GS Paper IV 2024 · Q2 (Section A)
2 parts · 10 marks and 150 words each Ethics in public administration X-Ray · Core #3Q2(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
“It is not enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it; and it is not enough to believe in it, one must act upon it.” In the present context, the major weapon industries of the developed nations are adversely influencing continuation of number of wars for their own self-interest, all around the world. What are the ethical considerations of the powerful nations in today’s international arena to stop continuation of ongoing conflicts?
Approach · directive: “what are (the ethical considerations)”
What it asks · Set out the ethical considerations that should move powerful nations, whose arms industries profit from prolonged wars, from talking about peace to acting to end ongoing conflicts.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Relate the quotation's ladder of talk, belief and action to powerful nations and the arms trade
- Identify the ethical considerations that should guide powerful nations to stop ongoing conflicts
Open with · The quotation's ladder of talk, belief and action: nations that preach peace while their arms industries profit from distant wars stop at the first rung, the 'military-industrial complex' named in Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address.
Cover
- A table maps each rung of the quotation to today's gap and the ethical consideration it demands: truthfulness, sanctity of life, restraint.
- Life over profit: licensing arms into an active war makes a state complicit in the deaths that follow.
- Fidelity to the UN Charter: peaceful settlement of disputes, no threat or use of force, and its resolve to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
- Restraint in transfers: the Arms Trade Treaty bars parties from authorising the transfer of arms they know would be used in genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.
- Consistency and action: one standard for allies and rivals; mediation, ceasefires and corridors, as the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration (2023) affirmed: today's era must not be of war.
Close with · Ashoka's repentance after conquering Kalinga and his turn to dhamma: a powerful nation proves its belief in peace when it, too, turns remorse into policy.
Add value (verified)
- US President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address of 17 January 1961 is famed for its reference to the 'military-industrial complex'.Farewell Address — Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library (US National Archives) ↗“President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address, famed for its reference to the "military-industrial complex," is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Its meaning has been analyzed and debated by historians ever since. President Eisenhower delivered the speech on January 17, 1961.”
- The UN Charter's principles bind members to settle disputes by peaceful means and to refrain from the threat or use of force against any state's territorial integrity or political independence.Charter of the United Nations, full text (Article 2) — United Nations ↗“All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. 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”
- The UN Charter opens with the resolve to spare future generations from war.United Nations Charter (full text), Preamble ↗“to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind”
- Arms Trade Treaty (adopted by the UN General Assembly on 2 April 2013), Article 6(3): a State Party shall not authorise any transfer of conventional arms if it knows at the time of authorisation that the arms would be used in genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks on civilians, or other war crimes.Arms Trade Treaty, certified true copy: Article 6, Prohibitions — United Nations Treaty Collection (PDF) ↗“used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which it is a Party”
- G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration (New Delhi, 9 September 2023, under India's G20 Presidency): states must uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in the spirit of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'; 'Today's era must not be of war.'G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration, 9 September 2023 — G20 Research Group, University of Toronto ↗“uphold all the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter for the promotion of peaceful, friendly, and good neighbourly relations among nations in the spirit of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'. Today's era must not be of war.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 225words · Minimalist IAS
The quotation sets a ladder: talk of peace, belief in it, action for it. Nations that preach peace while their arms industries profit from distant wars stop at the first rung, captive to what Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address called the 'military-industrial complex'.
| Rung | Today's gap | Ethical consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Talk | Peace summits, arms deals | Truthfulness |
| Belief | Profit above lives | Sanctity of life |
|---|---|---|
| Action | Wars left burning | Restraint, mediation |
- Life over profit: no export order outweighs a civilian life; licensing arms into an active war makes a state complicit in the deaths that follow.
- Fidelity to the UN Charter: settle disputes by peaceful means and refrain from the threat or use of force, true to its resolve 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war'.
- Restraint in transfers: the UN Arms Trade Treaty bars parties from authorising the transfer of arms they know would be used in genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.
- Consistency: one standard for allies and rivals; selective outrage and sanctions discredit the peacemaker.
- Action, not statements: mediation, ceasefires, humanitarian corridors and reconstruction aid. Under India's presidency, the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration (2023) affirmed: 'Today's era must not be of war.'
Ashoka, after conquering Kalinga, recorded his repentance for its killings and deportations and turned to dhamma. A powerful nation proves its belief in peace when it, too, turns remorse into policy.
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.
Q2(b) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
Global warming and climate change are the outcomes of human greed in the name of development, indicating the direction in which extinction of organisms including human beings is heading towards loss of life on Earth. How do you put an end to this to protect life and bring equilibrium between the society and the environment?
Approach · directive: “how (to put an end to it)”
What it asks · Suggest how greed-driven global warming and climate change can be ended, so that life is protected and equilibrium between society and environment is restored.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Identify greed in the name of development as the root of the crisis
- Suggest measures at the individual, national, legal and global levels to end it
- Show how these protect life and restore equilibrium between society and the environment
Open with · The Brundtland Report's definition of sustainable development, meeting present needs without compromising future generations; greed reverses that order, so ending it needs a change of values as much as of technology.
Cover
- A hub shows five pillars of equilibrium: mindful living, clean growth, climate law, climate justice and community stewardship.
- Need, not greed: Mission LiFE's mindful and deliberate utilisation in place of mindless and wasteful consumption.
- Clean growth: the updated NDC (2022), a 45% cut in emissions intensity by 2030 from 2005 and about 50% non-fossil power capacity, towards net zero by 2070.
- Climate law and justice: M.K. Ranjitsinh (2024) on a right against the adverse effects of climate change; common but differentiated responsibilities and a just transition.
- Community stewardship: the Chipko movement's resistance to deforestation and its proof that community afforestation with indigenous species succeeds.
Close with · Aldo Leopold's land ethic as the test of equilibrium: a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community.
Add value (verified)
- India's Mission LiFE urges mindful use over wasteful consumption.PIB — PM launches ‘LiFE Movement’ (June 2022) ↗“The idea promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption’.”
- India's updated NDC (approved 3 August 2022): cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels, and reach about 50% of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.Cabinet approves India's Updated Nationally Determined Contribution — PIB, 3 August 2022 ↗“As per the updated NDC, India now stands committed to reduce Emissions Intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from 2005 level and achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.”
- The updated NDC is a step towards India's long-term goal of net zero by 2070 and translates the 'Panchamrit' announced at COP26.Cabinet approves India's Updated Nationally Determined Contribution — PIB, 3 August 2022 ↗“This update to India’s existing NDC translates the ‘Panchamrit’ announced at COP 26 into enhanced climate targets. The update is also a step towards achieving India’s long term goal of reaching net-zero by 2070.”
- In M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024) the Supreme Court recognised a right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change under Articles 14 and 21.Indian Supreme Court declares protection from climate change a fundamental right — Health and Human Rights Journal (Harvard FXB Center), blog ↗“For the first time, the Court recognized that the “right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change” is integral to the fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 21 and 14 of the Indian Constitution”
- Aldo Leopold's land ethic (A Sand County Almanac, 1949), as quoted by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community, and wrong when it tends otherwise.Environmental Ethics — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 216words · Minimalist IAS
The Brundtland Report (1987) defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations' ability to meet theirs. Greed reverses that order, so ending it needs a change of values as much as of technology.
Equilibrium: Mindful living; Clean growth; Climate law; Climate justice; Community stewardship
- Need, not greed: Mission LiFE urges 'mindful and deliberate utilisation' instead of 'mindless and wasteful consumption': less waste, more reuse, public transport and energy thrift.
- Clean growth: India's updated NDC (2022) pledges to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels and reach about 50% non-fossil power capacity, on the path to net zero by 2070.
- Climate law: in M.K. Ranjitsinh (2024) the Supreme Court recognised a right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change under Articles 14 and 21.
- Climate justice: under common but differentiated responsibilities, high emitters should finance adaptation and share clean technology, with a just transition for workers.
- Community stewardship: the Chipko movement resisted tree felling in the Himalayas and showed that village communities can protect their own forests.
Equilibrium returns when every choice passes Aldo Leopold's land ethic: 'A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.'
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.
