Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude · UPSC Notes

Ethics in Public Administration — UPSC Ethics Notes

Free, exam-focused notes for UPSC Prelims and Mains, with Prelims tips and Mains points for every topic. 2 topics.

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Public Service Values and Ethical Concerns in Government Institutions

Public administration rests on values such as legality, accountability, impartiality, transparency, responsiveness and efficiency. In government and private institutions, officers face ethical concerns and dilemmas—conflicts between rules and outcomes, loyalty and integrity, or speed and fairness. The 2nd ARC's 4th Report 'Ethics in Governance' (2007) remains the key reference.

1. Core Public Service Values

Constitutional values: Justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, rule of law.

Administrative values: Legality, accountability, transparency, impartiality, efficiency, effectiveness, responsiveness, equity.

Personal values: Integrity, empathy, courage, dedication.

2. Status and Problems of Ethics in Government

Corruption at the cutting edge (licences, land records, police), policy capture by interest groups, politicisation, red-tapism and rule-bound behaviour, lack of protection for honest officers.

3. Ethical Concerns and Dilemmas in Institutions

Administrative discretion: Rules cannot cover every case; discretion can be used fairly or abused.

Political–administrative interface: Pressure to act illegally vs duty to obey legitimate orders.

Loyalty vs whistle-blowing when superiors are corrupt.

Confidentiality vs transparency.

Private institutions: Profit vs safety (e.g. pharmaceutical trials, building codes), data privacy, employee welfare.

4. Laws, Rules and Conscience as Sources of Ethical Guidance

Laws and rules: Constitution, IPC/BNS, Prevention of Corruption Act, Conduct Rules.

Codes: All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968; Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964.

Conscience: Inner guide where rules are silent or ambiguous.

5. 2nd ARC Recommendations (Ethics in Governance)

Code of ethics for ministers, legislators and civil servants; strengthening the Lokpal and Lokayuktas; protection of whistle-blowers; confiscation of illegally acquired property; state funding of elections; citizens' charters; reducing discretion through e-governance.

6. Strengthening Ethical Governance

Ethical leadership, clear codes with training, transparency (RTI, e-procurement), social audit, rotation in sensitive posts, rewards for integrity.

Sources of ethical guidance
Source	Examples	Limitation
Laws	Prevention of Corruption Act, RTI Act	Cannot cover every situation
Rules and codes	AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968	Often prohibitive, not aspirational
Conscience	Inner moral sense	Can be subjective or mistaken

Prelims tips

2nd ARC 4th Report: 'Ethics in Governance' (2007).
All India Services (Conduct) Rules were framed in 1968.
Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules date from 1964.
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was amended in 2018 (bribe-giving also made an offence).
Code of conduct = 'dos and don'ts'; code of ethics = broad values.

Mains points

Ethical governance needs both 'compliance' (rules, penalties) and 'integrity' (values, leadership) approaches.
Discretion is unavoidable; it should be structured, transparent and recorded.
The political–administrative interface must be governed by clear rules on written orders and tenure security.
Private institutions also bear public ethical responsibilities when they affect safety, health and data.

Did you know?

The Santhanam Committee (1964) on prevention of corruption led to the creation of the Central Vigilance Commission.
The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 made bribe-giving a specific offence.
Social audits of MGNREGA in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana became a national model.

Accountability and Ethical Governance; Ethics in Public Funding

Accountability means being answerable for decisions and their results. It works through political (legislature), administrative (hierarchy, audit), legal (courts) and social (citizens, media, RTI, social audit) channels. Ethical governance also requires that public money—taxes paid by citizens—is spent honestly, efficiently and for public purposes.

1. Forms of Accountability

Political: Ministers answer to Parliament (questions, committees, no-confidence motion).

Administrative: Hierarchical supervision, performance appraisal, internal audit.

Financial: CAG audits, Public Accounts Committee.

Legal: Judicial review, writs, PILs.

Social: RTI, social audit, citizen charters, media, civil society.

2. Accountability vs Responsibility vs Answerability

Responsibility: Duty to perform a task.

Answerability: Obligation to explain actions.

Accountability: Answerability plus consequences (rewards or sanctions).

3. Challenges

Diffused responsibility in committees ('many hands' problem), anonymity of civil servants, fear of vigilance leading to 'policy paralysis', weak follow-up of audit findings, delays in courts.

4. Ethical Use of Public Funds

Principles: Economy, efficiency, effectiveness, equity, transparency; the 'canons of financial propriety' (spend public money as carefully as one's own).

Issues: Leakages in welfare schemes, inflated procurement, unspent funds, wasteful expenditure, freebies vs welfare debate.

Tools: PFMS and DBT, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), outcome budgeting, social audits, CAG performance audits.

5. Way Forward

Outcome-based accountability, protection for bona fide decisions (amended Prevention of Corruption Act requires prior sanction to investigate officials), timely audit follow-up, citizen feedback systems.

Channels of accountability
Type	Mechanism
Political	Parliamentary questions, committees, no-confidence motion
Financial	CAG audit, Public Accounts Committee
Legal	Judicial review, writs, PIL
Social	RTI, social audit, media, citizen charters

Prelims tips

Accountability = answerability + consequences.
Public Accounts Committee examines CAG reports.
Social audit is mandatory under MGNREGA (Section 17).
Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act requires prior approval to investigate public servants for official decisions.
GeM is the national public procurement portal.

Mains points

Accountability without autonomy breeds fear; autonomy without accountability breeds arbitrariness—balance both.
Social accountability tools empower citizens directly and complement formal institutions.
Public money is held in trust; wasteful or corrupt spending is a betrayal of taxpayers and the poor.
Outcome-focused accountability encourages results, not just procedural compliance.

Did you know?

The CAG is often called the 'guardian of the public purse'.
The Public Accounts Committee is traditionally chaired by a member of the Opposition.
Rajasthan's MKSS public hearings in the 1990s pioneered social audit in India.

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