GPSC Mains: General Studies-IV
About this paper
General Studies-IV is Paper VII of the Main Examination for the Gujarat Administrative Service, Class-1, Gujarat Civil Service, Class-1 and Class-2 (Advertisement No. 05/2026-27). It is the ethics paper. It is a descriptive (conventional) paper of 250 marks and 3 hours, answered in English or Gujarati.
Its marks are counted for merit: Papers III to VII (Essay and General Studies-I to IV, 250 marks each, 1,250 in all) and the 150-mark Personality Test make up the 1,400 marks of the final merit list. The Gujarati and English language papers (Papers I and II) are qualifying only.
GPSC fixes the structure of the question paper as below.
| Nature of questions | Questions | Marks each | Word limit | Total marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case study (Part-A) | 8 | 25 | 200 words | 200 |
| Descriptive (Part-B) | 5 | 10 | 150 words | 50 |
| Total | 13 | 250 |
- Four-fifths of the paper (200 of 250 marks) is case studies, a weighting that favours applying values to situations over reciting definitions.
- The candidate chooses the language of answering for each of Papers III to VII on the Main Examination application. GPSC's notice of 12-08-2026 says the choice is final once the form is submitted, and answers written in any other language are not evaluated.
- A candidate who misses any paper of the Main Examination is not eligible.
Official syllabus
Paper 7: General Studies-4 (Main Examination)
The nature and standard of questions in this paper will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. This paper is designed to test candidates',
- Development of a positive character, responsible citizen, a compassionate and empathetic human being.
- Ability to resolve moral and ethical dilemmas in personal and professional spaces.
- Ability to take decision in difficult situation.
- Ethics in Public and Personal Life: Understanding right and wrong in daily decision-making, How values shape actions in personal and professional life.
- Honesty, Integrity, and Fairness: Being truthful and transparent in actions, Avoiding biases and treating all people fairly, Staying committed to principles even in difficult situations, Leading by example in personal and professional life.
- Compassion and Empathy in Governance: Understanding the struggles of ordinary citizens, Sensitivity toward weaker and marginalized sections. Ensuring justice and dignity for all, Serving people with humility and kindness.
- Moral Courage and Taking the Right Stand: Speaking up against corruption and wrongdoing, Handling pressure and resisting unethical influences, Making tough decisions for the greater good, Balancing duty and personal convictions.
- Leadership and Responsibility in Public Service: Building trust through ethical leadership, Taking responsibility for actions and decisions, Ensuring that government institutions work for the people.
- Transparency and Accountability: The importance of openness in government decision-making, Ensuring that public resources are used properly.
- Ethical Challenges in Administration: Balancing rules with real-life situations, Resolving conflicts of interest in decision-making, Ensuring justice by handling power responsibly.
- Case studies on above issues.
GPSC states that where the syllabus needs interpretation, the English version is final.
Subject-wise breakdown
One page for each of the eight official points, in GPSC's order:
- Ethics in Public and Personal Life: meaning of ethics and values, how right and wrong are judged in daily decisions, ethical theories, and values across personal and professional life.
- Honesty, Integrity and Fairness: truthfulness, transparency in one's own conduct, kinds of bias and how to guard against them, impartiality, steadfastness and leading by example.
- Compassion and Empathy in Governance: empathy and compassion as administrative values, weaker and marginalised sections, justice and dignity, humility in service delivery.
- Moral Courage and Taking the Right Stand: speaking up against corruption, whistle-blowing, resisting pressure, choosing the greater good, duty against conscience.
- Leadership and Responsibility in Public Service: ethical leadership, public trust, owning decisions and their results, citizen-centred institutions.
- Transparency and Accountability: openness in decision-making, the Right to Information, accountability mechanisms, and the proper use of public money.
- Ethical Challenges in Administration: rules against real situations, discretion, conflicts of interest, abuse of power and natural justice.
- Case Studies: what Part-A asks, the kinds of situations set, and a method for writing a 200-word case-study answer.
How this paper connects
- General Studies-II, Governance and Social Justice, covers the institutions behind many ethics answers: the role of civil services in democracy; transparency, accountability and responsiveness; the Citizen's Charter; RTI and the Public Service Act; and social audit. Read the two papers together.
- General Studies-I has "Gandhian thoughts and its relevance", a ready source of values and examples for this paper.
- The Essay paper often turns on values and dilemmas, and the Personality Test can probe the same attitudes in person.
Source: Gujarat Public Service Commission, Syllabus of the Main Examination, Advertisement No. 05/2026-27 (31 July 2026), PDF. Last checked 11 November 2026.