Mains Practice Questions

Q. Do you agree that the Right to Information Act, 2005 is a master key to good governance? Justify. (150 words)

Q. “The ideas for creating a system of education should be aimed at promoting international co-operation and creating global citizens”. What do you understand by this statement in the present-day scenario? Explain. (250 words).

You are a Chief Medical officer running a hospital in a primarily lower-income neighborhood, where many of your patients are recent migrants from different parts of the country. You are granted a fixed annual budget of Rs.1 crore through your local public health department, and it is unlikely that you can obtain additional funding for any year. Traditionally, you have used your entire budget for the past several years.

One day, a frightened, thin young man appears to the clinic with a folder of medical records. He is accompanied by his aunt, who explains to you that he was recently diagnosed with a rare type of cancer that, if untreated, will result in his death within six months. After further inquiry, you determine that his cancer is treatable, but will require Rs. 50 Lakh (Half of the total annual budget) to save his life.

Treating this single patient means that there will not be enough money to treat all of the other patients who come to the clinic over the course of the year. In other words, his medication is not cost-effective because for the same amount invested in supplying the clinic, the hospital could prevent many more deaths or disability adjusted life years for a greater number of patients. However, allowing a patient to die of a treatable condition feels wrong on many levels.

a. Identify the stakeholders and ethical dilemmas involved in the case.

b. What are the options available to you? Which one do you think will be the most appropriate step that can be taken and why?

Q. “Building of social capital plays a crucial role in good governance, economic development and social harmony of the nation”. Discuss (250 Words)

Q. What do you understand by ethical dilemmas? Give examples of some of the ethical dilemmas faced by the civil servants in present times. (250 words)

You are the manager of a reputed firm. One of your employees has just been diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer. He has confided in you about the status of his health. He has also asked you not to say a word to anyone because he considers his health to be a personal matter. Over the next few months, this employee is absent frequently, especially during his radiation treatments. His absences are not a major problem for the company because he can work from home.

However, some of your other employees think that their co-worker is getting special treatment, and they are ready to go to your boss to complain. This would create unnecessary and unhelpful problems for the sick employee if other employees complain about him.

a. Identify the stakeholders and the ethical issues involved in the case.

b. How would you handle this situation? Suggest most appropriate course of action. (250 words).

Q. Examine the Stoic's models of ethics in terms of its suitability for modern civil servants? (150 words)

Q. Discuss the various ethical values enshrined in the Indian Constitution? (150 words)

You are the manager of a company that has been worst affected by the lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. All the businesses of the company have been halted and there is no source of revenue generation in the company during the lockdown. Due to this, the company will not be able to sustain for long and pay full salaries to all of its employees. Moreover, the government plans to extend the lockdown period in order to tackle the spread of the infectious disease.

As a manager, you have to decide on cutting down the salaries of the workers and lay off some of them in order to keep the company running. However, your decision will leave many poor workers without any source of income.

a. Identify the ethical dilemmas involved in the case.

b. What are the possible courses of actions available to you? Which one do you think will be the most appropriate step that can be taken and why?

Q. Discuss the differences between teleological and deontological systems of ethics? (150 words)

Q. Mahatma Gandhi's concept of trusteeship was an instrument of human dignity. Is it relevant in contemporary society? (250 words)

Q. “The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings”. Analyse. (250 words)

The global death toll has crossed one lakh due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It spreads via airborne droplets (sneeze or cough) or contact with the infected person/surface. In this context, ‘lockdown’ was the step taken by most of the countries in the world, including India, to stop the spread of pandemic. The ‘lockdown’ has also left many poor and vulnerable people facing extreme hardships.

People are forced to stay home but shocking statistics revealed that domestic violence has surged globally since the start of the coronavirus lockdown. In India, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has also flagged the issue of a spike in cases of domestic violence since the enforcement of the national lockdown. However, it is also imperative to continue with the lockdown to stop the spread of deadly pandemic.

a. Identify the ethical issues involved in the case.
b. Suggest measures to resolve them.

Q. What is the relevance of Buddha's teachings in contemporary societies? (250 words)

Q.“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.” Analyse this statement in light of India’s pharmaceutical capabilities and responsibilities amid the novel coronavirus pandemic across the world.

You are the DM of Rampur. The issue of stray dogs has created a lot of controversy in the area. After several incidents of dog-biting in the area, people have taken several radical decisions to fight the menace of stray dogs. There have been instances where stray dogs have been tortured by the people. Several local vigilante groups have started distributing airguns to the people at subsidized rates to kill stray dogs. The National Human Rights Commission has taken cognizance of media reports on the stray dog menace and observed that "prima facie, it is of the view that Human Rights should weigh above animal rights in a situation where human lives are at risk due to attack by animals"

On the other hand, several international NGOs including PETA have filed a petition in the Supreme Court to provide protection to the stray dogs.

a. Identify the stakeholders and the ethical issues involved in the case.

b. What measures will you take to amicably solve the issue of stray dogs considering all parties involved?

Q. “The concept of intelligence used in Emotional Quotient (EQ) is much broader than the concept of Intelligence Quotient (IQ)”. Analyse the statement in reference to their application in modern-day administration. (150 words)

Q. 'Good character is necessary for holding a higher position in civil services'. Examine the statement in the context of modern-day civil servants. (250 words)

Q. 'Our future cannot depend on the government alone. The ultimate solutions lie in the attitudes and the actions of the citizens of the country'. Analyse the statement. (150 words)

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges which humankind is facing right now. While several mitigations and adaptation methods have been researched, scientists have high hopes from geoengineering that include Carbon Dioxide removal and reflecting sunlight back into space. The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, is pursuing a framework for working of geo-engineering at the international level. However, several ethical issues have been identified with geoengineering which include the following:

a. It would be morally unacceptable to use geoengineering, in any form, as a replacement for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. To do so would impose unacceptably large risks and costs on vulnerable people and future generations.

b. Whether the positive and negative impacts of any geoengineering could be fairly distributed (issue of the distributive justice).

c. How should decisions of geoengineering be made (issue of procedural justice)?

In this context, critically analyze the issues identified by the ethicists.

Q. Media is dubbed as the fourth pillar of democracy. In the context, discuss the significance of media ethics in contemporary times. (150 words)

Q. The judiciary’s credibility, its finality, rests not just on justice being done, but on its being seen to be done. Discuss (150 words)

You are a graduate who, after completing the studies, has been preparing for competitive examination for two years. But despite your best efforts success has eluded you. You don’t belong to a well-off family and now you must start working to support yourself. On scanning the job sites you realize that there are hardly any vacancies for a fresher with an academic gap. One of your friends runs a consultancy firm and he suggests that he can get you fake work experience certificates from a few companies. He also tells you that this is very common practice and even companies are not very concerned about these things at entry-level jobs. 

1. Identify the ethical dilemmas faced by you.
2. What would be the most appropriate course of action in such conditions? Justify. (250 words)

Q. A welfare policy is as good as its inclusive and sensitive implementation. Explain. (250 words)

Q. The moral compass of the society that is essential to enhance common good and well being of all has been losing relevance. Critically examine. (250 words)

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. It was first discovered in the Wuhan province of China and by February 2020, it has affected more than 70,000 people and caused more than 1700 deaths around the world. The World Health Organization has declared it a “global health emergency”.

It has come to the notice that, while the first case of Coronavirus was reported on 8 December 2019, the Wuhan Health Authorities took more than 3 weeks to issue a notice. Even when Doctor Li Wenliang, who warned of the Virus was forced to sign a police statement for 'illegal behaviour'. The secret and authoritarian regime of China, lead to the proliferation of a deadly virus which constitutes now a global emergency.

a. Identify the ethical issues involved in the case.
b. What should be the role of the World Health Organization and the United Nations to prevent the spread of such deadly diseases.
c. How can conflict between the sovereignty of a nation and global governance be resolved?

Q. What are the distinctive features of environmental ethics? Why has environmental ethics become one of the major concerns in the contemporary world? (250 words)

Q. Only by freedom and conflict of ideas can truth in the long run, be found. Examine the statement with suitable examples in the context of contemporary media ethics. (250 words)

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a secure line of communication that blocks third-party users from accessing transferred data. When the data is being transferred online, only the sender and recipient can decrypt it with a key. In that way, E2EE can help mitigate risk and protect sensitive information by blocking third parties from accessing user data when data is transferred from one source to another.  This can be seen as a concern in many cases where privacy is very important, such as persons living under repressive governments, whistle-blowing, mass surveillance, businesses whose reputation depends on its ability to protect third party data.

Facebook and WhatsApp along with other social networking sites are announcing the end to end encryption to protect the privacy of people. But the National Society for the Prevention to Cruelty to Children, the UK along with other organizations have expressed significant concerns over this. According to these organizations, E2EE will reduce child safety online as it will prevent the monitoring of content that is not safe for children and might lead to child grooming and the proliferation of pornographic materials. 

1. Identify the ethical issues involved in the case.
2. Suggest measures to resolve them. (250 words)

Q. What is Ethics? Explain its significance in society. (250 words)