Parmal is a small but underdeveloped district. It has rocky terrain that is not suitable for agriculture, though some subsistence agriculture is being done on small plots of land. The area receives adequate rainfall and has an irrigation canal flowing through it. Amria, its administrative centre, is a medium sized town. It houses a large district hospital, an Industrial Training Institute and some privately owned skill training centres. It has all the facilities of a district headquarters. A trunk railway line passes approximately 50 kilometres from Amria. Its poor connectivity is a major reason for the absence of any major industry therein. The state government offers a 10 years tax holiday as an incentive to new industry. In 2010 Anil, an industrialist, decided to take benefits to set up Amria Plastic Works (APW) in Noora village, about 20 km from Amria. While the factory was being built, Anil hired the required key labour and got them trained at the skill training centres at Amria. This act of his made the key personnel very loyal to APW. APW started production in 2011 with the labour drawn fully from Noora village. The villagers were very happy to get employment near their homes and were motivated by the key personnel to meet the production targets with high quality. APW started making large profits, a sizeable portion of which was used to improve the quality of life in Noora. By 2016, Noora could boast of a greener village and a renovated village temple. Anil liaised with the local MLA to increase the frequency of the bus services to Amria. The government also opened a primary health care centre and primary school at Noora in buildings constructed by APW. APW used its CSR funds to set up women's self-help groups, subsidize primary education to the village children and procure an ambulance for use by its employees and the needy. In 2019, there was a minor fire in APW. It was quickly extinguished as fire safety protocols were in place in the factory. Investigations revealed that the factory had been using electricity in excess of its authorized capacity. This was soon rectified. The next year, due to a nationwide lockdown, the requirement of production fell for four months. Anil decided that all employees would be paid regularly. He employed them to plant trees and improve the village habitat. APW had developed a reputation of high quality production and a motivated workforce. Critically analyse the story of APW and state the ethical issues involved. Do you consider APW as a role model for development of backward areas? Give reasons.

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Q1.

Parmal is a small but underdeveloped district. It has rocky terrain that is not suitable for agriculture, though some subsistence agriculture is being done on small plots of land. The area receives adequate rainfall and has an irrigation canal flowing through it. Amria, its administrative centre, is a medium sized town. It houses a large district hospital, an Industrial Training Institute and some privately owned skill training centres. It has all the facilities of a district headquarters. A trunk railway line passes approximately 50 kilometres from Amria. Its poor connectivity is a major reason for the absence of any major industry therein. The state government offers a 10 years tax holiday as an incentive to new industry. In 2010 Anil, an industrialist, decided to take benefits to set up Amria Plastic Works (APW) in Noora village, about 20 km from Amria. While the factory was being built, Anil hired the required key labour and got them trained at the skill training centres at Amria. This act of his made the key personnel very loyal to APW. APW started production in 2011 with the labour drawn fully from Noora village. The villagers were very happy to get employment near their homes and were motivated by the key personnel to meet the production targets with high quality. APW started making large profits, a sizeable portion of which was used to improve the quality of life in Noora. By 2016, Noora could boast of a greener village and a renovated village temple. Anil liaised with the local MLA to increase the frequency of the bus services to Amria. The government also opened a primary health care centre and primary school at Noora in buildings constructed by APW. APW used its CSR funds to set up women's self-help groups, subsidize primary education to the village children and procure an ambulance for use by its employees and the needy. In 2019, there was a minor fire in APW. It was quickly extinguished as fire safety protocols were in place in the factory. Investigations revealed that the factory had been using electricity in excess of its authorized capacity. This was soon rectified. The next year, due to a nationwide lockdown, the requirement of production fell for four months. Anil decided that all employees would be paid regularly. He employed them to plant trees and improve the village habitat. APW had developed a reputation of high quality production and a motivated workforce. Critically analyse the story of APW and state the ethical issues involved. Do you consider APW as a role model for development of backward areas? Give reasons.20

Introduction

APW grew by growing its village, close to Porter and Kramer's Creating Shared Value (2011), but its story also shows compliance lapses a role model must avoid.

Critical Analysis of the APW Story

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Strengths

Local hiring and skilling, CSR for self-help groups and schooling, and full wages through the 2020 lockdown reflect Gandhi's Trusteeship.

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Lapses

Overdrawing sanctioned power caused a fire risk fixed only after the incident, a Moral Myopia that LG Polymers' Visakhapatnam leak (2020) shows can turn fatal.

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Gaps

The story is silent on plastic waste under the Plastic Waste Management Rules (2016), and the village now depends on one firm.

Ethical Issues Involved

The core dilemma is between Profitability and Community Welfare, resolved through Stakeholder Primacy.

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Halo Effect

Goodwill can make owners and regulators overlook breaches.

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Paternalism and inclusion

Owner-decided welfare, including a temple renovation, must reach all communities and include villagers' own voice.

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Fiduciary duty

Directors' duty under Section 166 of the Companies Act, 2013 extends to employees and the community.

Is APW a Role Model for Backward Areas?

Profitability vs Community Welfare. Venn diagram: Profitability, Community Welfare; overlap: Compliant shared-value growth

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Largely yes

Like Jamsetji Tata's planned Jamshedpur, it proves that industry can lift a poorly connected district and that a motivated local workforce yields both quality and profit.

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With conditions

Replication needs compliance-by-design, environmental safeguards, worker committees and links to many local firms.

Conclusion

APW is a qualified role model: copy its people-first spirit, not its compliance lapses, so that firms become good neighbours and lawful producers at once.

This model answer is indicative and the model can make mistakes; please verify key facts independently.

Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2020 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.