GS Paper IV 2019 · Q5 (Section A)
2 parts · 10 marks and 150 words each Probity in governance X-Ray · Core #17Q5(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
What do you understand by probity in governance ? Based on your understanding of the term, suggest measures for ensuring probity in government.
Approach · directive: “what do you understand by; suggest”
What it asks · Explain what probity in governance means, then suggest legal, institutional and cultural measures to secure it in government.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Explain what probity in governance means
- Suggest measures for ensuring probity in government
Open with · Probity is uprightness in public office (honesty, integrity and fairness in the use of public power and money); Kautilya's fish under water shows why probity needs systems as well as character.
Cover
- Meaning: decisions solely in public interest with private interests declared (All India Services Conduct Rules); the chief threat is arbitrary pressure, against which T. S. R. Subramanian (2013) protects civil servants.
- A hub of measures: strong laws, independent watchdogs, written orders, transparency by design and ethical culture.
- Laws and watchdogs: the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, an independent CVC, asset declarations and codes of conduct.
- Written orders: no functioning on verbal or oral instructions; transparency by design through e-procurement, online services and proactive disclosure.
- Ethical culture: a code of ethics, ethics training and rewards for honest officers.
Close with · The CVC's 2019 theme, Integrity- A way of life: combating corruption is not just a matter of making laws and creating institutions, but of values lived daily.
Add value (verified)
- Kautilya's Arthashastra: just as one cannot tell whether a fish moving under water is drinking, one cannot detect government servants taking money.Kautilya's Arthashastra, R. Shamasastry's English translation (Internet Archive) ↗“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).”
- Rule 3(2B) of the AIS (Conduct) Rules (2014): take decisions solely in public interest, use public resources efficiently and economically, and declare private interests and resolve conflicts so as to protect the public interest.All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, Rule 3 as amended (incl. DoPT notification of 6.08.2014) — copy hosted by the High Court of Tripura ↗“(iii) maintain integrity in public service; (iv) take decisions solely in public interest and use or cause to use public resources efficiently, effectively and economically; (v) declare any private interests relating to his public duties and take steps to resolve any conflicts in a way that protects the public interest;”
- T. S. R. Subramanian (31 October 2013): civil servants cannot function on verbal or oral instructions, and must be protected against wrongful and arbitrary pressure from administrative superiors, the political executive, business and other vested interests.T. S. R. Subramanian v. Union of India, Supreme Court of India, 31 October 2013 — Indian Kanoon ↗“We are of the view that the civil servants cannot function on the basis of verbal or oral instructions, orders, suggestions, proposals, etc. and they must also be protected against wrongful and arbitrary pressure exerted by the administrative superiors, political executive, business and other vested interests.”
- The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (assent 1 January 2014) set up a Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for States to inquire into corruption allegations against public functionaries.The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (Gazette copy) — DoPT, Government of India ↗“An Act to provide for the establishment of a body of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
- The CVC chose 'Integrity- A way of life' as the theme of Vigilance Awareness Week 2019, noting that combating corruption is not just a matter of making laws and creating institutions.Vigilance Awareness Week to be observed from 28th October to 2nd November; theme 'Integrity- A way of life' — PIB, Ministry of Personnel, 25 October 2019 ↗““Integrity- A way of life” has been chosen as the theme for the Vigilance Awareness Week this year by the Commission. Integrity and Ethics form the foundational pillars of a nation and national development takes place when individuals and organizations are committed to integrity as a core value. Combating corruption is not just a matter of making laws and creating institutions”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2019, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 226words · Minimalist IAS
Probity is uprightness in public office: honesty, integrity and fairness in using public power and money, beyond the mere absence of bribery.
Kautilya warned that, as one cannot tell whether a fish under water is drinking, officials taking money are hard to catch; so probity needs systems as well as character.
What probity in governance means
- Purpose and process: take decisions 'solely in public interest', declare private interests (All India Services Conduct Rules) and record reasons.
- Its chief threat: pressure from superiors, politicians and vested interests; in T. S. R. Subramanian (2013), the Supreme Court held that civil servants must be 'protected against wrongful and arbitrary pressure'.
Measures for ensuring probity in government
Probity in government: Strong laws; Independent watchdogs; Written orders; Transparency by design; Ethical culture
- Laws and watchdogs: the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, an independent CVC, asset declarations and codes of conduct.
- Written orders: the same judgment held that civil servants 'cannot function on the basis of verbal or oral instructions'; written reasons deter pressure and favour.
- Transparency by design: e-procurement, online services and RTI's proactive disclosure remove face-to-face discretion.
- Ethical culture: a code of ethics, ethics training and rewards for honest officers.
The CVC's 2019 theme, 'Integrity- A way of life', says it best: combating corruption 'is not just a matter of making laws and creating institutions', but of values lived daily.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
Q5(b) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
“Emotional Intelligence is the ability to make your emotions work for you instead of against you”. Do you agree with this view ? Discuss.
Approach · directive: “do you agree; discuss”
What it asks · Test the statement on emotional intelligence: what it captures about using emotions well, and what it leaves out.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Take a position on whether emotional intelligence is the ability to make one's emotions work for, not against, oneself
- Discuss what the view captures and where it falls short
Open with · Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions, one's own and others'; the statement captures its core, but only half of it, so broadly agree.
Cover
- A table shows anger, anxiety and empathy working against and for a person.
- Why it holds: Goleman's five components; composure before a mob, patience with an angry complainant.
- Aristotle's test of right anger, and the Buddha declining Akkosaka Bharadvaja's abuse: whoever does not flare up at an angry person wins a battle hard to win.
- Where it falls short: EI is also about others' feelings, can turn manipulative without ethics, and is not suppression.
Close with · EI is a servant of values, not a substitute for them; as the Buddha put it, one lives for the good of both, one's own and the other's.
Add value (verified)
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II: anyone can get angry, but to do so with the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive and in the right way is not for every one, nor is it easy.Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II (W. D. Ross translation) — The Internet Classics Archive, MIT ↗“any one can get angry- that is easy- or give or spend money; but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for every one, nor is it easy”
- Akkosa Sutta (SN 7.2): the Buddha, insulted by Akkosaka Bharadvaja, declined the abuse and taught that whoever does not flare up at someone who is angry wins a battle hard to win, living for the good of both.Akkosa Sutta: Insult (SN 7.2), tr. Thanissaro Bhikkhu — Access to Insight ↗“Whoever doesn't flare up at someone who's angry wins a battle hard to win. You live for the good of both — your own, the other's — when, knowing the other's provoked, you mindfully grow calm.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2019, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 205words · Minimalist IAS
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions, one's own and others'. I broadly agree with the statement: it captures EI's core, though only half of it.
| Emotion | Working against you | Working for you |
|---|---|---|
| Anger | Outburst, rash orders | Resolve against injustice |
| Anxiety | Panic, paralysis | Preparation, caution |
|---|---|---|
| Empathy | Partiality | Humane, fair service |
- Why it holds: Goleman's components (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills) turn emotion from master into servant: composure before a mob, patience with an angry complainant.
- Aristotle's test: anyone can get angry, but to do so with the right person, to the right extent, at the right time and in the right way 'is not for every one, nor is it easy'.
- The Buddha's example: when Akkosaka Bharadvaja abused him, he declined to accept the abuse, teaching that whoever does not flare up at an angry person 'wins a battle hard to win'.
- Where it falls short: EI also means reading and responding to others' feelings; without ethics it can turn manipulative; and suppressing feelings is not intelligence.
EI is therefore a servant of values, not a substitute for them; at its best, as the Buddha put it, one lives 'for the good of both — your own, the other's'.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
