Akshay Agrawal: GS4 answer copy

The questions

1. Q1Explain briefly what you understand by: Which one makes the most sense to you and why? Give examples.10 marks
2. Q1(b)In ethics you are one of the subjects of your own inquiry.' Do you agree? Justify giving examples from your own life. (10 Marks, 150 Words) (b) Life in modern day India, and increasingly elsewhere throughout the world, offers no assurances regarding what is the morally correct thing to do. In such situations how an individual should base his/her conduct or actions? Illustrate giving real-life examples.10 marks
3. Q2Lack of organ donation results in half a million deaths annually, in India due to unavailability of organs. How social persuasion and attitudinal changes can help reduce such deaths.10 marks
4. Q3To explain to the man about the passive euthanasia and legal procedure required for it. To let him meet a lawyer in this regard and make decisions based on this.
5. Q3(a)Can an individual be ethical in his/her professional conduct, while not being ethical in his/her personal life? Discuss giving suitable examples.10 marks
6. Q4(a)Given are two quotations of moral thinkers/philosophers. For each of these bring out what it means to you in the present context. (a) "When we are caught up in a destructive emotion, we lose one of our greatest assets: our independence."10 marks
7. Q4(b)“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”.10 marks
8. Q5(a)What is meant by 'international ethics'? Why is it important to study? Discuss any one international issue from the viewpoint of international ethics.10 marks
9. Q5(b)What are the key elements of emotional intelligence? Which three elements do you think are most important for effective governance and administrative capabilities of a civil servant? Give reasons.10 marks
10. Q6(a)'To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, it is not justice.' Comment. Should India do away with capital punishment and instead focus upon other innovative methods? Analyse.10 marks
11. Q7There is a gradual revival in the number of clinical trials being done in India. What are the major ethical issues involved in it? Can compensation justify it? Discuss.10 marks
12. Q8What according to you are the major reasons for rising incidents of mob lynching in India? Suggest measures to re-strengthen tolerance and compassion in society, especially towards the weaker sections in this context.10 marks
13. Q9"You can't teach good judgment through general rules, because you already need judgment to know how rules apply." (10 Marks, 150 Words) (a) What do you understand by 'good judgment'? (b) How can it be ensured among civil servants, if not through rules?10 marks
14. Q10In the wake of climate change and severe air pollution in India, there is huge public awareness and demand to stop felling of trees for industry requirements. Laws in India are also very strict against felling of trees; therefore India has been importing huge quantities of cheap wood/timber from south-east Asian countries like Indonesia. India's demand of timber has resulted into large scale destruction of tropical forests and associated biodiversity in these countries, along with the displacement of many locals. (a) Bring out the ethical dilemmas in this case (b) Do you think the same environmental ethics followed in home country should guide our international dealings or international relations should be based on pure economic terms?20 marks
15. Q11You are the manager of a company X, in which you have worked since last 15 years. It is known for its unique values and the work culture which is very healthy and encouraging. You and your team work synergistically with each other and also enjoy harmony with personal and organizational values, a bond which has evolved over years. Recently, you got to know that your company has been acquired by another company Y and you along with your team would now be employees of company Y. After interacting with the top management of company Y, you realize that the core values followed by company Y are completely different and opposite to that of the value system of company X. For example, the core value of company X is 'customer satisfaction' but that of company Y is 'profit maximization'. (a) What conflicts do you think you will face in this situation? (b) Examine the merits and demerits of the options available to you, and which option would you choose and why.20 marks
16. Q12You are head of a big and reputed hospital in the national capital. The hospital is visited by thousands of patients every day and most of them belong to economically weaker sections. The hospital is also facing staff crunch. A man whose mother is admitted in your hospital comes to you. His mother is critically ill with highly contagious disease which makes hospitalization necessary. He tells you that he is an auto-rickshaw driver who cannot afford medical expenses of his mother. Also, he has three young daughters to marry and he is the only bread earner in family. He further adds that he loves his mother very much and he cannot not see her continuous sufferings. He request you to let her die with dignity. Given this situation, answer the following questions: (a) Explain the ethical dilemmas faced by you? (b) What are the options available to you? Discuss the merits and demerits of each. Also, mention what you would suggest to him.20 marks
17. Q13Given is a case with three subsequent situational-modifications, after reading all the three situations answer the given questions; Imagine you are a homeowner in a quiet suburban neighborhood, living with your family in a nice, large house. You make plenty of money, have plenty of food, and have extra bed-rooms; you never really have to worry about anyone being uncomfortable in the house. (i) One night, while working late at night you hear the sound of your doorbell and open the door - standing there is a homeless man. This man does not hold out a tin can or ask you for a donation. Instead, he asks you to let him into your home, feed him, and provide him with a bed in one of your many empty bedrooms. Now, this is not particularly a problem for you, as you have plenty of food and even have an empty bedroom for this man to sleep in. (ii) Imagine, instead of the homeless man asking to stay in your house, you find there is a regular looking man, seeking shelter from a murderer who is down the street trying to kill him. From your window, you can see the murderer at the end of the street, waving his gun around. Now, knowing that if you leave this man outside he will probably be killed. (iii) Imagine, that there are whole rows of houses on your block that have their lights on and the man has option to go to some other house as well. (a) Among all the above given situations, when do you think that you are morally obligated to let the man in your house? Give reasons. (b) Using the above situations as an analogy to the geopolitical situation of the refugee crisis, Discuss the moral responsibilities of developed and capable countries toward more than 60 million displaced people in the world today? Should they let refugees in to their borders? Justify.20 marks
18. Q14You are posted as a District Magistrate in a communally sensitive district. You have been specifically given the responsibility to maintain peace and harmony in your district. After sometime, you are informed that on the eve of a religious festival, a communal organization close to the ruling party is planning to organize a religious procession where they distribute large number of swords to the people to celebrate. Also, the procession will move through the communally sensitive area. This may instigate a sense of fear among other community and chances of communal clash may increase. Given this situation, answer the following questions; (a) What are the immediate options available to you? Discuss the merits and demerits of each. (b) What will be your response to the situation? (c) What are the steps you would take to improve communal harmony in your district?20 marks
19. Q15You work in TCS as a project manager. Your company gets a project of digitizing and maintaining records of women and child welfare department in a state which has poor social indicators. After working for a while on the project you come across a set of accounts going through which you get to know about a scam in form of gross diversion and mis-utilisation of funds meant for the welfare by officials of the department. You do a preliminary research on your end to find more details. It not only confirms the scam but also reveals the extensiveness of the scam involving various high rank politicians and senior bureaucrats across the state. You report this to your senior who tells you that few officials already threatened him of his life. They have offered handsome amount of money on the other hand to remain silent which he has already accepted. He advises you to do the same and not risk your life. But you decide to become a whistle-blower in order to reveal the scam and get justice to the needy and already deprived people. (a) How should you go about it? Do you think 'Whistleblowers Protection Act' of India is effective enough to protect you? (b) Do you think that you have taken a right decision in this case? Justify.20 marks

The answers