2013 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2013 · CSAT

Question 76: Decision Making and Interpersonal Skills

While travelling in a Delhi-registered commercial taxi from Delhi to an adjacent city (another State), your taxi driver informs you that as he has no permit for running the taxi in that city, he will stop at its Transport Office and pay the prescribed fee of ₹ forty for a day. While paying the fee at the counter you find that the transport clerk is taking an extra fifty rupees for which no receipt is being given. You are in a hurry for your meeting. In such circumstances, what would you do ?

aGo up to the counter and ask the clerk to give back the money which he has illegally taken.
bDo not interfere at all as this is a matter between the taxi driver and the tax authorities.
cTake note of the incident and subsequently report the matter to the concerned authorities.
dTreat it as a normal affair and simply forget about it.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a) or (c).

Taking money without a receipt is an illegal charge, and a responsible citizen should not treat it as normal. UPSC accepts two responses: challenge it on the spot by asking the clerk to return the money, or note what happened and report it to the authorities afterwards. Staying out of it, or forgetting it, condones corruption. Being in a hurry is not a reason to ignore it, since a report can follow after your meeting.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Acceptable. Challenging the illegal charge immediately upholds the rules.
  • (b) Wrong. Overlooking it as a matter between others condones the wrong.
  • (c) Acceptable. Noting and reporting the incident later uses the proper channel.
  • (d) Wrong. Treating corruption as normal and forgetting it is not acceptable.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2013, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.