Mains Marathon

Day 48: Essay

Day 47: You are the District Magistrate of a city with a history of communal sensitivity. Recently, during a religious procession, an altercation broke out between members of two communities over the route passing through a disputed area. The incident quickly escalated, with stone-pelting reported from both sides, leading to injuries and damage to property. Social media posts,many of them fake or exaggerated,have gone viral, further inflaming sentiments.

Day 47: You are the District Collector of a drought-prone district in Maharashtra. Over the past year, the region has faced consecutive crop failures due to erratic monsoons and pest infestations. Many farmers are burdened with high-interest loans taken from informal moneylenders, as institutional credit is either inaccessible or delayed.

Day 47: You are posted as the Chief Medical Superintendent of a large government hospital serving a population of over two million people. Recently, the hospital has been in the news for all the wrong reasons such as shortage of essential medicines, malfunctioning diagnostic equipment, long waiting times, poor hygiene, and reports of negligence leading to patient deaths.

Day 47: You are serving as the District Magistrate of a metropolitan city ahead of a major election. In recent weeks, there has been a surge in the circulation of deepfake videos on social media platforms. Some of these videos depict prominent political leaders making inflammatory statements they never actually made, while others target private citizens with fabricated compromising content.

Day 46: You are Anand, an honest Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in a semi-urban region of a state where illegal sand mining is controlled by a well-organized mafia. A junior revenue inspector, recently transferred to your division, confidentially informs you about daily truckloads of illegally mined sand being moved at night, with the connivance of local police and panchayat officials.

Day 46: You are Razia, an IAS officer posted as the Deputy Commissioner of a district undergoing the final phase of a citizenship verification process (such as the NRC). Thousands of people are excluded from the final list, many of whom are daily wage workers, marginal farmers, and women with incomplete documentation due to poverty, illiteracy, or displacement during floods.

Day 46: You are Priya, an IAS officer posted as the District Supply Officer (DSO) in a backward district where the Public Distribution System (PDS) is crucial for the survival of thousands of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

Day 46: You are Rahul, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer posted as the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Coordinator in a hilly district of a Himalayan state. The region is prone to natural disasters such as landslides, flash floods, and particularly cloudbursts.

Day 45: "Work culture reform is the silent revolution needed in India’s governance."
Analyse its significance for efficiency, transparency, and citizen trust. (150 words)

Day 45: The RTI Act was envisioned as a tool for participatory democracy. Critically evaluate how political, bureaucratic, and technological factors have shaped its effectiveness in the last decade. (150 words)

Day 45: "A Code of Ethics inspires, while a Code of Conduct enforces." Critically analyse this distinction in the context of public service in India. (150 words)

Day 45: "Probity ensures that power remains a trust, not a privilege.” Examine this statement in the context of India’s governance system. (150 words)

Day 44: “In business ethics, stakeholders matter more than shareholders.” Evaluate the ethical shift from shareholder primacy to stakeholder welfare in modern corporate governance. (150 words)

Day 44: “Ethical foreign policy is not about charity; it is about justice.”Analyze the moral responsibility of developed nations towards least developed countries (LDCs) in the context of climate finance and technology transfer. (150 words)