2013 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2013 · CSAT

Question 77: Decision Making and Interpersonal Skills

A person lives in a far off village which is almost two hours by bus. The villager’s neighbour is a very powerful landlord who is trying to occupy the poor villager’s land by force. You are the District Magistrate and busy in a meeting called by a local Minister. The villager has come all the way, by bus and on foot, to see you and give an application seeking protection from the powerful landlord. The villager keeps on waiting outside the meeting hall for an hour. You come out of the meeting and are rushing to another meeting. The villager follows you to submit his application. What would you do ?

aTell him to wait for another two hours till you come back from your next meeting.
bTell him that the matter is actually to be dealt by a junior officer and that he should give the application to him.
cCall one of your senior subordinate officers and ask him to solve the villager’s problem.
dQuickly take the application from him, ask him a few relevant questions regarding his problem and then proceed to the meeting.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c) or (d).

A poor villager has travelled far and waited an hour to seek protection from a powerful landlord, so the response should be quick and show concern. UPSC accepts two actions: take the application and ask a few relevant questions before leaving, or ask a senior subordinate officer to solve the problem. Making him wait two more hours or sending him to a junior officer fails someone who is both vulnerable and already inconvenienced.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong. Asking him to wait two more hours is insensitive to a vulnerable citizen.
  • (b) Wrong. Brushing him off to a junior officer does not give his case the weight it needs.
  • (c) Acceptable. A senior subordinate can take up the matter while you attend the meeting.
  • (d) Acceptable. Taking the application and asking key questions gives immediate attention.

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

Practise this paper timedPrevious questionNext question

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