UPSC Mains 2013 · GS IV · Q12 · 20 marks · 250 words · Case study

You are heading a leading technical institute of the country. The institute is planning to convene an interview panel shortly under your chairmanship for selection of the post of professors. A few days before the interview, you get a call from the Personal Secretary (PS) of a senior government functionary seeking your intervention in favour of the selection of a close relative of the functionary for this post. The PS also informs you that he is aware of the long pending and urgent proposals of your institute for grant of funds for modernization, which are awaiting the functionary’s approval. He assures you that he would get these proposals cleared.

  1. (a) What are the options available to you?
  2. (b) Evaluate each of these options and choose the option which you would adopt, giving reasons.

हिन्दी में

आप देश के एक प्रमुख तकनीकी संस्थान के अध्यक्ष हैं। संस्थान, प्रोफेसरों के पद के चयन हेतु आपकी अध्यक्षता में साक्षात्कार पैनल का आयोजन शीघ्र ही करने वाले हैं। साक्षात्कार से कुछ दिन पहले आपके पास एक ज्येष्ठ शासकीय अधिकारी के निजी सचिव का फोन आता है जिसमें आपसे उक्त पद के लिए उस अधिकारी के एक निकट सम्बन्धी के पक्ष में चयन करने की अपेक्षा की जाती है। निजी सचिव यह भी बताते हैं कि आपके संस्थान के आधुनिकीकरण के लिए बहुत समय से लम्बित महत्त्वपूर्ण वित्तीय अनुदान के प्रस्तावों का उन्हें ज्ञान है जिनकी अधिकारी द्वारा स्वीकृति की जानी है। वे आपको उन प्रस्तावों को अनुमोदन कराने का आश्वासन देते हैं।

  1. (a) आपके पास क्या-क्या विकल्प उपलब्ध हैं?
  2. (b) प्रत्येक विकल्प का मूल्यांकन कीजिए और बताइए कि आप कौन-सा विकल्प चुनेंगे और क्यों।
Pressure and LoyaltyImpartiality and ObjectivityIntegrity

How a topper answered the closest question

Toppers wrote this one in a test series: “Government has issued a tender for a mega road project. As a senior official in the Ministry, you are responsible for issuing the notice, examining the prospective tender offers and selecting the final vendor for providing the services. You are an upright officer. One of your relatives owns an infrastructure company and his company have applied for the above mentioned contract. After preliminary examination, you have reached the conclusion that your relative's offer best suits the government requirement. Initially, you had taken enough care that you are not at all instrumental in helping your relative. The Minister in charge of the Ministry wants you to allot the contract to the company of his choice-Company B. The said company has no previous experience in the field of Infrastructure. For contract to be allotted to company B, even the pre-established criteria may have to be changed. Therefore, you suspect the promoters of the company have made generous donations to ruling political party. The Minister is promising your career advancement in lieu of complying with him. a. Critically examine various conflicts of interest and explain what your responsibilities as a public servant are. b. Faced with this situation, what will you do?”

Pratyush PandeyAIR 21 · CSE 2019 · 350 wordsTheir whole copy

Opening

This situation involves a contract tender, where most qualified company is of my relative, and Minister wants me to favour another company.

Body · points and prose

Conflicts of Interest

  1. Personal Interest V/S Social welfare → I have an interest to favour my relative's company - may give rise to suspicion, even if it is most qualified.

  2. Public duty V/S Career progression → Duty to public demands best firm gets contract, but I may be punished by minister for disobeying him.

  3. Official Duty V/S Public Good → Duty of civil servants to obey elected representatives conflicts with duty to act in public interest.

  4. Personal Integrity V/S Career Goals → Favouring company will go against my conscience, but refusing will be a setback in my career.

Responsibility as Public servant

Priority List (1) Most important consideration is to act for welfare of public → their interest is my primary responsibility. (2) My own values and conscience require me to fulfil my duty of acting for public good. (3) As civil servant, I must obey elected leaders for effective political admin relationship for governance. → disobeying will lead to loss of faith of leaders in bureaucracy.

Options

  • Obey Minister
  • Ask another official to do my duty
  • Disobey Minister

  1. Obeying Minister → Against impartiality. → Betrayal of public trust. Hence rejected.

  2. Disobey Minister → Undemocratic - he is elected leader. → Can lead to loss of public faith if it becomes public.

  3. Recuse, ask another official → will not solve problem - he/she may give in to pressure.

Solution

Diagram
Clearly Mention my conflict of Interest -> Independent committee to develop objective criteria -> Transparent Bidding Procedure -> Allocation of Contract (In case of pressure, recourse to lokpal)
  1. Specify conflict of interest so that there is NO scandal later.
  2. Objective criteria by independent committee to eliminate conflict. → I will NOT be part of committee.
  3. Transparent bid to allocate contract.
  4. Inform Minister that I cannot favour his chosen firm. → it is in his interest, as it can lead to corruption charge if it leaks out.
  5. If I fail to convince him, I will inform Lokpal about the fraud to ensure best firm gets contract, in public interest.

Close · no separate close

None written.

How toppers approach this question, and more on its topic: open the question.

Toppers’ answers to other close questions

Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Main) Examination 2013, General Studies Paper IV, Q12. The paper on upsc.gov.in. Themes and links to toppers’ answers are by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.