Mains Practice Questions

Case Study

Suppose you are the Superintendent of Police in a district. The state has experienced an increase in communal riots in the past few months. A recent incident occurred in a small village. Mud houses were set on fire. Geeta and her daughter Roopa, who was three and a half years old, fled the village after violence broke out.

Once they reached a nearby village, they were attacked by a group of people. Geeta and her daughter were brutally raped and murdered, and the local police have refused to register the case as two police stations are bordered by the area where the bodies were found.

Locals from the village and relatives of the deceased are protesting and accusing the police of negligence and demanding the arrest of the offender with strong political backing. However, your senior calls you and asks you to conceal and distort the truth.

(a) Identify the stakeholders and various dimensions of the crisis involved in the issue.

(b) What would be the course of action taken by you to manage the situation as a Superintendent of Police? Identify measures that can be taken to prevent rapes (250 words)

Q. “An action which leads to undesirable consequences may be moral and an action that leads to good consequences can be immoral.” Comment (150 Words)

Q. What are the four core qualities of a civil servant in the public administration and discuss their significance. (150 Words)

Case Study

India hosts a number of migratory bird species every year who fly here either in search of feeding ground or to escape freezing winters of their natural habitat. At a major bird nesting lake in India, thousands of birds have died in a mysterious way. The deadly lake is surrounded by mining areas and possibly due to the discharge of effluents from the mining process, the lake got polluted. The junior manager working in the same mining area happens to discover the cause of the death of the birds. He is perturbed and discusses this with his colleagues who ask him to keep silent as this may cost him his job. He cannot risk losing his job as he is the sole breadwinner of his family and has to take care of his ailing parents and siblings. At first, he thinks that if his colleagues are quiet, why should he stick out his neck. But his conscience pricks him to do something to save the lake and the birds who depend upon it. He decides to take the matter to his senior.

(a) What arguments can he advance to show that whatever is being done by the mining industry is not morally right?

(b) What course of action should he adopt in case his senior refuses to entertain his complaint and why? (250 Words)

Q. Analyse the importance of work culture as a component of effective governance. Discuss how Indian work culture is at variance with the Western work culture? (150 Words)

Q. “It isn’t enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it, and it isn’t enough to believe in it, one must work at it. '' Analyse this statement in the context of international relations. (150 Words)

Q. What are the principles of effective public service delivery? Why is it an important component of governance? Explain in the context of Sevottam model. (150 Words)

Q. In the religious land of India, there exists the exploitative custom of sexual slavery known as the Jogini system (a local variation of the Devadasi system) which involves marrying young girls to a deity. This social evil has resisted the legal measures aimed at curbing it till date, despite having been prohibited as per the Devadasi (Prohibition of Dedication) Act. You are posted as a District Magistrate and you get to know about such practice taking place in the area of your jurisdiction. Two Dalit girls have been confined and being prepared for dedication to God as devadasis. The children are forced into becoming Devadasis by their own parents because girls are their only source of income in most cases. In a society where a girl child is often considered a liability, turning them into Devadasis is how patriarchy works to transform them into assets. You also get to know of child prostitution being practiced in the name of Devadasi.

(a) What course of action will you take in such a scenario?

(b) What are the issues involved in banning the practice of Devadasi system, in spite of the laws already present against it? (250 Words)

Q. What are the standards of public life as expounded by the Nolan Committee? (150 Words)

Q. What is e-Citizen Charter? Describe how the PRAGATI platform can help in effective Grievance redressal mechanism? (150 Words)

Q. What is Information Ethics? Explain how RTI Act can help in maintaining ethical governance in the country. (150 Words)

Case Study

Mr. Siddhant is the chairman of a cultural organization under the central government. The organization has a historical and cultural legacy. Recently he has been charged with the responsibility of organizing an international event by involving artists from different countries. For this event, he has roped in a famous personality from Bollywood as the brand ambassador and face of the event. This has helped in popularising the program at a wide scale and also in the generation of revenue. However, in the mid of the preparation, a female singer artist came in front of the media and accused the Bollywood personality of sexual harassment 10 years ago when she was a minor and searching for work. This accusation has sparked controversy and protest by the public. People are raising their voices against his involvement in the event. Meanwhile, the National Commission of Women has also approached Mr. Siddhant and demands the removal of the Brand Ambassador. Mr. Siddhant is in mid of the finalization of the event and all the preparations regarding inviting people from different parts of the world, their accommodation, etc have already been done. Initially, his consciousness pushed him to do something in this regard but because of external pressure, he is not sure about the right course of action. With reference to the above case study–

(a) What arguments can you give him to show that keeping quiet is not morally right?
(b) What course of action would you advise him to adopt and why? (250 Words)

Q. What do you understand by the Code of Conduct? Explain its utility in changing governance structure in India. (150 Words)

Case Study

Q. You are posted as Superintendent of Police (SP) in a city where a horrific incident of gang rape and murder of an IT professional has shaken the conscience of the entire nation. Since the culprits are still at large, the public anger is mounting and the aggrieved family is refusing to cooperate in investigations because they have no faith in the local police. Earlier, when they tried to lodge a missing complaint of the victim in a nearby police station, they were turned away as the police said that the area falls outside their jurisdiction. In such circumstances when the police force is under heavy media scrutiny.

(a) What will you do to dissuade the rising mistrust between the public and the police?
(b) Also, bring out the long term measures to check this ever growing menace of violence against women. (250 Words)

Q. The basic thrust of the Citizen’s Charter is to render public services citizen-centric by making them demand-driven rather than supply-driven. How an organization should utilise citizen charter for effective governance? (150 Words)

Q. Examine the need of Code of Ethics for civil servants in India. (150 Words)

Q. What is ethical dilemma? Mention the different types of ethical dilemmas faced in government institutions and also suggest ways to resolve them. (150 Words)

Case Study

You are the head of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that offers palliative care to cancer patients from the poor sections of the society. Since the last few months funding for your noble cause is dwindling due to which you are not able to fulfill the needs of the dependent people. One day, you are contacted by the owner of a big tobacco company who is willing to fund your NGO because he has to meet Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) targets. However, over the years working with cancer patients you have developed a deep hatred for tobacco companies. Now, the owner’s offer has put you in a moral dilemma. On the one side, you detest the thought of accepting support from a company that is doling out cancer through its products, and on the other hand, you feel that the company's aid is a godsend opportunity for your NGO to provide better care to patients.

(a) What are the various ethical issues involved here?
(b) Will it be morally right for you to accept money from the tobacco company? (250 Words)

Q. What do you understand by Probity? Explain its importance in governance with relevant examples? (150 Words)

Q. Does Corporate Social Responsibility suffice for everything that is needed in corporate ethics? Critically analyze? (150 Words)

Case Study

An elevated corridor is being constructed to reduce traffic congestion in the capital of a particular State. You have been selected as project manager of this prestigious project on your professional competence and experience. The deadline is to complete the project in next two years by 30 June, 2021, since this project is to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister before the elections are announced in the second week of July 2021. While carrying out the surprise inspection by inspecting team, a minor crack was noticed in one of the piers of the elevated corridor possibly due to poor material used. You immediately informed the chief engineer and stopped further work. It was assessed by you that minimum three piers of the elevated corridor have to be demolished and reconstructed. But this process will delay the project minimum by four to six months. But the chief engineer overruled the observation of inspecting team on the ground that it was a minor crack which will not in any way impact the strength and durability of the bridge. He ordered you to overlook the observation of inspecting team and continue working with same speed and tempo. He informed you that the minister does not want any delay as he wants the Chief Minister to inaugurate the elevated corridor before the elections are declared. Also informed you that the contractor is far relative of the minister and he wants him to finish the project. He also gave you hint that your further promotion as additional chief engineer is under consideration with the ministry. However, you strongly felt that the minor crack in the pier of the elevated corridor will adversely affect the health and life of the bridge and therefore it will be very dangerous not to repair the elevated corridor.

(a) Under the given conditions, what are the options available to you as a project manager?
(b) What are the ethical dilemmas being faced by the project manager?
(c) What are the professional challenges likely to be faced by the project manager and his response to overcome such challenges?
(d) What can be the consequences of overlooking the observation raised by the inspecting team?

Q. How impartiality and non-partisanship play a vital role in ensuring a neutral approach in public service? Illustrate your answer with suitable examples. (150 Words)

Q. Examine the relevance of the following terms in the context of civil service: (150 Words)
(i) Integrity
(ii) Impartiality
(iii) Objectivity
(iv) Tolerance

Q. What is the key difference between sympathy, empathy and compassion? Highlight the role of empathy in shaping leadership. (150 Words)

Q. How can Emotional Intelligence (EI) help in administration and governance in India? (150 Words)

Q. “Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups or downs you come across in your life”- A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Elucidate. (150 Words)

Q. Ethics and politics are the fields completely opposite to each other. Do you agree? (150 Words)

Case study

Pollution is severely affecting the health of people in a metropolitan city. One of the major causes of this environmental calamity is widespread stubble burning by farmers in the surrounding regions after harvesting paddy crop. Despite an outright ban imposed by the government and the introduction of subsidy packages for buying advance machines to dispose stubble, stubble burning remains unabated. The cause for farmers’ indifference towards machines is the belief that the use of machines like happy seeders leads to a fall in the output of successive crops. Recently, the state High Court has called for stringent implementation of the ban order in the neighbouring district of the state capital. You are the District magistrate of one of these districts and want to get rid of this polluting activity. However, your efforts are not yielding desirable results on the ground because of the politicization of this practice. Now, the local leaders are pressuring you to ignore the ban for this season and send deceptive data to the High Court otherwise they will lose support in the election. Although you are against stubble burning, you genuinely sympathize with the farmers for their predicaments.

The district also has a history of farmers’ movements which were at times violent. You are well aware of this and want to avoid any untoward incident of violence or agitation in this politically charged atmosphere.

(a) Identify the various issues involved in the case.
(b) As a District Magistrate of the concerned area, what will be your course of action in resolving the issue? (250 Words)

Q. Prejudice can exist without discrimination. Comment. (150 Words)

Q. What are the ethical issues involved in using artificial intelligence in military security? (150 Words)