Indicate two more attributes which you consider important for public service. Justify your answer.

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Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Objectivity and empathy are two further attributes vital for public service: objectivity keeps decisions impartial and merit-based, while empathy keeps them humane. Santoshi Kumari's 2017 death in Jharkhand, after her ration card was cancelled for want of Aadhaar linking, shows the cost of rules applied without empathy.

**Introduction**

Integrity, perseverance, commitment and courage of conviction make a public servant honest and steady, but not necessarily fair or humane. Two more attributes complete the profile: **objectivity** for the head and **empathy** for the heart.

**Objectivity: Deciding on Merit and Evidence**

1. **Meaning**: Deciding on merit, facts and law without bias; the Nolan Committee (1995) lists it among the Seven Principles of Public Life.
2. **Fair allocation**: Transparent criteria in contracts and beneficiary lists, as on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), cut room for favouritism.
3. **Political neutrality**: *Prakash Singh v. Union of India* (2006) ordered police reforms so that action follows law, not patronage.
4. **Evidence-based policy**: Objective appraisal of data prevents populist but wasteful choices and lets officers correct schemes that are not delivering.

**Empathy: Seeing Through the Citizen's Eyes**

SKETCH: venn | Head and Heart of Public Service
a: Objectivity
b: Empathy
overlap: Fair, humane decision

1. **Meaning**: Understanding a citizen's situation as he lives it; Daniel Goleman counts empathy among the core components of emotional intelligence.
2. **Against cold proceduralism**: Santoshi Kumari died in Simdega, Jharkhand in 2017 after her family's ration card was cancelled for want of Aadhaar linking.
3. **Serving the weakest**: S.R. Sankaran enforced the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and built residential schools for Dalit children, in the spirit of **Gandhi's Talisman**.
4. **Building trust**: Citizens who feel heard cooperate with the administration, easing grievance redress and compliance.

**Conclusion**

Objectivity without empathy makes administration mechanical; empathy without objectivity breeds favouritism. Together they make an officer impartial in method and humane in outcome, as constitutional morality demands.

Indicate two more attributes which you consider important for public service. Justify your answer.

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