(a) Analyse John Rawls’s concept of social justice in the Indian context. (b) Discuss the Public Services Code as recommended by the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission.
Approach · directive: “analyse / discuss”
What it asks · (a) Explain Rawls's justice as fairness and test it against India's Constitution, policies and social reality; (b) describe what the Second ARC's Public Services Code is meant to do.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- (a) Analyse Rawls's concept of social justice: its principles, their fit and their limits in the Indian context
- (b) Discuss the Public Services Code recommended by the Second ARC: purpose, content and assessment
Open with · (a) Rawls asks what rules people would choose if they did not know their own place in society; (b) the Second ARC wanted the values and conduct standards of public servants written down in a code.
Cover
- (a) Rawls: justice as fairness; behind a veil of ignorance people would choose equal liberties, and only those inequalities that help the least advantaged.
- (a) Indian fit: the Preamble's social, economic and political justice, Article 38, reservations, and welfare schemes such as MGNREGA and food security aim to help the least advantaged.
- (a) Limits in India: caste, gender and regional disparities mean equal opportunity is unfinished; Rawls's focus on institutions overlooks entrenched social hierarchies.
- (a) Critique: Amartya Sen's view stresses actual capabilities and comparing real situations, which suits a diverse society with visible injustices.
- (b) Public Services Code: in its fourth report, Ethics in Governance (2007), the Second ARC wanted the values and standards of conduct expected of public servants set out in a code.
- (b) Content: a code of this kind would state values such as integrity, impartiality, objectivity, accountability, transparency and service, standards on conflict of interest and political neutrality, and consequences of breach.
- (b) Assessment: it would give clarity and uniformity above scattered service rules, but the code must be backed by law, training and enforcement to be effective.
Close with · Rawls's fairness test gives moral direction to India's social justice agenda, and a clear Public Services Code would help the officers who carry it out.
Add value (verified)
- Article 38(2) directs the State to reduce inequalities, echoing Rawls's concern for the least advantaged. The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 38(2) — Legislative Department ↗“The State shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities”
- The Second ARC's Ethics in Governance recommendation, as summarised by the Mizoram DP&AR: public service values are to be defined for all public servants. The 2nd ARC and its recommendations — Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms, Government of Mizoram (summary of the 4th report, Ethics in Governance) ↗“Public Service Values for all public servants should be defined”
- Rawls's second principle: social and economic inequalities must attach to positions open to all under fair equality of opportunity and be to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged (the difference principle). John Rawls — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“Second Principle : Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: They are to be attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity ; They are to be to the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged members of society (the difference principle )”
- B.R. Ambedkar, Constituent Assembly, 25 November 1949: from 26 January 1950 India would have political equality but social and economic inequality. Constituent Assembly Debates, 25 November 1949 — constitutionofindia.net ↗“On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality.”
- The 2nd ARC's 10th Report (ch. 16, Civil Services Code) conceives a comprehensive Civil Service Code at three levels, with values at the apex. Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 10th Report: Refurbishing of Personnel Administration (DARPG, archived copy) ↗“A comprehensive Civil Service Code can be conceptualized at three levels. At the apex level, there should be a clear and concise statement of the values and ethical standards that a civil servant should imbibe.”
- The 2nd ARC wanted the values and the Code of Ethics given statutory backing through a proposed Civil Services Bill, with a separate Code of Conduct of precise do's and don'ts. Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 10th Report: Refurbishing of Personnel Administration (DARPG, archived copy) ↗“Code of Conduct stipulating in a precise and unambiguous manner, a list of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and actions. Th e Commission feels that the values and the Code of Ethics should be given a statutory backing by including them in the proposed Civil Services Bill.”
- The values the 2nd ARC listed (para 16.11): commitment to the Constitution, probity and integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, commitment to the public good, and empathy for the vulnerable. Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 10th Report: Refurbishing of Personnel Administration (DARPG, archived copy) ↗“16.11 Th e Commission is of the view that in addition to commitment to the Constitution these values should include: a. Adherence to the highest standards of probity, integrity and conduct b. Impartiality and non-partisanship c. Objectivity d. Commitment to the citizens’ concerns and public good e. Empathy for the vulnerable and weaker sections of society”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 404 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Rawls asked which rules people would choose behind a veil of ignorance, not knowing their own place in society. India's framers faced that question in a society that Ambedkar said was entering "a life of contradictions".
(a) Rawls's concept of social justice in the Indian context
- Justice as fairness: equal basic liberties for all; inequalities allowed only if positions are open under fair equality of opportunity and they most benefit the least advantaged (the difference principle).
- Constitutional echo: the Preamble promises social, economic and political justice; Fundamental Rights secure equal liberties; Article 38(2) directs the State to minimise income inequalities and eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities.
- Policy echo: reservations apply fair equality of opportunity; MGNREGA and food security apply the difference principle, judged by what they do for the worst-off.
- Ambedkar's warning: from 26 January 1950 India would have equality in politics but inequality in social and economic life; Rawls's second principle speaks to that gap.
- Limits in India: caste, gender and regional hierarchies work through family, custom and village, beyond the institutions Rawls focused on, so equal opportunity stays unfinished.
- Sen's correction: compare real lives and remove visible injustices; judge by capabilities, what people can actually do and be, not by resources alone.
(b) The Public Services Code recommended by the 2nd ARC
- Origin: the 4th Report, Ethics in Governance (2007), asked that Public Service Values be defined for all public servants.
- Three-tier code: the 10th Report conceived a comprehensive Civil Service Code at three levels:
| Level | Content | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Values | Probity, impartiality, empathy | In statute |
| Code of Ethics | Broad principles of behaviour | In statute |
| Code of Conduct | Precise do's and don'ts | Detailed rules |
- Core values: commitment to the Constitution; probity and integrity; impartiality and non-partisanship; objectivity; commitment to the public good; empathy for the vulnerable.
- Statutory backing: the values and the Code of Ethics were to sit in a proposed Civil Services Bill, so that they carry statutory weight rather than remain exhortation.
- Assessment: one clear reference for every tier and a basis for training and appraisal; yet existing Conduct Rules show that text changes conduct only with enforcement, leadership by example and protection for the honest.
Rawls supplies the test, whether a policy lifts the least advantaged; the ARC's code supplies the conduct, empathy for the vulnerable written into an officer's duty. Giving it the statutory force the ARC sought would bring administration closer to the Preamble's promise of justice.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.