Best Ethics Notes UPSC. Foundational Values for civil services. Integrity Ethics UPSC. Integrity Pact UPSC. Honesty vs Integrity UPSC.
Table of Contents
Integrity Ethics UPSC
Integrity in Individual’s Context
- Integrity means to be willingly and consistently followed values in mind, words, and deeds even in case of adversities.
- Mind, words and deeds – Thought, speech and action
- It also implies the state of being whole and undivided, consistent, and uncorrupted.
- Bhagavad Gita’s Manasa, Vacha, Karmana theory successfully explains integrity.
- It is the opposite of Hypocrisy.
- Integrity is doing the right thing even if nobody is looking.
- Integrity is a non-negotiable (cannot compromise) and non-selective (Not Situational) quality.
- One of the tests of integrity is complete refusal to be compromised. (UPSC)
- Integrity is a value that empowers the human being. (UPSC)
Integrity in Social Context
- Social integrity means willingly and consistently followed social values in mind, words, and deeds even in case of adversities.
- When social values are internalized by an individual and are reflected in his behaviour, one can say that he is a man of integrity in the context of society.
Integrity in Professional Context
- Professional integrity means willingly and consistently followed professional values in mind, words, and deeds even in case of adversities.
- Each profession has a certain set of values and standards. A person in a profession shows his integrity by acting in agreement with the relevant standards, norms and values of that profession.
- Integrity in a profession means internalizing the value system of that profession and following it in your conduct.
- Example – The Hippocratic Oath for healthcare professionals
Integrity in Civil Services Context
- Integrity in civil services refer to internalized, willingly and consistently practices the foundational value of CS, in mind, words, and deeds even in case of adversities.
- The 2nd ARC emphasized integrity as a cornerstone of good governance. According to it integrity refers to putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests.
Importance of integrity for civil servant
A civil servant with integrity must have-
- Sense of internal peace and Self-Respect, Job Satisfaction
- Consistency in actions
- Motivation within itself
- Resolve conflict of interest
- Ethical Decision Making
- Fulfil his duties and obligations responsibly
- Increase efficiency and effectiveness
- Efficiently utilise public fund
- Sustainable development
- Public Trust – credibility and reliability
- Perseverance – A person with strong integrity creates a very strong resistance.
- A civil servant with integrity will resist corruption and will not misuse public resources for personal gain.
- Accountability and Transparency
- Role Model for others – Ashoka Khemka
- Fairness and Equality
- Provides more effective and peaceful conflict resolutions
- Good governance
Without integrity, a civil servant cannot effectively serve the public interest.
A civil servant with integrity must not-
- misuse his official position, by using information acquired in the course of his official duties to further his private interests or those of others.
- accept gifts or hospitality or receive other benefits from anyone which might reasonably be seen to compromise his personal judgement or integrity.
- disclose official information without authority. This duty continues to apply even after he/she retires from Civil Service.
- Misuse or underuse public fund
| Public interest In the context of civil service, acting in the public interest means making decisions and implementing policies that benefit the general public, rather than serving their own personal interests or the interests of any specific group. Public servants are expected to serve the public interest. |
Reasons for Declining Integrity in Civil Services in India
Colonial Legacy
- Steel frame of the British colonial government
- Focus only on law and order
- Apathy towards development
- Elitism
Systemic Issues
- Nepotism and favoritism in appointments, promotions, postings etc.
- Increasing Politicization
- Lack of Transparency and Accountability
- Bureaucratic Red Tape
- Chalta he Attitude
- Low salaries compared to private sector
- Corruption and bribery
- Inadequate training and ethics education
- Outdated bureaucratic systems
- Weberian modal
- Steel frame mentality
- Lack of innovation
Societal Factors
- Acceptance for corruption
- Erosion of moral values like honesty and public service
- Growing materialism and consumerism
- Lack of Public Awareness
- Reduce accountability of CS
Individual Factors
- Inner weakness
- Greed
- Desire for prestige
- Social Media
- Prime Posting
- Promotion
- Financial benefits
- Desire for prestige
- Fear
- Suspension
- Punishment posting
- Threat to life
- Danger to family
- Annual assessment report
- Focus on shortcuts for Career Advancement
- High Lifestyle Expectations
- Lack of Ethical Training
Ways to develop integrity (Individual Level)
Fear, Greed, desire for prestige and inner weakness are the main cause of deviation from Integrity.
How to get Inner Strength
- Meditation
- Helpful in self-introspection, self-awareness, and evaluation
- Developed relationship between mind, thought, and action.
- Self-Improvement
- Self-evaluation, self-reward, and self-punishment
- Consider the reason for deviation from integrity in life and try to resolve them
- Setting Boundaries
- Learn to say no when asked to do something that compromises your integrity.
- Deep inculcation of Ethical Belief
- Bad means cannot produce good result
- Selflessness
- Altruism
- Godliness of all human
- Interconnectedness
- Duty towards society
- Seven sin by Mahatma Gandhi
- Hierarchical order between different values:
- Like in the Chauri Chaura incident, Gandhi gave priority to non-violence over freedom.
- Displaying your character
- Keep image clean and displaying strongly.
- No one can approach officer like Ashoka Khemka for unethical and illegal proposals.
- Conflicts between ideologies can also undermine integrity.
- Coherence and compatibility between the various moral principles
- Socialism is compatible with equality and capitalism is compatible with freedom.
How to overcome desire for prestige
- Try to become Supriya instead of Lokpriya
- Instead of being good in the eyes of others, one should try to be good in his own eyes.
- Greed of social desire is Endless
- Wrongdoing can also invite legal liabilities in the future which cause permanent loss of prestige.
- Ek din mit jayega mati ke mol.
How to overcome fear of defeat, bad consequences
- Short-term benefits vs Long-term disaster analysis
- Courage of conviction
- Only comes from inner strength
- Firm belief in his values
- Perseverance
- Only comes from inner strength
How to overcome Greed
- Learn to differentiate between needs and wants
- ‘There is enough on this earth for everyone’s need but for no one’s greed.’ Mahatma Gandhi
- Greed is Endless
- Simplify your life, Adopt a minimalist mindset
- Mere jameer me dam he kyonki meri jrutrte kam he
- Explore the root causes of your greed
- It can also invite legal liabilities in the future.
- Wealth without work is a sin.
How to increase integrity in civil servants (Government Level)
Govt > Civil Servants
- Bringing transparency and accountability in governance
- RTI, Citizen Charter, eGovernance etc.
- 2nd ARC recommended the surprise mock drills (sting operations) to check the integrity of CS
- Frequent counselling of civil servants
- Right Brain Development Program at regular interval
- Explicit and Implicit provision in Constitution
- Administrative Tribunal
- Principle of Anonymity
- Incorporate of ethics in exam processes
- UPSC GS IV
- Training
- Sensitization of civil servants towards social problems and society
- Civic action program
- Ground Visit, like in Movie Jai Bhim
- Value inculcation in society as civil servants ultimately come from the society
- NEP 2020 focus on holistic development through Education.
- Social audit
- Public grievance mechanism
- Continuous feedback and improvement
Integrity vs knowledge UPSC
Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, but knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.
Mahatma Gandhi was a man of Integrity because he believed in truth and non-violence not only in mind and word, but also practiced it in practice, whereas Keshav Chandra Sen was not a man of Integrity because he was against child marriage by mind and word, but in practice, he himself got his daughter child marriage.
Ashok Khemka is a senior IAS officer of Haryana cadre, in his career of 30 years, he has been transferred more than 50 times, but all the political pressure and sufferings haven’t led him to compromise with his morals.
Types of Integrity UPSC
1. Moral Integrity
- Remaining faithful to one’s moral values even in the face of adversity is called moral integrity.
- It simply means following one’s moral values consistently in mind, word, and deed.
2. Intellectual Integrity
- Intellectual integrity means being true to one’s own thinking and to hold oneself to the same standards one expects others to meet.
- Thus, the standards you are setting for others must also be followed by you.
- On the contrary, having different criteria for the evaluation of yourself and others and ignoring your shortcomings is called intellectual hypocrisy.
- Mahatma Gandhi always said that ‘‘be the change you want to see in the world.’’
- Don’t be Double Standard Person
3. Professional integrity
- It simply means following professional values, standards and norms consistently in mind, word, and deed.
- The most important thing for a civil servant is to be professionally competent and result-oriented.
- In Ramayana, Vaidya Sushena (official doctor/Vaidya of Lanka) treat Lakshman with the help of Sanjeevani booti is an example of professional integrity.
4. Financial integrity
- A civil servant must be absolutely honest and should not make any illegal money by practising corruption.
- A corrupt officer can never serve the people as his conscience is always guilty.
- He spends his energy and time more on defending his wrong actions than doing the right things for the people.
- Civil servants must avoid even small favours from their subordinates or from the people with whom they have official dealings.
- Honesty (Financial integrity) is necessary but not a sufficient condition to be a good civil servant.
Other types
- Organisation integrity
- Data integrity etc.
Honesty vs Integrity UPSC
Honesty and integrity are closely related concepts, but they have distinct meanings and implications. Let’s explore the differences:
| Honesty | Integrity |
| Honesty is the quality of being truthful and sincere in one’s words and actions. | Integrity is the quality of being whole, consistent in one’s values and actions, and adhering to strong moral and ethical principles. |
| It primarily deals with telling the truth and not deceiving others. | It encompasses a broader range of behaviors and decisions, going beyond just truthfulness. |
| Action-oriented, Honesty is often about specific actions or statements – telling the truth in a particular situation. | Character-oriented: Integrity is about one’s overall character and consistent adherence to moral principles. |
| External: It’s largely about how one communicates with others and presents information to the outside world. | Internal and external: It involves both internal consistency (aligning actions with personal values) and external consistency (behaving ethically even when no one is watching). |
| Situational: One can be honest in one situation but not in another. | Consistent: Integrity implies a consistent application of ethical principles across all situations. 100 – 1 = 0 |
| Reactive: Honesty often comes into play when one is asked a question or confronted with a situation requiring truthfulness. | Proactive: It often involves making difficult choices to uphold one’s principles, even when not directly challenged. |
| Divided | Wholesomeness |
In essence, while honesty is a crucial component of integrity, integrity encompasses a broader, more consistent commitment to ethical behavior and moral principles across all aspects of one’s life.
Integrity Pact UPSC
- Integrity Pact is a vigilance tool that envisages an agreement between the prospective vendors/bidders and the buyer, committing both the parties not to exercise any corrupt influence on any aspect of the contract.
- It is a tool developed by Transparency International.
- The pact is to ensure transparency, equity and competitiveness in public procurement.
- They were developed as a tool for preventing corruption in public contracting.
- Any violation of the clause entails the disqualification of bidders and exclusion from future business dealings.
- Its implementation is assured by Independent External Monitors (IEM) who are people of unimpeachable integrity.
Integrity Quotes UPSC
- Supporting the truth, even when it is unpopular, shows the capacity for honesty and integrity.
- It’s easier to preach than really act (par upadesh kushal bahutere)
- Power really is a test of character. In the hands of a person of integrity, it is of tremendous benefit; in the hands of a tyrant, it causes terrible destruction.
- Integrity is the seed for achievement. It is the principle that never fails.
- We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.
- Customer retention may be best supported by operational integrity.
- “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”
- “Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.”
- “The support of truth takes integrity.”
- “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
Ethics PYQs UPSC – Topic Wise Collection
FAQs on Integrity Ethics UPSC
Coming Soon
Why Mohit Sharma (Director Sankalp IAS Academy) is the best Ethics Teacher for UPSC Ethics GS IV?
Why Mohit Sharma (Director Sankalp IAS Academy) is the best Ethics Faculty for UPSC Ethics GS IV?
Mohit Sharma is a highly regarded Ethics faculty for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, known for his in-depth knowledge, engaging teaching style, and focus on practical application.
With over 12 years of experience in teaching Ethics for UPSC and University Level, he provides a comprehensive understanding of the entire syllabus, covering all key topics and subtopics in detail. Here are some key reasons why many consider him to be among the best:
- Authorship in Ethics: As an author of multiple books on ethics and moral philosophy, he brings a strong theoretical foundation and insightful perspectives to his teaching.
- Positive Reviews and Testimonials: Many successful UPSC aspirants have praised Mohit Sharma’s teaching and guidance, attributing their success to his mentorship.
- Current Affairs Integration: Connects ethical concepts with contemporary issues. Uses recent case studies from administration Helps students relate theory to real-world scenarios.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Mohit Sharma provides a thorough understanding of the entire Ethics syllabus, covering all key topics and subtopics in detail.
- Conceptual Clarity: He emphasizes conceptual clarity and helps students grasp complex ethical dilemmas and frameworks.
- Case Study Approach: His teaching methodology heavily relies on case studies and real-life examples, making the subject more relatable and easier to understand.
- Focus on Answer Writing: Mohit Sharma provides extensive guidance on answer writing, helping students structure their answers effectively and present their arguments convincingly.
- Personalized Mentoring: One-on-one doubt clearing sessions. Individual feedback on answer writing. Customized guidance based on student needs.
- Regular Practice and Feedback: He encourages regular practice through mock tests and assignments, providing personalized feedback to help students improve.
- Focus on Previous Years’ Questions: Detailed analysis of UPSC trends. Strategic approach to important topics. Practice with exam-oriented questions.
- Online Learning Resources: Digital study materials. Recorded lectures for revision. Online test series.
- Holistic Development Approach: Integration with other GS papers. Emphasis on character building. Focus on developing ethical reasoning skills.
Best Ethics Book for UPSC and UPPCS GS IV:
Best Book of Ethics for UPSC and UPPCS (6th Edition, English)
Original price was: ₹599.00.₹299.00Current price is: ₹299.00.
Top rated on Google. Recommended by UPSC Toppers. Language – English This book Ethics for UPSC is Written by Mohit Sharma (Director of Sankalp IAS Academy). Mohit Sharma is a highly regarded Ethics faculty for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, known for his in-depth knowledge, engaging teaching style, and focus on practical application. With over 12 years of experience in teaching Ethics for UPSC and University Level. Download Free Demo eBook
Foundational Values for civil services. Integrity Ethics UPSC. Integrity Pact UPSC. Honesty vs Integrity UPSC.
Best Ethics Notes UPSC