UPSC Mains 2019 GS Paper 4 Q1a: model answer
What are the basic principles of public life? Illustrate any three of these with suitable examples.
What the question wants
List the basic principles of public life and illustrate any three with examples.
How to structure it
List seven, illustrate three.
- Nolan seven
- Three with examples
How to think it through
Nolan Committee 1995 (UK): selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership. Illustrate: integrity—E. Sreedharan; objectivity—UPSC merit-based selection / T.N. Seshan; accountability—Lal Bahadur Shastri's resignation 1956 after Ariyalur rail accident; openness—RTI; leadership—Kalam.
Model answer
In 1995, the UK's Committee on Standards in Public Life, chaired by Lord Nolan, set out seven principles for anyone who holds public office. India's 2nd ARC endorsed them.
The seven principles
- Selflessness: act solely in the public interest.
- Integrity: avoid obligations that could influence official work.
- Objectivity: decide on merit, using evidence.
- Accountability: answer for decisions and accept scrutiny.
- Openness: be transparent; give reasons.
- Honesty: be truthful.
- Leadership: promote these principles by example.
Three illustrated
### Accountability
- In November 1956, Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned as Railway Minister after the Ariyalur train accident in Tamil Nadu, accepting moral responsibility though he was not personally at fault.
### Objectivity
- T.N. Seshan, as Chief Election Commissioner, enforced the Model Code of Conduct against ruling and opposition parties alike, judging conduct, not party.
### Integrity
- E. Sreedharan refused political interference in Delhi Metro contracts and delivered the first phase ahead of schedule, showing that integrity and results go together.
Why they matter
- These principles turn public office into public trust: power held on behalf of citizens.
Rules tell officials what is forbidden; principles tell them who they work for.
Draw: A seven-pillar temple labelled 'public trust'.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Nolan Committee 1995, seven principles, selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership, 2nd ARC, Lal Bahadur Shastri 1956 Ariyalur, T.N. Seshan, E. Sreedharan.
Where most answers lose marks
- Listing principles without illustrating three with real examples.
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Fresh examples from current affairs
Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demand
In a judgment of 16 October 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices S.V.N. Bhatti and N.V. Anjaria held that investigating a bribe demand by a public servant does not need prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Asking for a bribe, the court said, is not part of discharging official duties.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Sections 7, 7A, 17A and 19 of the PC Act. · Mains GS-II/GS-IV: honest officers versus accountability.
19 Oct 2026Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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