(a) An endangered tribe has developed a severe skeletal deformity. A university research has identified a mineral supplement as a possible remedy, though clinical trials are yet to be conducted. Should the District Magistrate (DM) use this research on the tribe? Discuss from the perspective of medical and administrative ethics. (b) Discuss how national security can be balanced with concerns of human rights.
Approach · directive: “should / discuss”
What it asks · (a) Decide whether a DM should give an untested remedy to an endangered tribe, weighing medical and administrative ethics; (b) explain how the state can protect security without sacrificing human rights.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- (a) Decide whether the DM should use the untested mineral supplement on the tribe, discussing it from the perspective of medical ethics
- (a) Discuss the same decision from the perspective of administrative ethics
- (b) Discuss how national security can be balanced with human rights
Open with · (a) Good intentions cannot replace evidence and consent, above all for vulnerable groups; (b) security and liberty are both public goods the Constitution protects.
Cover
- (a) Medical ethics: 'do no harm' and informed consent; an untested supplement may cause harm; an endangered tribe is especially vulnerable to exploitation.
- (a) Administrative ethics: ICMR's 2017 guidelines need approval of the collector or tribal welfare commissioner; NDCT Rules, 2019 require regulatory and ethics clearance.
- (a) Course: no mass use; specialist care, nutrition and screening via PM-JANMAN mobile medical units; fast-track an approved, consented trial.
- (b) Tension: counter-terror laws, surveillance, special powers and preventive detention against liberty, privacy and due process.
- (b) Balance: Puttaswamy (2017) proportionality; Anuradha Bhasin (2020) bars indefinite internet suspension; judicial and legislative oversight; time-bound powers.
- (b) Accountability for excesses, NHRC scrutiny and humane treatment; winning people's trust is itself a security strategy.
Close with · Compassion must work within evidence and law, and security within rights; in both, legitimacy is the source of effectiveness.
Add value (verified)
- The Nuremberg Code (1947), first principle: the voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential, free of force, fraud, duress or coercion. The Nuremberg Code (1947), reprinted in the BMJ (vol. 313, 1996) — The Global Health Network ↗“1. The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion”
- ICMR's National Ethical Guidelines (2017): research on tribal populations only for specific therapeutic, diagnostic or preventive purposes with appropriate benefit to them, and only after approval of authorities such as the tribal welfare commissioner or district collector. National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research Involving Human Participants, 2017 — Indian Council of Medical Research ↗“6.7.1 Research on tribal populations should be conducted only if it is of a specific therapeutic, diagnostic and preventive nature with appropriate benefits to the tribal population. 6.7.2 Due approval from competent administrative authorities, like the tribal welfare commissioner or district collector, should be taken before entering tribal areas.”
- PM-JANMAN (for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) provides for 1,000 mobile medical units with medicine cost, 10 per district. PM JANMAN: Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan — PIB backgrounder, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, November 2023 ↗“Mobile Medical Units with medicine cost 1000 (10/district) Rs 33.88.00 lakhs/MMU”
- Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (10 January 2020): suspending the internet indefinitely is impermissible; every suspension must be proportionate, temporary and subject to judicial review. Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India, Supreme Court, 10 January 2020 — Indian Kanoon ↗“An order suspending internet services indefinitely is impermissible under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017. Suspension can be utilized for temporary duration only. d. Any order suspending internet issued under the Suspension Rules, must adhere to the principle of proportionality and must not extend beyond necessary duration. e. Any order suspending internet under the Suspension Rules is subject to judicial review”
- Kant's Humanity Formula: never treat humanity, in oneself or in others, as a means only but always as an end in itself. Kant's Moral Philosophy — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“This formulation states that we should never act in such a way that we treat humanity, whether in ourselves or in others, as a means only but always as an end in itself.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 423 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
(a) Should the DM use an untested remedy on an endangered tribe?
No. Good intentions do not license experiments on a vulnerable people; refuse mass use, but act at once through proven care and a lawful trial.
Medical ethics
- Non-maleficence: an untested supplement may carry unknown toxicity or a wrong dose; harm to an endangered tribe could be irreversible.
- Voluntary consent: the Nuremberg Code opens with "The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential". A remedy pushed by the administration on a tribe with low literacy and a wide power gap cannot be freely chosen.
- Justice: ICMR's 2017 ethical guidelines allow research on tribal populations only for a specific therapeutic, diagnostic or preventive purpose that benefits them. Using a people as test subjects treats them merely as means, as Kant warned.
Administrative ethics
- Mandate: the DM is a gatekeeper, not a prescriber: the same guidelines need approval of authorities "like the tribal welfare commissioner or district collector" before research enters tribal areas, and the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 add regulatory and ethics clearance.
- Accountability: if harm follows, the state is liable and the tribe's trust in government collapses.
- Existing channels: PM-JANMAN funds mobile medical units for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
Compassion must work through evidence and law; otherwise the endangered are endangered twice.
(b) Balancing national security with human rights
Security and liberty are not rivals: the state exists to protect life, and a life worth protecting includes freedom and dignity. The task is to keep every security power lawful, necessary and proportionate.
- Where they collide: counter-terror laws with long custody, preventive detention, mass surveillance and internet shutdowns restrict liberty, privacy and due process.
- Why excess backfires: custodial torture or staged encounters breed the alienation on which insurgency feeds.
- Proportionality: the Puttaswamy tests (2017) require legality, a legitimate aim and proportionality for every restriction.
- Time limits: in Anuradha Bhasin (2020) the Supreme Court held that suspending the internet indefinitely is impermissible; each order must be proportionate, temporary and open to judicial review.
- Oversight: judicial review of detentions, legislative scrutiny of special powers, sunset clauses, NHRC scrutiny and compensation for wrongful action.
- Targeting, not blanketing: intelligence-led action against real threats, never collective suspicion of a community or region.
- Legitimacy as strategy: a state that respects rights wins cooperation, and public trust is the best intelligence.
Security bought by sacrificing rights is short-lived order; rights are the reason for security, not its casualty.
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.