Public Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration

What the official syllabus says

General Studies IV (Paper-V):

Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.

Topics in detail

Public and civil service values

• Values expected of civil servants: integrity, impartiality, objectivity, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, efficiency, courtesy, commitment to the Constitution.
• Ethics in public administration: meaning and importance; administrative ethics compared with personal ethics.

Status and problems

• Current state of ethics in Indian public administration.
• Problems: corruption, red tape, delay, nepotism, politicisation of transfers and postings, misuse of discretion, lack of accountability.
• Causes: weak enforcement, low risk of punishment, complex procedures, poor working conditions, social tolerance of corruption.
• Ethics in Governance (2007), the fourth report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, and its main recommendations.

Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions

• What an ethical dilemma is: a choice between two or more values or duties, where honouring one breaks another.
• Common dilemmas in government: loyalty to superiors versus the law; efficiency versus due process; confidentiality versus transparency; personal values versus official duty; public interest versus private interest.
• Dilemmas in private institutions: profit versus social responsibility, loyalty to employer versus whistle-blowing, safety versus cost.
• Conflict of interest: actual, potential and perceived.
• Ways of resolving dilemmas: identifying stakeholders and values, considering options and consequences, testing against law and conscience, choosing and justifying.

Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance

• The Constitution: Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties (Article 51A).
• Laws: Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; Right to Information Act, 2005; Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013; Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014.
• Rules and regulations: conduct rules, service rules, office procedures, codes of professional bodies.
• Conscience: the inner voice; when rules are silent, unclear or unjust.
• Relation between law and ethics: law as the minimum standard; ethics beyond the law; conscience within the limits of law.

Accountability and ethical governance

• Meaning of accountability: answerability and enforceability.
• Kinds: political, administrative, legal, financial, social and professional accountability.
• Mechanisms: Parliament and its committees, Comptroller and Auditor General, courts, Central Vigilance Commission, Lokpal, social audit, media, RTI.
• Ethical governance: rule of law, transparency, participation, responsiveness, equity, effectiveness.

Strengthening ethical and moral values in governance

• Codes of ethics and conduct; ethics training at induction and during service.
• Leadership by example; reward for integrity and protection for honest officers.
• Simplifying procedures and reducing discretion; e-governance.
• Fair systems for transfers, postings and performance appraisal.
• Role of civil society, media and citizens.

Ethical issues in international relations and funding

• Realism and idealism in foreign policy; national interest and universal values.
• Human rights, humanitarian intervention and sovereignty.
• Refugees and migrants: obligations and limits.
• Climate justice: common but differentiated responsibilities.
• Arms trade, nuclear weapons and war ethics.
• Foreign aid and loans: conditions attached, dependence, debt; accountability of donors and recipients.
• Funding of non-governmental organisations from abroad and its regulation (Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010).
• Global health equity: access to medicines and vaccines.
• Ethics of international institutions and multinational corporations.

Corporate governance

• Meaning: the system by which companies are directed and controlled; fairness, transparency, accountability and responsibility.
• Stakeholders: shareholders, employees, consumers, creditors, community, environment.
• Indian framework: Companies Act, 2013 (independent directors, audit committees, corporate social responsibility under Section 135); SEBI’s listing rules.
• Issues: insider trading, accounting fraud, conflict of interest, related-party transactions, protection of minority shareholders.
• Corporate social responsibility and business ethics; environmental, social and governance concerns.

Overlaps

• Statutory and regulatory bodies and the role of civil services are in General Studies II, along with India’s international relations.