UPSC Mains 2015 GS4 Previous Year Questions

Question list

Open any question to see the examiner demand, demand-wise word budget, answer plan, common mark leaks and value addition in the same answer-sheet format.

1. Q1(a) · What is meant by 'environmental ethics'? Why is it important to study? Discuss any one environmental issue from the viewpoint of environmental ethics.
2. Q1(b) · Differentiate between: (a) Law and Ethics; (b) Ethical management and Management of ethics; (c) Discrimination and Preferential treatment; (d) Personal ethics and Professional ethics.
3. Q2(a) · The weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. Discuss the ethical meaning of this statement.
4. Q2(b) · We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. Discuss the ethical meaning of this statement.
5. Q3(a) · A mere compliance with law is not enough; a public servant also has to have a well-developed sensibility to ethical issues for effective discharge of duties. Do you agree? Explain with two examples: an act that is ethically right but not legally right, and an act that is legally right but not ethically right.
6. Q3(b) · How do the virtues of trustworthiness and fortitude get manifested in public service? Explain with examples.
7. Q4(a) · Social values are more important than economic values. Discuss this statement with examples in the context of inclusive growth of a nation.
8. Q4(b) · Developments such as the RTI Act, media and judicial activism help transparency and accountability, but can also be misused and make officers afraid to take prompt decisions. Analyze this dichotomy and suggest how the negative impacts can be minimized.
9. Q5 · Two attitudes exhibited by public servants towards work are the bureaucratic attitude and the democratic attitude. Distinguish between them with merits and demerits, and examine whether they can be balanced for better and faster administration.
10. Q6 · Despite codes of conduct, vigilance cells and commissions, RTI, active media and stronger legal mechanisms, corrupt practices are not coming under control. Evaluate the effectiveness of these measures and suggest more effective strategies to tackle corruption.
11. Q7 · At the international level, bilateral relations are often governed by national interest without regard for other nations, leading to conflict and tension. How can ethical considerations help resolve such tensions? Discuss with specific examples.
12. Q8 · Public servants are likely to confront 'Conflict of Interest'. What do you understand by this term, how does it manifest in public decision-making, and how would you resolve such a situation? Explain with examples.
13. Q9 · A scientist in the R&D laboratory of a major pharmaceutical company discovers that a best-selling veterinary drug could cure an incurable liver disease prevalent in poor tribal areas. Developing a human variant would cost about Rs 50 crore and recovery of the cost is unlikely because the affected population has little purchasing power. If you were the CEO, (a) identify the actions you could take and (b) evaluate the pros and cons of each.
14. Q10 · A disaster-prone State suffers a devastating cloudburst, floods and landslides, trapping more than 100,000 people. Those in your area include senior citizens, hospital patients, women and children, hikers, tourists, a ruling party regional president and family, an Additional Chief Secretary from another State, and prisoners in jail. As a civil services officer, what order of rescue would you follow and why? Justify your priorities.
15. Q11 · You head a district administration department. A senior officer plans to inspect land in Rampur village for a school. The file shows the plot was acquired cheaply from the Panchayat, has only two of three suitability clearances, and lacks the architect's certification. On visiting, you find the plot is part of Thakurgarh Fort, inconvenient for children, expensive to develop, raises heritage concerns, and was acquired when the Sarpanch was related to your predecessor, suggesting vested interests. (a) List likely vested interests. (b) Evaluate the options of awaiting the superior's visit, seeking written/phone advice, consulting predecessor/colleagues, finding an alternate plot and submitting a comprehensive report, or any other justified option.
16. Q12 · As a District Development Officer, you find serious tension over girls' education. Village elders favour early marriage and minimal education, while younger people demand equal educational and employment opportunities. After girls are molested on the way to school, clashes occur and elders decide to stop girls attending school and socially boycott non-compliant families. (a) What steps would you take to ensure girls' safety without disrupting education? (b) How would you manage and mould patriarchal attitudes to restore harmony across generations?
17. Q13 · A private company known for efficiency, transparency and employee welfare is gatecrashed by about 40 members of a political party demanding jobs, threatening management and employees and demoralizing staff. The company maintains high integrity and does not extend favours to civil administration or law enforcement. As CEO: (a) what would you do immediately to diffuse the volatile situation; (b) what could be the long-term solution; and (c) analyze the positive and negative consequences of each action for you, employees and company performance.
18. Q14 · You are Sarpanch of a Panchayat with a government primary school providing midday meals. A new cook is from the Dalit community; parents of many higher-caste children stop them from eating meals, attendance falls sharply, and the school and scheme could ultimately close. (a) Discuss feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and create the right ambience. (b) What responsibilities should different social segments and agencies assume to create a positive social environment for accepting such change?