GS Paper IV 2025 · Q6 (Section A)
2 parts · 10 marks and 150 words each Probity in governance X-Ray · Core #69Read this question in English
(a) It is said that for an ethical work culture, there must be code of ethics in place in every organisation. To ensure value-based and compliance-based work culture, what suitable measures would you adopt in your work place?
(b) India is an emerging economic power of the world as it has recently secured the status of fourth largest economy of the world as per IMF projection. However, it has been observed that in some sectors, allocated funds remain either under-utilised or misutilised. What specific measures would you recommend for ensuring accountability in this regard to stop leakages and gaining the status of third largest economy of the world in near future?
Q6(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
ऐसा कहा जाता है कि नैतिक कार्य संस्कृति के लिए प्रत्येक संगठन में आचार संहिता होनी चाहिए । मूल्य-आधारित और अनुपालन-आधारित कार्य संस्कृति सुनिश्चित करने के लिए, आप अपने कार्यस्थल में कौन से उपयुक्त उपाय अपनायेंगे ?
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “what measures (would you adopt)”
Decode the demand
- Directive 'what measures would you adopt': prescriptive and in the first person, at your workplace; the examiner wants doable steps, not a lecture on ethics.
- Two cultures named: value-based works from inside (character, conscience, example); compliance-based works from outside (rules, declarations, sanctions). The code of ethics is the hinge the question hands you.
- Each measure must be concrete, with the rule, thinker or real model that backs it inside the point.
Think in a structure
- Open by separating a code of ethics from a code of conduct, with an authority such as the 2nd ARC.
- A table contrasting the two cultures, then measures under two headings, each led by an ethical keyword; a diagram of the pillars.
- Close on how the two meet as one culture, anchored in a thinker's insight about habit and character.
Facts checked at source (4)· open
- 2nd ARC (Ethics in Governance, rec. 2.7.12): 'Public Service Values' should be defined for all tiers of government, and any transgression treated as misconduct.2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, 4th Report: Ethics in Governance (2007), Summary of Recommendations — DARPG (archived) ↗“‘Public Service Values’ towards which all public servants should aspire, should be defined and made applicable to all tiers of Government and parastatal organizations. Any transgression of these values should be treated as misconduct, inviting punishment.”
- Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, Book II): virtues come by practice, as builders by building; by doing just actions we come to be just, and law-givers make citizens good by habituation.Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, Book II (tr. D. P. Chase) — Project Gutenberg ↗“exactly so, by doing just actions we come to be just; by doing the actions of self-mastery we come to be perfected in self-mastery; and by doing brave actions brave. And to the truth of this testimony is borne by what takes place in communities: because the law-givers make the individual members good men by habituation,”
- 2nd ARC, 4th Report (Ethics in Governance), section 3.6 'Protection to Whistleblowers': whistle-blowers play a crucial role in providing information about corruption, and the Commission sought legal protection for them.2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, 4th Report: Ethics in Governance (2007), section 3.6 (DARPG copy, archived) ↗“Whistleblowers play a crucial role in providing information about corruption.”
- Gandhi on trusteeship: taking and keeping what one does not need for one's immediate use is theft from someone else; applied to office, a public servant holds power and resources in trust.M. K. Gandhi, Trusteeship, chapter 1 'Fundamental Law of Nature' — mkgandhi.org (complete book online) ↗“I suggest that we are thieves in a way. If I take anything that I do not need for my own immediate use, and keep it, I thieve it from somebody else.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 358words · Minimalist IAS
A code of ethics states the values an organisation lives by; a code of conduct turns them into enforceable rules. The 2nd ARC wanted both: 'Public Service Values' for all tiers of government, with any transgression treated as misconduct. A work culture needs the two together.
| Culture | Works through | Instrument | Risk if alone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value-based | Conscience, character, example | Code of ethics, mentoring | Fine words without teeth |
| Compliance-based | Rules, declarations, sanctions | Code of conduct, audit | 'What can I get away with' |
Value-based measures I would adopt
- Ownership of the code: a short code drafted with the staff, revisited yearly.
- Built on the 2nd ARC's values: integrity, impartiality, accountability, service.
- Exemplary conduct (tone from the top): disclose my interests, keep time, explain decisions.
- Gandhi's trusteeship: an office is held in trust, not owned.
- Habituation (Aristotle): a monthly case discussion of real dilemmas and mentoring of new entrants, because 'by doing just actions we come to be just'.
- Principled motivation (Kohlberg): reward integrity in appraisals, so staff act from principle rather than fear of being caught.
Compliance-based measures I would adopt
- Clear red lines: a code of conduct with annual asset and conflict-of-interest declarations, rotation in sensitive posts, segregation of duties, internal audit.
- Protected reporting: whistle-blower channels with protection from retaliation.
- The 2nd ARC urged it: such disclosures are how corruption comes to light.
- Dignity at work: a working Internal Committee under the 2013 law against sexual harassment (POSH).
- Born of the Supreme Court's Vishaka guidelines (1997).
- Transparency as deterrent: proactive disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act, so decisions can be seen before they are questioned.
- Proportionate discipline: swift penalties, applied equally and made known, so the rules visibly bind everyone.
Where the two meet
Ethical work culture: Owned code; Leaders as models; Learning by cases; Clear red lines; Safe reporting; Fair discipline
- Institutions for ethics: an induction oath on the code, an ethics committee that hears doubts before they become violations, a yearly ethics audit alongside the financial one.
Aristotle observed that law-givers make people good 'by habituation': a code lives only when daily practice turns it into character, and compliance is the scaffolding while that character is built.
Reviewed by Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) on 8 Nov 2026 · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
Q6(b) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
भारत विश्व की उभरती हुई आर्थिक शक्ति है क्योंकि आइ.एम.एफ. के अनुमानानुसार हाल ही में इसने विश्व की चौथी सबसे बड़ी अर्थव्यवस्था का दर्जा हासिल किया है । तथापि यह देखा गया है कि कुछ क्षेत्रों में आबंटित धनराशि का या तो कम उपयोग किया जाता है अथवा उसका गलत उपयोग होता है । इस संबंध में जवाबदेही सुनिश्चित करने, लीकेज रोकने तथा निकट भविष्य में विश्व की तीसरी सबसे बड़ी अर्थव्यवस्था का दर्जा प्राप्त करने के लिए आप क्या विशिष्ट उपाय सुझायेंगे ?
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “what specific measures (would you recommend)”
Decode the demand
- Directive 'recommend specific measures': concrete mechanisms, not slogans; the question names two problems, under-utilisation (money left idle) and misutilisation (money diverted), and one goal, accountability that turns funds into growth.
- The ethics angle: public money is a trust; keywords are stewardship, probity, transparency, answerability.
- Each measure needs the rule or model that already exists, so the examiner sees you know the system.
Think in a structure
- Open with one number that proves leakage can be stopped, then link money to growth.
- A flowchart of the fund cycle, then measures under the two problems, then a heading on what you as an officer would do.
- Close on a commitment that ties accountability to the growth goal, not on the problem.
Facts checked at source (9)· open
- A PIB-released assessment (April 2025) estimates that direct benefit transfer has produced cumulative savings of ₹3.48 lakh crore by plugging leakages — the scale of misuse that end-to-end tracking can stop.India's DBT: Boosting Welfare Efficiency — PIB, 21 April 2025 ↗“India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system has helped the country achieve cumulative savings of ₹3.48 lakh crore by plugging leakages in welfare delivery”
- GFR 2017 (PFMS rule): all implementing agencies are registered on PFMS to track fund flow and unspent balances, and payments released 'just-in-time'.General Financial Rules 2017 (updated), Rule 86 — Directorate General of Military Aviation copy (dgma.gov.in) ↗“(2) All the ministries sanctioning grant-in-aid shall register all implementing agencies till last level of implementation on PFMS to track fund flow and unspent balances. (3) All the payment, to the extent possible, shall be released ‘just- in-time’ by the Ministries through PFMS.”
- GFR 2017, Rule 62(3): a rush of expenditure in the closing months of the financial year is a breach of financial propriety.General Financial Rules 2017 (updated), Rule 62 — dgma.gov.in ↗“Rule 62 (3) Rush of expenditure, particularly in the closing months of the Financial Year, shall be regarded as a breach of financial propriety and shall be avoided.”
- Kautilya (Arthashastra): as fish moving under water cannot be seen drinking, so government servants cannot be caught taking money — hence systems of checks.Kautilya's Arthashastra, tr. R. Shamasastry, Book II Ch. IX — archive.org ↗“Just as fish moving under water cannot possibly be found out either as drinking or not drinking water, so government servants employed in the government work cannot be found out (while) taking money (for themselves).”
- SNA-SPARSH, developed on PFMS and being piloted in 2023, aims at just-in-time releases under centrally sponsored schemes: the Union's share is released only against expenditure actually incurred, followed by a claim (Department of Expenditure, Year Ender 2023).Ministry of Finance Year Ender 2023: Department of Expenditure — PIB, 27 December 2023 ↗“SNA SPARSH has been developed under GIFMIS on the PFMS platform to facilitate 'Just-in-time' releases under Centrally Sponsored Schemes and is currently being piloted. Aims to achieve 'Just-in-time' fund flow from Centre and State Consolidated Funds through an integrated network of State IFMIS and e-kuber of RBI. Facilitates more effective cash management. Key features: The Union Government's share in fund release based only on incurred actual expenditure”
- MKSS (Rajasthan, 1990s): the jan sunwai, a public hearing in which panchayat expenditure records were read out to villagers, became the template for social audit and the people's right to information.Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh, 'Demanding accountability', Seminar 500 (2001) ↗“Their exploration led to the identification of the jan sunwaii or public hearing as an effective mode where they could speak and be heard.”
- In April 2017 Meghalaya enacted the Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017, the first state law of its kind, implemented by the Meghalaya Society for Social Audit and Transparency.Centre for Policy Research, 'Making It Work: Institutionalising Social Audits in Meghalaya' (2023) ↗“In April 2017, Meghalaya enacted the Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017 (henceforth the ‘Act’). The Meghalaya Society for Social Audit and Transparency (MSSAT) is responsible for implementing the Act.”
- SDG Target 16.6: develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels; its first indicator is primary government expenditure as a proportion of the approved budget.United Nations — Sustainable Development Goal 16, Target 16.6 ↗“Target 16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels Indicators 16.6.1 Primary government expenditures as a”
- Gandhi on trusteeship: taking and keeping what one does not need is theft from someone else; a public officer holds funds in trust.M. K. Gandhi, Trusteeship, chapter 1 'Fundamental Law of Nature' — mkgandhi.org ↗“If I take anything that I do not need for my own immediate use, and keep it, I thieve it from somebody else.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 337words · Minimalist IAS
Leakages are large, but systems can stop them: direct benefit transfer alone has saved ₹3.48 lakh crore by plugging leakages (PIB, April 2025). Every rupee left idle or diverted is growth lost on the road from fourth- to third-largest economy.
- Realistic allocation
- Just-in-time release
- Tracked spending
- Audit and review
- Funds follow outcomes
Against under-utilisation: money left idle
- Release on need: the Union's share released only against expenditure actually incurred.
- SNA-SPARSH, piloted in 2023 for centrally sponsored schemes.
- Track every agency: every implementing agency registered on PFMS, so unspent balances are visible, not parked.
- End the March rush: quarterly expenditure plans in place of year-end spending.
- GFR Rule 62(3) treats a rush of spending in the closing months as a breach of financial propriety.
Against misuse and leakage: money diverted
- Digital trails (transparency): GeM procurement, geo-tagged assets and DBT shrink the discretion through which money leaks.
- Kautilya: officials taking money are as hard to detect as fish drinking water; hence systems that see for us.
- Social audit (public accountability): accounts read to the people they were spent for.
- MKSS's jan sunwai in Rajasthan became the template; Meghalaya made social audit law in 2017, the first state to do so.
- Answerability: outcome budgets with published indicators; time-bound action on CAG findings; fixed responsibility with recovery and penalties.
- Protected disclosure: whistle-blower channels and proactive disclosure under the RTI Act, so leakage is reported before it is audited.
What I would do as an administrator
- Stewardship: every allocation treated as a trust; a monthly utilisation dashboard for each scheme in my charge.
- Gandhi's trusteeship: keeping what one does not need is theft.
- Conditions before release: utilisation certificates and third-party monitoring before the next instalment; performance-linked grants so money follows results.
- Capacity, not only checks: training and a project-management cell, since much money lies idle for want of planning.
SDG 16.6 asks for effective, accountable and transparent institutions and measures government spending against its approved budget; every rupee that reaches its purpose is a step from the fourth-largest economy to the third.
Reviewed by Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) on 8 Nov 2026 · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
