Mains PYQ

"Emotional Intelligence is the ability to make your emotions work for you instead of against you." Do you agree with this view? Discuss.

"An unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." – M. K. Gandhi

"Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation. When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world." – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

What do you understand by the term 'public servant'? Reflect on the expected role of a public servant.

What is meant by constitutional morality? How does one uphold constitutional morality? (150)

words) 5. What do you understand by probity in governance? Based on your understanding of the term, suggest measures for ensuring probity in government.

What are the basic principles of public life? Illustrate any three of these with suitable examples.

What is meant by 'crisis of conscience'? How does it manifest itself in the public domain?

Explain the basic principles of citizens' charter movement and bring out its importance.

Effective utilisation of public funds is crucial to meet development goals. Critically examine the reasons for under-utilization and mis-utilisation of public funds and their implications.

"Non-performance of duty by a public servant is a form of corruption" Do you agree with this view? Justify your answer

There is a view that the official secrets act is an obstacle to the implementation of the Rights to Information act. Do you agree with the view? Discuss

In a modern democratic polity, there is a concept of the political executive and permanent executive elected people's representatives forms the political executive and bureaucracy form the permanent executive. Ministers frame policy decisions and bureaucrats execute these. In the initial decades after independence, the relationship between the permanent executives and the political executives were characterized by mutual understanding, respect, and cooperation, without encroaching upon each other's domain. However, in subsequent decades, the situation has changed. There are instances of the political executive insisting upon the permanent executives to follow its agenda. Respect for an appreciation of upright bureaucrats has declined. There is an increasing tendency among the political executive to get involved in routine administrative matters such as transfers, posting etc. Under this scenario, there is a definitive trend towards 'politicization of bureaucracy'. The rising materialism and acquisitiveness in social life has also adversely impacted upon the ethical values of both the permanent executive and the political executive. What are the consequences of this 'politicization of bureaucracy'? Discuss. (250 words)

You are the heading the rescue operations in an area affected by severe natural calamity, thousands of people are rendered homeless and deprived of food, drinking water and other basic amenities. Rescue work has been disrupted by heavy rainfall and damaged to supply routes. The local people are seething with anger against the delayed limited rescue operations. When your team reaches the affected area, the people there heckle and even assault some of the team members. One of your team members is even severely injured. Faced with this crisis some team member pleads with you to call off the operations freeing threats to their life. In such trying circumstances, what will be your response? Examine the qualities of a public servant which will be required to manage the situations. (250 words)

In one of the districts of a frontier state, narcotics menace has been rampant. This has resulted in money laundering, mushrooming of poppy farming, arms smuggling and near stalling of education. The system is on the verge of collapse. The situation has been further worsened by unconfirmed reports that local politicians, as well as some senior police officers, are providing surreptitious patronage to the drug mafia. At that point of time a woman police officer, known for her skills in handling such situations is appointed as superintendent of police to bring the situation to normalcy. If you are the same police officer, identify the various dimensions of the crisis. Based on your understanding, suggest measures to deal with the crisis. (250 words) Case Studies: 2018 It is a State where prohibition is in force. You are recently appointed as the Superintendent of Police of a district notorious for illicit distillation of liquor. The illicit liquor leads to many deaths, reported and unreported, and causes a major problem for the district authorities. The approach till now had been to view it as a law and order problem and tackle it accordingly. Raids, arrest, police cases, and criminal trials – all these had only limited impact. The problem remains as serious as ever. Your inspections show that the parts of the district where the distillation flourishes are economically, industrially and educationally backward. Agriculture is badly affected by poor irrigation facilities. Frequent clashes among communities gave boost to illicit distillation. No major initiatives had taken place in the past either from the government's side or from social organizations to improve the lot of the people. Which new approach will you adopt to bring the problem under control? (250 words, 20 marks)

In recent times, there has been an increasing concern in India to develop effective civil service ethics, code of conduct, transparency measures, ethics and integrity systems and anti-corruption agencies. In view of this, there is a need being felt to focus on three specific areas, which are directly relevant to the problems of internalizing integrity and ethics in the civil services. These are as follows: 1. 1. Anticipating specific threats to ethical standards and integrity in the civil services, 2. 2. Strengthening the ethical competence of civil servant and 3. 3. Developing administrative processes and practices which promote ethical values and integrity in civil services. 4. 4. Suggest institutional measures to address the above three issues. (250 words) **13. CITIZENS CHARTERS; QUALITY OF SERVICE DELIVERY; PROBITY IN GOVERNANCE, CONCEPT OF PUBLIC SERVICE;** 1. Impact of digital technology as reliable source of input for rational decision making is debatable issue. Critically evaluate with suitable example. (150 words) 2021 2. Explain the basic principles of citizens' charter movement and bring out its importance. (150 words) 2019

Honesty and uprightness are the hallmarks of civil servants. Civil servants possessing these qualities are considered as a backbone of any strong organizations. In the line of duty, they take various decisions, at time some become bonafide mistakes. As long as such decisions, are not taken intentionally and do not benefit personally, the officer cannot be said to be guilty. Though such decisions may, at times, lead to unforeseen adverse consequences in the long term. In the recent past, a few instances have surfaced wherein civil servants have been implicated for bonafide mistakes. They have often been prosecuted and even imprisoned. These instances have greatly rattled the moral fibre of the civil servants. How does this trend affect the functioning of civil services? What measures can be taken to ensure that honest civil servants are not implicated for bonafide mistakes on their part? Justify your answer. (250 words)