PRAHAAR ReDEFINED 3.

0: Ethics

Example- Purnea (Bihar) District Magistrate Rahul Kumar arranged for medical oxygen and
restarted a broken down oxygen plant in the city with his smart planning during the second wave of
COVID-19.
Leadership Skills: Civil servants need to have leadership, organisational and collaboration skills as they are entrusted
with a diverse set of responsibilities such as decision making, policy implementation, etc.
Example- J Meganatha Reddy, district collector in Tamil Nadu started Project Udhayam to build toilets
for differently-abled persons in their homes.
Professionalism: High level of professionalism is required to maintain high standards of public administration as they
are the backbone of administration.
Example- take) initiative" by District Administration Cachar
Silchar provides drop-boxes outside all government offices to stop corruption.
Persuasive Skills: Skills of persuasion and negotiation with others are required as there might be resistance in the
society against changes or any new initiative.
Example- Kiran Naik, a government college lecturer in Andhra Pradesh, visits remote villages and
persuades parents to get their children educated.
Innovation: Since civil servants face diverse problems every day, they should be able to find innovative solutions to
these problems, challenges.
Example- The authorities in East Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh roped in religious leaders,
NGOs and local influencers to counter vaccine hesitancy.
Adaptability: because of focus on e-governance and the ever-changing nature of the digital world.
Example SVAMITVA scheme aims to use Drone Surveying technology and a civil servant must have
a basic understanding of this technology.
Inclusivity: India is a diverse country in terms of social status, income etc. and civil servants should be able to work
for every section of the society.
Example- Recently, Chhattisgarh police inducted transgender persons as Constables in the State Police
Force.
Optimism: Civil servants need to be optimistic which brings positivity and self-confidence in them to function under
extreme stress.
Example- w by IAS Officer Saurabh Kumar in Dantewada counters the
problems by helping local students to make the right career choice.

CONCLUSION
Civil servants are an important institution of the government tasked with policy implementation and ensuring effective
governance and social justice. In addition to this, they provide advice to the political executives.
Since, aptitude is an innate potentiality, therefore, one cannot develop an aptitude if it is completely absent from

FOUNDATIONAL VALUES FOR CIVIL SERVICES

Values are individual principles or
qualities that guide judgement and
behaviour of a person or a group.
Example- Mother Teresa
regarded empathy as the
highest value.
Foundational Values are those values
that are basic and fundamental in
nature, determine the core identity of a
civil servant and are essential to achieve
the objectives or goals, such as
integrity, compassion etc.
Additionally, they offer a normative
consensus regarding the privileges and
rights that citizens are entitled to.

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 PRAHAAR ReDEFINED 3.0: Ethics

Example- The foundational value of compassion led IAS Officer Prashant Nair to start the Compassionate
Kozhikode project.

EVOLUTION OF FOUNDATIONAL VALUES

In India, Civil Service Values have evolved over years of tradition.
Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and the All-India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 mentions values
like integrity and devotion to duty.
The Draft Public Service Bill, 2007 enumerated values like allegiance to the ideals of the Constitution, good
governance to be the primary goal, apolitical functioning, objectivity, impartiality, accountability and transparency in
decision-making, merit-based selection of civil servants, avoidance of wastage in expenditure, etc.
The 10th Report of Second Administrative Reforms Commission in addition to upholding the constitutional spirit
recommended values such as the highest standards of integrity and conduct; impartiality and non-partisanship;
objectivity; dedication to public service; and empathy and compassion towards the weaker sections.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life (The Nolan Committee) defined seven guiding principles of behaviour
for public life in 1995, which are: Accountability, Selflessness, Integrity, Openness, Leadership, Honesty, and
Objectivity.

NEED OF FOUNDATIONAL VALUES

Constitutional values: Civil servants are given discretionary and wide-ranging powers under the laws, rules and in
the absence of foundational values, there are chances of corruption and abuse of power defeating the objectives of the
Constitution.
Public interest A welfare state can only be established when civil servants keep public interest priority and function
upholding values such as objectivity, integrity, impartiality etc.
Filling the gap Actions of civil servants based on these values fill the gap left by the laws and make administration
more effective.
Non-partisanship: Even if one fervently supports a political party's ideals, non-partisanship is defined by its refusal
to do so. Being nonpartisan means not adhering to the principles of any political party, group, or organisation.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN NEWS

FREEDOM OF SPEECH OF PEOPLE HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICES

The Supreme Court said that there is an unwritten rule for people holding public office that they exercise self-
restriction and not blabber things which are very disparaging or insulting to other countrymen.
There has been no legislation all this while on the issue because there has always been a self-imposed restriction by
people holding responsible positions.
Irrespective of what Article 19(2) may say, there is a constitutional culture in the country where there is an inherent
limitation or a restriction on what people holding responsible positions say.
Article 19(2) relates to the powers of the state to make laws imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise
of the right to freedom of speech and expression in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of the country,
public order, decency, morality etc.

KEY TERMS

Aptitude, Skills, Interest, Intelligence, Ability, Values, Proficiency, Achievement, Competency, Stewardship,
Leadership, Professionalism, Persuasive Skills, Adaptability, Optimism, Inclusivity, Constitutional Values,
Non-Partisanship, Constitutional Culture.

PYQS

Previous Year Questions Year

1.(a) Identify five ethical traits on which one can plot the performance of a civil servant. Justify their inclusion 2021
in the matrix.

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