Topic 16 Role of Civil Services in a Democracy

The ethos of civil service in India stand for the combination of professionalism with nationalistic consciousness – Elucidate.

standards of probity. To achieve holistic development goal, a civil servant acts as an enabler and active facilitator of growth rather than a regulator. What specific measures will you suggest to achieve this goal?

"One who is devoted to one’s duty attains highest perfection in life." Analyse this statement with reference to sense of Devotion to Duty responsibility and personal fulfilment as a civil servant.

"Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment but a product of civil education and adherence of the rule of law." Examine the significance of constitutional morality for public servant highlighting the role in promoting good governance and ensuring accountability in public administration.

Mission Karmayogi is aiming for maintaining a very high standard of conduct and behaviour to ensure efficiency for serving citizens and in turn developing oneself. How will this scheme empower Mission Karmayogi the civil servants in enhancing productive efficiency and delivering the services at the grassroots level?

The Doctrine of Democratic Governance makes it necessary that the public perception ofthe integrity and commitment of civil servants becomes absolutely positive. Discuss.

overlook. An officer being engrossed with the periphery, ignoring the core issues before him, is no rare in the bureaucracy. Do you Good Governance vs agree that such preoccupation of an administrator leads to travesty of justice to the cause of effective service delivery and

Should impartial and being non-partisan be considered as indispensable qualities to make a successful civil servant? Discuss with illustrations.

“Institutional quality is a crucial driver of economic performance”. In this context suggest reforms in Civil Service for strengthening democracy.

servants possessing these qualities are considered as a backbone of any strong organizations. In the line of duty, they take various decisions, at time some become bonafide mistakes. As long as such decisions, are not taken intentionally and do not benefit personally, the officer cannot be said to be guilty. Though such decisions may, at times, lead to unforeseen adverse consequences in the long term. In the recent past, a few instances have surfaced wherein civil Bonafide Mistakes servants have been implicated for bonafide mistakes. They have often been prosecuted and even imprisoned. These instances have greatly rattled the moral fibre of the civil servants. How does this trend affect the functioning of civil services? What measures can be taken to ensure that honest civil servants are not implicated for bonafide mistakes on their part? Justify your answer.

What do you understand by the term ‘public servant’? Reflect on Concept of Public the expected role of a public servant.

What is mean by public interest? What are the principles and procedures to be followed by the civil servants in public interest? What does this quotations mean to you in the present context:

handling this issues, how are you going to address it? As a senior officer in the Ministry, you have access to important policy decisions and upcoming big announcements such as road constructions projects before they are notified in the public domain. The Ministry is about to announce a mega road project for which the drawings are already in place. Sufficient care was taken by the planners to make use of the government land with the minimum land acquisition from private parties. Compensation rate for private parties was also finalized as per government rules. Care was also taken to minimize deforestation. Once the project is announced, it is expected that there will be a huge spurt in real estate prices in and around that area. Meanwhile, the Minister concerned insists that you realign the road in such a way that it comes closer to his

Initially Civil Services in India were designed to achieve the goals of neutrality andeffectiveness, which seems to be lacking in the present context. Do you agree withthe view that drastic reforms are required in Civil Services. Comment

Examine the relevance of the following in the context of civil service: (a) Transparency (b) Accountability (c) Fairness and justice (d) Courage of conviction (e) Spirit of service.

“Traditional bureaucratic structure and culture have hampered the process of socioeconomic development in India.” Comment.

Why should impartiality and non-partisanship be considered as foundational values in public services, especially in the present day socio-political context? Illustrate your answer with examples.

Two different kinds of attitudes exhibited by public servants towards their work have been identified as the bureaucratic attitude and the democratic attitude. A) Distinguish between these two terms and write their merits and demerits. B) Is it Democratic Attitude possible to balance the two to create a better administration for the faster development of our country?

Has the Cadre based Civil Services Organisation been the cause of slow change in India? Critically examine.

There is a heavy ethical responsibility on the public servants because they occupy positions of power, handle huge amounts of public funds, and their decisions have wide-ranging impact on society and environment. What steps have you taken to improve