A topper · GS4 · 58 pages

Suyash Dwivedi: GS4 answer copy

8 answers by Suyash Dwivedi, as written in the test. Each question opens a page with how other toppers answered it.

The questions

  1. Q1You are the District Magistrate of a district renowned as the hub for coaching centres specializing in engineering and medical entrance exams. Recently, the district has witnessed a tragic rise in student suicides, with five students in the age group of 15-18 years taking their own lives. These students, who came from various parts of the country, sought admission to prestigious institutions like IITs and AIIMS but were subjected to immense academic and social pressure. The coaching centres, which are largely managed by influential political figures from the ruling party, are reported to have prioritized rankings and revenue generation over the well-being of students. The institutes are said to categorize students into high-performing and low-performing batches, creating additional stress. Many of these students, living in paying guest accommodations or hostels, face isolation, emotional strain, and mental health challenges. Moreover, investigations have uncovered the emergence of a black market for performance-enhancing drugs among students who, under extreme pressure, resort to unethical means to improve their academic standing. (a) Highlight the stakeholders involved and discuss the associated ethical issues in the given case. (b) Given the situation, what will be your course of action as the District Magistrate? (c) Discuss the various reasons for the increasing number of suicides among students, suggest long-term measures to address this issue.10 marks
  2. Q1(a)Identify the key stakeholders involved in the case and analyze their respective interests.
  3. Q1(b)Transparency is not just a tool to combat corruption but a fundamental practice that upholds the integrity and legitimacy of public institutions. Examine the above statement with suitable examples.10 marks
  4. Q5(b)"Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence" - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (Answer in 150 words) "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." - Samuel Johnson10 marks
  5. Q8Akshay, a junior officer in the Public Works Department (PWD), is part of the bid evaluation committee for a prestigious government contract to construct a large public hospital in a major city. During the evaluation, he observes that one of the leading bidders has strong connections to a senior politician's family. Despite the bidder's history of substandard construction work and project delays, several committee members appear to favor this bidder. Upon reviewing internal documents, Akshay uncovers evidence suggesting that the bidder's technical credentials have been exaggerated in the evaluation reports. Simultaneously, a more qualified construction company, with a smaller scale but a better track record, has been overlooked. Akshay is concerned that awarding the contract to the politically connected bidder would endanger public safety and lead to wasteful expenditure of taxpayer money. Despite his ethical concerns, Akshay fears that raising the issue may lead to retaliation from senior officials, potentially jeopardizing his career and standing within the department. He is thus caught in a moral conflict between his duty to the public and personal job security. (a) Identify and analyze the ethical issues involved in the case. (b) Discuss the possible courses of action available to Akshay. What would be the most ethical and appropriate course of action in this situation? Justify your response.20 marks
  6. Q8(case study)A devastating flood has struck regions of a flood-prone state, leading to widespread humanitarian distress. Amid ongoing rescue operations, social media is flooded with claims that relief efforts are being deliberately delayed for certain communities. These posts go viral, fueling communal tensions and eroding public trust in disaster response agencies. Ishita, a senior officer in the State Information Department, conducts an investigation and finds that most of these claims are either unsubstantiated or manipulated. However, she faces mounting pressure from different stakeholders. Political leaders seize the social media outrage as an opportunity to criticize the ruling party, calling for a judicial inquiry. Activists argue that removing or countering these posts could be seen as a violation of free speech. Further complicating the matter, a high-ranking government official instructs Ishita to refrain from taking action, fearing that any intervention might be perceived as an attempt to suppress dissent. Ishita is deeply concerned that unchecked misinformation could escalate communal tensions and undermine the credibility of the administration. However, intervening too aggressively could trigger accusations of censorship and political bias, placing her in a difficult ethical position. (a) Identify the ethical dilemmas faced by Ishita in handling the misinformation crisis. (b) What should be Ishita's course of action in balancing freedom of speech, public order, and government directives? Justify your response. (c) What steps can be taken to prevent misinformation during natural disasters?20 marks
  7. Q1010. आप एक बहुराष्ट्रीय निगम (MNC) की भारत इकाई में गुणवत्ता नियंत्रण अधिकारी के रूप में कार्यरत हैं। आप एक गंभीर नैतिक मुद्दे का पता लगाते हैं कि भारत में बेचे जाने वाले उत्पाद विकसित देशों की तुलना में निम्न गुणवत्ता के हैं, जिससे संभावित रूप से उपभोक्ता सुरक्षा से समझौता हो सकता है। जब आप इस मुद्दे को गुणवत्ता नियंत्रण प्रमुख के समक्ष प्रस्तुत करते हैं, तो वह आपकी चिंताओं को खारिज कर देता है और यह कहते हुए विसंगति को उचित ठहराता है कि विभिन्न बाजार अलग-अलग मानदंडों का अनुसरण करते हैं। वह आगे चेतावनी देता है कि इस मुद्दे को उजागर करने से लोगों की नौकरियां समाप्त हो सकती हैं, कंपनी की भारत में स्थित इकाई बंद हो सकती है, और आपको स्वयं नौकरी से निकाला जा सकता है। अब आप एक व्यक्तिगत और पेशेवर दुविधा का सामना कर रहे हैं। एक ओर, आपके पिता गंभीर रूप से बीमार हैं तथा परिवार में एकमात्र आय अर्जित करने वाले सदस्य के रूप में, आपकी नौकरी छूटने से उनका उपचार खतरे में पड़ सकता है। दूसरी ओर, चुप रहने का तात्पर्य पेशेवर सत्यनिष्ठा से समझौता करना और उपभोक्ता सुरक्षा को खतरे में डालना होगा। (a) उपर्युक्त प्रकरण में शामिल नैतिक मुद्दे क्या हैं? (b) इस मुद्दे का समाधान करने के लिए गुणवत्ता नियंत्रण अधिकारी के पास क्या विकल्प उपलब्ध हैं? (c) विभिन्न बाजारों में उपभोक्ताओं के प्रति निगमों की क्या जिम्मेदारियां हैं? (उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)20 marks
  8. Q1212. ABC सिटी की नगर आयुक्त के रूप में कार्यरत आईएएस अधिकारी, प्रिया को एक चुनौतीपूर्ण नैतिक दुविधा का सामना करना पड़ता है। राज्य सरकार ने एक स्मार्ट सिटी परियोजना को मंजूरी दी है, जिसमें एक मल्टी-लेन एक्सप्रेसवे और आधुनिक वाणिज्यिक परिसरों का निर्माण किया जाना है। इस परियोजना का उद्देश्य आर्थिक गतिविधि को बढ़ावा देना, शहरी गतिशीलता को बढ़ाना और निवेश को आकर्षित करना है, जो ABC को संधारणीय शहरी विकास के लिए एक मॉडल के रूप में स्थापित करता है। हालांकि, प्रस्तावित एक्सप्रेसवे पुराने शहर के क्षेत्र से होकर गुजरता है, जो सदियों पुरानी विरासत वाली इमारतों, मंदिरों के साथ-साथ ऐसे कारीगरों के एक समुदाय का घर है, जो अपनी आजीविका के लिए पर्यटन और हस्तशिल्प पर निर्भर हैं। विशेषज्ञों ने चेतावनी दी है कि निर्माण से ऐतिहासिक संरचनाओं का विध्वंस और पारंपरिक कारीगरों का विस्थापन होगा, जिससे शहर की सांस्कृतिक पहचान के समक्ष खतरा उत्पन्न होगा। विरासत संबंधी संरक्षणवादी और स्थानीय समुदाय इस परियोजना का कड़ा विरोध कर रहे हैं तथा पुराने शहर की विरासत को संरक्षित करने के लिए वैकल्पिक मार्गों या संशोधनों का पक्ष समर्थन कर रहे हैं। इसके विपरीत, व्यावसायिक समूह, रियल एस्टेट डेवलपर्स और राजनेताओं का तर्क है कि प्रगति के लिए शहरी विकास आवश्यक है और विरासत संबंधी चिंताओं को आधुनिकीकरण में बाधा नहीं बनने देना चाहिए। इन परस्पर विरोधी हितों को ध्यान में रखते हुए प्रिया को यह सुनिश्चित करना होगा कि सरकार का शहरी विकास एजेंडा लागू हो तथा साथ ही, शहर की समृद्ध सांस्कृतिक विरासत और सुभेद्य समुदायों की आजीविका की भी सुरक्षा हो। (a) प्रकरण में शामिल प्रमुख हितधारकों की पहचान कीजिए और उनके संबंधित हितों का विश्लेषण कीजिए। (b) शहरी विकास, विरासत संरक्षण और स्थानीय समुदायों के अधिकारों के बीच संतुलन बनाने में प्रिया द्वारा सामना की जाने वाली नैतिक दुविधाओं पर चर्चा कीजिए। (उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)20 marks

The answers

Question 1 · 10 marks · 1342 words written

You are the District Magistrate of a district renowned as the hub for coaching centres specializing in engineering and medical entrance exams. Recently, the district has witnessed a tragic rise in student suicides, with five students in the age group of 15-18 years taking their own lives. These students, who came from various parts of the country, sought admission to prestigious institutions like IITs and AIIMS but were subjected to immense academic and social pressure. The coaching centres, which are largely managed by influential political figures from the ruling party, are reported to have prioritized rankings and revenue generation over the well-being of students. The institutes are said to categorize students into high-performing and low-performing batches, creating additional stress. Many of these students, living in paying guest accommodations or hostels, face isolation, emotional strain, and mental health challenges. Moreover, investigations have uncovered the emergence of a black market for performance-enhancing drugs among students who, under extreme pressure, resort to unethical means to improve their academic standing. (a) Highlight the stakeholders involved and discuss the associated ethical issues in the given case. (b) Given the situation, what will be your course of action as the District Magistrate? (c) Discuss the various reasons for the increasing number of suicides among students, suggest long-term measures to address this issue.

Opening

Artificial intelligence has become an inseparable part of the contemporary digital revolution.

Body

VALUES TO GUIDE AI SYSTEM

  1. ACCESSIBILITY - The AI systems should be such that these benefits are available to each and every community and be within their reach eg. making AI a standard feature in all phones not just flagship phones.

INCLUSIVITY - AI systems should not have algorithm bias and be accommodative of all viewpoints eg.

Amazon recently replaced its AI recruitment platform which was biased against women resume.

  1. TRANSPARENCY - the development of AI systems need to be transparent and open to questions.

  2. AVOID ECHO CHAMBER EFFECT - to fuel racial hatred, caste biases, etc eg. Chinese AI Deepseek was alleged committing with racial bias

  3. EMPATHY - towards the emotions of users as AI being objective and rational may become devoid of humane values of compassion.

"The more science belongs to each one of us, the less likely it is to be misused."

  • Carl Sagan

Ethical leadership involves displaying the high moral standards, values and dignity while leading an organisation.

HOW CAN ETHICAL LEADERSHIP TRANSFORM GOVERNANCE

  1. Leading by Example can help instil PUBLIC trust - eg IAS Shashikala Ala started My School My Farm initiative in Mizoram to provide schoolchildren with nutritious vegetables.
  2. Enhanced service delivery - with ethical practises like SEVOTTAM MODEL of service delivery eg IAS officer Awanish Sharan started Bike Ambulance in Chhattisgarh to effectively reach difficult terrain.
  3. Efficient utilization of resource - eg. Metroman of India Shreedharan completed a project in 1 year which was slated for 4 year.
  4. Innovation - eg Use EPIC voter ID card by TN Sheshan.
  5. Time bound delivery of projects. DECISION MAKING
  6. Participative decision making - eg Environmental Impact Assessment.
  7. Open to feedback and recalibration of inputs.
  8. Improvisation - eg. Vikram Sarabhai improvised on ISROs capability after initial failures. Thus, ethical leadership flows from the the concept of Philosopher King of Aristotle; who is both wise and just.

Integrity refers to upholding virtuous behaviour even when no one watches and impartiality is being free from biasness and prejudices.

These are cardinal values for a civil servant.

IMPORTANCE

  • INTEGRITY *

  1. Upholding conduct of public life eg Mahatma Gandhi refused to take money from Congress to support Sabarmati Aashram

  2. Justifying public trust - an integrity rich character can wield public's trust eg Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was

respected for his integrity 3. Trusteeship role - civil servants are not owner but trustee of public resources, thus integrity is needed eg Lal Bahadur Shashtri's wife repaid car loan even after his death.

IMPARTIALITY

  1. Continuity of policies despite regime change.
  2. Permanent executive needs to serve all sections of society equally eg. civil servant can not discriminate between rich/poor.

How to navigate external pressure

  1. Excercising Emotional intelligence - not loosing cool in stressful situation eg. Tripura DM slapped people during Covid lockdown
  2. Sticking to constitutional values
  3. Not treating rules as an end rather than as a means
  4. Sticking to Gandhiji's talisman
  5. Following his conscience as it points north mostly

These values are a must for an effective civil servant.

With almost 950 million internet users, India becomes subjected to the impact of social media influencers in shaping social attitude.

ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SHAPING Moral and Political Attitude

  1. ECHO CHAMBER EFFECT - the constant showing and sharing of posts, news, media conforming to your political ideology eg Make America Great Again campaign.

  2. Influencers exercising their role as messengers of certain political party eg. Kunal Kamra, comedian.

publicly criticises a political party

Utilitarianism defines public interest as the benefit for the maximum number of people.

However, the professional responsibilities expect a civil servant to adhere to RULES and PROCEDURES.

How can they both be balanced?

  1. Doing more than MINIMUM EFFORT → ie going beyond letter of rules to the spirit of law eg. if a hungry poor is not having document, not rejecting his eligibility outrightly, rathering finding other solutions to feed him.

  2. Developing Emotional intelligence to deal with conflict of decision making eg. Impose COVID restriction DM while enforcing forced shut a wedding causing public uproar

  3. Maintaining good interpersonal relationship through SOCIAL CONTRACT eg in case of public disorder, using proportionate lawful force instead of directly lathi charge

  4. Carrying out public consultations - eg during an Dam project; EIA process shall be conducted

Public interest and professional goals of civil servants are not mutually exclusive rather interdependent and civil servant must go beyond minimum standard to uphold CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES

Corporate ethics are the set of nomative principles that guide the ethical conduct of organisations, which have become very imporatant in growing India.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD GUIDE THEM

  1. ESG principle → Environment → Social → Governance } Factors of Business must be set right

  2. They should for inclusivity, sustainability and participative decision making (Art 43A)

  3. Informed Consent - Digital services companies should take informed consent of users before transferring data.

  4. Transparency - in their balance-sheet eg. failure of ILFS crisis → showcase their green initiatives eg Greenwashing → show their NUTRITIONAL information

  5. Should not MISLEAD PUBLIC - eg companies claim to have nutrition of milk in milk byproducts.

  6. Not engage in Insider Trading

  7. Enable a EMPLOYEE centric governance focusing on their well being eg BJYU's toxic work culture gained public attention.

Corporate governance is an area that can help us build a VIKSIT and VISHAL BHARAT

Whistleblowing refers to making public certain practises of an organisation by someone who's a stakeholder or employee in that organisation.

Diagram
* Influence on trust and accountability * Positives * accountability ensured * rules and norms followed by organisation * Transparency maintained * Negatives * employer-employee trust diminished * company secrets at risk * employer vigilance and surveillance

ETHICAL DILEMMAS INVOLVED

(1) CONFIDENTIALITY vs PUBLIC GOOD → companies often contract employees in signing NON DISCLOSURE clause.

(2) Loyalty to service vs to public → eg. A pharma company selling fake products is doing public harm but it providing food to its employes.

(3) Personal conscience vs organisational ethics → eg in insurance company claims might be rejected on company policies even when a person feels they shall be given amount.

(4) Freedom of expression vs liabilities in organisation

(5) Personal well being vs societal well being

Thus whistleblowing requires support from government which is provided in WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT 2014.

The rise pressure amongst students in competitive exam has subjected them to enhanced vulnerability to mental diseases.

The given case study refers to the given case.

a)

Diagram
STAKEHOLDERS - students - their families - coaching institutes - district admin - coaching agglomeration economy - Landlords and other - medical industry - society at large

Ethical Issues involved

  1. Commercialisation of Education → drains wealth, health and

well being of students → subjects them to rat race of success → misguides and wrongly influences parents 2. Medical ethics - black marketing of Performance enhancing drugs subject students to unmonitored drug use. → it also creates issue of equity wherein rich may afford, poor can't 3. social objective ; political interests - coaching institutes run by political people are able to evade the scrutiny of administration → they find ways to commodify students as revenue generation model eg sticking posters of toppers and causing inferiority complex in weaker students 4. High exploitation by Hostels

leading to isolation, mental issues. leading to SUICIDES

b) Course of Action

  1. Visiting the hub and getting on ground information
  2. Setting ceiling prices for PGs, hostels, vegetable, fruit vendors so that they don't extact exorbitant prices
  3. Providing a helpline tollfree 24x7 number to students for MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLING
  4. Collaborating with coaching institutes to identify and SCREEN students who visibly seem distressed or mentally isolated
  5. Promotion of social activities like Book fare, organisation

of sports events, exhibitions, etc to keep up the social life of students

  1. Raiding the medical shops, along with pharmacovigilance teams to curb such unethical drugs

  2. Organizing seminars in coaching institutes to raise awareness regarding SUICIDE and mental stress

C) REASONS FOR RISE IN STUDENT SUICIDE

1) PERSONAL REASONS

→ Aspiration higher than competence - this arises due to lack of self awareness and neglect of reflection

→ Unawareness regarding career choices - leading to mainstream career choice with low success rate → mounting pressure

Close

None written.