Mains Practice Questions

Case Study 

You are an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer posted in a developing country that is known for its human rights violations and corruption. Your job is to represent India's interests and promote friendly relations with the host country. However, you find that your host country's government is involved in several unethical practices, including suppression of political dissent, censorship of media, and siphoning off foreign aid. 

One day, you receive a confidential report from your embassy that confirms the host country's government's involvement in illegal activities, including money laundering, trafficking of drugs and arms, and supporting terrorist organizations. The report also states that some Indian companies are indirectly involved in these illegal activities by providing them with funding and logistics support. 

Q. In this scenario, what would you do as an IFS officer, and how would you justify your actions ethically? 

Case Study

You are a district collector of a drought-prone area where farmers are suffering from crop failure and debt. You have been allocated funds by the state government to provide relief measures such as food grains distribution, loan waivers and employment generation schemes.

However, you find out that some local politicians and officials are involved in diverting these funds for their personal gains. They have also threatened some honest staff members who tried to expose their corruption.

You have evidence against these corrupt people but you also know that they have strong political connections and influence in the area.

Q. What will you do in this situation?

Case Study

You are a junior officer in a government department that deals with food distribution schemes. You have been working under a senior officer who is respected and admired for his efficiency and honesty. However, one day you come across some documents that reveal that he has been siphoning off funds from the schemes for his personal use. You are shocked and confused by this discovery.

What would you do in this situation and why?

Case Study

You are a senior executive at a large healthcare organization that has recently implemented an artificial intelligence (AI) system to assist doctors in diagnosing and treating patients. The system uses machine learning algorithms to analyze patient data, identify patterns and predict outcomes. It has been designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

However, the system has recently come under scrutiny from the media, patient groups and regulators who are concerned about the ethical implications of using AI in healthcare. There are concerns that the system may be biased, as it has been trained on data that may not represent all patient populations. There are also concerns about the potential loss of privacy and autonomy for patients, as their data is being collected and analyzed without their explicit consent.

You have been tasked with addressing these ethical concerns and ensuring that the healthcare organization is operating in a responsible and ethical manner.

What steps will you take to address biases in AI systems and ensure that they are transparent and accountable?

Case Study

Shradha Sharma is a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. She has been working for the past 20 years and has a reputation for being honest, competent, and impartial. Her department has been tasked with granting environmental clearances to a large corporation that wants to build a new factory in a forest area.

Shradha Sharma knows that the project could have serious environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and pollution. She also knows that the corporation has a history of flouting environmental norms and regulations in other parts of the country.

Shradha Sharma is under intense pressure from the corporation to grant the clearance, as it would create thousands of jobs and bring in large investments. On the other hand, she is also under pressure from environmental activists and NGOs who are urging her to reject the clearance, citing the potential environmental and social costs.

Shradha Sharma is facing dilemma between her duty as a public servant to promote development and create jobs, and her duty to protect the environment and safeguard the interests of the local communities. She has to decide whether to grant or reject the environmental clearance, and her decision will have far-reaching consequences.

Q. What factors should Ms. Sharma consider in making her decision? What are the possible solutions to this ethical dilemma, and what are the trade-offs involved in each solution?

Case study

You are a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Rural Development. The Ministry is responsible for implementing various welfare schemes for rural areas such as employment guarantee, housing, and sanitation programs. Your personal values and beliefs are aligned with the objective of the Ministry to bring about positive change in the lives of rural citizens.

One of your close friends, Tarun, who is a successful businessman, approaches you with a proposal to start a joint venture. Tarun wants to bid for a rural sanitation project that is currently being tendered by the Ministry. The project involves the construction of toilets in rural areas and is part of the government’s larger mission to improve sanitation facilities in rural India.

What would you do in this situation?

Case study

Mr. Sudarshan is a highly competent and experienced civil engineer working in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. He has been assigned the responsibility of overseeing the construction of a major road project in the state. The project has been awarded to a private company, Rudra Inc.

During the course of the project, Mr. Sudarshan becomes aware of certain irregularities and unethical practices being carried out by Rudra Inc. These include the use of sub-standard materials, overcharging for work done, and making payments to government officials such as Mr. Bhushan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, to secure the project contract.

What should Mr. Sudarshan do in this situation? What ethical principles should guide his decision-making process?

Case study

Recently, the Digi Bank-Biocoin loan fraud case was in the news for loan fraud and irregularities in loans provided to the Biocoin Group by Digi Bank, where Teesha Verma was the CEO and Managing Director. Verma and her family allegedly received kickbacks in exchange for granting loans to the Biocoin group, many of which became non-performing assets (NPAs) and caused a loss of 1,730 crores to the bank. Furthermore, Teesha Verma's husband was in the head position in Biocoin company, and the loan indirectly benefitted him, as he siphoned off all the funds to his Swiss bank accounts. The Enforcement Director is called upon to carry out the further investigation, further you as the senior officer leading the case and there has been political pressure to hush up the matter so that Teesha and her Husband don’t get involved in the case.

As a senior enforcement director officer what would you do in this situation? Also Suggest actions that could have been taken to prevent and address these ethical violations.

Case Study

Recently, in a tragic incident occurred in west Delhi where a 20-year-old woman was found naked and dead. She had been dragged beneath a car for 12 kilometers. According to reports, the occupants of the car, which included the son of a ruling party president, were aware that the woman was trapped under the car but chose to keep driving in order to avoid getting caught. Additionally, there is reported pressure on the police by the ruling party to resolve the case quickly and protect the accused.

As a IPS officer you were given responsibility to handle the case, what would you do in this scenario?

Case Study

As a civil servant, you have been appointed as the District Collector of your district. One day, you receive a complaint from a local NGO stating that a government-run school in a remote village in your district is not providing students with proper facilities and infrastructure. The NGO has also provided you with photos and videos as evidence of the poor conditions at the school.

Upon investigation, you find that the allegations made by the NGO are true and the schools in your district are indeed in a poor state. You also find out that they lack basic facilities such as clean drinking water, proper classrooms, and proper sanitation facilities etc.

You are faced with a dilemma - on one hand, you want to take immediate action and improve the conditions of schools in your district to provide the students with a better learning environment. On the other hand, you are aware that the process of improving the school's facilities will take time and money, and you are not sure if the funds allocated for the district will be sufficient to cover the costs.

As a district collector what would you do in this situation?

Case Study

In a horrific incident which sparked outrage in your district, a 17-year-old girl, on her way to school with her younger sister, was attacked with an acid-like substance by two men on a motorcycle near her home. She sustained severe injuries on her face, neck and eyes, currently she is being treated at the Hospital. She comes from a very humble family and her family looked up to her for alleviating them from poverty.

Further, the incident has once again brought back to focus the heinous crime of acid attacks and the easy availability of corrosive substances, therefore, people are anguished and have started protesting and demanding the death penalty for the culprits.

As a district magistrate, what would you do to resolve the situation? What steps would you take to stop easy availability of hazardous substances?

Case Study

Your friend Ritwik hails from a village whose surrounding areas were submerged due to floods during the monsoon last year. Government assisted the affected people by giving them cash doles to purchase household goods, seeds to replant crop and cash to compensate for loss of standing crop. Ritwik had his house site on high ground and suffered no loss of personal effects. Luckily, his agricultural land being relatively far away from the flooded river escaped the ravages of the flood. Normally, government machinery is unable to thoroughly assess the damage suffered by each individual family. As a result, people take advantage by making extravagant and often fictitious claims. Ritwik has made false claims like others in the village.

As a close friend of Ritwik, what do you think about his action? Is it a right thing to do? what would be your appropriate response to Ritwik’s conduct?

Case Study

Recently, a 19-year-old Dalit man who was part of catering service was attacked after he accidentally touched the food on the plate of an upper caste person at a wedding function. The matter was resolved after other people present there intervened and the victim returned home. However, the accused and his aides later went to the victim’s residence and beat him up. When other members of the family tried to intervene, they were also beaten up. Further, the accused also damaged a motorcycle parked on the premises of the house. Despite this, police did not make any arrest and took the matter lightly. Due to inaction of police in making any arrest, the situation is further deteriorating and clashes broke out between two opposite groups of upper and lower caste.

(a) As an IPS officer, how would you resolve this issue and what would be your course of action?

(b) How could you prevent re-occurrence of such incidents in your district?

Case Study

With the latest trend of layoffs by big-tech companies across the globe due to various reasons like continuation of Russia-Ukraine war, fall in consumer demand and slowing economic growth. Considering this global situation, there is an Indian Ed-tech company which is also suffering from slowing of demand, capital crunch etc. Therefore, the company needs to take a slew of measures to navigate through this rough phase of recession.

Manish is working as Human Resource (HR) head in this company and there is pressure from investors to fire a major chunk of the workforce.

Further, he was informed by management that dismissing employees is essential for the company's existence and instructed him to inform the employees of this decision as soon as possible.

Q. With the ethical dilemmas in mind, what should Manish do in this scenario?

Case Study

A woman and her male partner were living together in a live-in relationship. She faced physical and mental harassment by her partner for some years under the pretense of marriage by her spouse. This relationship continued for some time until one day police recovered a bag with a dead body nearby a river. After conducting a preliminary inquiry, the police discovered that her live-in partner had murdered her. Earlier, the woman's family had protested against her live-in relationship status and after this incident, there have been huge protests in the state against live-in relationships and people who are living with their live in partners are being threatened by various peer groups, religious groups etc. have come together and demanded from the state government to bring a law to ban live-in relationships in the whole state, claiming that the live-in relationships are against Indian culture.

As senior police officer in your area how would you handle the situation and what steps would you take to resolve the issue?

Case Study

Dr. Ankur Sharma is a surgeon. He comes from a well-educated family. Rahul, his little son, is 7 years old and is showing some troubling behaviour patterns. Rahul has been taking pleasure in hurting and torturing creatures for the last two years. It all started when he would pick up some insects such as cockroaches and worms and take delight in cutting them to pieces with a blade. The family keeps some pets including rabbits and some days ago Mr. Sharma detected the boy vivisecting a rabbit in a lonely corner of their garden. By the time Mr. Sharma intervened it was all over, and young Rahul was almost relishing the sight of his bloody hand. Mr. Sharma, of course, scolded the kid but they are worried about the gruesome incidents likely to happen from this kind of perverse behaviour.

What actions should the parents take? Select from the following options:

1. They should ignore the incidents as childish pranks.

2. They should explain to Rahul the need to behave kindly towards animals and to avoid violence in all forms.

3. They should take Rahul to a psychiatrist for counselling and treatment.

4. They should not let Rahul out of sight when he is alone.

Case Study

Ashwani Sood is a farmer who resides in a village of moderate size in the Sitamarhi district of Bihar. He was once chosen to lead the local Panchayat. He has a 25-year-old young son Divyansh. Being the only son of the family, Divyansh was pampered and became spoilt. He was arrogant, always wanted to have his way and would pick up a fight at the slightest opportunity.

A primary school teacher of the area was shot in the head by Divyansh in full view of a large number of persons. He was arrested and remained in jail, despite several attempts to come out.

The MLA of the district is happened to be a part of state cabinet and is also a longtime friend of Ashwani and is currently very influential in the government. The present District Magistrate (Sanjit) has good relations with the minister as he had worked under this Minister in the secretariat before he came to this district and was also recommended by him.

Later, the cabinet minister from the district called Sanjit for recommending parole to Divyansh.

The Minister did not claim that Divyansh is innocent; his pleading was restricted to the circumstances the family was passing through as his mother had died recently. The Minister’s request has created a somewhat difficult situation for Sanjit. This Minister rarely intervenes in any administrative day-to-day functions.

What would be the course of action should Sanjit follow and why?

Case Study

Q. Industrial chemicals are produced on a big scale by a conglomerate. It suggested establishing a second unit. Due to its negative impact on the environment, many states rejected this proposal. But one state government acceded to the request and permitted the unit close to a city, brushing aside all opposition. Further, the unit was set up 10 years ago and was in full swing till recently. The pollution caused by the industrial effluents was affecting the land, water, and crops in the area. It was also causing serious health problems to human beings and animals. This gave rise to a series of agitations demanding the closure of the plant. In a recent agitation, thousands of people took part, creating a law-and-order problem necessitating stern police action. Following the public outcry, the State government ordered the closure of the factory. The closure of the factory resulted in the unemployment of not only those workers who were engaged in the factory but also those who were working in the ancillary units. It also very badly affected those industries which depended on the chemicals manufactured by it.

As a senior officer entrusted with the responsibility of handling these issues, how are you going to address it?

Case Study

Suppose you are an officer in-charge of implementing a social service scheme to provide support to old and destitute women. An old and illiterate woman comes to you to avail the benefits of the scheme. However, she has no documents to show that she fulfils the eligibility criteria. But after meeting her and listening to her you feel that she certainly needs support. Your enquiries also show that she is really destitute and living in a pitiable condition. You are in a dilemma as to what to do. Putting her under the scheme without necessary documents would clearly be violation of rules. But denying her the support would be cruel and inhuman

1. Can you think of a rational way to resolve this dilemma?

2. Give your reasons for it.

Case Study

There is a disaster-prone state having frequent landslides, forest fires, cloudbursts, flash floods and earthquakes, etc. Some of these are seasonal and often unpredictable. The magnitude of the disaster is always unanticipated. During one of the seasons a cloudburst caused devastating floods and landslides leading to high causalities. There was major damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges and power generating units. This led to more than a lakh pilgrims, tourists and other locals trapped across different routes and locations. The people trapped in your area of responsibility includes senior citizens, patients in hospitals, women and children, hikers, tourists, ruling party’s regional president along with his family, additional chief secretary of the neighboring state and prisoners in jail.

As a civil services officer of the state, what would be the order in which you would rescue these people and why? Give justifications.

Q. Sanjit started a business from scratch and ended up as substantial owner of a midsized engineering company. The position of technical director in the company fell vacant when its incumbent resigned to take up another assignment. To the surprise of the board, Sanjit proposed that his young son Subhash should be made the technical director. One member openly expressed his opposition to the proposal and doubted Subhash’s credentials. Sanjit replied that his son has studied engineering in Remote Westbrook Technical University. In reply to the member’s question, he added that Remote Westbrook Technical University is an accredited University in USA. Subash, he added, also took training in some workshops near Detroit. When there was further opposition from other members as well, he pleaded that his health was poor and that he would like someone from his family to take reins if he became too ill, and would like to see his son to be elected as a technical director on the basis of company’s share held by him.

Assume that you have been the Secretary of the company for many years and have the ears of Sanjit. What would be your advice to him?

Case Study

Ranbir is the Chief executive officer of a company. The Company has been growing and has recruited quite a few specialists recently. The functional heads in the company have to meet their staff in an open meeting every two months. Ranbir detested these meetings. It was open to everyone in the office. The staff came up with a long list of trivial and tiresome complaints and grievances. They repeated the same things and spoke at length. Even when the staff knew of the constraints, they went on with their complaints. They wanted more space for lounge, for bathrooms and crèche. Ranbir pointed to lack of space, and yet the staff continued to complain. Ranbir cultivated a habit of sitting through the meeting with a cheerful face, but with his mind switched off from the proceedings. The meeting became a tiresome ritual he had to get through.

Due these issues many employees had left the company and its further hampering the Business of the company.

Q. In Ranbir’s situation what action would you have taken and why?

Case Study

Ms. Sunanda Vashisht, IAS, comes from a family with strong moral and religious inclinations. She is the DM of a Hindu majority district with substantial Muslim population. There is only one good town hall in the district headquarters controlled by the estate department under the DM. Every year, both Hindus and Muslims used to celebrate their prominent festivals like Eid, Diwali or Ganesh Puja, in this hall. This year Eid and a well-known Hindu festival coincides. And the groups of both communities protesting for allotting the hall to celebrate their religious festival.

(a) Mention the ethical and situational challenges that are faced by the DM.

(b) Also mention your course of action to resolve the issue so that both communities can celebrate their festivals peacefully.

Case Study

You serve as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a startup business that is gaining recognition in the industry. Mr. Anuj, a well-known performer, is in charge of the marketing department. He has contributed to the company's revenues by more than doubling in just one year, and you are considering giving him a promotion because of this. However, you have heard rumours regarding his behaviour with his female coworkers, specifically his propensity for making crude remarks about women, from a variety of sources. Additionally, he frequently sends lewd SMS messages to the entire team, including his female coworkers.

One day, Mrs. Akshita, a member of Mr. Anuj's team, comes to you in the late evening, clearly upset. She complains about Mr. Anuj's ongoing inappropriate behaviour because he has been making unwanted overtures toward her and even attempting to touch her inappropriately in his cabin. She steps down from her position and departs your workplace. (20 marks | 250 words)

(a) What are the options available to you?

(b) Evaluate each of these options and choose the option you would adopt, giving reasons.

Case Study

Suppose you are newly appointed as a District Collector, and a businessman approaches you to seek permission regarding building a mall in your city with a modernised ambience that once built will be a glorious addition to the City. However, the projected land for the mall is surrounded by slums, and therefore must be cleared before construction can begin.

The subordinate informed you that the slums were built illegally and have been breeding grounds for drug dealers and phone snatchers.

In addition, the businessman proposes that if you approve the tender, he will facilitate the purchase of a large plot of land in a renowned area of the city in the name of your wife/husband.

Critically examine various conflicts of interest and explain your course of action as a public servant.

Case Study

Rohit has aided a businessman by speedily paying the bills for the goods he had provided to the government. The payment was sizable and it enabled the merchant to avoid a cash shortage. The businessman was so moved that he gave Rohit gifts as a token of his gratitude. Rohit turns them down. Soon after, Rohit visits a hill station with his family where the businessman owns a hotel. He conveys in advance to the businessman that he would like to stay in his hotel and checks into that hotel. The hotel management, on instructions from the businessman, treats Rohit and his family as guests and refuses to accept payment from Rohit. Even Rohit does not insist on making payment.

Q.1 Discuss the ethical issues and ethical dilemmas involved in the case.

Q.2 How would you have behaved if you were at Rohit’s place? Suggest the way-out.

Case Study

Suppose you are the Superintendent of Police in a district. The state has experienced an increase in communal riots in the past few months. A recent incident occurred in a small village. Mud houses were set on fire. Geeta and her daughter Roopa, who was three and a half years old, fled the village after violence broke out.

Once they reached a nearby village, they were attacked by a group of people. Geeta and her daughter were brutally raped and murdered, and the local police have refused to register the case as two police stations are bordered by the area where the bodies were found.

Locals from the village and relatives of the deceased are protesting and accusing the police of negligence and demanding the arrest of the offender with strong political backing. However, your senior calls you and asks you to conceal and distort the truth.

(a) Identify the stakeholders and various dimensions of the crisis involved in the issue.

(b) What would be the course of action taken by you to manage the situation as a Superintendent of Police? Identify measures that can be taken to prevent rapes (250 words)

Case Study

India hosts a number of migratory bird species every year who fly here either in search of feeding ground or to escape freezing winters of their natural habitat. At a major bird nesting lake in India, thousands of birds have died in a mysterious way. The deadly lake is surrounded by mining areas and possibly due to the discharge of effluents from the mining process, the lake got polluted. The junior manager working in the same mining area happens to discover the cause of the death of the birds. He is perturbed and discusses this with his colleagues who ask him to keep silent as this may cost him his job. He cannot risk losing his job as he is the sole breadwinner of his family and has to take care of his ailing parents and siblings. At first, he thinks that if his colleagues are quiet, why should he stick out his neck. But his conscience pricks him to do something to save the lake and the birds who depend upon it. He decides to take the matter to his senior.

(a) What arguments can he advance to show that whatever is being done by the mining industry is not morally right?

(b) What course of action should he adopt in case his senior refuses to entertain his complaint and why? (250 Words)

Q. In the religious land of India, there exists the exploitative custom of sexual slavery known as the Jogini system (a local variation of the Devadasi system) which involves marrying young girls to a deity. This social evil has resisted the legal measures aimed at curbing it till date, despite having been prohibited as per the Devadasi (Prohibition of Dedication) Act. You are posted as a District Magistrate and you get to know about such practice taking place in the area of your jurisdiction. Two Dalit girls have been confined and being prepared for dedication to God as devadasis. The children are forced into becoming Devadasis by their own parents because girls are their only source of income in most cases. In a society where a girl child is often considered a liability, turning them into Devadasis is how patriarchy works to transform them into assets. You also get to know of child prostitution being practiced in the name of Devadasi.

(a) What course of action will you take in such a scenario?

(b) What are the issues involved in banning the practice of Devadasi system, in spite of the laws already present against it? (250 Words)

Case Study

Mr. Siddhant is the chairman of a cultural organization under the central government. The organization has a historical and cultural legacy. Recently he has been charged with the responsibility of organizing an international event by involving artists from different countries. For this event, he has roped in a famous personality from Bollywood as the brand ambassador and face of the event. This has helped in popularising the program at a wide scale and also in the generation of revenue. However, in the mid of the preparation, a female singer artist came in front of the media and accused the Bollywood personality of sexual harassment 10 years ago when she was a minor and searching for work. This accusation has sparked controversy and protest by the public. People are raising their voices against his involvement in the event. Meanwhile, the National Commission of Women has also approached Mr. Siddhant and demands the removal of the Brand Ambassador. Mr. Siddhant is in mid of the finalization of the event and all the preparations regarding inviting people from different parts of the world, their accommodation, etc have already been done. Initially, his consciousness pushed him to do something in this regard but because of external pressure, he is not sure about the right course of action. With reference to the above case study–

(a) What arguments can you give him to show that keeping quiet is not morally right?
(b) What course of action would you advise him to adopt and why? (250 Words)