2021 · GS Paper 4 · Q2(b) · 10 marks
Besides domain knowledge, a public official needs innovativeness and creativity of a high order as well, while resolving ethical dilemmas. Discuss with suitable example.
In short
Domain knowledge tells a public official what the rules permit, but creativity is needed to find a third path that honours both values in a dilemma. Armstrong Pame's crowdfunded 100-km People's Road in Tamenglong (2012) met public need without breaching financial propriety.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 279 words
Rules Run Out
Conduct rules are written for typical cases, while dilemmas arise at the margin where two valid duties collide and no rule settles the choice.
The Binary Trap
Expertise frames choices as enforce or exempt, producing moral myopia, blindness to options that a fresh frame would reveal.
No Precedent
Pandemics, technology and climate shocks raise dilemmas no manual anticipated, so judgement must be imaginative as well as informed.
Duty Without Funds
Armstrong Pame, an SDM in Manipur's Tamenglong district, crowdfunded the 100-km "People's Road" in 2012 when no budget was sanctioned, serving public need without breaching financial propriety.
Aid With Dignity
Collector N. Prasanth's Operation Sulaimani in Kozhikode (2015) gave the hungry meal coupons for ordinary restaurants, so relief did not cost them their dignity.
Punishment With Reform
Kiran Bedi's Vipassana programme at Tihar in 1993-94 reconciled the duty to confine prisoners with the duty to reform them.
Creativity Within Integrity
Innovation must stay inside law and constitutional morality, or it becomes rule-bending; Aristotle's phronesis joins inventiveness to principle.
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This chapter in the exam
Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions13 questions
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2021 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.