Why do civil servants have a special obligation to uphold ethical standards? What are the main areas of concerns for implementation of an effective ethical standard in civil services? In this context, suggest measures to remedy these concerns.

1. Fulfilling their duties with utmost integrity, guided by
2. Take decisions impartially and based on merit
3. Build public trust
4. Uphold the constitutional values and ensure dignity of the individual
5. Preserve the rich tradition of the services
6. Opening themselves up for scrutiny for their actions

The main areas of concerns include -

1. Political interference
2. Red-tapism within bureaucracy
3. Conflict of interests
4. Huge scope of discretion
5. Civil servants being unempathetic

towards the citizens

Remedial Measures

The 2nd ARC calls for a code of ethics and conduct for public servants, that should -

i) Reduce the scope of discretion ii) Simplify rules and procedures by business process re-engineering iii) Risk profiling and preventive vigilance iv) Declaring conflict of interests v) Value-training of servants and ways to handle ethical dilemmas vi) Ethical framework for Ministers to re-define the politician-civil servant relationship