Mains Practice Questions

Q. International laws and treaties act as the sources of ethical guidance in contemporary international relations. Critically examine. (250 words)

Q. Examine the following, along with relevant examples:
(A) An action can be legally wrong but ethically correct and vice versa.
(B) Under what situations, a person cannot be held as unethical despite his actions looking seemingly unethical or illegal. (250 words)

Q. All human beings aspire for happiness. Do you agree? What does happiness mean to you? Explain with examples. (150 Words)

Q. Ethics of society at large is reflected in any organization’s work culture. Discuss. (150 Words)

Q. What do you understand by natural law ethics? Discuss with examples the criticism of this branch of ethics. (150 Words)

Q. What do you understand by ethical responsibility? What are the commonly recognised ethical responsibilities of government servants? (150 Words)

Q. Define the following terms: (150 words)

(a) Altruism

(b) Humility

(c) Power and Morality

Q. Free media (including social media) has an important role in the fight against corruption. Comment. (150 Words)

Q. A public servant must need to control his emotions. Discuss the undesirable negative emotions he should refrain from. (150 Words)

Q. What do you understand by bioethics? Discuss issues related to bioethics in India. (250 words)

Q. ‘People must not be turned back to countries where they would face persecution or severe human rights violations.’ Discuss the statement in terms of ethics of refugees. (150 Words)

Q. Mahatma Gandhi created a moral system which also served as the framework for his political practice. Elucidate. (150 Words)

Q. Human actions should aim at promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. Comment. (150 Words)

Q. What do you understand by the term ethical egoism? (150 words)

Q. With the changing nature of public administration and higher expectations from public servants, codes of conduct in the public sphere assumed greater importance. Comment. (150 Words)

Q. Discuss the major contributions of Socrates in the field of ethics and morality.

Q. Discuss the role of social influence in shaping the behavior of a person. 

Q. Explain the term conscience with a special reference to various explanations given by various moral thinkers on it.

Q. Discuss the role of emotional intelligence in handling mob protests and violence. 

Q. Discuss the role of the family in the development of the value system in an individual.

Q. Sense of unity, pride in the past and sense of mission – which Vivekananda proclaimed greatly strengthened India’s nationalist movement. Discuss. 

Q. "Public service is a public trust."  In light of the statement highlight some of the major principles of the Public Service.

Q. Analyse John Rawls’s concept of justice as fairness.

Q. Corporate social responsibility envisages ethical corporate governance. Discuss.

Q. Citizen initiatives to fight corruption come from an active social consciousness. Discuss.

Q. Explain with examples what do you mean by the term empathy. Also, discuss how it is an important trait for the present-day civil servants?

Q. Discuss Kautilya’s philosophy of “Yatha Raja Tatha Praja” (As the king is, so will be the people) in the context of today’s political leadership in India. 

Q. Explain the term probity and its relevance to civil services in India.

Q. Citizen’s Charter seeks to continuously improve the quality of public services for the people so as to respond to their needs and wishes. In the light of the statement discuss the foundational features of a citizen’s charter and what do citizens expect out of it.

Q. Highlight the differences between codes of ethics and codes of conduct.