Indus Valley Sculpture

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Indus Valley Sculpture

This article deals with topic titled ‘Indus Valley Sculpture .’ This is part of our series on ‘Culture’ . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

The artists of that time surely had fine artistic sensibilities and a vivid imagination.
Art found at Indus valley include sculpture,seals,pottery,gold jewelry,terracotta figures

Stone Sculpture

Stone statuaries found at Harappa and Mohenjodaro are excellent examples of handling three- dimensional volumes.

1 . Bearded Priest

Made up of Steatite
It is interpreted as Priest or priest king
Features

Shawl	– Under right arm & covering left arm – Decorated with trefoil pattern (indicating embroidery was practiced commonly in Indus valley)
Eyes	Little elongated, and half-closed as in meditative concentration.
Nose	Well formed & medium sized
Mouth	Average sized
Moustache	Closed cut & short beard and whiskers
Ear	Resemble double shell
Armlet	On right hand & holes around neck indicating necklace

2. Male torso

Made of	Red Sandstone
Features	– Socket holes in neck & shoulders for attachment of head and arms – Shoulders well curbed & abdomen looks prominent – Balanced lines stand equal to beautiful art of Gandhara

Bronze Casting

Lost wax technique was used .
In bronze we find human as well as animal figures, the best example being statue of a girl popularly titled ‘Dancing Girl’.
Among animal figures in bronze buffalo with its uplifted head, back & sweeping horns and the goat are of artistic merit.

Terracotta

The Indus Valley people made terracotta images also but compared to the stone and bronze statues the terracotta representations of human form are crude in the Indus Valley. They are more realistic in Gujarat sites and Kalibangan.
The most important among the Indus figures are those representing the mother goddess. The repetition of this figure in exactly the same position would suggest that he was a deity.
Toy carts with wheels, whistles, rattles, birds and animals, gamesmen and discs were also rendered in terracotta

Side Topic : Mother Goddess

Necklace hanging over prominent breasts
Most distinct feature- fan shaped head dress with cup like projection on each side
Rest facial figures very crude & distant from being realistic
Believed to be Goddess most probably linked to Fertility

Seals

Archaeologists have discovered thousands of seals, usually made of steatite, and occasionally of agate, chert, copper, faience and terracotta, with beautiful figures of animals
The purpose of producing seals was mainly commercial. It appears that the seals were also used as amulets, carried on the persons of their owners, perhaps as modern-day identity cards.
The standard Harappan seal was a square plaque 2×2 square inches, usually made from the soft river stone, steatite
Every seal is engraved in a pictographic script which is yet to be deciphered.
They all bear a great variety of motifs, most often of animals including those of the bull, with or without the hump, the elephant, tiger, goat and also monsters. Sometimes trees or human figures were also depicted.

Side Topic : Pashupati Seal

Most remarkable seal is Pashupati Seal.
This seal depicts
- human figure seated cross-legged
- An elephant & a tiger are depicted to right side of seated figure, while on left a rhinoceros and a buffalo are seen.
- two antelopes are shown below the seat.

Laws as Sources of Ethical Guidance

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Laws as Sources of Ethical Guidance

This article deals with the topic titled ‘Laws as Sources of Ethical Guidance.’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

Laws and Conscience also act as sources of ethical guidance for all humans living in society. They can be broadly classified as

Laws	It is the outside actor of Ethical Guidance
Conscience	It is the inner actor of Ethical Guidance (discussed in the next article CLICK HERE)

What is Law?

It is the codification of mutually agreed values.
In modern democracy (not authoritarian regimes), it can be said to be minimum ethical conduct that society decides for itself through elected representatives.

Characteristics of Law

1. Common Good

Law must result in the common good of society.
E.g., Outlawing murder & thuggery – There is the common good of society if we punish this by law. Hence, this law results in the common good of society.

2. Compliance

Law should be implementable.
E.g., Although there is a common good in outlawing lies, it cant be implemented. Hence, no such law is made.

3. Create minimum Morality

Law creates minimum morality in public life.
Hence, we can say that law represents the minimum morality/ethics that society wants in its members. A citizen can have more than that in himself, but lower than that will land him in jail.
It is desirable and practicable that we make laws for minimum morality only because if laws cover every aspect of our behaviour, they will become so cumbersome that they can’t be implemented.

Law vs. Ethics

Law	Ethics
It is the codification of mutually agreed values.	Ethics are values held by society which are used in deciding right & wrong.
It has legal backing.	It has societal backing.
Breaking laws has legal sanctions.	It is voluntary in nature. If you do unethical work, you will not land in prison (although you can face social ostracization).
There may be many areas where the law does not exist or is silent.	Ethics has a wider scope.
Law is the same for all people.	Ethics may vary from person to person.
Laws need to be specifically changed by the legislature.	Ethics change automatically as society matures.

Whether law guides ethics or ethics guide law

Ethics usually guide the laws, as the law is the minimum ethical conduct the state wants each person to uphold. For example, in the highest form of ethical conduct, we shouldn’t take anything that isn’t rightfully ours. It includes something we have found by chance, like a ₹500 note lying on the road. But as minimum ethical conduct, the state wants that person shouldn’t indulge in theft. A person is punished if he indulges in such activity.
Sometimes the law can be more progressive than ethics, and in that case, the law guides ethics. E.g., the Sati Abolition law when William Bentinck enacted it. In that case, the law guided ethics and made society more progressive.
But some of the laws have nothing to do with Ethics. For example, the law prescribes driving to the left (in India, England etc.) and the right (in the US, Canada etc.). Although these laws prevent chaos on the roads, it has nothing to do with ethics.

Exception: Law can be Immoral or Unethical

However, not all laws can have moral or ethical sanctions. Even in a democracy, a majority can take over the legislative process and frame a law that may not be just for every section of society or may undermine the dignity of some. A law that caters to most at the cost of a few is unjust. And according to St. Augustine, an unjust law is no law at all. Mahatma Gandhi also argued that an unjust law is itself a species of violence. In the present context, the following examples could be seen in this light:

Criminalizing Homosexuality: Many countries, including India, have recently criminalized the LGBT community for their sexual orientation.
Adultery: Until recently, only a man in India could be prosecuted for adultery under Section 497 of IPC.
Historically, laws related to apartheid in South Africa and racial discrimination in the US were ethically corrupt.

Therefore, these laws were withdrawn after widespread opposition and resentment by the population.

Question: Describe some acts which are ‘ethical but not legal’ and ‘legal but not ethical’.

Ethical but not legal

Starting the pension, if some old age person doesn’t have age proof but it is clear that he is a senior citizen.
Stealing medicine to save somebody’s life
Breaking signal to save a life.

Legal but not ethical

Removing slums because they are not legal owners of property without giving them any shelter
It is ethical not to give capital punishment as it is against the dignity of human life. Still, according to the law, it is correct (mainly for heinous crimes) to maintain law and order.
Old apartheid laws of South Africa
Marital Rape
Suicide

Law as a source of Ethical Guidance

Law and ethics overlap considerably. The law is the minimum acceptable standard of behaviour backed by legal sanctions. But laws can’t cover every possible ethical issue.

Hence, it can be said that

Law is the minimum morality that is placed on all the members of society. Whether a person wants or not, he has to possess that much morality in himself. Hence, by this notion, it is clear that laws indeed act as a source of ethical guidance.
But we must remember that morality and legality aren’t identical. Morality (or ethics) is much more than legality, and it is expected that the person’s moral standards should be higher than Legal Standards. But the tragic plight is that we have started to equate Morality & Ethicality with the letter of the law. The old adage “if it isn’t illegal, it must be ethical” is deeply flawed in the context of modern society.
Outlawing something takes back the legitimacy of that action. E.g. banning alcohol by law is easy, but it is challenging to implement it. But even after this limitation, banning it takes the legitimacy of drinking back.
Laws command both action and inaction: Some laws lay down what should not be done, e.g. murder, whereas others lay down what should be done, e.g. registration of motor vehicles.

Disobeying the unjust laws / Philosophy of Civil Disobedience

In earlier Authoritarian and Colonial Regimes

Historically, most of the regimes were authoritarian and colonial and didn’t consist of the people’s elected representatives. They made laws to increase their control over people’s lives and protect their own financial and commercial interests. We also have to remember that they didn’t have any moral sanction to rule people since people did not elect them. Those were despotic governments.
- Taxing salt production may have been just for the financial convenience of the British Indian administration; it was totally unjust for the millions of Indians.
- Slavery laws were made to benefit a few landed magnates and justified the exploitation of millions.
Hence, disobeying those unjust laws without any doubt wasn’t wrong. Gandhi advocated the moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws through non-cooperation and civil disobedience.

Modern Democracies

But the real issue is whether one should go for breaking the law in the case of Modern Democracies. We have to keep the following points in mind while going to conclusions.
- First of all, these laws are made by elected representatives of the people. People have given them moral sanctions to make laws.
- Secondly, people can change the government in the next elections if the government is formulating anti-people laws.
- Still, some government actions may be considered grossly unjust and unfair to a large section. In such situations, peaceful protests and pressurizing through the building up of popular opinion should be resorted to.
Resorting to Civil disobedience should be avoided because:
- Resort to unconstitutional methods could be justified in past as there was little rule of law or adherence to constitutionalism. In the present, we must hold to the constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives.
- It may result in anarchy: While disobedience may be helpful to some, it may spiral out of control soon, undermining peace and benefitting none.

Martin Luther King also provided a template for opposing unjust laws. He said that one who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. There should be acceptance of the penalty of imprisonment to arouse the community’s conscience over its injustice.

Information Sharing and Transparency in Government

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Information Sharing and Transparency in Government

This article deals with the topic titled ‘ Information Sharing and Transparency in Government .’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’. For more articles, you can click here.

What is Transparency in Governance?

Transparency = Openness in functioning
Transparency in governance means that the criteria, processes and systems of decision-making are openly known to all (in simple words, Transparency in Governance means how governance is being carried out should be known to all).
Although transparency is often used interchangeably with access to information, transparency is a wider term with information sharing as one of the tools.
Transparency or Openness has three aspects (PIA)
- Participative Governance
- Information Sharing
- Accountability

Examples of Transparency
1. Jharkhand Public Distribution System (PDS)
2. E-auctions of coal blocks: The process made the auction of coal blocks more transparent and uprooted corruption from the sector to a large extent.

Benefits of Transparency

Helpful in curbing Corruption and Nepotism: Transparency has a deterrent effect on corrupt behaviour as public officials know their actions will be subject to public scrutiny.
Transparency increases the state’s legitimacy as citizens are more likely to trust it when the government is transparent about its decision-making processes and is open about its policies and actions.
Enable a citizen to make well-informed decisions, especially while voting: Transparency helps citizens cast votes based on performance rather than narrow considerations of caste or creed.
Efficient utilization of funds: Transparency in governance ensures the efficient utilization of funds and prevents financial misdoings. When financial information is readily available to the public, it becomes easier to identify irregularities or discrepancies in financial statements and transactions.
Empowering the Marginalized: It empowers the poor and marginalized sections of society by providing them with the necessary information. For example, access to information can help people living in poverty to learn about job opportunities, government services, and educational programs. It can also help marginalized groups such as women, minorities, and people with disabilities to learn about their legal rights and protections.

Issues with Transparency in India

Red Tapism in bureaucracy undermines transparency
Official Secrets Act of 1923, under which government can classify certain information as official which cant be shared.
Monitoring mechanisms aren’t efficient.
Lack of government’s political will to be transparent
Citizens are not interested enough to ensure transparency in governance
Political parties don’t come under the ambit of RTI

3 Aspects of Transparency

1. Participative Governance

Participative Governance means when citizens themselves participate in governance and decision-making. It entails the participation of people in decision-making at the grass root level through the decentralization of powers to the local self-governing bodies.
Participative governance is one of the means to achieve transparency in governance through the bottom-up approach.

There are different ways by which participative governance can be achieved.

1.1 Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) & Urban Local Bodies

It is a well-known fact that as the distance from the Power of Center increases, proportionately transparency decreases.
PRIs and Urban Local Bodies were given constitutional status via the 73rd and 74th Amendments.
Powers have been devolved to Village Panchayats and Gram Sabhas, in which people make decisions themselves.

1.2 Social Audit

Social Audit is the audit through client or beneficiary groups or civil society groups (i.e. stakeholders) to ensure the social accountability of an organization.
It was suggested by Ashok Mehta Committee in 1977. After the 73rd Amendment, when Gram Panchayats got Constitutional Status, rural citizens/gram sabha got legitimacy to conduct Social Audits.
The Supreme Court has also favoured it. CAG, in 2016, laid down “auditing standards” for Social Audit.
It isn’t just limited to Government companies and schemes. It is equally valid for Private Companies where its stakeholders can conduct audits. E.g., TISCO adopted this technique of Auditing even before independence.

Conventional Audit vs. Social Audit

Conventional Audit	Social Audit
Top-down concept of audit	Bottom-up concept of audit
Audit done by Government Functionaries	Audit done by the beneficiary group and civil society (stakeholders)
Audit with economic orientation	Audit with economic as well as social impact consideration

Advantages of Social Audit over Conventional Auditing

Increases people’s participation in governance (Participatory Governance)
It leads to more transparency and strong accountability.
Social Audit is an audit from the economic and social impact perspective. Hence more effective
Infuse effectivity and efficiency in public service delivery (Ghost Beneficiary can be weeded out)
Generation and consolidation of Social capital and social enterprise
Social Audit becomes crucial after greater devolution of the central fund to PRIs, and ULB on the recommendation of the 14th FC, as CAG’s audit jurisdiction over such entities is nebulous.
Social Audits of MGNREGA have played an important role in rooting out corruption from the scheme.

Challenges in Social Auditing

It is voluntary & doesn’t enjoy legal backing (although some schemes like MGNREGA have legal backing)
Standardisation problem: Different stakeholders may have varying opinions and expectations, making it difficult to reach a consensus on what constitutes positive social performance.
Time-consuming

1.3 Resident Welfare Associations

Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in India are local community organizations formed by residents of a particular neighbourhood or housing society to address and manage various issues related to the welfare and development of their locality.

Bhagidari Scheme (of the Delhi Government)

The Bhagidari Scheme of the Delhi Government directly involves citizens through RWAs in monthly meetings to mobilize the community to take responsibility for their respective zones and areas. These RWAs are also the first point of contact for state utilities while planning development-related and other changes

2. Information Sharing

Information sharing refers to the exchange of data among various governing bodies, organizations and the general public.
Indian Parliament has also institutionalized this right by legislating the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005. (CLICK HERE for more on RTI)
Further, parliamentary debates are televised in India, government audit reports are published, and government positions on various policy issues are widely advertised through websites, radio and social media.
Most recently, the government has launched the data.gov.in website to promote Open Data Government (ODG).

3. Accountability

Accountability has three aspects

Answerability of the officials for their decisions and actions
Enforceability of rules and laws to punish the officials if they fail to effectively discharge their duty
Grievance redressal mechanism for the ordinary people who suffer due to the absence of accountability.

(CLICK HERE for more on Accountability)

Utilization of Public Funds

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Last Updated: April 2023 (Utilization of Public Funds)

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Utilization of Public Funds

This article deals with the topic titled ‘Utilization of Public Funds .’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

The Public fund is money that the government generates to provide goods and services to the general public. It is held by the government as a custodian and not an owner. Hence, judicious and effective utilization of public funds is very crucial. However, public funds are often subjected to inefficient utilization, diversions, etc., owing to factors such as corruption.

There are various aspects to consider when it comes to the utilization of public funds:

Problems in the Public Fund Utilization

CAG reports, and other academic studies have revealed the following problems in the public fund utilization

Ministries release funds mechanically without considering the capacity of State Governments to absorb and utilize those funds. For example, in 2018, the Ministry of Health released Rs. 9,000 crores to various states for the implementation of the National Health Mission. But, many states were unable to utilize the funds due to a lack of infrastructure, inadequate human resources etc.
Misuse of public funds for political purposes: It can be seen in the following examples.
- Freebies and schemes: Political parties offer freebies such as free laptops, TVs, and other household appliances, which depletes the public exchequer but creates an unfair advantage for the party
- Development projects: Political parties sometimes allocate public funds for development projects in areas where they have a strong vote bank.
Internal audit functions within departments are inadequate due to various issues.
- Insufficient Resources: Internal audit team is generally understaffed or underfunded.
- Lack of Technical Expertise: Internal auditors may not have the technical expertise required to perform their duties.
- Ineffective Communication: The higher management generally doesn’t act on the findings and recommendations of the Internal Auditors
State Governments are more interested in getting funds from the Central ministries than in ensuring the quality of expenditure. For instance
- Case of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS): CSS are partially funded by the Central Government but implemented by State Governments. State governments focus more on meeting the conditions for receiving the funds rather than ensuring that the schemes are appropriately implemented to benefit the intended beneficiaries.
- To attract more Central funding, State Governments prioritize the allocation of funds towards projects that are likely to attract central funding rather than those that are genuinely important for the development of the state.
March Madness or March Rush: Central Ministries are also more concerned with expenditure rather than the attainment of the objectives. Large parts of funds are generally released in the last month of the financial year, which could not be expected to be spent by the respective State Governments during that financial year. It is done to avoid the funds being surrendered to the government at the end of the financial year.
Veracity and propriety of expenditure data cant be assured, and generally, expenditure figures given by IAS do not tally with the statistics reported by the District level agencies. On the whole, expenditure information is unreliable.

How the problem of misuse of Public Funds can be corrected

There are various ways to do this

1. Citizen Participation

Social Audit: The social audit evaluates and assesses the social impact of government policies and programs on various sections of society.

2. Audit

CAG: Expenditures from all public funds must be properly accounted for and pass through the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit.
Parliamentary Oversight: Major irregularities which emerge are also examined by parliamentary committees (Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee etc.)

3. Outcome-Based Approach to Evaluation

Outcome-Based Approach to Evaluation (OBAE) is a method of assessing the effectiveness of programs and policies by examining their impact on the desired outcomes. For example

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM): The scheme aims to improve healthcare in rural areas. It is evaluated by measuring the progress towards the desired outcomes, such as reducing infant and maternal mortality rates.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): The scheme aims to provide free and compulsory education to all children aged between 6 and 14. It is evaluated by looking at desired outcomes, such as improving enrolment, retention, and learning outcomes

4. Informed Citizenry

The informed citizenry is essential for holding the government responsible for efficiently utilizing public funds. When citizens are aware of where their tax money is being spent, they can hold the government accountable for its spending decisions. For example

Right to Information Act: RTI empowers citizens to access information about government expenditures. It has helped ordinary people to expose the corruption and misuse of public funds.

5. Use of e-Governance

5.1 Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS)

CPSMS integrates tens of thousands of implementing agencies through a common system and tracks fund movement at successive stages, starting with the initial release from the Centre till the money actually reaches the ultimate beneficiaries. It has covered over 1000 Central Plan schemes, captured more than 75,000 sanctions for the release of funds, and registered nearly 20,000 programme-implementing agencies with the system. In addition, CPSMS is linking with State treasuries and State AGs to obtain real-time expenditure information for schemes for which funds are transferred from the Central Ministries to the States.

6. Canons of Financial Propriety

Public officials should be guided by following canons of financial propriety.

Government officials are expected to exercise the same level of prudence in managing taxpayer funds as they would when handling their own personal finances.
The expenditure should’ t be more than what the occasion demands.
It is inappropriate for any authority to use its power to approve expenses resulting in direct or indirect benefits to itself.
Public funds should not be spent for the benefit of a specific individual or group of people except in cases where it can be enforced in a court of law.

Quality of Service Delivery

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Last Update: May 2023 (Quality of Service Delivery)

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Quality of Service Delivery

This article deals with the topic titled ‘Quality of Service Delivery .’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

Public Services are the services delivered to the public by local, municipal, or federal governments. But in modern administration, Public service goes beyond the administrative functions of the governments and incorporates non-governmental organizations as a lot of public functions are delegated to private organizations.

Understanding the Concept of Service Delivery

The concept has to be understood w.r.t. two different angles.

Quality of services provided to the poor sections of the population: These services are usually offered free of cost or are subsidized by the government—for example, education, healthcare etc. The overall objective of providing these services is to provide social protection for poor and vulnerable sections of society.
Services for which the government charges the citizens for service delivery, e.g. passport, driving license, gas and electricity connection, telephone services etc. Since the citizens pay for the services, they expect time-bound delivery of quality services

Problems in Service Delivery

Weberian Bureaucracy: The working of most government organizations is still based on the Weberian principle, which emphasizes rules and regulations. For Bureaucracy, Rules and Regulations have become end in themselves rather than means for making a just society. It has also resulted in a lack of flexibility & responsiveness to the changing needs of society.

Bureaucratic Red Tape: The bureaucratic red tape and slow decision-making process in government agencies can also hamper the quality of service delivery. The long waiting times for approval or processing of documents can discourage people from accessing government services. For example, individuals who apply for a government subsidy or grant must wait months to receive approval, which can lead to financial hardship.

Government Monopoly over the Provision of Public Services: In India, the government has a monopoly over the provision of various public services, including healthcare, education, transportation, and utility services such as electricity and water supply. This monopoly can significantly impact the quality of service delivery, like overcrowding, underfunding, understaffing and substandard customer service.

Inefficiencies & Absenteeism: In India, absenteeism impacts the quality of service delivery. For example
1. Healthcare: Absenteeism of medical staff can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment
2. Education: A study has revealed 25 per cent absenteeism of teachers in government schools. It leads to a lack of supervision and teaching for students.
3. Public Services: Absenteeism among police officers and firefighters can lead to delayed response times during emergencies

Corruption: Corruption is a significant problem in India, and it also affects the delivery of government services.
1. Bribery and Nepotism are common, and they can delay the delivery of services or even denial of services altogether.
2. Government officials often demand bribes for basic services like issuing a driver’s license, passport, or ration card.
3. Bribery and Nepotism can affect Police investigations, leading to the wrongful arrest or release of individuals.
4. In educational services, Students may be asked to pay bribes for admission to top colleges and universities.

Leakages: The leakages in the public funds adversely impacts the quality of service delivery. It is corroborated by Rajiv Gandhi’s famous statement that if the government allocates ₹ 10 for public service, only ₹1 reaches the intended beneficiary.
1. Education Sector: The leakages in the Mid Day Meal scheme reduce the quantity and quality of food served and undermine the objectives of the scheme
2. Healthcare Sector: The leakages in the scheme, such as National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), due to payments to ghost health workers and suppliers, inflated drug prices etc., compromise the availability and quality of healthcare services in rural areas
3. Food Distribution: Due to leakages in the Public Distribution System (PDS) owing to the diversion of subsidized food to the black market deprives the poor of their entitlements.

The Convenience of Service Providers, not Receivers: Public services have been provided based on the convenience of the service providers rather than receivers. For example,
1. Bank timings: Indian Banks are operational from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, which is not convenient for working people. Hence, people have to take time off work to visit the bank.
2. Healthcare services: Many healthcare services operate during limited hours and are often closed on weekends and public holidays.

Limited Access: The limited accessibility of government services is another issue. In India, many rural areas lack basic infrastructure, including access to government services. It makes it challenging for people in these areas to access government services.

Lack of Incentives to be Efficient: The lack of incentives to be efficient is a persistent challenge in India that impacts the quality of service delivery. For example,
1. Delay in processing government applications: The root cause of this problem is the lack of motivation among government officials to complete their work on time as they do not face any penalty or punishment for the delay
2. Public Education and Healthcare System: Teachers and healthcare professionals do not show a high level of motivation because they do not receive any reward for good performance or face any consequences for poor performance.

Ways to Improve Service Delivery

Inculcation of Public Service Ethos in the Institutions and Individuals. These include values like compassion, empathy etc.) and character-building exercises.

Increasing Social Accountability: The quality of public services can be improved by increasing social accountability using mechanisms such as School Management Committees (SMCs), and Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKSs)
1. School Management Committees (SMCs): SMCs were constituted as part of the Right to Education Act and consist of parents, teachers, and other community members. They are responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of schools. This mechanism enhances accountability and improves the transparency of school functioning.
2. Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKSs): RKSs are committees comprising representatives from the community, government officials, and healthcare professionals to monitor and improve the functioning of hospitals.

Performance-based bonus payments
- While salaries of Public Servants are high, the pay does not in any way depend on any measure of performance. Performance-based incentives will encourage public servants to be more efficient.

Involving the Private Sector to infuse competition
- Competition increases the quality of service delivery. Also, the profit-seeking behaviour of private sector managers leads to cost-cutting, deployment of better technology and greater attention to customer satisfaction.
- The government should directly provide health and education grants or vouchers to the poor, which would be redeemable at any recognized school or clinic.

Citizen Report Card
- Citizen Report Cards are prepared mainly by NGOs and are based on response to the quality of service by Citizens.

The rights-based approach to improving public service delivery
- A rights-based approach is an approach that focuses on the rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution and other legal frameworks, with the goal of ensuring that these rights are upheld and protected.
- Right to Public Service Acts: Many states, such as Punjab, have passed the Right to Public Service Acts to give timely delivery of services to people.

Plugging leakages
- To plug leakages, the government could use Aadhar and Direct Benefit Transfers. It will help find the ghost and duplicate beneficiaries and remove profit-seeking intermediaries.

Giving lesser discretion to Bureaucracy
- The existing Departmental Manuals and Codes should be reviewed.
- Phrases like ‘left to the discretion of, ‘as far as possible’, etc should be avoided.

Contractual Structure of Employment
- Modify job to contractual nature, making job renewal subject to satisfactory performance. It will encourage public servants to be more efficient.

Case Study of Helsinki

One example of good quality public service can be seen in the city of Helsinki, Finland.

Work Culture

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Work Culture

This article deals with the topic titled ‘Work Culture.’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’. For more articles, you can click here.

What is work culture?

Work culture refers to how rules/regulations, policies, traditions/rituals, shared values, beliefs and practices contribute to an organization’s unique social and psychological environment.
The work culture decides how employees interact with each other and how an organization functions.

Important Note: There are two concepts in the syllabus.

Work Culture: It is concerned with the interaction between workers within the organization and between workers & organization
Service Delivery: It is concerned with the interaction between the organization and outsiders.

Why work culture is important?

Sense of identity and belongingness: Employees (including Public Servants) obtain a sense of identity and understand that they belong to a larger community with a sense of commitment to achieve something more significant than their individual interest.
Acts as a regulating mechanism: Organizational culture shapes attitudes and behaviour by providing the necessary incentives and sanctions. These ensure that the behaviour of the employees is aligned with the organization’s values.
Attracting talent: It helps attract and keep talented staff as workers prefer to work in an environment where they enjoy spending time.
Promotes efficiency: A collaborative environment in the organization encourages the employees to work diligently and inspires people to demonstrate the values of responsiveness and efficiency. It creates satisfied employees and increases productivity.

The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission states that poor organizational culture has led to the degradation of values and corruption in administration in India.

Characteristics of a Healthy Work Culture

Employees are cordial with each other.
Each employee is treated as one. Partiality leads to demotivated employees.
Management should appreciate the top performers. But motivating the low performers is essential.
Healthy work culture encourages discussions at the workplace. Each one should have the liberty to express their views.
The organization must have employee-friendly policies and practical guidelines. Expecting an employee to work till late at night on his birthday is simply impractical. Rules and regulations should be made for the benefit of employees.
Promote team-building activities to bind the employees together.
The “Hitler approach” does not fit in the current scenario. Instead, bosses should be more like mentors to the employees.

Traits of (Healthy) Work Culture of Government Organizations

Administrative Hierarchy: There should be a clear-cut division of work wherein each level assigns responsibilities to the level beneath it, while each lower level is accountable to the level above for fulfilling those assignments.
Rules and Procedures: Decisions taken by bureaucrats should be governed by a consistent system of rules, regulations and procedures, which are written, rational and impersonal.
Communication and consultation: Bureaucratic structure should ensure the free flow of information among all departments and levels in the organization horizontally and vertically regularly.
Process Simplification: There should be a constant endeavour to move towards process simplification. E.g. adoption of web-based single window clearance systems.
Inclusiveness: Work culture should be able to inspire and motivate people coming from different cultural backgrounds to achieve organizational goals.

Methods of Improving Work Culture

Work culture can be improved in a number of ways:

Objective Role Assignment: The role assigned should be as objective as possible
Remove Role Ambiguity: Role ambiguity should be totally removed.
Reinforcement in the event of creative expression of the given role.
Improving communications between management and staff in both directions
Providing adequate rest breaks to prevent the build-up of fatigue
Be fair but firm in dealings with subordinates.
Take an active interest in the personal and family needs/problems of subordinates.
Take immediate action in cases of indiscipline and do not condone indiscipline in any form and at any level
Ensuring that jobs that pose a risk and cannot be completely eliminated are rotated so that no individual spends long on that task.

Accountability and Ethical Governance

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Accountability and Ethical Governance

This article deals with topic titled ‘Accountability and Ethical Governance.’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’ . For more articles , you can click here

Accountability

What is Accountability

Accountability means answerability of the officials for their decisions and actions.
Accountability is required in case of Public Servants because they have lot of discretion
Benefits of Accountability
- - - Checks Abuse of power
    - Checks corruption and Fraud
    - lack of accountability decreases the legitimacy of government
    - Makes system more responsive
    - Stops Arbitrary and unauthorized exercise of authority

Against Accountability points
- - - Officers spend their time in maintaining records or answering RTIs etc
    - It makes them status quoist in their conduct in fear of public scrutiny.

To quote Amartya Sen – ” We don’t need just a democracy, we need accountable democracy.”

Quite often Accountability is misunderstood as Responsibility.

- - Responsibility is inner concept like your responsibility to do some work
  - Accountability is outer concept like your accountability of some work you have done.

Types of Accountability

There can be two type of Accountability in Governance

Vertical

Accountability of government to persons outside government is ensured by

Elections
RTI
Media & Social Media
Citizens Charter
NGO & Pressure Groups

Horizontal

Accountability of Public Institutions/ Servants to Government

External

Accountability of Public Servant outside his wing

Accountability of Minister (Executive) to Parliament (Legislature)
Judiciary
CAG
CVC
NHRC

Internal

Accountability of Public Servant inside his wing/department

Accountability to Superiors
Internal Audit
Grievance Redressal Mechanisms

Whenever we have to answer how to increase Accountability , we have to cover all these angles.

Steps to make Accountability more effective in India

Strengthening RTI act and infrastructure
Protection of Whistleblowers through legislation.
Strong Lokpal Act
Social Audits by local communities, NGOs can enhance accountability in public service delivery, for instance in MGNREGA.
Using Information and Technology: Maintaining digital records
Encouraging Citizen’s initiative: e.g. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan
Promoting Competition and discouraging monopolistic attitude among public service sectors.
Need to lay down a statutory Code of Ethics for Civil Services (British Civil Services Code can act as a model.)

Side Topic : Lokpal

This is a Central Institution of Accountability in matters of financial impropriety and corruption .

Which bodies come under Lokpal

Members of Parliament
Ministers including PM (Central Executive)
Higher Bureaucracy (Lower Bureaucracy under CVC)
NGO falling under cases of FCRA

Various Challenges to accountability in India

Special Expertise : public administrators are experts in their specific area => difficult for outside agency to surpass them in their areas of specialization & question them.
Massive Expansion of Bureaucracy: difficult for the political executive to exercise effective control over them.
Lack of Coordination: The number of agencies increased => CBI, CVC, Lokayuktas, SVC etc without effective coordination among them.’
Excessive security : Article 311 of the Indian Constitution makes it almost impossible to remove a civil servant.
Employees’ unions: Tendency of employees’ unions to resist the managerial action against their members even when they have blatantly violated ethical norms.

Ethical Governance

Ethical governance is corruption free, moral and people centric Government

Philosophical Basis of Ethical Governance

People think that concept of Good Governance is modern concept. But they are wrong. Many times in past, scholars have conceptualised what is good governance

Kautilya

Kautilya in his Arthashastra wrote , ” in the happiness of subjects lies the happiness of king and in the welfare of subjects lies the welfare of king. ” Hence , he has written about Citizen Centric Government .
Kautilya has also highlighted the corruption & given concept of Kantakshodhana ie king should purge out those elements strictly.

Gandhi’s Vision of Ramrajya

Vision of Ramrajya involves the governance based on Moral Principles .
Infact Gandhi has said that Government which is not working in people’s interest is morally corrupt.
Swaraj ie Self Rule is one of the pillars of his concept of Ramrajya or Good Governance .

Aristotle

He has divided the Government into two parts
- Perverted Government : Power is used in the interest of Ruling class
- Legitimate Government : Power is used in Public Interest

8 Characters of Ethical Government

Rule of Law

Rule of Law involves governance based upon rules and regulations
In modern times, these rules & regulations are codified in Constitution of country .

People’s Participation

Real democracy doesn’t just mean voting to elect government but participation of people in governance itself .
The mechanism of people’s participation in contemporary times are

Conventional Tools	Voting Pressure Groups
New & Contemporary	Panchayati Raj Institutions & Gram Sabha RTI Social Auditing Citizen Charter E-Governance (C2G) Social Media (change.org, online petitions)

Consensus orientation

Ethical Governance is not based on Winner takes all approach .
Decisions in the government should be taken based on consensus

Equity and Inclusiveness

Distribution of resources should be based on the principle of equity so that different sections of society receive these resources based on their need
Inclusiveness involves including weaker sections in decision making (welfare principle)

Effective and Efficient

Effective government is one which achieves the target in stipulated time
Efficient government is one which deliver maximum with minimum resources

Accountable

Discussed above

Transparent

Literal meaning is openness
Tool of Transparency : RTI, E- Governance

Responsive

Responsive government is one which positively responds to people’s demands, needs and aspirations in a timely manner

Right to Information

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Right to Information

This article deals with topic titled ‘Right to Information.’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’ . For more articles , you can click here

Right to Information Act

Sweden was the first country in the world to give Right to Information in 1766. USA gave it after 200 years in 1966. Other countries include France (1978), Canada (1982) , Japan (1999) , Britain (2000) & finally India in 2005

Role of Political Parties and Government

Constituent Assembly	Prof KT Shah gave suggestion to include it in Constitution . But it wasn’t debated properly
1975-77	During Emergency, Rights of Citizen were blatantly violated . JP led movement emphasised on Right to Information
1977	Morarji Desai Government made Taskforce which suggested against making RTI Act
1989	Boforce Scandal – RTI again came to limelight . But governments formed during this period were unstable and nothing came out
1997	IK Gujaral Government made HD Shorey Committee to frame RTI Act. Present RTI act was drafted by HD Shorey Committee
2000	Atal Bihari Vajpayee promised in UN to make RTI Act
2005	14th Lok Sabha passed RTI act

Role of Judiciary in RTI Act

Judiciary has given many judgements since 1950s that RTI is part of Right to Freedom of Expression.
PUCL vs GoI (2003) gave right to citizens to ask any information from their representatives (MPs & MLAs)
TN was the first state to make RTI Act in 1997 based on Judicial Judgement regarding this .

Role of Civil Society in RTI Act Movement

Civil Society or NGOs have tried to make informed citizenry. Eg : Rajasthan’s Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) , gathered information about services being provided to citizens by government and gave it to citizens. They organised Jan Sunwais which was platform to address issues raised by Citizens where Ministers and High Officials were invited and asked critical questions which forced them to become accountable . This Andolan and Jan Sunwais became world famous and in 2000 Rajasthan passed RTI Act at state level

RTI Act,2005 empowers the citizen of India to seek information from a public authority
Under the provisions of the Act,
- - - Any citizen may request information from a “public authority” (Act defines what is Public Authority)
    - Public Authority is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days.
    - Every public authority must computerise their records so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally
    - Applies to all States and Union Territories of India

Downside of Information Sharing

Freedom brings with it added responsibility as well . Hence, it must be used with responsibility . Non-serious applications should be avoided.
Information can be used by anti- social elements to create disharmony & sense of mistrust & despair

Thus adequate checks & balances need to be built to ensure that it is not misused

Provisions of the Act

Objective : To bring transparency in governance

How to apply

It is said to be most citizen centric and friendly act
No specific format is required . It can be applied by writing on blank paper or online
Language : English or Hindi or Any official local language
Fees is not barrier : Fee is ₹10 and free for BPL
Public Information Officer (PIO) has legal obligation to assist the person in application of form
No reason required to be given for seeking information

Central Information Commission shall consist of : 1 Chief Information Commissioner and upto 10 Central Information Commissioners.

PIO /APIO

PIO = Public Information Officer (at Tehsil or District level)
PIO are officers who provide information requested under RTI
APIO = Assistant PIO .
- He is the connecting link between rural masses and PIO. Essentially they are created at Post Office level because poor person cant travel to Tehsil and District to apply to PIO due to transportation costs and losing work day .
- Actual information is given by PIO in this case too.
Duties of PIO
- PIO will examine requests
- If desired information is related to some other public authority , then PIO will forward that application within 5 days to that Public Authority and inform the applicant
- PIO can take help of any other officer for proper disposal of his duties
- PIO will provide information within 30 days of application or dismiss application under Section 8 or 9 of RTI
- Where desired information has question of life and liberty , then information is to be provided within 48 hours
- If PIO fails to provide information within stipulated time , it is presumed that he has denied to provide information.
If PIO dismisses application , he must
- Tell reasons
- Tell the time limit in which an appeal must be made against that.
- Provide details of Appellate Officers

Mechanism of processing of information

Time : 30 working days unless stated otherwise .

In exceptional cases like issue of violation of Human Rights , it has to be processed in 48 hours
If giving application to APIO, add 5 more days (35 working days)
If the desired information has vested interests of Third Party , it can take maximum 40 days
If PIO fails to provide information within stipulated time , it is presumed that he has denied to provide information.

Appellate Authorities

Process of Appeal : Appeal can be made when no information is given in 30 days or application has been rejected for some reason or given information is not satisfactory. There are two appeals
- 1st Appeal : Officer of the rank higher than PIO of concerned Public Authority within 30 days of decision
- 2nd Appeal : Can be made in Central or State Information Commission within 90 days of first appeal
But CIC is the only appellate authority which may declare a body as public authority if it is convinced that the organization fits into the criteria for being under the RTI Act.

When information can be denied

Section 8 of RTI (dealt below)
If an information violates copyright act (Section 9)

Wrt Official Secrets Act

Act overrides the Official Secrets Act, 1923. The information commissions can allow access to the information if public interest outweighs harm to protected persons.

Exemptions under Section 8

Exemption to certain Information under Section 8 of RTI

National security or sovereignty
National economic interests
Relations with foreign states
Law enforcement and the judicial process
Cabinet and other decision-making documents
Trade secrets & commercial confidentiality
Individual safety
Personal privacy

Public Authorities

Section 2(h) of the RTI Act states that “public authority” means any authority or body established

By Constitution
By law made by Parliament or State Legislature
By notification issued by the appropriate Government or substantially financed by government

Issue : RTI Act does not define substantial financing. Consequently, courts are often required to decide whether a particular form and quantum of financial aid constitutes substantial finance.)

Different Obligations on Public Authorities

Act imposes obligation on public agencies to disclose the information suo-moto to reduce requests for information
To make all the information online (digitization of information)
Proactive disclosure of public information on website
Timely appointment of PIOs & APIOs
Creating the awareness wrt Act

Different Rights under Right to Information Act

Right of Inspection
Right to obtain Carbon Copies of information . This can be in form of Physical Copies (Xerox) , Digital form (CD, DVD)
Right to take the certified samples

Amendment to RTI Act in 2013

Amendment said that Political Parties are not Public Authorities under RTI Act ie they are outside the purview of RTI Act
The amendment will ensure that political parties are not obliged to disclose the basis to choose their candidates & the source of their funding

2019 Amendment

1 . Security of Tenure of CIC , IC & SIC taken away

- - - original law = Fixed 5 year tenure or 65 years age
    - Amendment = Center to decide their tenure.

2. Position of CIC, IC , SIC

Original Act : Position was as follows

Chief Central Information Commissioner	Same as Chief Election Commissioner
Central level Information Commissioner	Same as Election Commissioners
State Information Commissioners	Same as Chief Secretary of State

Amendment : empowers Central government to unilaterally decide the tenure, salary, allowances and other terms of service of Information Commissioners, both at the Centre and the States
Rationale : Election Commissioners are Constitutional Body while Election Commissioners are Statutory

Issue

Will impact independence of the institution
Against Federalism

Analysis of RTI

Pros

Transparency
Accountability
Efficiency increased
Strengthened democracy
Increase in people’s participation in governance

Number of scams RTI has helped unearth in past decade include Adarsh Housing Society scam, 2G scam, Commonwealth scam, MNREGA etc

Issues

1 . Lack of Awareness

There is very less awareness in people about provisions of Act .
It is mostly used by NGOs and enlightened people
Over the last decade, less than 2 % of the Indian population has used the law

2. Victimisation of RTI Activists : large number of RTI Activists are killed and there is no effective act to provide security (Whistle-blower’s Act is too weak) .

3. Misuse of RTI :

To harass and blackmail public functionaries .

4. Section 8 of RTI Act (exceptions under RTI) : This affect transparency

Political Parties are not under ambit of RTI .
collegium System of Judiciary not under RTI .

5. Issues wrt effective implementation

Under-staffing .
Issues wrt maintenance of information.

6. High Pendency

CIC & SIC post remains vacant and other appointments are not made with urgency. Ruling parties want to make RTI ineffective

Reforms required

Greater voluntary disclosure of information held with public Authorities.
Strong Whistleblower Act .
Some sort of protection should be provided to honest officers to stop harassment
Timely appointment of PIOs, CIC, SIC, IC etc
Extra finances for logistics Create awareness by organising awareness drives .
Bring political parties under RTI .
Some state level initiatives which can be used

- - - Jankari Call Centre: Bihar Government has initiated a call centre which facilitates the caller in drafting the RTI application and the fee is collected through the phone bill.
    - “Train the Trainer” concept in Assam: Government trains the NGOs to impart training to citizens on RTI in order to maximize the reach of RTI

(2013 UPSC Study ) A Public Information Officer has received an application under RTI Act. Having gathered the information, the PIO discovers that the information pertains to some of the decisions taken by him, which were found to be not altogether right. There were other employees also who were party to these decisions . Disclosure of the information is likely to lead to disciplinary action with possibility of punishment against him as well as some of his colleagues. Non-disclosure or part disclosure or camouflaged disclosure of information will result into lesser punishment or no punishment.

The PIO is otherwise an honest and conscientious person but this particular decision, on which the RTI application has been filed, turned out to be wrong. He comes to you for advice

The following are some suggested options. Please evaluate the merits and demerits of each of the options:

The PIO could refer the matter to his superior officer and seek his advice and act strictly in accordance with the advice, even though he is not completely in agreement with the advice of the superior.
The PIO could proceed on leave and leave the matter to be dealt by his successor in office or request for transfer of the application to another PIO.
The PIO could weigh the consequences of disclosing the information truthfully, including the effect on his career, and reply in a manner that would not place him or his career in jeopardy, but at the same time a little compromise can be made on the contents of the information.
The PIO could consult his other colleagues who are party to the decision and take action as per their advice.

Also please indicate (without necessarily restricting to the above options) what you would like to advise, giving proper reasons. (20 marks| 250 words)

Present case presents a dilemma of Public Interest vs Private interest . Not giving correct information will jeopardise people’s right to information and giving it will make public his wrong decisions

First Option

Merit	Senior is experienced person and he can give better advice to resolve the dilemma Following the orders of Higher official is in line with Code of Conduct.
Demerit	Against provisions of RTI Act.

Second Option

Merit	There is case of Conflict of Interest . So , this action is completely in line with Code of Conduct .
Demerit	Shows cowardice and lack of courage and running from responsibility .

Third Option

Merit	Personal interest of person can be protected and can save person from any blot on career that can harm future prospects .
Demerit	It will compromise integrity of person and credibility of office It will compromise the rights of person who wants genuine information which is legal right under RTI If his action of camouflage of information is detected in future , he will have to suffer double punishment .

Fourth Option

Merit	They are stakeholders too and consulting them beforehand can save him from future bitterness in relations .
Demerit	As PIO , his duty is towards giving correct information to person who is demanding it and not to protect his colleagues In legal sense, in future if wrongdoing in giving information is discovered, only he will be responsible and liable for this act.

Under RTI, it is the legal obligation of PIO to give Carbon Copy of Information available with authority without any modification. Right of citizen to have access to correct information cant be curtailed under RTI. Giving manipulated information can lead him to more troubles in future in case wrongdoing is discovered .

Hence, best decision is to give objective information without any manipulation which is his legal duty and give justification in future if any of his past actions are questioned based on the information disclosed.

Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct

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Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct

This article deals with topic titled ‘Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct.’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’ . For more articles , you can click here

Why we need Code of Ethics & Conduct for Public Servants ?

Consider the situations

What should be done about men who do not directly and blatantly sell the favours of their offices for money and so not place themselves within the penalties of the law?
How do we deal with those who, under the guise of friendship, accept favours, which offend the spirit of the law but do not violate its letter?

A system of laws and rules, however elaborate, cannot provide for all situations. It is no doubt desirable, and perhaps possible, to govern the conduct of those who occupy positions in the lower echelons and exercise limited or no discretion. But the higher the echelon in public service, the greater is the ambit of discretion. And it is difficult to provide for a system of laws and rules that can comprehensively cover and regulate the exercise of discretion in high places.

Hence, although all citizens are subjected to the laws of the land, in the case of Public Servants there must be standards of behavior more stringent than those for an ordinary citizen. Due to this, need arises for establishing not just a code of conduct but a code of ethics.

Note from 2nd ARC Report : Most disturbing aspects of this problem of moral conduct is the revelation that morality has become identical with legality. We are certainly in a tragic plight if the accepted standard by which we measure the integrity of a man in public life is that he keep within the letter of the law.

Side Topic : Code of Conduct vs Code of Ethics

Code of Conduct	Dos & Donts Prescribes mainly unacceptable behavior Minimalist approach ie tells minimum to be required of person in particular capacity Is enforceable
Code of Ethics	Contains Core values (like Honesty, Tolerance etc) Aspirational (what that person must strive for) Are mainly Benchmarks (maximalist approach) Aren’t enforceable

ARC II Recommendation on Code of Conduct

Present set of Code of Conduct is too vague , complex and difficult to interpret. There is need to re-write Code of Conduct in order to make them simple , precise and easily interpretable .
Still we don’t have written set of Code of Ethics and there is need to write Code of Ethics for civil servants

Code of Conduct for Civil Servants

Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules – 1964 and analogous rules applicable to members of All India Services
It was a continuous process

1869	Disapproval of habitual lending and indiscriminate borrowing
1876	Ban on accepting gifts
1920	Ban on accepting commercial employment after retirement
1964	Formation of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules , 1964 based on the recommendations of Committee on Prevention of Corruption headed by K Santhanam
Later	These rules have subsequently been updated . Eg Prohibiting demanding and accepting dowry, Prohibiting sexual harassment of women employees

There is no Code of Ethics prescribed for civil servants in India

Central Civil Service Conduct Rules , 1964

General

Direction of the official superior shall be in writing.
Government servant who has received oral direction shall seek confirmation in writing as early as possible

MPs or MLAs should be given preference over other visitors (as they have various other public works to perform) and in the very rare cases where an officer is unable to attend MP or MLA of which he had no previous notice, the position should be politely explained to him and another appointment fixed in consultation with him.

India = Secular State. Civil Servant is free to practice any religion in private life but in Public life his conduct should be such that it is not seen as favouring particular religion.

No Government servant shall indulge in any act of sexual harassment of any women at her work place.

No Civil Servant shall, except with the previous sanction of Government, permit his son, daughter or other dependent, to accept employment in company with which he has official dealings

If son or daughter or dependent of Civil Servant is employee of company which is interested in allotment of contract, then Civil Servant shouldn’t be part of process to award of a contract .

Civil Servant shouldn’t be member of any Political Party and shouldn’t take part in any political movement.

A Government servant publishing a book or participating in a public media shall at all times make it clear that the views expressed by him are his own and not that of Government.

Government servant shouldn’t make statements in press which adversely criticises government policy or action , impact relation between Union-State or Union & other foreign government.

Civil Servant should provide Information demanded under RTI Act provided it is not classified information.

Civil Servant shouldn’t accept gift (including free transport, lodging etc) from anybody

Civil Servant shouldn’t take or give Dowry.

No subletting of Official Residence .

Civil Servant shouldn’t indulge in speculative investments or buy share in IPO or FPO of PSU in whose decision making he was involved.

Submit record of Assets and Liabilities on joining and submit annual return

A Government servant shall strictly abide by any law relating to intoxicating drinks or drugs in force in any area in which he may happen to be for the time being + Not be under the influence of any intoxicating drink or drug during the course of his duty

No Government servant shall employ to work any child below the age of 14 years.

Reasons for minimal impact of Code of Conduct

Not all the provisions of code of conduct are legally binding. For example, provisions of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules which are violated under the Prevention of Corruption Act invite punishment. Else, their enforcement boils down to departmental discretion.
Code of Conduct has to be supported by strong accountability and transparency mechanisms.
Erosion of moral values in public life has occurred to an extent that the cumulative impact is negligible.

Regarding Code of Ethics for Civil Servants

Although there is Code of Conduct for Civil Servants in India but there is no Code of Ethics (although there is urgent need to formulate Code of Ethics)

Reason/Need :

They have lot of Discretionary Power
They should live a life of high standards so that legitimacy of Civil Servants as a whole is not eroded .

Various Committees which have proposed to formulate Code of Ethics for Civil Servants

Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1964)
Hota Committee (2004) : Code of Ethics should be laid down for the civil servants
2nd Administrative Reforms Commission : Recommended drafting a Bill on ethics to give code of ethics a statutory basis

Attempt has been made twice to formulate Code of Ethics

First Initiative in 1997 by Department of Administrative Reforms of the Government of India
Second Initiative : Public Service Bill 2006

Main provisions which should be included in Code of Ethics (according to 2nd ARC)

uphold rule of law and respect for human rights and act solely in public interest.
They must maintain the highest standards of probity and integrity.
Allegiance to the Constitution and the law
Function in apolitical manner
Act objectively, impartially, honestly, equitably, and in a fair and just manner
They should conduct themselves in such manner that the public feels that the decisions taken by them are objective and transparent and are not calculated to promote improper gains for the political party in power, for themselves, or for any third party.
Conflict of Interest: Employees in public service should disclose any clash of interest when there is conflict between public interest and private interest.
Ensure that public money is used with utmost economy and care

Case Study (UPSC)

Suppose one of your close friends, who is also aspiring for civil services, comes to you for discussing some of the issues related to ethical conduct in public service. He raises the following points :

In the present times, when unethical environment is quite prevalent, individual attempts to stick to ethical principles may cause a lot of problems in one’s career. It may also cause hardship to the family members as well as risk to one’s life. Why should we not be pragmatic and follow the path of least resistance, and be happy with doing whatever good we can?
When so many people are adopting wrong means and are grossly harming the system, what difference would it make if only a small minority tries to be ethical? They are going to be rather ineffective and are bound to get frustrated.
If we become fussy about ethical considerations, will it not hamper the economic progress of our country? After all, in the present age of high competition, we cannot afford to be left behind in the race of development.
It is understandable that we should not get involved in grossly unethical practices, but giving and accepting small gratifications and doing small favours increases everybody’s motivation. It also makes the system more efficient. What is wrong in adopting such practices?

Critically analyze the above viewpoints. On the basis of this analysis, what will be your advice to your friend? 250 words.

Questions raised by my friend are quite common which can put Civil Servant in dilemma during service too but there are some inherent flaws in that. During my analysis , touchstone on which I will analyse this will be securing public interest over private interest, maintaining integrity and probity, upholding civil service values and abiding by Code of Conduct.

Analysis of First Option

While choosing to be part of Civil Services , person has chosen Civil Service as value . Civil Servant has to place Public Service at highest priority even at cost of personal interest . Hence, Civil Servant has to be selfless &Civil service demands courage and fortitude as value
Apart from that , there is legitimate protection given to Civil Servant and his family . It is not essential that every honest and ethical Civil Servant is prosecuted . If Civil Servant has taken his decisions rationally and objectively, he needn’t fear . Civil Servants like Ashok Khemka etc have survived and is good example

Analysis of Second Option

Means are more important than ends .
Minority can become motivation for others . Hence, by being ethical , person can lead by example . Eg TN Sheshan led by example and uprooted corruption from Elections to large extend
As Gandhi has said , ” be the change you want to see in the world.” As common people, we want that Bureaucracy must be ethical and non-corrupt. When we become part of it, we cant indulge in same practices

Analysis of Third Option

Again means and end debate . Developing by wrong means is to define development narrowly. Such development cant be Sustainable . Such development will be limited to particular section of society only. Holistic development , fruits of which can be enjoyed by all sections of society can be achieved only by adopting ethical and pure means
If we allow MNCs to exploit poors and tribals by violating their rights , displacing them from their habitats and allow them to adopt all unethical means, it will end up in Naxal Movements and uprisings . In end, such practices backfire

Analysis of Fourth Option

Slippery Slope Argument : Such actions create slippery slope. How will one define corruption is small or big.
Think of people who don’t have anything to give.
Incentive for Civil Servant should be reward by government and not small bribes and gifts.

I will advice him that

While discharging all functions as Civil Servant , Always adopt pure means to achieve pure ends
After becoming Civil Servant, our aim should be helping the general public selflessly .
Becoming part of Indian Civil Services give chance to change life of millions for good and satisfaction that person can get by serving the needy is the best reward and motivation.

Challenges of Corruption

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Challenges of Corruption

This article deals with topic titled ‘Challenges of Corruption.’ This is part of our series on ‘Ethics’ . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

According to World Bank: Corruption is use of public authority for private gain.
(Transparency International – Misuse of entrusted power for private gain (wider definition covering both private and public sector)
India is ranked 78 in Corruption Perception Index prepared by Transparency International (Jan 2019)
There is also supply side of corruption . Eg Crony Capitalism (ie nexus between Politico-Administrative Class & Business group). There is danger of state becoming Banana Republic (corporate driven state) if it is continued to go on
Corruption is an important manifestation of the failure of ethics.

Corruption can acquire various forms

Bribe	It is the payment offered by a citizen either voluntarily or on demand to a public servant to perform his official duties in his favour , despite the fact that the public servant is paid salary for his duty
Extortion	Practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.
Rent Seeking	Use of the resources of organization to obtain economic gain from others without reciprocating any benefits to society through wealth creation.
Nepotism	Practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends
Clientalism & Patronage	Client giving political or financial support to a patron (as in the form of votes) in exchange for some special privilege or benefit
Embezzlement	It is theft of public funds and resources or causing loss to Public Exchequer.
Fraud

In India, corruption has become habit. There is tolerance for corruption in India. People now don’t consider it unethical. Hence, we need both values and institutional support to change situation.

Reasons of high corruption in India

Moral Issues	Penetration of greed and materialism in society Lack of moral values like honesty, integrity
Administrative & Legal Issues	Complex laws and procedures Acts & policies made in our country are such that they leave lot of discretion for Civil Servants. Colonial Legacy of unchallenged authority with no checks Enormous asymmetry of Power Lack of accountability and Transparency Lack of Independent investigation agency: India has no independent investigation agency . Existing agencies like CBI is named by the SC as caged parrot .
Political Causes	Political Pressures on Bureaucrats to indulge in corruption
Type of Indian Society	India being Soft Society : soft state is one which doesn’t have the political will to enact the laws necessary for its progress and development and / or not posses the political will to implement the laws , even when made .
Other	Lack of protection to honest officers (Weak Whistle-blower Act) Security of tenure for civil services.

Cost of Corruption

Corruption in developing countries like India hurt more because money earned via corruption goes out of country in safe havens and not reinvested in country (Flight of capital)
Harm to public perception towards government
Increases poverty : Corruption is anti poor . Take example of PDS & other welfare schemes where money meant to reach poor are siphoned out .
Destroys the moral fibre of society . People develop perception that anything that enhances your self interest is fine
Quality of policy making reduces
Destroys image of country in world : lower ranking given by Transparency International

Mehbub ul Haq on Corruption in South Asia

Mehbub ul Haq set out the ill effects of corruption in South Asian Developing Countries like ours

1. Corruption in South Asia occurs upstream (at top level) & not downstream . Corruption at the top distorts fundamental decisions about development priorities
2. Corruption money in South Asia has wings and not wheels => money smuggled out to safe havens .
3. Corruption in South Asia often leads to promotion and not prison. The big fish – unless they belong to opposition rarely fry .
4. Corruption in South Asia occurs with 515 million people in poverty , not with per capita incomes above 20,000 $ .

Types of Bribery

There are two kinds of Bribery prevalent in India

Coercive Bribery

Bribe giver is a victim of extortion
Compelled to pay for a simple service, because if he doesn’t pay, he ends up losing much more than the bribe.

Collusive Bribery

Bribe-giver and bribe-taker together fleece society
Bribe giver is as guilty or even more guilty than the bribe-taker.
These are cases of
- - - execution of substandard works,
    - distortion of competition,
    - commissions in public procurement,
    - tax evasion by collusion, etc

Even though the general conviction rate in cases of corruption is low, it is observed that the rate of conviction in cases of coercive corruption is more than in collusive corruption.

Combating Corruption

Moral & Value based interventions	Inculcation of values of honesty, integrity , impartiality etc Code of Ethics for Civil Servants should be made
Administrative Interventions	Simplification of Administrative procedures and laws Increasing transparency and accountability in administration Use e-governance : e-tendering etc
Legal Measures	Making laws more stringent Strengthen Whistle Blower Act RTI Act should be strengthened False Claims Act (USA) – If you think that there is wrongdoing in some organisation, gather evidences & produce it before court. If fine is imposed on that organisation , some portion of money from that fine will be given to litigant .
Civil Service Reforms	Security of tenure of civil servant Making promotions and transfers more transparent and objective .
Strengthening Institutions	Strengthening of CVC, Lokpal and Lokayuktas Increasing their autonomy Increasing their powers Strengthening of justice system for speedy decision making
Social Interventions	Society must be made more sensitive to corrupt practices. Peer pressure against corrupt people can be used to disincentivise corruption

Singapore Model : Civil Servants are very highly paid after administrative reforms undertaken by Lee Kuan Yew which decreased corruption there . This can be adopted in India too

Evolution of Anti – Corruption Laws in India

Before Independence	Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 161 to 165 dealt with corruption At that time the need for a special law to deal with corruption was not felt.
2nd World War & Aftermath	Second World War created shortages led to large scale corruption. Situation continued even after the war=> Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 was enacted .
Why present Amendments	Bring it in line with UNCAC (UN convention against Corruption) . Bill incorporates the recommendations given by Law Commission

Analysis of Prevention of Corruption Act

It seeks to punish bribe givers as well as bribe takers

Protection to Public Servant
- - Police Officer cant begin probe without prior approval of relevant authority (except when caught red handed)

Favour	Earlier limited to joint secretaries and above and was struck down by SC . This universal inclusion will provide protection to all honest officials
Against	Prior sanction requirement already exists for prosecution, => incorrect to create another layer of protection

Sanction for prosecution of Officials
- - Sanction needed for prosecuting serving as well as former officials for offences done while in office

(Earlier sanction was required for Serving Officers only)

Giving Bribe is offence
- - Giving bribe is also made a punishable offence (Earlier just taking bribe was offence)
    - Punishable by 7 years prison
    - Except when one is forced to give bribe and reported it within 7 days.

Distinction made between collusive bribe givers and coerced bribe givers
- - - Coerced : If person is coerced to give bribe, he can report it to the enforcement authorities within 7 days.
    - Collusive : No such exception

Favour	Empower the public to make complaint in case of Coercive Corruption without fear of prosecution
Against	Anti-corruption law has been brought in line with the UN Convention Against Corruption.

Redefined the Criminal Misconduct
- - - Criminal misconduct covers only two types of offences ie Misappropriation of property entrusted to public servant and intentionally enriching oneself illicitly.

(Earlier there were 5 kinds)

Favour

Will help Public Officials to take bold decisions in policy making without fear

Against

Amended law would protect honest officers (and that is laudable), but the flip side is that many dishonest ones would slip through the cracks because of it.

Trial Time Line = Speedy Justice
- - - Guidelines will be setup to resolve cases within 2 years . In case of delay, reason has to be stated every 6 months
    - Total time period cant exceed 4 years in any case

Forfeiture of property
- - - Section introduced for Special Court to attach and confiscate property

Analysis : This helps to avoid a fresh procedure to confiscate property obtained through corruption

Whistle Blowing

Whistle blowing is the act of disclosing information by an employee or stakeholder on illegal or unethical conduct of an organisation.
Whistle-blowers can help Public servants who work in a department know more about unethical practices going on in the organization. But they don’t come forward due to fear of reprisal. If protection is granted, it can help to get substantial information about corruption.
Whistle-blowing came in lexicon post Watergate Scandal in US . After that Whistle-blowing was not only encouraged but considered as ethical duty on part of citizens
India is also a signatory to the UN Convention against Corruption, which includes provisions for protecting whistle blowers.

In India

Two most important cases of Whistle-blowing in India

Manjunath Shanmugam	working with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) \| graduate of the IIM, Lucknow. Whistle-blowing on adulteration by the petrol pump owners. He was shot dead in 2005
Satyendra Dubey	National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), exposed the rampant corruption in construction Found dead on 27th November, 2003.

Types of Whistle-blowing

Internal	Raising voice within organisation Presenting wrongdoing to Internal Ombudsman
External	Leak of information in public domain

Different Ethical Dilemmas of Whistleblower

First Dilemma : Loyalty to Organisation vs Public Interest

Should be loyal to Organisation ordinarily but when issue involves people’s lives like corruption in defence procurement; toxic leaks from a chemical factory etc, Whistleblowing becomes duty
An individual may be an employee but he is also a citizen and member of society

Second Dilemma : Personal Safety vs Larger Public interest

Whistleblowing can lead to departmental victimisation or threat to life and property
eg : Satyendra Dubey and Manjunath Shanmugam were murdered

Third Dilemma : Whether to go for Internal Whistle blowing or External Whistle-blowing

Features of good Whistle-blowing

Intention should be larger public interest
It should be adopted as last resort
Whistle-blowing should be backed by objective evidences
Right to privacy of anyone shouldn’t be hampered

Case Study

Rameshwar successfully cleared the prestigious civil services examination and was excited about the opportunity that he would get through the civil services to serve the country. However, soon after joining the services, he realized that things are not as rosy as he had imagined.

He found a number of malpractices prevailing in the department assigned to him. For example, funds under various schemes and grants were being misappropriated. The official facilities were frequently being used for personal needs by the officers and staff. After some time, he noticed that the process of recruiting the staff was also not up to the mark. Prospective candidates were required to write an examination in which a lot of cheating was going on. Some candidates were provided external help in the examination. Rameshwar brought these incidents to the notice of his seniors. However, he was advised to keep his eyes, ears and mouth shut and ignore all these things which were taking place with the connivance of the higher-ups. Rameshwar felt highly disillusioned and uncomfortable. He comes to you seeking your advice.

Indicate various options that you think are available in this situation. How would you help him to evaluate these options and choose the most appropriate path to be adopted? 250 words.

Case study presents dilemma that whether my friend becomes a mute spectator to all wrongdoings happening in Department which are jeopardizing the public interest or act against the wrong doings even if his personal security is threatened .

Accept the orders and do nothing

Merit	Safety of career and no personal harm
Demerit	Dissonance which can result in depression Against value of Public Service

Resignation or getting transfer

Merit	He will not be part of wrong doing and hence there will be no burden on his conscience
Demerit	Running from duty Although honest but shows lack of courage and fortitude

Leak of information to public domain anonymously

Merit	Will check the wrong doing
Demerit	Will tarnish image of organisation. Should have exhausted all other options before whistle-blowing

Collecting the evidences, informing the Internal Ombudsman and if nothing happens blow the Whistle

Merit	Will end wrong doing In line with procedure because after exhausting all options to redress the problem, he has no other option than to blow whistle to protect public interest Objective evidences will ensure that his case looks legitimate In line with the values of public service, courage and selflessness
Demerit

In any case, I will advise my friend to raise the voice against wrong doings and don’t be a mute spectator . But at the same time, I will advise him, before going outside organisation to stop wrongdoing , he must exhaust all internal redressal mechanism because he is part of that organisation and has duty of loyalty towards organisation too. If after exhausting all mechanisms, issue is not addressed than he has higher duty towards humanity and public at large and blow the whistle .