Vimla is a senior IAS officer posted as the secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development. On one of her field visits to a government school, Vimla requested the principal to arrange for an interactive session with the students. During the session, a girl, Bindhiya, raised the issue of menstrual hygiene with Vimla. Bindhiya was of the view that menstrual hygiene is of paramount importance for the health and well-being of adolescent girls. She appraised the secretary that most of the students in the school came from socio-economically backward families. Therefore, it was difficult for them to afford high priced sanitary napkins. She suggested that if the government can make the sanitary napkins available at subsidised prices, it will lead to an improvement in overall health of female students. While on one hand it will reduce the economic burden on their parents, it will also have a positive impact on educational/cognitive outcomes of students. Further, Bindhiya suggested that the task of making sanitary napkins can be outsourced to a women SHG, leading to their economic empowerment. While everyone in the session agreed with Bindhiya's suggestion, Vimla's response came as a surprise. Vimla raised her concern over increasing dependence of people on government subsidies and freebies. She retorted at Bindhiya by saying that if the demand for sanitary napkins is conceded, people will next demand the government for providing contraceptives. Vimla's remarks were widely criticised for being in poor taste. Arun and Malti are a married couple living in Delhi. Both are members of IAS, and are posted in the central secretariat. Fitness enthusiasts, Arun and Malti, are also avid pet lovers. They own two dogs. Arun and Malti go for their evening walks in the government stadium located close to their official residence. One evening, the athletes in the government stadium were informed by the stadium in charge that they have to wind-up their practice early. As the athletes were practicing for an upcoming national level meet, they protested the order of vacating the grounds before the official closing time of the stadium. However, the stadium in charge informed them that senior IAS officers, Arun and Malti, were here early for their daily evening walk along with their two pet dogs. The athletes were aghast as the pets of a power couple were getting more priority than hard-working, sincere athletes preparing for a national level event. The incident raised questions over the lack of sensitivity and misuse of authority by public officials. Mahesh is an IPS officer posted as the DIG traffic in a western state of India. Mahesh has an impeccable record of service, and is also a recipient several honours from the government. However, the personal life of Mahesh has been a cause of concern. In the past, Mahesh's wife had made allegations of domestic violence against him. At that time the matter was settled in a family court, where Mahesh had apologised for his behaviour and blamed the stress due to extreme work pressure as a reason for his violent behaviour. More recently, Nandini, a teen-age house maid, working in Mahesh's house was rescued by an anti-child labour NGO. The NGO had received a complaint from a neighbour of Mahesh, who had noticed bruise marks on Nandini's face and on several occasions heard Nandini crying and sobbing. On further enquiry, it was found that Nandini was made to hard physical labour, was denied even basic nutrition, and her condition was worsened by mental and physical trauma that she had to suffer. The incident raised questions over the lack of violation of child rights by a public official who is expected to uphold the rule of law. a) What are various ethical issues in the above case study? b) What explains the bureaucratic apathy as highlighted in the above instances? How can the same be corrected? c) What virtues in a civil servant/public official could have prevented the above incidents?

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