Ques. 1 What do you understand by the term ‘public servant’?

Reflect on the expected role of public servant. 2019

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of
others.(Gandhi)
Public servant can be described as an individual who works for
the state and whose main duty is associated with the welfare of
public and society. The duties include providing service to the
public in the form of  protection, administration or maintainance.
Example - Mir Mohammed Ali, a 2011-batch IAS officer of Kerala
cadre, helped kannur become the state's first plastic-free district
in 2017 in only five months
There are many elements which a public servant can imbibe to
bring about a more humane and ethical governance structure. A
few of these are:
.1. Patriotism and upholding national pride.
2. Allegiance to the Constitution and the law of the nation.
3. Objectivity, honesty, care and diligence, courtesy and
transparency.
4. Discharge official duties with competence and accountability;
without discrimination and in accordance with the law.
5. Ensure effective management, professional growth and
leadership development.
6. Avoid misuse of official position or information and using the
public moneys with utmost care
7.Serve as instruments of good governance and to provide
services for the betterment of the public at large.

8. Foster socio-economic development, with due regard to the

diversity of the nation but without discrimination on the ground of
caste, community, religion, gender or class
9. Duly protecting the interest of poor, underprivileged and weaker
sections.
Expected role of Public servant
 Official duties 
 Administration
The public servant has to provide governance to the public
so as to ensure that welfare of society is maintained.
 Protection
The public servant is required to protect rights of
individuals and provide security to society from  threats.
 Services
The public servant also provides various services to the
society in creating and maintaining public property like
roads, cleaning infrastructure etc.
 Moral duties 
 Inspiration
The public servant must act as a role model who can
inspire individuals in doing good for the society through
their acts.
 Mediation
A public servant can act as a perfect mediator in resolving
disputes and fights in his personal capacity. He can be
considered a neutral entity.
Thus, public servant as a position is not restricted to a particular
job or duty instead it is a wide ranging effort that ensures social
welfare.
What do you understand by ‘probity’ in public life? What are
the difficulties in practicing it in the present times? How can
these difficulties be overcome?
Probity or 'SatyaNishtha' is the quality of having strong moral
principles and strictly adhering to them. It includes principles
such as - honesty, integrity, uprightness, transparency and
incorruptibility.

Probity stands for impeccable standards of morality in public life.

It goes beyond financial honesty or non-corrupt behaviour.It
means that public servants will take no undue advantage of any
sort from their office. They will avoid any semblance of
impropriety

Example -
1. T. N. Seshan (Former CEC of India) ensured upright conduct
of staff under him .He strictly implemented all laws regarding
electoral malpractices

2. Tough action against illegal sand Mining by IAS officer Durga

Shakti Nagpal or against illegal land deal by Ashok Khemka
sets an example of essence of probity among govt. officers

Importance of Probity in Governance

• Foremost, it helps build up the legitimacy of the system,
i.e. the state. It builds trusts in the institutions of the state
 and a belief that the actions of the state will be for welfare of
the beneficiaries.

• It leads to avoidance of sub-optimal outcomes,

corruption and provides for fairness of the process

• It helps in checking the abuse and misuse of power by

various organs of government such as magistracy, police
and all other providers of public service e.g. PWD, health,
education, etc.

• For promoting Impartiality thus reducing Conflict Of

Interest so procedures can be implemented and managed
effectively.
• Promotes Transparency thus ensuring interests of all
stakeholders are taken into consideration.
• To curb corruption,nepotism,misconduct etc thus
increasing Efficiency of an organization.
• It ensures that Benefits must be reaching to the lowest
level of democracy.
• It helps eliminate considerations for acts of favoritism and
nepotism.

Difficulties in practicing Probity

• Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic
institutions amounting to willful violation of the oath of office
• Abuse of authority by unduly favoring or harming someone
• Obstruction of justice. Slow and tardy case disposals and
justice delivery
• Unholy politician bureaucratic businessman nexus
• Squandering public money.
In context of India, the ARC has listed three important factors
that have aggravated the abuse of office
• First, there is a colonial legacy that those in authority can
exercise power in an unchallenged way.
• Second, there is enormous asymmetry of power which
reduces societal pressure to conform to ethical behaviour
and makes it easy to indulge in corruption.

 Third, Over regulation, restrictions on economic activity,

dependency on state monopolies and scarcity of essential
commodities induced corruption which became a way of life.

Suggestions for improving Probity in Governance

A) Ethical measures: to infuse moral principles

1) Performance appraisal by awarding and promoting morally
efficient public servants
2) Delivering lectures and seminars on emotional intelligence and
moral principles
B) Legislative measures: for honesty and integrity
1) Effective implementation of PCA act (1988), RTI Act (2005),
whistle blowers protection act(2014), Prohibition of banami
transactions act(2016) citizen charter, etc.
2) Along with implementation, it is necessary to address flaws in
existing laws such as clashes of some RTI clauses with the
Secrecy oath administered to our ministers.
C) Infrastructural measures: for accountability and transparency
1) Use of ICT to address responsiveness
2) E-gov apps such as e-bhoomi, e-passport, e- procurement etc
D) Institutional measures: Impartiality is one of the component
of probity which requires
1) Autonomy to constitutional status to bodies like CVC,CIC, ED,
CBI etc.

2) Lokpal and the Lokayuktas to inquire into allegations of

corruption against certain public functionaries and matters
connecting them.
3) Timely prosecution of corrupted officers and people bribing
them, as increased conviction rate will act as a deterrent.
Probity helps in ushering good governance which not only leads
to effective use of public resources but also helps in achieving
higher socio-economic growth and human development.
Thus, it is very necessary to take initiatives, enact strong
legislations and ensure their effective implementation to inculcate
a culture of probity in governance.
20/12/20

Q-2 Distinguish between “Code of ethics” and “Code of conduct” with

suitable examples.
Both Code of Ethics and a Code of Conduct are similar as they are used in an
attempt to encourage specific forms of behaviour by employees. Ethics
guidelines attempt to provide guidance about values and choices to influence
decision making. Conduct regulations assert that some specific actions are
appropriate, others inappropriate. With similarities, comes differences.

Code of ethics:

1. Code of Ethics are referred to as a Values, which behaves like the

Constitution with general principles to guide behaviour, outlining a set of
principles that affect decision-making.
2. Code of ethics would include the principles of integrity, impartiality,
commitment to public service, accountability, devotion to duty, exemplary
behaviour etc.
3. It defines the minimum requirements for conduct, and behavioural
expectations instead of specific activities.
4. When faced with ethical dilemmas or debatable situations, what’s
articulated in the Code of Ethics can help guide decision making.
5. Code of ethics helps members in understanding what is right or wrong.
The codes are disclosed publicly and hence addressed to the interested
parties to know the way the company does business.

Example of code of ethics: E.g. Civil servants are committed to public

services. The Code of Ethics will state that decisions of the public servant should
be guided by larger common good and to choose the most beneficial solution for
the community.

Code of Conduct:

1. It is a set of rules, standards, principles and values outlining the expected

behaviour for the members of an organisation.
2. These are legally enforceable which sets out the standards of behaviour
expected of those working in the public service.
3. These are designed to prevent certain types of behaviours like conflict of
interest, self-dealing, bribery and inappropriate actions.
4. The Code of Conduct outlines specific behaviours that are required or
prohibited as a condition of ongoing employment.Example of code of
conduct: E.g. code of conducts include guidelines on acceptance of gifts
by government servants and specific behaviour regulating codes (class I
 officer shall not permit son or daughter to take employment with a
company with which she has official dealings’ or ‘acquiring immovable
property with previous knowledge of prescribed authority’ and so on).

CODE OF ETHICS CODE OF CONDUCT

It is a directional document containing specific practices

It include core ethical values, principles and
and behaviour, that are followed or restricted under the
ideals of the organisation.
organisation.

Code of ethics is a set of principles which Code of conduct is a set of guidelines that influence
influence the judgement. employee’s actions.

Code of ethics are wider in nature as compared

Code of conduct are narrow.
to code of conduct.

Ethical standards generally are non-specific Conduct standards generally provides a fairly clear set o
and are designed to provide a set of values or expectations about which actions are required,
decision-making . acceptable or prohibited.

It enable employees to make independent

It enable employees to work in compliance with rules
judgments about the most appropriate course
and actions are guided by the codes.
of action.

A Code of Conduct might list several specific laws

A particular rule in the Code of Ethics might
relevant to specific areas of organisational operations,
state that all employees will obey the law.
that employees need to obey.
Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct are the standards that a group must adhere
to, so as to remain the member of the organisation. These help the institutions
in regulating the day to day business efficiently. While code of conduct is
something that states organized values, code of ethics is used to observe ethical
norms and gives a foundation to rules of conduct. Check out the article to know
more on these two topics.
Q3 - Discuss the Public Services Code as recommended by the 2nd
Administrative Reforms Commission?