UPSC Mains 2019 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 are the basic principles of public life? Illustrate any three of these with suitable examples.
2. Q1(b) · What do you understand by the term ‘public servant’? Reflect on the expected role of a public servant.
3. Q2(a) · Effective utilization of public funds is crucial to meet development goals. Critically examine the reasons for under-utilization and mis-utilization of public funds and their implications.
4. Q2(b) · “Non-performance of duty by a public servant is a form of corruption.” Do you agree with this view? Justify your answer.
5. Q3(a) · What is meant by the term ‘constitutional morality’? How does one uphold constitutional morality?
6. Q3(b) · What is meant by ‘crisis of conscience’? How does it manifest itself in the public domain?
7. Q4(a) · Explain the basic principles of citizens charter movement and bring out its importance.
8. Q4(b) · There is a view that the Official Secrets Act is an obstacle to the implementation of Right to Information Act. Do you agree with the view? Discuss.
9. Q5(a) · What do you understand by probity in governance? Based on your understanding of the term, suggest measures for ensuring probity in government.
10. Q5(b) · “Emotional Intelligence is the ability to make your emotions work for you instead of against you.” Do you agree with this view? Discuss.
11. Q6(a) · “An unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates. What does this quotation mean to you?
12. Q6(b) · “A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.” — M. K. Gandhi. What does this quotation mean to you?
13. Q6(c) · “Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation. When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.” — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. What does this quotation mean to you?
14. Q7 · You are heading rescue operations in an area hit by a severe natural calamity. Thousands are homeless and deprived of basic amenities; heavy rain and damaged routes disrupt rescue. Angry local people heckle and assault team members and one is severely injured. Some team members want to call off operations out of fear. What will be your response? Examine the qualities of a public servant required to manage the situation.
15. Q8 · Honesty and uprightness are hallmarks of civil servants, but bona fide administrative decisions can sometimes have unforeseen adverse consequences. Recent cases of civil servants being prosecuted and imprisoned for bona fide mistakes have rattled morale. How does this trend affect civil-service functioning? What measures can ensure honest civil servants are not implicated for bona fide mistakes? Justify.
16. Q9 · An apparel company with many women employees hires a successful marketing executive. Reports emerge of workplace sexual harassment; a woman employee files a formal complaint and then an FIR when management is indifferent. The company offers her a large sum to withdraw the complaint and state that the executive was not involved. Identify the ethical issues and discuss the options available to the woman employee.
17. Q10 · In a democratic polity, ministers form the political executive and bureaucracy the permanent executive. Over time, political involvement in routine administration, pressure on bureaucrats, declining respect for upright officials, materialism and acquisitiveness have contributed to the ‘politicization of bureaucracy’. What are the consequences of this politicization? Discuss.
18. Q11 · In a frontier-state district, narcotics have fuelled money laundering, poppy farming, arms smuggling and educational decline. Reports suggest patronage from politicians and senior police officers. A skilled woman police officer is appointed Superintendent of Police. If you are that officer, identify the dimensions of the crisis and suggest measures to restore normalcy.
19. Q12 · There is increasing concern to develop effective civil-service ethics, codes of conduct, transparency measures, integrity systems and anti-corruption agencies. Focus is needed on anticipating threats to ethical standards, strengthening ethical competence of civil servants, and developing administrative processes that promote ethics and integrity. Suggest institutional measures to address these three areas.