic reforms to
address corruption need to focus on issues of transparency, weakness of accountability mechanism,
Bureaucratic complexity, red tapism etc. These can be:
1. Promoting Competition: Monopolistic setting breeds arbitrariness. It leads to high probability
of corruption due to departmental hegemony in ministries. Bringing in a gradual competition
in public service provisioning can break this hegemony. Ex- Gradual de-monopolisation of
Telecom sector; e-NAM for selling agriculture produce outside mandis.
However, de-monopolisation and competition must accompany a regulatory mechanism to
ensure performance as per some standards (Ex- Citizen Charter), else corruption will shift
elsewhere.
2. Simplifying Transactions: Currently elaborate hierarchy in a transaction chain, complex work
method, diffusion of responsibility etc. leads to corruption. Also, territorial distribution of work
leads to overcrowding and hence scope for corruption.
The principle of “Positive Silence” i.e., automatic permission after stipulated time in areas is
feasible. System of rewards and incentives for simplification of transaction, adopting single-
window approach in transaction should be the way ahead. Ex- E-SEWA model (Convergence
of many services at one place).
3. Using ICT: It reduces amount of discretion as well as brings in transparency in governance,
thereby promoting people’s participation as well as accountability of those in power. Ex-
Gyandoot project in MP (Land record management); Digital locker; IRCTC reservation system
etc.
4. Promoting Transparency: This is significant for addressing corruption. For this, governance
has to be open about decision-making, manner of working to public, media etc. thereby open
to public scrutiny. For this, implementation of RTI in spirit (particularly pro-active
disclosure) and protection to RTI activists is needed.
5. Integrity Pacts: It is an agreement between the public agency involved in procuring goods and
services and the bidder of public contract to the effect that the bidders have not paid and shall
not any illegal gratification to secure deal. It is a must for level-playing field and fair play in
procurement. Ex- ONGC was 1st PSU to sign MOU with the Transparency International and
CVC in 2006 to this effect.
6. Reducing Discretion: 2nd ARC recommends review of all activities which involve use of
discretion (particularly at lower level) and an attempt to be made to remove discretion wherever
possible. Decision-making on important matters to be made through committee rather than
individuals.
7. Supervision: Random inspections, Confidential feedback from citizens, use of decoy clients
etc. need to be employed. Supervisory officials should be responsible for curbing corruption
for subordinates through better preventive and vigilance mechanism.
8. Responsiveness and Accessibility: 2nd ARC recommends:
o Service providers should converge their activities so that all services are delivered at a
common point. Such common service points could also be outsourced to an agency,
which may then be given the task of pursuing citizens’ requests with concerned
agencies.
o Tasks, which are prone to corruption, should be split up into different activities
that can be entrusted to different persons.
o Public interaction limited to single window front office.
9. Monitoring Complaints:
2md ARC recommends
• All offices having large public interface should have an online complaint tracking
system. If possible, this task of complaint tracking should be outsourced.
• There should be an external, periodic mechanism of ‘audit’ of complaints in offices
having large public interface.

14 | P a g e
 www.optimizeias.com

10. Reforming Civil Services:

• Clear assignment of duties and responsibilities at each level
• Inter-locking accountability mechanism in place
• Eliminating arbitrariness and subjectivity
11. Risk Management for Preventive Vigilance:
2nd ARC recommends:
• Risk profiling of jobs needs to be done in a more systematic and institutionalised
manner in all government organizations.
• Risk profiling of officers should be done by a committee of ‘eminent persons’ after the
officer has completed ten years of service, and then once in every five years.
12. Audit Standards: It should be prescribed that as soon as any major irregularity is detected or
suspected by the audit team, it should be immediately taken note of by the Government. Each
office should make an annual public statement regarding pending audit queries. Audit team
need training in forensic audits.
13. Pro-active Vigilance: Rather than current CVC-led vigilance, focus has to be on boosting Head
of Department-led vigilance system.
14. Intelligence Gathering: Integrity of sub-ordinates to be taken note by the supervisory officers
through their work and case handling.
15. Vigilance Network: A National database of corruption at all levels and that to be kept in public.
16. Independence of investigating agencies to ensure compliance of violations.
However, fighting corruption through above systemic efforts need an ethical and moral framework. For
this, code of ethics and code of conduct in various spheres are a must.

15 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

www.optimizeias.com
https://t.me/asksantoshsir

Ethics Masterclass
CSE MAINS 2022

Topic : Corporate Governance

1|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: ........................................................................................................................... 3

WHY CORPORATE GOVERNANCE? ........................................................................................................... 3

SIGNIFICANCE OR NEED OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ....................................................................... 4

MODELS OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ..................................................................................................... 4

REGULATORY MECHANISM FOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN INDIA: ............................................ 5

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:....................................................................... 5

IMPORTANT COMMITTEES IN INDIA FOR EVOLVING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STANDARDS . 7

ISSUES WHICH CONTINUE TO PLAGUE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN INDIA .................................. 8

RECOMMENDATIONS OF UDAY KOTAK COMMITTEE .............................................................................. 9

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AS CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY ........................................................... 10

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) ........................................................................................... 10

CSR IN COMPANIES ACT 2013 ....................................................................................................................... 11

2|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:
In October 2016, the widely admired Tata Group was engulfed in a controversy, with Mistry
being removed from the Chairman’s post by a majority of the Board of Directors. The decision of
NCLAT was in favour of Cyrus Mistry re-instatement. But, the SC overturned NCLAT decision in the
favour of the Tatas.
The judgement though ended by bringing the curtains down on one of the ugliest boardroom battles in
recent history, yet it pointed to a gap in India's corporate governance even now, which was once a
talking point after the Satyam Scam (caused loss to the investors to the tune of Rs.14,162 crore by
forging financial results). These events introduce us to the concept of Corporate Governance and the
need of reforms in it.
What is Corporate Governance (CG)?
Governance: It is derived from the Latin word ‘Gubernare’ which means to ‘steer’ (usually means
steering of ships). Thus, governance means direction and control.
Sir Adrian Cadbury defined the concept of Corporate Governance as “the way in which companies
are directed and controlled” or defined in other
What involves CG?
words:
Corporate Governance refers to the processes,
“It is the accountability of Board of directors to
all the stakeholders, towards a fair, efficient and the related organizational structures, by
which organizations are directed, controlled and
and transparent administration”. Thus, CG is
the process set-up for companies based on certain held to account.
principles and systems on which it is governed. It involves a set of relationships between an
organization’s management, its board, its
shareholders and stakeholders.
Corporate governance also provides the structure
through which the objectives of the
organization are set, and means of attaining
those objectives and monitoring performance
are determined.

Why Corporate Governance?

The question is if the firms (mostly private) are owned by private individuals, then what is the need for
corporate governance. It is because though the firms are owned by one or more individuals, the impact
is upon many stakeholders. Thus, to ensure accountability and fair governance to all stakeholders, the
CG is required.

3|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

In other words, we can equate “Corporate Governance to Corporate Excellence” and hence this
excellence requires:
1. Satisfied stakeholders CG to achieve excellence seeks to:
2. Loyalty of customers
1. Bring interest of shareholders to the forefront.
3. Value driven administration 2. Linking company’s governance mechanism to the
4. Admiration by people society’s conception of corporate accountability.
Today, corporate governance is a 3. Commitment to values.
4. Promoting fairness, transparency and
necessary thing for economy, society
accountability in policies.
as well as protecting interest of
5. Observing Corporate Social responsibility
stakeholders in a firm. Various factors
make it essential.

Significance or Need of Corporate Governance

➢ Improves corporate performance and
infuses higher level of confidence amongst Important players in CG
shareholders.
Board of Directors: Supervise the activities of
➢ Attracts investors: Active and independent
directors present a positive outlook of the an organization and act as fiduciary for the
firm in financial market. shareholders.
➢ Attracts and retains talents Shareholders: Involved in fixing
➢ Managing risks efficiently as
accountability of the Board of Directors.
accountability and transparency is
embedded in the process. Management: Getting people together to
➢ Avoids corporate failure: Ex- Good CG accomplish desired goals and objectives using
practices avoids scams like Satyam scam, available resources efficiently and effectively.
UTI scam etc.
➢ Linking the company’s governance
mechanisms to society’s conception of corporate accountability.
➢ Economy: CG is aligned with the goals and objectives of firm which help them achieve better
results and acts as a boost to economy.
➢ Globalization and Deregulation and Market-led economy: The good CG practices also help
the foreign investors to make choices. This has boosted MNCs prospects throughout the
economies.
➢ Changing Ownership Structure, Hostile Take-Overs, Corporate Scams or Scandals necessitates a
prover governance model.

Models of Corporate Governance

1. Ethical:
➢ It is voluntary commitment of companies to public.
➢ The idea was propounded by Mahatma Gandhi.

4|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

➢ This is based on the trusteeship model.

➢ It includes corporate philanthropy.
➢ This was famous before independence.
➢ Example: Tata, Birla, Bajaj.
2. Statist:
➢ It emerged after independence.
➢ Emergence of PSU and Mixed Economy.
➢ Shift from self-regulation to strict legal public regulations of companies.
➢ Labour laws.
➢ State sponsored corporate philosophy.
3. Liberal:
➢ Represents Milton Friedman ideas of neo-liberal thinking. Here, market, individual
enterprise and agency are given prime importance.
➢ Companies are accountable to owner.
4. Stakeholder:
➢ Companies respond to needs of stakeholders –customers, employees, communities, etc.
➢ Due to rise in globalization, social obligations are increasing.
➢ This was propounded by R. Freeman (1984).

Regulatory Mechanism for Corporate Governance in India:

1. Government and laws: The Companies Act, 2013 is a broad framework in India for ensuring
standards of the CG as mentioned in various important sections of the act.
2. Regulatory bodies: SEBI has formed committees like Uday Kotak committee and also issues
SEBI guidelines for CG standards.
3. Third parties and other institutions: Bodies like Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India issues accounting standards for the firms and Institute of Company Secretaries of India
(ICSI) regulate and develop the profession of Company Secretaries in India and gives
secretarial standards as per the provision of the Companies Act,2013.

Companies Act, 2013 and Corporate Governance:

• Democracy of Shareholders: The CA 2013 has introduced new concept of class action suits
with a view of making shareholders and other stakeholders, more informed and knowledgeable
about their rights.
• Supremacy of Shareholders: The CA 2013 provide major aspect on approvals from
shareholders on various significant transactions. The Government has rightly reduced the need
for the companies to seek approvals to managerial remuneration and the shareholders have been
vested with the power to sanction the limit.
• Strengthening Women Contributions through Board Room: The CA 2013 stipulates
appointment of at least one-woman Director on the Board of the prescribed class of
Companies so as to widen the talent pool enabling big Corporates to benefit from diversified
backgrounds with different viewpoints.
• Corporate Social Responsibility: The CA 2013 stipulates certain class of Companies to spend
a certain amount of money every year on activities/initiatives reflecting Corporate Social
Responsibility. There may be difficulties in implementing in the initial years but this measure
would help in improving the Under-privileged & backward sections of Society and the
Corporate would in fact gain in terms of their reputation and image in the Society.
• National Company Law Tribunal: The CA 2013 introduced National Company Law
Tribunal and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal to replace the Company Law
Board and Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction. They would relieve the Courts of
their burden while simultaneously providing specialized justice.

5|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Fast Track Mergers: The CA 2013 proposes a fast track and simplified procedure for mergers
and amalgamations of certain class of companies such as holding and subsidiary, and small
companies after obtaining approval of the Indian Government.
• Cross Border Mergers: The CA 2013 permits cross border mergers, both ways; a Foreign
Company merging with an India Company and vice versa but with prior permission of RBI.
• Prohibition on Forward dealings and Insider trading: The CA 2013 prohibits directors and
key managerial personnel from purchasing call and put options of shares of the company, its
holding company and its subsidiary and associate companies as if such person is reasonably
expected to have access to price-sensitive information (being information which, if published,
is likely to affect the price of the company's securities). Earlier, these provisions were
contained in regulations framed by SEBI as the capital market regulator. Now, it has also been
informed that SEBI is expected to discuss changes in certain norms for listed firms so as to
make them in line with the rules in the new Act.
• Increase in number of Shareholders: The CA 2013 increased the number of maximum
shareholders in a private company from 50 to 200.
• Limit on Maximum Partners: The maximum number of persons/partners in any
association/partnership may be up to such number as may be prescribed but not exceeding one
hundred. This restriction will not apply to an association or partnership, constituted by
professionals like lawyer, chartered accountants, company secretaries, etc. who are governed
by their special laws. Under the CA 1956, there was a limit of maximum 20 persons/partners
and there was no exemption granted to the professionals.
• One Person Company: The CA 2013 provides new form of private company, i.e., one person
company is introduced that may have only one Director and one Shareholder. The CA 1956
requires minimum two shareholders and two directors in case of a private company.
• Entrenchment in Articles of Association: The CA 2013 provides for entrenchment of articles
of association.
• Electronic Mode: The CA 2013 proposed E-Governance for various company processes like
maintenance and inspection of documents in electronic form, option of keeping of books of
accounts in electronic form, financial statements to be placed on company's website, etc.
• Restriction on Composition: Every company shall have at least one Director who has stayed
in India for a total period of not less than 182 (one hundred and eighty-two) days in the previous
calendar year.
• Independent Directors: The CA 2013 provides that all listed companies should have at least
one-third of the Board as independent directors. Such other class or classes of public companies
as may be prescribed by the Central Government shall also be required to appoint independent
directors. No independent director shall hold office for more than two consecutive terms of five
years.
• Serving Notice of Board Meeting: The CA 2013 requires at least seven days' notice to call a
board meeting. The notice may be sent by electronic means to every director at his address
registered with the company. The CA 1956 did not prescribe any notice period to call the board
meeting of a company.
• Duties of Director defined: Under the CA 1956, a director had fiduciary duties towards a
company. However, the CA 2013 has now defined the duties of a director.
• Liability on Directors and Officers: The CA 2013 does not restrict an Indian company from
indemnifying its directors and officers like the CA 1956.
• Rotation of Auditors: The CA 2013 provides for rotation of auditors and audit firms in case
of publicly traded companies.
• Auditors performing Non-Audit Services: The CA 2013 prohibits Auditors from performing
non-audit services to the company where they are auditors to ensure independence and
accountability of auditor.

6|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

• Financial Year: Every company's financial year will be the period ending on 31 March every
year.
• Rehabilitation and Liquidation Process: The entire rehabilitation and liquidation process of
the companies in financial crisis has been made time bound under CA 2013.

Important Committees in India for evolving Corporate Governance Standards

1. Rahul Bajaj Committee (1995): Formed by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) led
to a voluntary code called “Desirable Corporate Governance” in 1998. Amidst its main
recommendation were:
• Any listed company with a turnover of Rs. 1000 million and above should have
professionally competent and acclaimed non-executive directors: at least 30% of the
board, if the chairman of the company is a non-executive director or at least 50% of the
board if the chairman and managing director is the same person.
• Non-executive directors to play an important role in decision-making, protecting
shareholder interests etc.
2. Kumarmanlagam Birla Committee Report (2000): Set-up by the SEBI to cover the issues
such as protection of investor interest, promotion of transparency, building international
standards in terms of disclosure of information.
It divided its recommendation in mandatory (applies to the listed companies with paid up share
capital of 3 crore and above) and non-mandatory provisions. Major recommendations were:
• Board of directors should be optimum combination of executive & non-executive
directors
• Audit committee should contain 3 independent directors with one having financial and
accounting knowledge
• Setting up Remuneration committee
• Board to have at least 4 meetings in a year with maximum gap of 4 months between 2
meetings
• Director shall not be a member of more than 10 committees and shall not act as
chairman of more than 5 committees across all companies
The SEBI implemented the recommendations of the Birla committee through the
enactment of Clause 49.
3. Naresh Chandra Committee Report: It extensively covered Auditor-company relationship.
It recommended:
• Certification of annual audited account by CEO and CFO
• Proposed disciplinary mechanism for auditors.
• 50% of directors to be independent directors.
4. R. Narayana Murthy Committee (2003): The committee was set up by SEBI to review the
performance of corporate governance in India and make appropriate recommendations. Main
recommendations:
• Strengthening the responsibilities of audit committees with at least one member having
good 'finance knowledge' and one with accounting or financial management
proficiency.
• Proceedings from IPOs to be disclosed to the Audit committees.
• Board of Company to mandatorily lay down the Code of Conduct for all board
members.
• Improved disclosures relating to compensation paid to non-executive directors

7|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Issues which continue to plague Corporate Governance in India

Three areas are of particular importance for corporate governance – finance, audit and corporate law
(which ensures compliance with regulations). And all these areas have been suffering for some or
other reasons.
• Independent Directors role: Even after SEBI guidelines, role of independent director is far
from the actual position as envisaged. They continue to either be passive or toe the line of
promoters.
• Failure to protect investor’s interests: From Satyam saga to ICICI case, the board failed in
its fiduciary role to protect investor’s interest.
• Stakeholder Rights: Many frauds (PNB scam etc) shows that it not only ignores shareholder's
interest but impact the society at large.
• Board performance: The requirement of at least one-woman director is necessary, and also
the balance of executive and non-executive directors is not maintained. Also, board has in many
cases fail to meet accountability standards. Ex- Role of the Board in hurriedly giving a clean
chit to ICICI bank CEO without the results of an independent investigation.
• Risk Management: As part of companies’ operation risk management finds itself lowest in
priority.
• Subjective interpretation of the idea of corporate governance has led to many issues.
• Protection of Minority stakeholders has emerged as big concern as evident even in Tata-
Mistry case.
• Founder's control and succession planning: Irrespective of legal processes or other
limitations, founders continue to have huge role, thereby giving rise to many instances of
conflict of interest and the matter going to courts frequently.
• Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The companies seem to be reluctant
towards making such investments.
Understanding the role of CG through major failure of Corporate Governance in India
1. Harshad Mehta case: Role of regulator was the major cause which led to massive stock manipulation
and finally led to major reforms in SEBI.
2. Satyam scam: It was example of Fudging of accounts, hiding detail etc. to show company in good
financial health leading to huge losses for shareholders. It was also failure of auditing as was done by
independent auditors from PwC.
3. PNB fraud:
➢ PNB fraud was failure of clause 49 of SEBI listing agreement which provides for Board to provide
the strategic guidance to the company, ensure effective monitoring of the management and should
be accountable to the company and the shareholders.
➢ The board also failed in task of ensuring the integrity of the company’s accounting and financial
reporting systems, including independent audit and putting in place appropriate systems of control –
for risk management, financial and operational control, and compliance with the law and relevant
standards.
➢ PNB's audit committee was not headed by a person having accounting or financial management
expertise.
4. ICICI case: It was a clear-cut case of “Conflict of interest”, which was worsened by failure of the CG in
investigation stage when the board tried to hurriedly give clearance to Chanda Kochchar.
5. Infosys Issue: Promoters and founders pressure cited by Vishal Sikka led to fall in stock value causing
loss to stakeholders. Independence and control of board was severely questioned in whole saga. It also
highlighted the issue of “succession pipeline” in Indian businesses.
6. Tata Case: Role of promoter as well as protection of minority shareholder emerged as major issues.

8|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Recommendations of Uday Kotak Committee

In light of Tata and Infosys corporate governance episodes, SEBI appointed Uday Kotak panel to
enhance corporate governance in India. Its major recommendations include:
➢ Separation of role of chairman and MD of listed firms and chairmanship to non-executive
director. (Issue: False comfort as chairman will be dependent of promoters for appointment,
pay and removal)
➢ Minimum board strength in a listed company to be at least six directors.
➢ At least one independent director be a woman.
➢ At least half of the members to be independent directors.
➢ It also proposed that directors attend at least half the total board meetings held in a financial
year. If they fail to do so, they would require shareholders’ nod for continuing.
➢ Minimum 5 board meetings to be held each year.
➢ An independent director cannot be in more than eight listed companies and a managing
director can hold the post of an independent director in only three listed companies.
➢ Every board meeting would require the presence of an independent director.
➢ Detailed reasons would
need to be furnished when The Cadbury Committee formulated a Code of Best Practice in
an independent director four parts for compliance by the boards of all the listed
resigns. This is to ensure that companies:
they remain independent of
the company management. Board of Directors: The board to meet regularly, retain full and
➢ An audit committee is being effective control over the company and monitor the executive
proposed with the mandate to management; division of responsibilities so that no one individual
look into utilization of funds has unfettered powers of decision. Where the chairman is also the
infused by a listed entity into chief executive, there should be a strong and independent member
unlisted subsidiaries on the board.
including foreign Non-Executive Directors: The non-executive directors should
subsidiaries. bring an independent judgement to bear on issues of strategy,
➢ The committee has also performance, resources, including key appointments, and standards
recommended that SEBI of conduct. The majority of non-executive directors should be
should have clear powers to independent of management.
act against auditors under
the securities law. Financial Reporting and Controls: The board should present a
➢ For government balanced and understandable assessment of the company’s
companies, the committee position. The financial reporting should give a true and fair picture.
has recommended that the
Dealing with the Rights and Responsibilities of Shareholders:
board have final say on the
The shareholders, as owners of the company, elect the directors to
appointment of independent
run the business on their behalf and hold them accountable for its
directors and not the nodal
progress. They appoint the auditors to provide an external check on
ministry.
the directors’ financial statements.
➢ Updated list of all credit
ratings at one place to make
it helpful for investors and stakeholders.
➢ Risk management and IT committee to be in place for top-500 listed companies.
SEBI accepted most of the recommendations of commission (Ex- enhanced disclosure norms, audit
committee, reducing no. of directors from 10 to 7 in phased manner, shareholder approval for making
royalty payments to related parties exceeding 2% of consolidated turnover).

9|Page
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Corporate Governance as Corporate Responsibility

This responsibility has various
dimensions. Mr Narayan Murthy view on Corporate
1. Towards itself: Being Responsibility
successful in endeavour, making
gains and peace of mind. Compassionate Capitalism: He talks of restrain on
2. Towards employees: Fair part of top executives to show a concern towards
remuneration, good work lower-level staff when it comes to salaries, perks etc.
culture and ambience, He talks of some minimum ratio of salary between
developing their stakes and different levels of staff.
protecting their interests.
He says compassionate capitalism seeks to ensure
3. Towards shareholders: Protect
democratisation of wealth.
shareholders’ money and
interest, transparency and
accountability in decision-making
4. Towards state: Adhere to laws or legal framework in place and contribute in social and
economic development.
5. Towards consumers: Quality and standards of products at affordable price with grievance
redressal mechanism.
6. Towards environment: Sustainability as part of any project.
7. Social responsibility: Being part of the society, its role in supporting and working for society.
How good Corporate Governance can help Corporates?
1. Corporate governance can help companies financially in the following ways:
➢ Improving corporate performance
➢ Attracting financial and human resources
➢ Tapping International financial markets
➢ Managing risks
➢ Avoiding corporate failure.
2. Brand Image: It also builds a brand image of company which automatically attract investors
as well as consumers for its fair, transparent functioning.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Stakeholders exist both within a firm and outside. The natural environment is a stakeholder.
The wider aim of social responsibility is to create higher and higher standards of living, while
preserving the profitability of the corporation, for people both within and outside the corporation.
It is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic
development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as local
community and society at large.
India was the one of the first countries in the world to impose a statutory obligation of CSR for
corporations meeting certain criteria. A total of INR 71, 277 Cr have been spent on 1,05,358 CSR
projects till FY2019. The top three domains receiving maximum funding are education, health and
rural development. Another area receiving significant funding is environmental sustainability.
3P’s of CSR (Triple Bottom Line Approach)
Under this, the companies should commit to focusing as much on social and environmental concerns as
they do on profits. i.e., instead of one bottom line, there should be three: profit, people, and the planet.
It seeks to gauge seeks to gauge a corporation's level of commitment to corporate social responsibility
and its impact on the environment over time.
People + Planet = Social + Environmental Responsibility.

10 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

➢ Profit: This is the traditional measure of corporate profit—the profit and loss (P&L) account.
➢ People: This measure how socially responsible an organization has been throughout its history.
➢ Planet: This measure how environmentally responsible a firm has been.
Destruction of the rainforest, Damage to the ozone layer, Concentration of wealth and recent climate
change are cited as prominent examples of ignoring TBL.
Corporate Social Responsibility has a strategic importance for two reasons:
➢ A healthy business can only succeed in a healthy society. Thus, it is in the best interest of a
company to produce only goods and services which strengthen the health of society.
➢ If the company wants to succeed in the long term, it needs to have the acceptance—or licence
to operate—from social actors affected by the company’s operations.

CSR in Companies Act 2013

Sec 134 which deals with the CSR says:
1. Every company having net worth of rupees five hundred crore or more, or turnover of
rupees one thousand crore or more or a net profit of rupees five crore or more during any
financial year shall constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board
consisting of three or more directors, out of which at least one director shall be an independent
director.
2. The Board's report under sub-section (3) of section 134 shall disclose the composition of the
Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.
3. The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee shall, —
(a) formulate and recommend to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy which
shall indicate the activities to be undertaken by the company as specified in Schedule VII
(b) recommend the amount of expenditure to be incurred on the activities referred
to in clause (a) and
(c) monitor the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of the company from time to time.
4. The Board of every company referred to in sub-section (1) shall, —
(a) after taking into account the recommendations made by the Corporate Social
Responsibility Committee, approve the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for the
company and disclose contents of such Policy in its report and also place it on the
company's website, if any, in such manner as may be prescribed; and
(b) ensure that the activities as are included in Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of the
company are undertaken by the company.
5. The Board of every company referred to in sub-section (1), shall ensure that the, company
spends, in every financial year, at least two per cent of the average net profits of the
company made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its
Corporate Social Responsibility Policy:

11 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

➢ Provided that the company shall give preference to the local area and areas around it where
it operates, for spending the amount earmarked for Corporate Social Responsibility activities
➢ Provided further that if the company fails to spend such amount, the Board shall, in its report
made under clause (o) of sub-section (3) of section 134, specify the reasons for not spending
the amount.
6. The activities that can be undertaken by a company to fulfil its CSR obligations include:
➢ eradicating hunger
➢ poverty
➢ Malnutrition
➢ promoting preventive healthcare,
➢ promoting education
➢ promoting gender equality,
➢ setting up homes for women, orphans and the senior citizens,
➢ measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups,
➢ Ensuring environmental sustainability and ecological balance,
➢ Animal welfare
➢ Protection of National heritage and art and culture
➢ Measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents,
➢ Training to promote rural, nationally recognized, Paralympic or Olympic sports,
contribution to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the
Central Government for socio economic development and relief and welfare of SC, ST,
OBCs, minorities and women, contributions or funds provided to technology incubators
located within academic institutions approved by the Central Government and rural
development projects.
Note: Recent changes to CSR norms allow companies to undertake multi-year projects, and also
require that all CSR implementing agencies be registered with the government i.e., Companies can set
off CSR expenditure above the required 2 per cent expenditure in any fiscal year against required
expenditure for up to three financial years.

Good examples of CSR

Axis Bank
The Axis Bank Foundation runs Balwadis which are learning places for children living in
large urban slum clusters. It also conducts skill development programmes (PREMA and
Yuva Parivartan) in motor driving, welding, mobile repairing, tailoring etc, for the youth in
backward districts.
Ashok Leyland
Operates a FunBus in Chennai and New Delhi. This bus, equipped with a hydraulic lift,
takes differently abled children and those from orphanages and corporation primary schools
on a day’s picnic. The company also runs AIDS awareness and prevention programmes in
its Hosur factories for about 3.5 lakh drivers.
Tata Consultancy Services
Its Computer Based Functional Literacy (CBFL) initiative providing adult literacy has
already benefitted 1.2 lakh people.

Challenges of CSR in India

➢ Backward Districts/States: It has been observed that the CSR expenditure on the country’s
most backward districts that require maximum CSR support, remains small. Ex- significant
amounts of funding go to higher industrialized states. Since FY 2015, Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have received more than 30 per cent of the total CSR spend. States
such as Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh which account for

12 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

more than 55 per cent of the aspirational districts (states with poor socio-economic indicators),
receive only 9 percent of the total expenditure towards CSR.
➢ One time activity: Instead of engaging with communities to uplift them, companies do a one-
time cheque-signing exercise by transferring CSR funds to government programmes such as
Prime Minister’s Relief Fund or PM-CARES.
➢ Non-compliance: The Registrar of Companies serves notices on a regular basis for non-
compliance with CSR expenditure.
➢ Lack of Community Participation in CSR Activities: Awareness efforts and including locals
in CSR ambit is largely missing.
➢ Issues of Transparency:
Companies say that there exists According to the Report of the High-Level
lack of transparency on the part of Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility
the local implementing agencies 2018, the number of reporting companies that carry
as they do not make adequate CSR obligation has steadily increased in 2014-15
efforts to disclose information on to 2016-17 and then declined in the year 2017-18.
their programs, audit issues, The total CSR expenditure by these companies
impact assessment and utilization increased substantially by 44 per cent from 2014-
of funds. 16 and thereafter marginally declined in 2016-17.
➢ Narrow Perception towards
CSR Initiatives.
➢ According to a survey conducted by ItInvest India:
has also beenkey obstacles
observed faced
that theby companies
average spendinclude:
logistical challenges (39 per cent), inadequate clarity regarding the ambit of
by a government enterprise on CSR varied CSR (21 per cent),
and lack of due diligence on implementation
betweenprojects
INR 8-10(14Crper
percent).
company between 2014-
➢ Some area not given attention under15CSR initiatives: Slum Area
to 2017-18 whereas the average Development,
spend byTechnology
a
Incubator and benefits to Armed Forces and Admin Overheads.
private company steadily increased from INR 72
Lakh per company in 2014-15 to INR 95 Lakh per
company in the year 2017-18.

13 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

Ideal CSR projects and future response should include:

1. Centrality: CSR projects should be done with the centrality of the company’s aims and
objectives in mind. It gives companies goal alignment with the social responsibility.
2. Specificity: The projects should have specificity in sectors concerning the locality (primarily
where companies are based).
3. Proactive: The approach should be one of pro-activeness and not passive one like donating
funds in PM CARES, Disaster fund as part of CSR.
4. Voluntariness: CSR is not only good for people and society. It benefits companies brand value
as well. Its greatest example of acceptability of Tata’s product in India. Thus, companies must
take voluntary approach, rather than Govt mandating what it should do as part of CSR.
5. Visibility: The projects should be given due visibility which is good for awareness generation
as well as benefit company’s image.
CSR and Covid-19 Response

Corporate Responsibility Carrol’s Model

Carroll (1991) organized different corporate social responsibilities as a four-layered pyramid model
and called it the ‘pyramid of responsibilities.’ The model says that each part should be seen together
and not separately. These are:
1. Economic Responsibility: Required by simple economics, this obligation is the business
version of the human survival instinct. Companies that don’t make profits are—in a modern
market economy—doomed to perish.
2. Legal Responsibility: The responsibility to obey the letter and the spirit of the law. This is not
just the obligation to follow the law as it is written, but "this obligation must be understood as
a proactive duty”.

14 | P a g e
 WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

That is, laws aren’t boundaries that enterprises skirt and cross over if the penalty is low; instead,
responsible organizations accept the rules as a social good and make good faith efforts to obey
not just the letter but also the spirit of the limits.
3. Ethical Responsibility: The Ethical Responsibility is the responsibility to do the right thing
even when neither the spirit nor the letter of the law applies to the situation. This is a key
obligation, and it requires the firm to act as any other citizen must. We might make allusions to
the Good Samaritan or to handing our change to someone who asks for it on the street, but the
core of the responsibility is that firms ought to act like persons who live in a civil community.
This requires that we view firms (and that they view themselves) as responsible members in a
community.
The difference of the ethical responsibilities from the first two responsibilities is that the ethical
responsibilities are not required but expected by society. To assert ethical leadership,
avoiding questionable practices or operating above the minimum standard of the law should be
the approach.
4. Philanthropic Responsibility: The Philanthropic Responsibility, is a responsibility "to
contribute to society's projects even when they're independent of the particular business." This
responsibility requires the business person to do some things which stem from generosity
towards the community that they exist in. This is likely to be a controversial requirement, but
it speaks to the connections between the community and the firm. "

CSR Outlook as per Prominent Industrialists

Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro limited: Corporate Social Responsibility aims at
fundamental social development. In Indian context, it means an attempt to realize the vision of
just, humane and equitable society and where every action, however small, is driven by this
larger vision, that is real social action.
Ratan. J. Tata, Chairman, Tata Group: The developing world has two options. The first is to
sit back and react when problem arises. The second is to act as a conscious citizen and rise above
our vested interest for the sake of future generation, so that the history does not record that we
have deprived them of their livelihood.
Narayana Murthy, Infosys Founder: Social Responsibility is to create maximum shareholder
value working under the circumstances, where it is fair to all the stakeholders, workers,
consumers, community, government and the environment.

15 | P a g e
WWW.OPTIMIZEIAS.COM

16 | P a g e
 www.optimizeias.com

MAINS MASTER NOTES

SUBJECT: ETHICS

TOPIC: PUBLIC/CIVIL SERVICE VALUES AND ETHICS IN PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION: STATUS AND PROBLEMS

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow
Optimize IAS telegram channel

1
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CIVIL SERVICE VALUES AND ETHICS ...................................................................................................... 4

CURRENT STATUS OF ETHICAL ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA .................................................................... 5

ETHICAL CONCERNS AND DILEMMAS IN GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS............................. 7

ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN INDIAN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS ................................................................ 7

LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS AND CONSCIENCE AS SOURCES OF ETHICAL GUIDANCE.......................... 12

3
 PUBLIC/CIVIL SERVICE VALUES AND ETHICS IN PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION: STATUS AND PROBLEMS
CIVIL SERVICE VALUES AND ETHICS
Civil service values are the fundamental principles and ideals that guide the conduct and behaviour of
individuals working in the public sector. These values serve as the moral foundation for public servants and
provide a framework for carrying out their duties with integrity, accountability, and a commitment to the
public good. Understanding and adhering to civil service values is crucial for upholding the principles of good
governance.

Seven principles of public life Nolan Committee

The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a
public office-holder.

Selflessness
Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

Integrity
Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that
might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to
gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and
resolve any interests and relationships.

Objectivity
Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence
and without discrimination or bias.
Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit
themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

Openness
Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should
not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

Honesty
Holders of public office should be truthful.

Leadership
Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect.
They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it
occurs
The salient ‘values’ envisaged in the draft ‘Public Service Bill’ are:
● Allegiance to the various ideals enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution
● Apolitical functioning (political neutrality)
● Good governance for betterment of the people to be the primary goal of civil service
● Duty to act objectively and impartially
● Accountability and transparency in decision-making
● Maintenance of highest ethical standards
● Merit to be the criteria in selection of civil servants consistent, however, with the cultural, ethnic and
other diversities of the nation
4
 ● Ensuring economy and avoidance of wastage in expenditure
● Provision of healthy and congenial work environment

“In the happiness of his subjects lies the happiness of the king” – Kautilya.

Administrative ethics refers to the moral principles and values that guide the behaviour and decision-
making of individuals and organisations involved in administrative roles within the public and private sectors.
It serves as a foundation for promoting integrity, responsibility, and accountability in administrative practices.
Similarly, ethics in public administration refers to the moral principles and values that guide the behaviour
and conduct of civil servants while performing their duties. Ethics in public administration encompasses:

● Public Trust and Accountability: Upholding ethical standards is essential to maintain public trust.
Administrators are held accountable for their actions, and adherence to ethical principles helps ensure
transparency and fairness.
● Avoiding Conflicts of Interest: Administrators should prioritise the public or organisational interest
over personal gain or external affiliations. This helps in preventing corruption and ensuring
impartiality.
● Protection of Sensitive Information: In administrative roles, individuals often have access to
sensitive information. Ethical conduct involves respecting confidentiality and safeguarding
information from unauthorised disclosure, which is crucial for maintaining security and trust.
● Rule of Law and Compliance: Administrators are expected to act within the boundaries of established
legal frameworks, ensuring that their actions are consistent with legal standards and principles of
justice.
● Responsibility and Accountability: Ethical administrators take responsibility for their actions and
decisions. They are willing to answer for their choices and their impact on their organisation,
community, or the public at large.
● Ethical Decision-Making: Ethical decision-making often involves weighing the consequences of
actions and assessing whether they align with established ethical norms and values.
● Promotion of Organisational Culture: Ethical administrators play a vital role in shaping the culture
of their organisations. By modelling ethical behaviour and promoting a culture of integrity, they
influence the behaviour and values of their colleagues and subordinates.

The Draft Public Services Bill, 2007 proposes the necessary first step towards evolving a code of ethics
• The Public Service and the Public Servants shall be guided by the following values in the discharge of
their functions:
• Patriotism and upholding national pride
• Allegiance to the Constitution and the law of the nation
• Objectivity, impartiality, honesty, diligence, courtesy and transparency
• Maintain absolute integrity

CURRENT STATUS OF ETHICAL ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA

Legislative Framework- India has a robust legislative framework that emphasises ethics in public
administration. The Indian Constitution lays down fundamental principles, and various laws, codes of conduct,
and regulations are in place to ensure ethical behaviour.

Anti-Corruption Measures- India has taken several steps to combat corruption, including the establishment
of anti-corruption bodies such as the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Lokpal at the central level,
and State Vigilance Commissions at the state level. The Right to Information Act (RTI) allows citizens to
access government records, which promotes transparency and accountability.

5
Whistleblower Protection- The Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014, is aimed at safeguarding individuals
who expose corruption and wrongdoing in the government. This legislation encourages ethical behaviour by
offering protection to those who report unethical conduct.

Digitalization and Transparency- There has been a continuous focus on the Digital India program and e-
governance initiatives which have improved transparency in public administration by reducing physical
contact with government officials and providing online services.

Training and Capacity Building- Training programs for civil servants often include modules on ethics and
values in public administration to instil a sense of responsibility and accountability.

Public Awareness and Activism- There is a growing awareness among the Indian public regarding their
rights and expectations from public administration. Citizen activism and social media play a role in holding
public officials accountable for their actions.

Codes of conduct
There are well-defined codes of conduct for public servants, including the All India Services (IAS, IPS, IRS),
which require adherence to ethical principles and integrity.

Problems in Public Administration

● Corruption remains a significant challenge in Indian public administration. Bureaucratic corruption,
bribery, and embezzlement of public funds continue to undermine public trust.
● Political Interference- There are concerns about undue political interference in administrative
decisions, which can compromise the autonomy of civil servants and their ability to act in the public
interest.
● The bureaucratic red tape and slow decision-making processes contribute to inefficiency and can
sometimes lead to unethical practices.
● Accountability Issues- There is a need for greater accountability in public administration. In some
cases, public officials found guilty of misconduct may not face adequate consequences, perpetuating
unethical behaviour.
● Transparency Challenges- Although there have been improvements in transparency, there are still
challenges related to the implementation of the RTI Act and access to information from certain
government bodies.
● Ethical Dilemmas- Civil servants often face ethical dilemmas, balancing political pressures with their
duty to uphold the rule of law and serve the public interest.
● There is a need for more comprehensive training and education on ethics and values in public
administration, both for new recruits and experienced civil servants.
● Overburdened Judicial System- The Indian judicial system is overburdened, leading to delays in the
resolution of cases, which can sometimes create ethical dilemmas for administrators who must make
decisions without timely legal guidance.
● Inefficiency and inadequate service delivery in various government sectors, including healthcare
and education, are a concern.

It's important to recognize that India has made significant efforts to address these challenges through various
anti-corruption measures, administrative reforms, and initiatives to promote ethical conduct. However,
tackling these issues requires sustained efforts, both in terms of legislative changes and the consistent
implementation of ethical principles throughout the administrative system. Public awareness, education, and
civil society engagement are crucial elements in fostering ethical administration in India.

6
ETHICAL CONCERNS AND DILEMMAS IN GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS:

An ethical concern is a situation or issue that raises questions or considerations about what is morally
right or wrong. It is a matter that gives rise to ethical scrutiny, often involving judgments about what actions
or behaviours align with ethical principles and values.

For example, an ethical concern in a business context might be whether to market a product in a way that
might be technically legal but is seen as deceptive by some customers.

An ethical dilemma is a specific type of ethical concern that involves a situation in which a person faces a
choice between two or more morally conflicting options, and each choice has both positive and negative
consequences. In ethical dilemmas, making a decision typically means compromising one ethical principle or
value to uphold another. These situations can be challenging because they require individuals to carefully
consider and balance conflicting moral obligations.

For example, a healthcare professional might face an ethical dilemma when they must decide whether to
respect a patient's request for confidentiality (a value of privacy and trust) or disclose information to prevent
harm to others (a value of public safety).

In summary, while an ethical concern is a general issue that raises questions about what is ethically right or
wrong, an ethical dilemma is a specific situation in which a person must choose between conflicting ethical
principles or values, knowing that any choice will involve a compromise. Ethical dilemmas often require
careful ethical reasoning to navigate.

Ethical Concerns in Indian Government Institutions:

● Corruption and Bribery: One of the most significant ethical concerns in Indian government
institutions is the prevalence of corruption and bribery. Officials may face pressures to accept bribes
or engage in corrupt practices, compromising their integrity and the public trust.
● Political Interference: Civil servants often face dilemmas when political pressure conflicts with their
obligation to make impartial and objective decisions in the public interest.
● Nepotism and Favouritism: Nepotism and favouritism can undermine meritocracy and fairness in
government institutions. Appointments or promotions based on personal relationships rather than
qualifications raise ethical concerns about transparency and equal opportunity.
● Transparency and Accountability: Ensuring transparency and accountability in government actions
and decisions is a persistent challenge. Concealing information, failing to disclose conflicts of interest,
or bypassing accountability mechanisms can lead to ethical concerns about responsible governance.
● Resource Allocation: Deciding how to allocate limited resources among competing needs can be a
delicate balance between fairness and effectiveness.
● Red Tape and Bureaucratic Delays: Bureaucratic red tape and inefficiency can lead to ethical
concerns when citizens or businesses resort to bribery or other unethical means to expedite processes
due to inordinate delays.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN INDIAN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

What is an Ethical Dilemma?

Ethical dilemmas are situations in which a person is faced with a difficult choice between two or more
conflicting moral principles, values, or obligations. These dilemmas often involve situations where there is
no clear or easy solution, and the person must weigh the potential consequences of their actions on
multiple ethical dimensions. Ethical dilemmas are a common aspect of human life and can be found in
various personal, professional, and societal contexts. Here are some key characteristics of ethical dilemmas:

7
Conflict of Values: Ethical dilemmas arise when a person's values, principles, or beliefs come into conflict.
They may have strong convictions or obligations in more than one direction, and choosing one course of action
may mean compromising another.

No Obvious Right Answer: In many cases, ethical dilemmas do not have a straightforward or universally
accepted right answer. They require careful consideration and thoughtful decision-making.

Complexity: Ethical dilemmas are often complex and multifaceted. They may involve multiple stakeholders,
competing interests, and uncertain outcomes.

Moral Consequences: The choices made in ethical dilemmas can have significant moral consequences,
impacting one's character, relationships, and sense of integrity.

Emotional Distress: Dealing with ethical dilemmas can be emotionally challenging. Individuals may
experience guilt, anxiety, or moral discomfort as they grapple with the decision.

No Escape from Responsibility: In ethical dilemmas, one cannot simply avoid making a decision or pass the
responsibility to someone else. Decisions must be made, and inaction can also carry moral consequences.

Examples of ethical dilemmas can include:

• A healthcare professional who is asked to administer a treatment they believe is morally wrong.
• A business executive facing a choice between profitability and environmental responsibility.
• A journalist deciding whether to reveal a confidential source to protect national security.
• A person torn between loyalty to a friend and reporting unethical behavior in the workplace.

Resolving ethical dilemmas often involves careful ethical reasoning, consultation with trusted individuals or
experts, and an understanding of the broader context and potential consequences of each choice. Ethical
theories and principles, such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, can also be used as frameworks
for decision-making in such situations. Ultimately, the resolution of an ethical dilemma may vary from person
to person, and the process of grappling with these dilemma

Ethical Dilemmas in Indian Government Institutions:

● Political Loyalty vs. Public Interest- Public servants face dilemmas when their loyalty to political
authorities’ conflicts with their duty to serve the public interest impartially. They must navigate the
line between adhering to political directives and upholding ethical principles.
● Confidentiality vs. Whistleblowing- Public servants may encounter dilemmas concerning the
confidentiality of sensitive information versus their ethical responsibility to blow the whistle on
corruption or wrongdoing. Balancing the need for transparency and the duty to protect classified
information can be challenging.
● Ethical Conduct vs. Peer Pressure- Employees sometimes face ethical dilemmas when colleagues
or superiors engage in unethical behaviour. Choosing to report such behaviour or confronting peers
can be challenging, as it may have personal and professional consequences.
● Merit-Based Recruitment vs. Political Appointments- Balancing competency with political
considerations can be ethically complex. Public officials tasked with recruitment may experience
dilemmas when they must choose between merit-based hiring and political appointments.
● Service Delivery vs. Regulatory Compliance- Government agencies responsible for service delivery
may encounter ethical dilemmas when they must balance providing essential services with adhering to
complex regulatory requirements. Meeting citizens' immediate needs versus upholding the rule of law
can be ethically challenging.
● Accountability towards public vs service obligation- What should an employee do when they
encounter signs of deliberate inefficiency, shielding of incompetence, excessive and irrational use of

8
 public funds, the utilisation of government equipment and machinery for personal purposes, and the
application of subjective criteria in recruitment or in the allocation of government grants or licences?

Ethical dilemmas can be emotionally and intellectually challenging, as they require careful consideration of
the consequences and the principles at stake. Resolving ethical dilemmas often involves a thoughtful
evaluation of the available options, consideration of the potential harm and benefit associated with each
choice, and an attempt to find a balance that aligns with one's moral principles and values. The ultimate
decision may not always be perfect, but it should reflect a sincere effort to navigate the complexities of
competing ethical concerns.

"Ethics must begin at the top of an organisation. It is a leadership issue and the chief executive must set an
example." - Edward Hennessy

Ethical Concerns and dilemmas in Private Institutions:

● Unethical Business Practices- Private companies may engage in unethical practices such as price-
fixing, insider trading, or false advertising, which can harm customers, competitors, and the
integrity of the market.
● Exploitative Employment Practices- Concerns can arise regarding how private institutions treat their
employees. This includes issues related to low wages, poor working conditions, or unfair labour
practices.
● Environmental Impact- Companies' ethical responsibilities regarding environmental sustainability
and resource management are a growing concern. Failure to address these issues can lead to negative
ecological and societal consequences.
● Data Privacy and Security- Private institutions often handle sensitive customer data. Data breaches,
mismanagement of personal information, or unethical data collection practices are common ethical
concerns.
● Product Safety- Ethical concerns may arise when private companies prioritise profit over the safety
and well-being of consumers by producing substandard or unsafe products.
● Social Responsibility- Private institutions have a growing ethical responsibility to address social
issues such as diversity, inclusion, and community development. Failing to do so can result in concerns
about a lack of corporate social responsibility.

1. Profit Maximization vs. Ethical Practices- Balancing the pursuit of financial gain with social and
environmental responsibility and deciding between maximising profits and adhering to ethical
principles can be challenging.
2. Confidentiality vs. Whistleblowing- Deciding whether to maintain confidentiality or blow the whistle
on wrongdoing can be ethically complex. The ethical dilemma arises when an individual is privy to
confidential information that reveals unethical, illegal, or harmful behaviour within their organisation.
The individual must balance the duty to maintain confidentiality with the moral obligation to report
misconduct and protect others.
3. Resource Allocation Dilemma- Private institutions may face dilemmas when allocating limited
resources among various stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, and community initiatives.
Finding the right balance can be ethically challenging.
4. Employee Loyalty vs. Reporting Unethical Conduct- Workers can face ethical dilemmas when they
must choose between loyalty to their employer and reporting unethical actions by their colleagues or
superiors. Deciding to act in the best interests of the organisation versus personal integrity can be
difficult.
5. Compliance with Regulations vs. Ethical Behaviour- Companies may encounter dilemmas when
deciding whether to follow the letter of the law or engage in ethical behaviour that goes beyond legal
requirements. Balancing legal compliance with ethical responsibilities is an ongoing challenge.
6. Corporate Transparency vs. Proprietary Information- Private institutions must decide how
transparent they should be with stakeholders about their operations and decision-making processes.
9
 Balancing the need for transparency with the protection of proprietary information and trade secrets
can present dilemmas.

It's important for private institutions to establish clear codes of ethics, promote a culture of ethical behaviour,
and provide employees with guidance on how to navigate ethical dilemmas. Demonstrating a commitment to
ethical principles not only benefits the organisation's reputation but also fosters trust with customers,
employees, and the wider community.

How to deal with Ethical Dilemma

Resolving an ethical dilemma can be a challenging process, as it often involves navigating conflicting values,
principles, and obligations. While there may not always be a perfect solution, you can approach ethical
dilemmas systematically by considering the following steps:

Identify and Define the Dilemma: Clearly articulate the ethical dilemma you are facing. Describe the
conflicting values, principles, or obligations at the heart of the issue. This step is essential for a thorough
understanding of the problem.

Gather Information: Collect all relevant facts and information about the situation. Make sure you have a
comprehensive understanding of the context, stakeholders involved, and the potential consequences of your
actions.

Consult Trusted Advisors: Seek input and advice from trusted friends, family members, mentors, or
colleagues who can provide different perspectives and insights. They may help you see aspects of the dilemma
that you hadn't considered.

Examine Ethical Frameworks: Consider applying ethical theories and principles to your dilemma. Common
ethical frameworks include utilitarianism (maximizing overall happiness), deontology (duty-based ethics), and
virtue ethics (focus on character and virtues). These frameworks can provide structured ways to analyze the
situation.

Consider Long-Term Implications: Think about the long-term consequences of each potential course of
action. Consider how your decision will impact your values, relationships, and the well-being of all
stakeholders involved.

Balance Autonomy and Responsibility: Assess your personal autonomy and responsibility in the situation.
Balance your right to make your own choices with the ethical obligations you may have towards others.

Look for Compromise: Sometimes, ethical dilemmas can be resolved through compromise or finding a
middle ground that respects the conflicting values to some extent. Seek solutions that minimize harm and
promote the greater good as much as possible.

Reflect on Personal Values: Reflect on your own core values and priorities. What is most important to you
in this situation, and how do your choices align with your values?

Consider Legal and Professional Obligations: If the ethical dilemma is in a professional context, consult
legal and professional codes of conduct or ethics. Ensure your decision is compliant with relevant regulations
and standards.

Test Your Decision: Ask yourself how comfortable you are with the decision you are leaning toward. If you
feel a significant level of moral discomfort, it may be worth revisiting your options.

10
Seek Ethical Clarity: Engage in open and honest conversations with those directly affected by your decision.
Communicate your rationale and consider their perspective. This can lead to better understanding and
acceptance of your choice.

Document Your Decision: If it is a professional context or a situation with legal implications, document your
decision and the reasoning behind it. This can provide a record of your ethical reasoning and help you be
accountable for your actions.

Take Action: Once you have carefully considered your options, make a decision and act on it. Accept that no
choice may be perfect, but make the decision that aligns most closely with your values and principles.

Learn and Adapt: After taking action, evaluate the outcomes and learn from the experience. Use it as an
opportunity for personal and ethical growth, and be open to adjusting your approach if needed in the future.

It's important to recognize that ethical dilemmas can be complex, and there may not always be a clear-cut
answer that satisfies everyone. The process of resolving ethical dilemmas often involves a great deal of
reflection, moral reasoning, and a willingness to accept the complexity of ethical decision-making.

11
LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS AND CONSCIENCE AS SOURCES OF ETHICAL GUIDANCE.

Laws, rules, and regulations are distinct types of guidelines that govern behaviour in various contexts,
but they differ in terms of scope, authority, and enforcement. Here's a differentiation between these terms:

Laws
● Scope
○ Broad Applicability- Laws are applicable to all individuals, organisations, and entities within
the jurisdiction, regardless of profession or sector.
● Enforcement
○ Legally Binding- They are legally binding, and non-compliance can result in penalties, fines,
imprisonment, or other legal consequences.
● Creation and Modification
○ Formal Legislation- Laws are typically created through a formal legislative process, involving
elected representatives or government officials.
○ Amendment Process- Laws can be amended or repealed through legislative procedures, often
involving public debate and approval.

Rules
● Scope
○ Specific Applicability- They apply to members, employees, or participants within the specific
organisation or group.
● Enforcement
○ Internal Enforcement- Enforcement of rules is typically handled by the organisation, and non-
compliance may result in disciplinary actions, warnings, or expulsion.
● Creation and Modification
○ Internal Decision-Making- Rules are developed and modified by the organisation or group,
often through a process that reflects its internal governance structure.
○ Adaptation to Needs- Rules can be customised to address specific issues or requirements within
the organisation or group.

Regulations
● Scope
○ Applicability to Regulated Entities- They apply to entities operating within the regulated sector,
such as businesses, professionals, or organisations.
● Enforcement
○ Enforcement by Authorities- Violations of regulations can result in penalties, fines, revocation
of licences, or other regulatory actions.
● Creation and Modification
○ Industry or Sector Specific- Regulations are standards established by governmental or
regulatory authorities to govern behaviour within specific industries, sectors, or areas of
activity, such as finance, healthcare, or environmental protection. Regulations are typically
established by government agencies, often following public consultations and expert input.
○ Alignment with Laws- Regulations must align with and complement existing laws within the
legal framework of the jurisdiction.

Thus, laws are broad and legally binding rules established by governments, rules are internal guidelines
specific to organisations or groups, and regulations are sector-specific rules created and enforced by
government or regulatory authorities within a particular industry or sector. Each serves a unique function in
governing behaviour and ensuring compliance with standards and values.

12
Laws as Sources of Ethical Guidance:

1. Protection of Basic Rights- Laws often embody fundamental ethical principles, such as the protection
of human rights, civil liberties, and social justice. They reflect the values of a society and set legal
standards that individuals and institutions are expected to follow.
2. Deterrence and Enforcement- The existence of laws acts as a deterrent, discouraging individuals and
organisations from engaging in unethical behaviour.
3. Resolution of Conflicts- Laws provide a framework for resolving conflicts and disputes. Legal
processes and mechanisms are designed to ensure fairness, equity, and adherence to ethical principles
in resolving disagreements.
4. Consistency and Predictability- Legal systems create a consistent and predictable environment for
individuals and businesses, enabling them to make informed decisions based on established rules and
regulations.

Rules and Regulations as Sources of Ethical Guidance

1. Continuous Improvement- Rules and regulations are not static; they evolve to address emerging
ethical challenges and changing societal norms. This commitment to continuous improvement in
ethical standards ensures that organisations and professionals stay aligned with evolving ethical
expectations.
2. Expected behaviour within organisation- Rules and regulations are commonly established to govern
the internal conduct of organisations, institutions, and professional bodies. These internal codes of
conduct set the ethical tone for members and employees. By defining expected behaviour and standards
of ethics, they create a framework for maintaining ethical conduct within the entity.
3. Professional Ethics- In many professions, such as medicine, law, and engineering, professional bodies
have established codes of ethics and conduct. These rules guide practitioners in upholding ethical
principles while serving clients, patients, or the public.
4. Industry-Specific Standards- Rules and regulations are essential in industries where unique ethical
challenges or concerns exist. For example, financial institutions have established regulations to govern
ethical conduct to prevent fraud and protect investors.
a. Similarly, environmental regulations aim to ensure businesses operate responsibly and
minimise environmental impact.
5. Ethical Decision-Making- When individuals or organisations encounter complex ethical dilemmas,
they help individuals assess whether their actions align with established ethical standards and industry-
specific norms.
6. Accountability and Enforcement- Compliance with rules and regulations is often monitored and
enforced by the organisation, professional body, or regulatory authority. This ensures accountability
for ethical behaviour.
a. Violations can result in disciplinary actions, fines, or other penalties, creating a system that
holds individuals and entities responsible for their ethical conduct.
7. Public Trust- Adherence to rules and regulations enhances an organisation's reputation and fosters
public trust. When companies and professionals are known to follow industry-specific codes of ethics
and comply with sector-specific regulations, it builds credibility and trust with clients, customers, and
the public.

Conscience as a Source of Ethical Guidance:

• Conscience is an internal moral compass that guides an individual's decision-making and
behaviour based on their deeply held beliefs, values, and ethical principles.
• It is the inner voice that evaluates the rightness or wrongness of actions and decisions. Conscience
helps individuals distinguish between what is morally acceptable and what is not, often urging them
to act in alignment with their personal ethics.

13
Mahatma Gandhi serves as a compelling example of a strong and unwavering conscience. His conscience
guided him to lead the nonviolent struggle for India's independence from British colonial rule. His unwavering
commitment to nonviolence made him an advocate for social change, inspiring movements worldwide.

Here are some key aspects of the role of conscience in ethical decision-making:
Moral Awareness: Conscience helps individuals become aware of moral issues and dilemmas. It alerts them
to situations where ethical decisions need to be made by identifying actions or choices that may conflict with
their values.
Value Clarification: Conscience assists in clarifying an individual's values and beliefs. It prompts individuals
to reflect on what they consider to be right and wrong, helping them establish a foundation for their ethical
framework.
Moral Judgment: Conscience is involved in the process of moral judgment. It evaluates different options or
courses of action, assessing their alignment with one's values and principles. This judgment can influence the
decision-making process.
Moral Emotions: Conscience often evokes moral emotions, such as guilt, remorse, or satisfaction. When
individuals make ethical decisions that align with their conscience, they may experience positive emotions.
Conversely, unethical decisions can lead to negative emotions like guilt or shame.

Motivation for Virtuous Behavior: Conscience serves as a motivational force for individuals to act in
morally upright ways. It encourages them to do what they believe is right, even when it may be difficult or
inconvenient.
Ethical Development: Conscience plays a crucial role in personal and moral development. It can evolve and
become more sophisticated over time as individuals engage in ethical reflection and gain life experiences.
Social Accountability: In a broader sense, conscience contributes to the social fabric of ethical behavior. It
helps shape societal norms by guiding individuals to make choices that contribute to the greater good and
adhere to shared moral standards.
Influence on Decision-Making- It may evoke feelings of guilt, remorse, or satisfaction, depending on the
alignment of a decision with an individual's ethical values. When facing ethical dilemmas, individuals often
rely on their conscience to make choices that reflect their deepest ethical convictions.
Autonomy and Responsibility- It reinforces individual autonomy in ethical decision-making, urging
individuals to make choices that reflect their personal convictions.
Ethical Dilemmas- In situations where laws, rules, and regulations may not provide clear guidance,
conscience becomes particularly important. It helps individuals navigate moral dilemmas and make decisions
aligned with their personal ethics.
Reflection and Self-Examination- Conscience often requires self-reflection and introspection. This ongoing
process of reflection ensures that conscience remains an active and dynamic source of ethical guidance.

It's important to note that conscience can be influenced by cultural, societal, and individual factors. What
one person's conscience dictates as right or wrong may differ from another person's, depending on their
upbringing, culture, and personal experiences. As such, ethical decision-making is a complex process that
involves the interplay of conscience with other factors like reason, empathy, and societal norms. Additionally,
ethical decisions may also involve balancing conflicting values and principles, which can make the process
challenging.

Conscience acts as a highly personal source of ethical guidance by helping individuals evaluate the moral
dimensions of their decisions and actions. It provides a framework for determining right from wrong,
influences decision-making, reinforces personal responsibility, and assists in navigating complex ethical
dilemmas.
While shaped by cultural influences, conscience remains an integral part of an individual's ethical identity,
contributing to the cultivation of a sense of moral integrity and the pursuit of ethical conduct.

14
Crisis of conscience
A crisis of conscience, sometimes referred to as a moral or ethical crisis of conscience, occurs when an
individual is faced with a situation or decision that challenges their deeply held moral or ethical beliefs. It is
a state of internal conflict where one's principles, values, or sense of right and wrong are in tension with the
actions they are considering or have taken. This crisis can be a deeply distressing and perplexing experience
for the individual involved. Here are some key characteristics and examples of a crisis of conscience:

Ethical Dilemma: A crisis of conscience often arises when a person is confronted with an ethical dilemma, a
situation in which they must make a difficult choice between two or more conflicting moral principles or
values.

Values Conflict: This crisis may involve a conflict between an individual's personal values and their
professional or societal responsibilities. For example, a healthcare provider might face a crisis of conscience
when asked to participate in a medical procedure they believe is morally wrong.

Emotional Distress: Individuals experiencing a crisis of conscience may suffer emotional distress, including
feelings of guilt, anxiety, or moral discomfort. They may grapple with a sense of inner turmoil and a desire to
resolve the conflict.

Decision-Making Challenges: Deciding how to proceed in a crisis of conscience can be challenging. Some
people may choose to take action that aligns with their moral beliefs, even if it means personal sacrifices or
professional repercussions. Others may compromise their values due to external pressures or to avoid negative
consequences.

Impact on Well-being: A crisis of conscience can have a significant impact on an individual's psychological
and emotional well-being. It may lead to long-term consequences, affecting mental health and overall life
satisfaction.

Ethical Growth: Despite the distress it may cause, a crisis of conscience can also lead to ethical growth and
a deeper understanding of one's values. Resolving such a crisis often requires reflection, moral reasoning, and
the development of a more refined ethical stance.

Examples of situations that can trigger a crisis of conscience include decisions related to whistleblowing on
unethical corporate practices, participating in or refusing to participate in war, making end-of-life medical
decisions for a loved one, or navigating issues related to honesty and integrity in personal or professional life.

Resolving a crisis of conscience often involves careful reflection, seeking guidance from trusted individuals
or mentors, and considering the long-term impact of one's choices on their values and principles. The outcome
of such a crisis can vary from person to person, depending on their individual circumstances, beliefs, and the
nature of the ethical dilemma.

How to deal with Crisis of Conscience

Dealing with a crisis of conscience can be a challenging and emotionally taxing process. It requires
introspection, ethical reflection, and, in some cases, the courage to take action that aligns with your deeply
held values. Here are some steps to help you navigate a crisis of conscience:

Recognize and Acknowledge the Crisis: The first step is to acknowledge that you are experiencing a crisis
of conscience. Understand that it is normal to have internal conflicts over moral or ethical issues, and it's a
sign that you take your values seriously.

Seek Support and Guidance: Reach out to trusted friends, family members, mentors, or counselors who can
provide a supportive and non-judgmental space to discuss your concerns. They can offer different perspectives
and help you process your feelings.
15
Gather Information: If your crisis is related to a complex issue, gather as much information as possible to
fully understand the situation. This can help you make more informed decisions.

Engage in Ethical Reflection: Take time to reflect on your values and the ethical principles that guide your
life. Consider the potential consequences of your actions on yourself and others, and think about the long-term
implications.

Consider Alternative Solutions: Explore alternative solutions that may allow you to uphold your values
while addressing the situation in a more constructive way. This may involve compromise or negotiation.

Consult Ethical Frameworks: Look into ethical theories and principles that might apply to your situation.
Philosophical ethics, religious teachings, and professional codes of conduct can provide valuable guidance.

Consult Legal and Professional Resources: If your crisis of conscience is related to your profession, consult
with legal or professional ethics experts who can provide guidance within the bounds of the law and your
field's standards.

Mediate and Negotiate: If the crisis involves a conflict with another party, consider mediation or negotiation
to find a mutually acceptable solution.

Take Action with Integrity: If you decide to take action that aligns with your conscience, do so with integrity
and a clear understanding of the potential consequences. This may require personal sacrifices or facing
backlash from others.

Self-Care: Dealing with a crisis of conscience can be emotionally taxing. Make sure to take care of your
mental and emotional well-being through self-care practices like meditation, exercise, and seeking
professional counseling if needed.

Learn and Grow: Embrace the crisis as an opportunity for personal and ethical growth. It can lead to a deeper
understanding of your values, principles, and the complexities of ethical decision-making.

Accept Uncertainty: In some cases, there may not be a clear-cut solution that perfectly aligns with your
values. It's important to accept that ethical decision-making can be inherently uncertain, and sometimes the
best choice is the one that aligns most closely with your principles.

Remember that every crisis of conscience is unique, and the path to resolution may vary depending on the
specific circumstances and the individual's values. What's important is that you engage in a thoughtful and
reflective process to reach a decision that you can live with and that aligns with your sense of integrity.

Case Study - Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, gained worldwide attention
in 2013 when he leaked classified documents revealing extensive government surveillance programs.
Snowden's actions sparked a global debate on issues of government transparency, surveillance, and individual
privacy.

Rules and Regulations-

● Legal and Regulatory Framework- At the heart of this case study is the tension between Edward
Snowden's ethical beliefs and the U.S. government's rules and regulations regarding classified
information and national security.
● Whistleblower Laws- The United States has laws in place to protect whistleblowers, encouraging them
to report government misconduct through appropriate channels. However, Snowden believed that the
existing whistleblower protection framework was insufficient and that his concerns would not be
addressed effectively.
16
Conscience
● Personal Moral Compass- Snowden's actions were guided by his conscience, which was deeply rooted
in ethical principles related to individual privacy, government transparency, and protection of civil
liberties.
● Dilemma and Decision- Faced with the knowledge of extensive government surveillance programs
that he believed violated these principles, He confronted an ethical dilemma. He had to choose between
his loyalty to government regulations and his conscience urging him to expose what he perceived as
government overreach.
● Global Citizen- He argued that he was acting in the global interest, not just as an American citizen but
as a conscientious global citizen concerned with universal principles of privacy and freedom.

Edward Snowden's actions highlight the complex interplay between rules, regulations, and conscience. His
actions initiated a global conversation about government surveillance, individual privacy, and civil liberties.
His conscience led him to believe that his actions were ethically justified on a broader, global scale.

This case study illustrates the complexities of ethical decision-making when rules, regulations, and individual
conscience come into conflict. It demonstrates the potential consequences of acting on one's conscience when
faced with perceived ethical violations, even if it means challenging established rules and regulations.
Snowden's case continues to spark discussions about the balance between national security and individual
privacy, and the ethics of whistleblowing in the digital age.

17
 www.optimizeias.com

MAINS MASTER NOTES

SUBJECT: GS4 (Ethics)

ESSENCE, DETERMINANTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF

ETHICS IN HUMAN ACTIONS

For my daily unique initiatives follow https://optimizeias.com

For my unique UPSC CSE exam tips & strategies follow
Optimize IAS telegram channel

1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ETHICS IN HUMAN RELATIONS: ........................................................................................................................................... 3

DEFINITION OF ETHICS: ........................................................................................................................................................ 3

ESSENCE OF ETHICS............................................................................................................................................................... 3

DETERMINANTS OF ETHICS IN HUMAN RELATIONS:....................................................................................................... 3

CONSEQUENCES OF ETHICS IN HUMAN RELATIONS: ...................................................................................................... 4

DIMENSIONS OF ETHICS:....................................................................................................................................................... 4

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS ................................................................................................................................................ 5

BUSINESS ETHICS............................................................................................................................................................... 6

ETHICS - IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC RELATIONSHIPS: ........................................................................................................ 6

ETHICS IN PRIVATE RELATIONSHIPS: .................................................................................................................................. 6

RELATION BETWEEN PRIVATE ETHICS & PUBLIC ETHICS: .............................................................................................. 7

2
ETHICS IN HUMAN RELATIONS:
Ethics in human relations pertains to the study of guiding ethical principles in interpersonal interactions. Its
profound impact on personal and public spheres is undeniable. Ethical concerns arise in workplaces, families, and
friendships, leading to multifaceted determinants and consequences in human relations.

DEFINITION OF ETHICS:
• Ethics is a normative science of human action/conduct.
• It is a moral philosophy of right and wrong Human conduct.
• Ethics is a set of standards which the society places on itself and which guides behaviours, choices and
action.

The definition has two aspects of ethics

1. It refers to human conduct and not lower animals.
2. It is confined to human action in society.

Human conduct/action is collective name given to any deliberate voluntary action .

ESSENCE OF ETHICS
• Essence is the intrinsic quality of something that determines its character. The essence of ethics stands refers
to its features, significance and the intrinsic or indispensable properties that characterise ethics.
• The following properties/features can define the essence of ethics:
• Ethics is about what is right or wrong / Good or bad: Ethics helps us to decide the how good or bad
a thoughts, conduct and behaviour is?
• Ethics is society determined: Ethical standards are decided by the society and not an individual.

• Ethics depend upon the situation in which they are operating: They vary in their meaning and
intensity according to time, place and person. For example,
• Issues like abortion and homosexuality are judged differently in different countries.
• Ethics are subjective in nature: They are not universal. They vary from place to place.
• Ethical is not law: Many acts of omission and commission may not violate the law
• Ethics is not intuitive:
• Ethics is maintained and sustained by a sense of responsibility and not mere accountability to some
external agency but also to something within.
• Ethics is prescriptive in nature: Ethics preach a certain kind of behaviour to us. It tells us how people
should behave. However, ethics are often prescribed without any reason or explanation. This
undermines people’s respect and value for ethical behaviour. For instance, traditional values like
family values are declining among the youth because their significance and rationale are not
explained to them.
• Descriptive discipline: It examines are (existing) standards of behaviour of individuals and
community.
• Ethics is not religion
• Ethics is not law
• Ethics Scrutinises voluntary human action: Ethics only deals with voluntary human action. It only
deals with actions when the person acts with free will without coercion. For instance, if a person is
made to do something unethical at gunpoint, he/she cannot be called ethical/unethical as he/she did
not act on his own.
• Ethics operates at different levels like individual, organisational, socio-cultural, political and
international levels, but Ethics of any level affect the ethics at other levels.
• Ethics analyses and evaluates various ethical norms, principles, laws, values etc.

DETERMINANTS OF ETHICS IN HUMAN RELATIONS:

The determinants of ethics in human relations encompass factors such as the individual's moral caliber,
cognizance of moral boundaries, and held beliefs.
Conscience: It is one of the most important factors that determines ethics. Conscience is a person's moral sense of right
and wrong. Mahatma Gandhi often referred to as the inner voice of reason. It concerns with judging a situation as
right or wrong and good or bad.
In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place-Mahatma Gandhi
3
There is a higher court than courts of justice. It’s the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts. —
Mahatma Gandhi

Religion: Every religion advocates universal ethical standards. Most Religious teachings deal with questions of how
an individual should behave and how the society should be. For e.g. Christianity has the Ten Commandments
Law – The law of the state is based on ethical standards to met by citizens. However, one should not equate being
ethical to following the law. Laws, at times, can deviate from what is ethical. For example – slavery laws in US did not
make slavery ethical. On the other hand, laws which banned slavery and gave equal rights reflect convergence of laws
and ethics. Relationship between law and ethics has been detailed above.
Culture – The ethical principles of an individual are influenced by his/her culture.
For example - western culture seems to be individualistic values of achievement while eastern culture is based on
values of communitarism.
Family: It is one of the first and the most fundamental determinants of ethics of an individual. Parents shape the value
system of a child. Their behavior, conduct and teachings influence the child.
Place: It depends upon the place. Eg Eskimos practice Senicide
Time: It depends upon the time. For e.g.: Apartheid was practiced in the past but in moder world these ideas are not
acceptable. Similarly, sati, purdah etc.
Educational Institute: Educational Institutes shapes a person’s ethics.
Levels of Belief Commitment: Variations in belief commitment exist, ranging from moderate to strong or total
commitment. This commitment extends beyond internal factors, including external influences like societal pressures
or the desire to appease others.

CONSEQUENCES OF ETHICS IN HUMAN RELATIONS:

If there is no consequence to unethical behaviour, we are never given a reason to act ethically. The consequences
of ethics in human actions directly impact our lives and how we interact with others daily
• At an individual level:
• Peace of mind
• Happiness
• Credibility
• Confidence
• Happiness
• Positive attitude towards society
• Self esteem
• Right Decision making
• At the societal level:
• Absence of greed
• Cooperation and peace
• Equality and justice
• Sustainability
• Progressiveness
• At level of Politics:
• Absence of corruption
• No defection
• Political stability
• At the organisational level:
o Long term sustainability
o Amiable Employee- Employer relationship
o Customer loyalty
o Stakeholder relationship

DIMENSIONS OF ETHICS:
Ethics encompasses a multifaceted realm, divided into distinct branches, each contributing to a comprehensive
understanding of ethical principles and their implications:
Meta-Ethics:
• Meta-ethics engages in profound philosophical inquiry, exploring the essence of ethics.
• It delves into the meanings and nuances of ethical language, such as 'good' and 'bad.'
• It questions whether moral claims are objective truths or subjective viewpoints.
4
 • Example: Meta-ethics questions if phrases like 'lying is wrong' carry universal truth or individual perspectives.
Prescriptive Ethics (Normative Ethics):
• It concerns ‘what we ought to do’ and provides criteria and principles for deciding right and wrong.
o Deontological Ethics: Focuses on moral duty and rules, guiding actions regardless of outcomes. For
example, Kant’s Categorical Imperative, Gita’s Nishkama Karma
o Teleological (Consequential) Ethics: Assesses actions based on their outcomes and consequences.
For example, Utilitarianism / Hedonism
o Virtue Ethics: Concentrates on developing virtuous character traits for ethical behavior.
Descriptive Ethics (Comparative Ethics):
• Descriptive ethics observes individual moral beliefs and societal norms.
• It investigates variations across cultures, revealing diverse views on virtuous conduct.
• It acknowledges societal influences shaping personal ethical beliefs.
• Example: Descriptive ethics studies cultural differences in perspectives on issues like euthanasia.
Applied Ethics:
• Applied ethics applies theoretical ethics to real-world situations.
• It covers bioethics, legal ethics, business ethics, medical ethics etc.
• It addresses complex scenarios with conflicting ethical principles.
• Example: Applied ethics guides medical professionals deciding on ending life support, integrating ethics into
practical decisions.

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Environmental ethics is a philosophical discipline focused on the moral principles guiding human interactions
with nature and the environment, exploring responsible stewardship, preservation, and the intrinsic value of ecosystems
and living beings.
Some of the ecological values are:
• Sustainability – steps should be taken to ensure that we reduce pollution levels and
wasteful consumption of natural resources.
• Co-existence – with plants and wildlife with treating them alike to humans
• Conservation – stress on conserving resources by finding natural alternatives
• Environment-centric – ethical principles should not just revolve around humans and its
needs but also environment and its requirements.
• Collectivism as well as individualism

5
BUSINESS ETHICS
The term business ethics refers to the set of moral principles that guides a company's conduct. These principles
govern every aspect of the company's operations, including its interaction with the government and other businesses, its
treatment of its employees and its relationship with its customers. Whenever any ethical dilemmas or controversies arise,
a business references these foundational principles to help resolve those situations.

Accountability: Ethics is all about taking individual responsibility. It goes both ways. Individuals are responsible for
unethical practices of the firm because they did not come forward to become whistle-blowers. Similarly, when an
employee indulges in unethical business practices, the firm is responsible.
Care and Respect: Professional interactions between co-workers should be responsible and respectful. Firms should
make sure that the workplace is safe and harmonious.
Honesty: The best way to gain the trust of the employees is to have transparent communication with them.
Avoid Conflicts: Firms need to minimize conflicts of interest in the workplace. Excessive competition within the
workforce can end disastrously.
Compliance: Firms need to comply with all the rules and regulations.
Loyalty: The employees should be faithful to the organization and uphold the brand image. Grievances, if any, should
be dealt internally.
Relevant Information: It is necessary to provide information that is comprehensible. All the relevant facts, whether
positive or negative, must be disclosed. It is unethical to hide unreasonable terms and conditions in the fine print.
Law Abiding: Corporate laws protect the rights of every section of society. Any kind of discrimination is unethical.
Personal biases of individuals should not affect the decision-making of leaders.
Fulfilling Commitments: It is unethical to justify non-compliance by interpreting agreements unreasonably.

ETHICS - IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC RELATIONSHIPS:

Ethics in Public Relationships:
Ethics in public relationships pertains to the moral principles guiding interactions and professional conduct.
When individuals step into public roles, be it through elections or selections, a distinct ethical framework governs
their behavior. This framework necessitates stringent adherence, guiding actions to align with the public interest.
Principles in Public Relationships:
• Selflessness: Public officeholders must act solely in the public's interest.
• Integrity: Holding public office should not lead to any obligations, financial or otherwise, to external entities.
• Objectivity: Decisions made by public officials should be based on merit and impartiality.
• Accountability: Those in public office are responsible for their actions and decisions.
• Openness: Transparency is crucial, and public officials should be as open as possible.
• Honesty: Public officeholders must disclose private interests that relate to their public duties.
• Loyalty to the Organization: Maintaining allegiance to the organization's goals and principles.
• Spirit of Service: Serving the public interest with dedication.
• Fairness & Justice: Ensuring equitable treatment for all.
However, the erosion of ethics in public servants has been observed due to reasons such as a lack of accountability,
sacrificing values for materialism, social acceptance of corruption, failure of institutions to instill values, administrative
complexities, and complacent public opinion.

ETHICS IN PRIVATE RELATIONSHIPS:

Ethics in private relationships pertains to the ethical principles individuals follow when dealing with family,
friends, and personal situations. Unlike public relationships, private relationships are informal, rooted in emotional
bonds rather than formal protocols.
Principles in Private Relationships:
• Honesty: Honesty and transparency are vital in personal relationships.
• Respect: Respecting boundaries, beliefs, and opinions fosters healthy relationships.
• Fairness: Treating others fairly contributes to harmonious interactions.
• Confidentiality: Respecting privacy and not sharing personal information without consent.
• Empathy: Demonstrating understanding and compassion towards others.
• Communication: Effective communication sustains healthy relationships.
• Loyalty: Being loyal to family members and partners.

6
RELATION BETWEEN PRIVATE ETHICS & PUBLIC ETHICS:
While there is a distinction between private and public ethics, a person typically adheres to similar ethical
values in both spheres. The boundaries between personal and public life can blur, especially for Civil Servants.
Personal and professional ethics shouldn't conflict, as it can lead to dissonance and confusion.
Balancing both lives:
• Make rational decisions based on facts and merits.
• Adhere to a professional code of conduct.
• Maintain impartiality in actions and appearance.
• Dedicate quality time to family, keeping work separate.
• Uphold the distinction between personal and professional roles.
Ultimately, ethical conduct in both public and private relationships contributes to societal harmony and responsible
behavior.