(a) “For any kind of social re-engineering by successfully implementing welfare schemes, a civil servant must use reason and critical thinking in an ethical framework.” Justify this statement with suitable examples. (b) What are the major teachings of Mahavir? Explain their relevance in the contemporary world.
Approach · directive: “justify / what / explain”
What it asks · (a) Show with examples why implementing welfare schemes needs reasoned, evidence-based judgement within ethical limits; (b) state Mahavir’s core teachings and apply them to today’s problems.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- (a) Justify, with suitable examples, why a civil servant implementing welfare schemes for social re-engineering must use reason and critical thinking within an ethical framework
- (b) State Mahavir's major teachings and explain their relevance in the contemporary world
Open with · (a) Welfare schemes change social behaviour, so the administrator must reason like a scientist and act like a trustee, as Kautilya's welfare-first ruler did; (b) Mahavir's ethics of restraint and plural truth.
Cover
- (a) Reason: design from evidence — identify real beneficiaries, test assumptions through pilots and data, anticipate unintended effects.
- (a) Critical thinking: question inclusion and exclusion errors — e.g. authentication failures shutting out eligible ration-card holders; fix the process, not blame the poor.
- (a) Ethical frame: dignity, equity and consent; Gandhi’s talisman of the poorest person; no coercive targets like the sterilisation drives of the 1970s.
- (a) Examples: Aspirational Districts (data-driven ranking with local adaptation), JAM trinity against leakages, social audits of rural works.
- (b) Teachings: five vows — ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha; the three jewels of right faith, knowledge and conduct; anekantavada; self-effort over ritual.
- (b) Relevance: ahimsa for conflict and animal welfare; aparigraha against consumerism and climate stress; anekantavada for polarised, post-truth debates.
- (b) Also: equality of all souls against caste and gender discrimination; self-discipline for mental health; simple living that anticipates Mission LiFE.
Close with · Reasoned compassion unites both parts: every scheme and choice should help the weakest without harming any living being.
Add value (verified)
- Kautilya (Arthashastra): in the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness, in their welfare his welfare. Kautilya's Arthashastra, tr. R. Shamasastry, Book I Ch. XIX — archive.org ↗“Of a king, the religious vow is his readiness to action; satisfactory discharge of duties is his performance of sacrifice; equal attention to all is the offer of fees and ablution towards consecration. In the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness; in their welfare his welfare;”
- The 15th Finance Commission noted the Aspirational Districts Programme rests on competition, convergence and collaboration, but asked for rigorous performance evaluation of its effect. Report of the 15th Finance Commission for 2020-21, para 4.35 — fincomindia.nic.in ↗“The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), piloted by NITI Aayog, is based on three principles of competition, convergence and collaboration. There has been improvement in the social and economic indicators of the targeted areas, but rigorous performance evaluation is required to establish the effectiveness of the ADP in bringing about or accelerating such improvement even without providing any additional funding.”
- Gandhi's talisman: recall the face of the poorest and most helpless person and ask whether the step you contemplate will be of use to him. The Gandhi Talisman — mkgandhi.org (This Was Bapu, 70) ↗“Recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless man whom you may have seen and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 369 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Kautilya held that "in the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness". Modern welfare carries the same trust, but schemes now seek to change behaviour, from sanitation to girls' schooling, so the administrator must reason like a scientist and act like a trustee.
(a) Why social re-engineering needs reason and critical thinking within ethics
- Reason, evidence first: identify real beneficiaries, pilot, measure and adapt. The Aspirational Districts Programme ranks districts on data and rests on competition, convergence and collaboration.
- Critical thinking, testing claims: even for this programme, the 15th Finance Commission asked for "rigorous performance evaluation" before crediting it with the gains.
- Fix the process, not the poor: when authentication failures shut out eligible ration-card holders, the answer is an offline fallback and grievance redress, not blame.
- Ethics, the limit on engineering: during the National Emergency (1975–77) a coercive programme of mass sterilisation led to forced sterilisations, a warning that welfare targets pursued without ethics become coercion.
- Ethical compass: Gandhi's talisman asks whether a step will be "of any use" to the poorest and most helpless person one has seen.
- Tools that join all three: the JAM trinity against leakages and social audits of rural works let citizens verify the reasoning.
- Synthesis: reason finds what works, critical thinking finds what fails, and ethics decides what is permissible.
(b) Mahavir's major teachings and their relevance today
| Teaching | Meaning | Relevance today |
|---|---|---|
| Ahimsa | Non-violence in thought, speech, action | Hate speech, conflict, animal welfare |
| Aparigraha | No possession beyond need | Consumerism; Mission LiFE |
| Anekantavada | Truth has many aspects | Polarised, post-truth debate |
- Five great vows: ahimsa, satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), aparigraha and brahmacharya (celibacy).
- Three jewels (triratna): right faith, right knowledge and right conduct form the path of liberation.
- Reverence for life: no living creature should be slain, abused or tormented.
- Syadvada: our knowledge is partial and relative, so views should be held with humility.
- Public life: satya and asteya mean integrity against corruption and misinformation; the equality of all souls counters caste and gender discrimination; self-discipline aids mental health in a distracted age.
Reasoned compassion unites both parts. Kautilya's welfare-first ruler, Gandhi's talisman and Mahavir's restraint ask one question before any scheme or choice: will it help the weakest without harming any living being?
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.