UPSC 2015 Mains – GS 4
UPSC Mains 2015
General Studies – Paper IV
v Time Allowed: Three Hours
v Maximum Marks: 250
v QUESTION PAPER SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS (Please
read each of the following instructions carefully before attempting questions)
v There are FOURTEEN questions divided in two
Sections and printed both in HINDI and in ENGLISH.
v All questions are compulsory.
v The number of marks carried by a question/part
is indicated against it.
v Answers must be written in the medium
authorized in the Admission Certificate which must be stated clearly on the
cover of this Question-cum-Answer (QCA) Booklet in the space provided. No marks
will be given for answers written in medium other than the authorized one.
v Word limit in questions, wherever specified,
should be adhered to.
v Any page or portion of the page left blank in
the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.
v Answer questions in NOT MORE than the word
limit specified for each in the parenthesis. Content of the answer is more
important than its length.
Section A
(01)
(a) What is meant by ‘environmental ethics’? Why is it important to
study? Discuss any one environmental issue from the viewpoint of environmental
ethics. (150 words) (10)
(b) Differentiate between the following (10 marks) (200 Words)
(i) Law and ethics
(ii) Ethical management and management of
ethics
(iii) Discrimination and preferential treatment
(iv) Personal Ethics and Professional Ethics
(02)
Given are two quotations of moral thinkers/philosophers. For each of
these bring out what it means to you in the present context.
(a) “The weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of
strong.” (10) (150 words)
(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” (10 marks) (150
words)
(03)
(a) “A mere compliance with law is not enough, the public servant
also have to have a well developed sensibility to ethical issues for effective
discharge of duties” Do you agree? Explain with the help of two examples where
(i) an act is ethically right, but not legally and (ii) an act is legally
right, but not ethically. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(b) How do the virtues of trustworthiness and fortitude get
manifested in public service? Explain with examples (10) (150 words)
(04)
(a) Social values are more important than economic values. Discuss
the above statement with examples in the context of inclusive growth of a
nation. (150 words) (10 Marks)
(b) Some recent developments such as introduction of RTI Act, media
and judicial activism, etc. are proving helpful in bringing about greater
transparency and accountability in the functioning of the government. However,
it is also being observed that at times the mechanisms are misused. Another
negative effect is that the officers are now afraid to take prompt decisions.
Analyse the situation in detail and suggest how the dichotomy can be resolved.
Suggest how these negative impacts can be minimised. (150 words) (10 Marks)
(05)
Two different kinds of attitudes exhibited by public servants
towards their work have been identified as bureaucratic attitude and the
democratic attitude. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(a) Distinguish between these two terms and write their merits and
demerits.
(b) Is it possible to balance the two too create a better
administration for the faster development of our country?
(06)
Today we find that in-spite of various measures of prescribing codes
of conduct, setting up vigilance cells/commissions, RTI, active media and
strengthening of legal mechanism, corrupt practices are not coming under control.
(10 Marks) (150 words)
(a) Evaluate the effectiveness of these measures with justifications
(b) Suggest more effective strategies to tackle this menace
(07)
At the international level, bilateral relations between most nations
are governed on the policy of promoting one’s own national interest without any
regard for the interest of other nations. This lead to conflicts and tension
between the nations. How can ethical consideration help resolve such tensions?
Discuss with specific examples. (10 Marks) (150 words)
(08)
Public servants are likely to confront with the issues of “Conflict
of Interest”. What do you understand by the term “Conflict of Interest” and how
does it manifest in the decision making by public servants? If faced with the
conflict of interest situation how would you resolve it? Explain with the help
of examples. (10 Marks) (150 words)
Section – B
(09)
A private company is known for its efficiency, transparency and
employee welfare. The company though owned by a private individual has a
cooperative character where employees feel a sense of ownership. The company
employs nearly 700 personnel and they have voluntarily decided not to form
union.
One day suddenly in the morning, about 40 men belonging to political
party gate crashed into the factory demanding jobs in the factory. They
threatened the management and employees, and also used foul language. The
employees feel demoralized. It was clear that those people who gate crashed
wanted to be on the payroll of the company as well as continue as the
volunteers/members of the party.
The company maintains high standards in integrity and does not
extend favours to civil administration that also includes law enforcement
agency. Such incident occur in public sector also. (20 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) Assume you are the CEO of the company. What would you do to
diffuse the volatile situation on the date of gate crashing with the violent
mob sitting inside the company premises?
(b) What can be the long term solution to the issue discussed in the
case?
(c) Every solution/action that you suggest will have a negative and
a positive impact on you as (CEO), the employees and the performance of the
employees. Analyse the consequences of each of your suggested actions.
(10)
You are the Sarpanch of a Panchayat. There is a primary school run
by the government in your area. Midday meals are provided to children attending
the school. The headmaster has now appointed a new cook in the school to
prepare the meals. However, when it is found that cook is from Dalit community,
almost half of the children belonging to higher castes are not allowed to take
meals by their parents. Consequently the attendance in the schools falls
sharply. This could result in the possibility of discontinuation of midday meal
scheme, thereafter of teaching staff and subsequent closing down the school.
(20 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) Discuss some feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and to
create right ambiance.
(b) What should be the responsibilities of different social segments
and agencies to create positive social ambiance for accepting such changes?
(11)
One of the scientists working in the R&D laboratory of a major
pharmaceutical company discovers that one of the company’s bestselling
veterinary drugs has the potential to cure a currently incurable liver disease
which is prevalent in tribal areas. However, developing a variant of the drug
suitable for human being entailed a lot of research and development having a
huge expenditure to the extent of Rs. 50 crores. It was unlikely that company
would recover the cost as the disease was rampant only in poverty stricken
areas having very little market otherwise.
If you were the CEO, then (20 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) Identify the various actions that you could take
(b) Evaluate the pros and cons of each of your actions
(12)
There is a disaster prone state having frequent landslides, forest
fires, cloudbursts, flash floods and earthquakes, etc. Some of these are
seasonal and often unpredictable. The magnitude of the disaster is always
unanticipated. During one of the seasons a cloudburst caused a devastating
floods and landslides leading to high casualties. There was major damage to
infrastructure like roads, bridges and power generating units. This led to more
than 100000 pilgrims, tourist and other locals trapped across different routes
and locations. The people trapped in your area of responsibility includes
senior citizens, patients in hospitals, women and children, hiker, tourist,
ruling parties, regional presidents along with his family, additional chief
secretary of the neighboring state and prisoners in jail.
As a civil services officer of the state, what would be the order in
which you would rescue these people and why? Give Justifications (20 Marks)
(200 Words)
(13)
You are heading a district administration in a particular
department. Your senior officer calls you from the State Headquarters and tells
you that a plot in Rampur village is to have a building constructed on it for a
school. A visit is scheduled during which he will visit the site along with the
chief engineer and the senior architect. He wants you to check out all the
papers relating to it and ensure that the visit is properly arranged. You
examine the file which relates to the period before you joined the department.
The land was acquired for the local panchayat at a nominal cost and
the papers showed that clearance certificates are available for the two of the
three authorities who have to certify the site’s suitability. There is no
certification by the architect available on file. You decide to visit Rampur to
ensure that all is in the order as stated on file. When you visit Rampur, you
find that the plot under reference is a part of Thakurgarh fort and that the
walls, ramparts, etc., are running across it. The fort is well away from the
main village, therefore a school here will be a serious inconvenience for the
children. However, the area near the village has potential to expand into a
larger residential area. The development charges on the existing plot, at the
fort, will be very high and question of heritage site has not been addressed.
Moreover, the Sarpanch, at the time of acquisition of the land, was a relative
of your predecessor. The whole transaction appears to have been done with some
vested interest. (25 Marks) (250 Words)
(a) List the likely vested interest of the concerned parties.
(b) Some of the options for action available to you are listed
below. Discuss the merits and demerits of each of the options:
(i) You can await the visit of the superior officer and let him take
a decision.
(ii) You can seek his advice in writing or on phone.
(iii) You can consult your predecessor/ colleagues, etc, and then
decide what to do.
(iv) You can find out if any alternate plot can be got in exchange
and then send a comprehensive written report.
Can you suggest any other option with proper justifications?
(14)
You are recently posted as district development officer of a
district. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable tension in
the rural areas of your district on the issue of sending girls to schools.
The elders of the village feel that many problems have come up
because girls are being educated and they are stepping out of the safe
environment of the household. They are the view that the girls should be quickly
married off with minimum education. The girls are also competing for jobs after
education, which have traditionally remained in boys’ exclusive domain, adding
to unemployment amongst male population.
The younger generation feels that in the present era, girls should
have equal opportunities for education and employment, and other means of
livelihood. The entire locality is divided between sexes in both generations.
You come to know that in Panchayat or in other local bodies or even in busy
crosswords, the issue is being acrimoniously debated.
One day you are informed that an unpleasant incident has taken
place. Some girls were molested, when they were en route to schools. The
incident led to clashes between several groups and a law and order problem has
arisen. The elder after heated discussion have taken a joint decision not to
allow girls to go to school and to socially boycott all such families, which do
not follow their dictate. (250 words) (25 Marks)
(a) What steps would you take to ensure girls’ safety without
disrupting their education?
(b) How would you manage and mould patriarchic attitude of the
village elders to ensure harmony in the inter- generational relations?
=============================================
No comments:
Post a Comment