GS Paper IV 2022 · Q5 (Section A)
2 parts · 10 marks and 150 words each Ethics in public administration X-Ray · Core #1Q5(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
Russia and Ukraine war has been going on for the last seven months. Different countries have taken independent stands and actions keeping in view their own national interests. We are all aware that war has its own impact on the different aspects of society, including human tragedy. What are those ethical issues that are crucial to be considered while launching the war and its continuation so far? Illustrate with justification the ethical issues involved in the given state of affair.
Approach · directive: “what; illustrate with justification”
What it asks · Identify the ethical issues crucial to launching a war and to continuing it, and illustrate each, with justification, from the Russia–Ukraine war, including the interest-led stands of states.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Identify the ethical issues in launching a war
- Identify the ethical issues in its continuation
- Illustrate them with justification from the Russia–Ukraine war
Open with · Ashoka's Kalinga edict, a hundred thousand killed and the king's repentance: the Russia–Ukraine war, seven months old when this question was set, raises his two questions, whether it was right to fight and whether it is right to go on.
Cover
- A table sets the ethical test at each stage, launch, conduct and continuation, against the issue in this war.
- Sovereignty: Article 2(4) of the UN Charter; Article 51's self-defence only if an armed attack occurs.
- Last resort and proportionality from just war theory: a less harmful way, and good achieved outweighing harm.
- The distant poor: global food security, and the Black Sea Grain Initiative's maritime humanitarian corridor (July 2022).
- Interest versus principle: states chose sides by energy and alliances; India kept ties with both while urging dialogue.
Close with · India's Prime Minister in Samarkand, September 2022: today's era is not an era of war; Ashoka learnt that after Kalinga, and the ethical task of states is to learn it before.
Add value (verified)
- UN Charter, Article 2(4): members must refrain from the threat or use of force against any state's territorial integrity or political independence — the yardstick for judging the invasion of Ukraine.Charter of the United Nations, Chapter I: Purposes and Principles — United Nations ↗“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
- UN Charter, Article 51: the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence arises if an armed attack occurs against a Member.Charter of the United Nations, Chapter VII, Article 51 — United Nations ↗“Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations”
- Just war theory (SEP): proportionality and last resort (necessity) govern the resort to war; discrimination, sparing civilians, governs its conduct.War — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“Proportionality: the morally weighted goods achieved by the war outweigh the morally weighted bads that it will cause. Last Resort (Necessity): there is no other less harmful way to achieve the just cause. Typically the jus in bello list comprises: Discrimination: belligerents must always distinguish between military objectives and civilians, and intentionally attack only military objectives.”
- UN: the Black Sea Grain Initiative allowed ships to export grain, other foodstuffs and fertilizers from Ukraine through a maritime humanitarian corridor; its Joint Coordination Centre, set up on 27 July 2022 in Istanbul with Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye and the UN, arose from the importance of global food security.United Nations, Black Sea Grain Initiative: Background ↗“the Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow ships to safely export grain, other foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine via a maritime humanitarian corridor. Background The JCC was established on 27 July 2022 in Istanbul. The JCC comprised representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Türkiye and the United Nations. The JCC was born out of the recognition of the critical importance of global food security”
- The Tribune (national newspaper), 16 September 2022: at the SCO summit in Samarkand, Prime Minister Modi told President Putin that today's era is not an era of war.The Tribune (national newspaper), 'Now is not the time for war, let us strategise for peace, PM Modi tells Putin', 16 September 2022 ↗““I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this,” PM Modi told Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS
Ashoka's Kalinga edict records that "a hundred thousand were killed" and speaks of the king's "repentance". The Russia–Ukraine war, seven months old when this question was set, raises his two questions: was it right to fight, and is it right to go on?
| Stage | Ethical test | The issue in this war |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | Just cause, last resort | Force against a sovereign state |
| Conduct | Spare civilians | Homes, hospitals, power grids hit |
|---|---|---|
| Continuation | Proportionality, duty to seek peace | Suffering grows as aims recede |
- Sovereignty: Article 2(4) of the UN Charter bars force against any state's territorial integrity; Article 51 allows self-defence only "if an armed attack occurs", which security anxieties are not.
- Last resort and proportionality: just war theory asks whether a less harmful way remained and whether the good achieved outweighs the harm; war launched while diplomacy was open fails both.
- The distant poor: the war imperilled grain exports on which global food security depends; the Black Sea Grain Initiative of July 2022, with the UN and Türkiye, opened a maritime humanitarian corridor.
- Interest versus principle: states chose sides by energy and alliances; India kept ties with both while urging dialogue.
In Samarkand in September 2022, India's Prime Minister told Russia's President that "today's era is not an era of war". Ashoka learnt that after Kalinga; the ethical task of states is to learn it before.
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
Write short notes on the following in 30 words each : (i) Constitutional morality (ii) Conflict of interest (iii) Probity in public life (iv) Challenges of digitalization (v) Devotion to duty
Approach · directive: “write short notes (30 words each)”
What it asks · Write five short notes of about 30 words each, defining each concept and adding its significance or an example.
It asks 5 things — answer each
- Constitutional morality
- Conflict of interest
- Probity in public life
- Challenges of digitalization
- Devotion to duty
Open with · Constitutional morality: fidelity to the Constitution's values and processes above personal or popular morality, with Ambedkar's warning that it is not a natural sentiment; then conflict of interest in the OECD's definition, with its remedy: disclose, recuse and record.
Cover
- Constitutional morality: values and processes above popular morality; Ambedkar: it has to be cultivated.
- Conflict of interest: the OECD's definition, private interests that could improperly influence public duties; a relative's tender as the example.
- Probity in public life: uprightness beyond legality; Lal Bahadur Shastri's resignation over the Ariyalur train accident (1956).
- Challenges of digitalization: the rural internet divide (NSS 2017-18), cyber-fraud, privacy loss and algorithmic bias, with their answers.
- Devotion to duty: commitment beyond compulsion; India's ASHA volunteers, honoured by WHO in 2022.
Close with · Challenges of digitalization (the rural internet divide, cyber-fraud, privacy loss, algorithmic bias) and devotion to duty, embodied by India's more than one million ASHA volunteers honoured by WHO in 2022.
Add value (verified)
- Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly (4 November 1948): constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment; it has to be cultivated.Constituent Assembly Debates, Vol. VII, 4 November 1948 — Sansad (Parliament of India) ↗“Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realize that our people have yet to learn it.”
- OECD Guidelines for Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Service (2003): a conflict of interest is a conflict between the public duty and private interests of a public official, whose private-capacity interests could improperly influence the performance of official duties.OECD, Recommendation on Guidelines for Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Service (2003) ↗“A 'conflict of interest' involves a conflict between the public duty and private interests of a public official, in which the public official has private-capacity interests which could improperly influence the performance of their official duties and responsibilities.”
- Deccan Herald (national newspaper): in 1956 Lal Bahadur Shastri, then Railway Minister, resigned after taking moral responsibility for a train accident at Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu.Deccan Herald (national newspaper), on ministers who quit after rail accidents ↗“In 1956, Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Railway Minister, had resigned after taking moral responsibility for a train accident at Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu, which caused 150 deaths.”
- NSS 75th round (July 2017–June 2018): only 14.9% of rural households had internet, against 42.0% of urban households.Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India, NSS 75th Round (July 2017–June 2018) — PIB, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 23 November 2019 ↗“Nearly 14.9% of the rural households and 42.0% of the urban households had internet facility.”
- WHO (22 May 2022): India's ASHAs, more than one million female volunteers, received a WHO Director-General's Global Health Leaders Award for linking communities with the health system so that the rural poor can reach primary health care, as shown through the COVID-19 pandemic.WHO, 'WHO Director-General announces Global Health Leaders Awards', 22 May 2022 ↗“ASHA (which means hope in Hindi) are the more than 1 million female volunteers in India, honored for their crucial role in linking the community with the health system, to ensure those living in rural poverty can access primary health care services, as shown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 184words · Minimalist IAS
- Constitutional morality: fidelity to the Constitution's values and processes, such as the rule of law, rights and checks and balances, above personal or popular morality. Ambedkar warned that it "is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated."
- Conflict of interest: in the OECD's definition, a clash between public duty and private interests that "could improperly influence" an official's duties, as when a relative bids in a tender one evaluates. Remedy: disclose, recuse and record.
- Probity in public life: uprightness in using public office and money, beyond mere legality: declared interests, no misuse of position, open reasons. In 1956, Railway Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned, owning moral responsibility for the Ariyalur train accident.
- Challenges of digitalization: a deep divide (internet in only 14.9% of rural households against 42.0% of urban ones, NSS 2017-18), cyber-fraud, privacy loss and algorithmic bias. Inclusive design, assisted access and data protection answer them.
- Devotion to duty: wholehearted commitment to one's work beyond compulsion: diligence, punctuality and service in hardship. WHO honoured India's more than one million ASHA volunteers in 2022 for linking communities to health care through Covid-19.
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.
