UPSC Mains 2021 GS Paper 4 Q1b: model answer
Identify ten essential values that are needed to be an effective public servant. Describe the ways and means to prevent non-ethical behaviour in the public servants.
What the question wants
List ten essential values for an effective public servant, and describe ways to prevent unethical behaviour among public servants.
How to structure it
List briefly, then prevention in detail.
- Ten values
- Preventive means: personal, institutional, legal, social
How to think it through
Ten values: integrity, impartiality, objectivity, accountability, transparency, empathy, compassion, dedication, courage, tolerance. Prevention: recruitment (ethics paper since 2013), training, code of ethics (2nd ARC proposed), Lokpal 2013 (operational 2019), CVC, PCA amended 2018 (bribe-giver also liable), Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2014, RTI 2005, e-governance (DBT, GeM), rotation, asset disclosure, social audit, leadership example.
Model answer
Corruption is rarely one big decision. It is a hundred small ones that nobody checked. Values give the officer a compass; systems make sure the compass is used.
Ten essential values
- Integrity, impartiality, objectivity, accountability, transparency.
- Empathy, compassion, dedication, courage of conviction, tolerance.
Preventing unethical behaviour
### Personal and training
- Selection: UPSC's ethics paper (GS4, since 2013) signals that character counts.
- Training: case-based ethics in academies and through Mission Karmayogi.
- Role models and mentoring in the first postings.
### Institutional
- A clear code of ethics, as the 2nd ARC recommended, beyond the conduct rules.
- Technology: Direct Benefit Transfer and the GeM portal shrink the space for discretion and middlemen.
- Rotation of sensitive posts and asset declarations.
### Legal
- Prevention of Corruption Act, amended in 2018 to make bribe-giving an offence too.
- Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, CVC and the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014.
### Social
- RTI, 2005, social audits and a free press keep officers aware they are watched.
Honesty grows best where it is expected, protected and rewarded.
Draw: Four concentric rings around the officer: personal, institutional, legal, social.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
ten values, GS4 paper 2013, Mission Karmayogi, code of ethics (2nd ARC), DBT, GeM, rotation, asset declaration, PCA amendment 2018, Lokpal 2013, CVC, Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2014, RTI, social audit.
Where most answers lose marks
- Spending most words on the list of ten and too few on prevention.
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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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