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Green hydrogen, a new ally for a zero carbon future
Context

The forthcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow from November 1-12, 2021 is to re-examine the coordinated action plans to mitigate greenhouse gases and climate adaptation measures.

How Green hydrogen as a fuel can be a game changer?
- Hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet, but rarely in its pure form which is how we need it.
- High energy density: It has an energy density almost three times that of diesel.
- ‘Green hydrogen’, the emerging novel concept, is a zero-carbon fuel made by electrolysis using renewable power from wind and solar to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
- Best solution to remain under 1.5° C: The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts the additional power demand to be to the tune of 25%-30% by the year 2040.
- Thus, power generation by ‘net-zero’ emission will be the best solution to achieve the target of expert guidelines on global warming to remain under 1.5° C.
- Untapped potential: Presently, less than 0.1% or say ~75 million tons/year of hydrogen capable of generating ~284GW of power, is produced.
Challenges: Production and storage cost
- The challenge is to compress or liquefy the LH2 (liquid hydrogen); it needs to be kept at a stable minus 253° C.
- This leads to its ‘prior to use exorbitant cost’.
- The ‘production cost’ of ‘Green hydrogen’ has been considered to be a prime obstacle.
- The production cost of this ‘green source of energy’ is expected to be around $1.5 per kilogram (for nations having perpetual sunshine and vast unused land), by the year 2030; by adopting various conservative measures.
Experiments in India
- - The Indian Railways have announced the country’s first experiment of a hydrogen-fuel cell technology-based train by retrofitting an existing diesel engine; this will run under Northern Railway on the 89 km stretch between Sonepat and Jind.
- The project will not only ensure diesel savings to the tune of several lakhs annually but will also prevent the emission of 0.72 kilo tons of particulate matter and 11.12-kilo tons of carbon per annum.
Way forward for India
- India is the world’s fourth-largest energy-consuming country (behind China, the United States and the European Union), according to the IEA’s forecast, and will overtake the European Union to become the world’s third energy consumer by the year 2030.
- It is high time to catch up with the rest of the world by going in for clean energy, decarbonising the economy and adopting ‘Green hydrogen’ as an environment-friendly and safe fuel for the next generations.
Conclusion

In order to achieve the goal of an alternative source of energy, adopting a multi-faceted practical approach to utilise ‘Green hydrogen’ offers a ray of hope.

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September 9, 2021
9th September 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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[WpProQuiz 772]

[WpProQuiz_toplist 772]

September 9, 2021
NDA to admit Women: Centre
The Centre gave the Supreme Court the “good news” that it had taken a decision to allow women entry into the National Defence Academy (NDA), so far a male bastion for recruitment into the Armed Forces.

About National Defence Academy
- The NDA is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services train together before they go on to respective service academy for further pre-commission training.
- It is located in Khadakwasla, Pune, Maharashtra.
- It is the first tri-service academy in the world.
- Applicants to the NDA are selected via a written exam conducted by the UPSC every year, followed by extensive interviews by the Services Selection Board.
What was the latest development?
- Recently, the Supreme Court upheld the right of serving Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers of the Navy to be granted Permanent Commission (PC) on a par with their male counterparts.
Women in Armed Forces: Significance
- The court ruled that women naval officers cannot be denied the right to equal opportunity and dignity entitled to under the Constitution on specious grounds such as physiology, motherhood and physical attributes.
- The battle for gender equality is about confronting the battles of the mind.
- History is replete with examples where women have been denied their just entitlements under law and the right to fair and equal treatment in the workplace.
Why males have ever dominated the armed forces?
- Militaries across the world help entrench hegemonic masculine notions of aggressiveness, strength and heterosexual prowess in and outside their barracks.
- The military training focuses on creating new bonds of brotherhood and camaraderie between them based on militarized masculinity.
- This temperament is considered in order to enable conscripts to survive the tough conditions of military life and to be able to kill without guilt.
- To create these new bonds, militaries construct a racial, sexual, gendered “other”, attributes of whom the soldier must routinely and emphatically reject.
Dimensions of the Issue

Gender is not a hindrance: As long as an applicant is qualified for a position, one’s gender is arbitrary. It is easy to recruit and deploy women who are in better shape than many men sent into combat.

Combat Readiness: Allowing a mixed-gender force keeps the military strong. The armed forces are severely troubled by falling retention and recruitment rates. This can be addressed by allowing women in the combat role.

Effectiveness: The blanket restriction for women limits the ability of commanders in theatre to pick the most capable person for the job.

Tradition: Training will be required to facilitate the integration of women into combat units. Cultures change over time and the masculine subculture can evolve too.

Cultural Differences & Demographics: Women are more effective in some circumstances than men. Allowing women to serve doubles the talent pool for delicate and sensitive jobs that require interpersonal skills, not every soldier has.

Hurdles for Women

Capabilities of women: Although women are equally capable, if not more capable than men, there might be situations that could affect the capabilities of women such as absence during pregnancy and catering to the responsibilities of motherhood, etc.

Adjusting with the masculine setup: To then simply add women to this existing patriarchal setup, without challenging the notions of masculinity, can hardly be seen as “gender advancement”.

Fear of sexual harassment: Sexual harassment faced by women military officers is a global phenomenon that remains largely unaddressed, and women often face retaliation when they do complain.

Gender progressiveness could be an illusion: Women’s inclusion is criticized as just another manoeuvre to camouflage women’s subjugation and service as women’s liberation.

Battle of ‘Acceptance’: Acceptance of women in the military has not been smooth in any country. Every army has to mould the attitude of its society at large and male soldiers in particular to enhance acceptability of women in the military.

Job Satisfaction: Most women feel that their competence is not given due recognition. Seniors tend to be over-indulgent without valuing their views. They are generally marginalised and not involved in any major decision-making.

Doubts about Role Definition: The profession of arms is all about violence and brutality. To kill another human is not moral but soldiers are trained to kill.

Physical and Physiological Issues: The natural physical differences in stature, strength, and body composition between the sexes make women more vulnerable to certain types of injuries and medical problems. The natural processes of menstruation and pregnancy make women particularly vulnerable in combat situations.

Comfort Level: Most women accepted the fact that their presence amongst males tends to make the environment ‘formal and stiff’. The mutual comfort level between men and women colleagues is often very low.

Conclusion
- Concern for equality of sexes or political expediency should not influence defence policies.
- Armed forces have been constituted with the sole purpose of ensuring defence of the country and all policy decisions should be guided by this overriding factor.
- All matters concerning defence of the country have to be considered in a dispassionate manner.
- No decision should be taken which even remotely affects the cohesiveness and efficiency of the military.
Way ahead
- Induction of women into armed forces should be on the basis of their abilities and not on the basis of their gender.
- The training for both women and men should be standardized to eliminate differentiation based on physical capabilities.
- The career aspects and opportunities for women need to be viewed holistically keeping the final aim in focus.
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September 9, 2021
Domicile Based Job Quota
The Jharkhand Assembly has passed a Bill, which provides 75% reservation for local people in the private sector up to ₹40,000 salary a month.

Try answering this PYQ first:

Q.One of the implications of equality in society is the absence of- (CSP 2018)

(a) Privileges

(b) Restraints

(c) Competition

(d) Ideology

What is the move?
- Every employer shall register such employees receiving gross monthly salary as wages not more than ₹ 40,000 as the limit notified by the government from time to time on the designated portal within three months of the Act coming into force.
- Every employer shall fill up 75% of the total existing vacancies on the date of notification of this Act and subsequent thereto by local candidates with respect to such posts where the gross monthly salary or wages are not more than ₹40,000”.
- The Bill provides for the local MLA to supervise the employment procedure and issue directions to the employer concerned as it may deem fit.
Other such states
- Once notified, Jharkhand will become the third State in the country, after Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, to pass such law.
- In 2019, Andhra Pradesh passed such law, while in June last, Haryana passed law, reserving 75% quota for the local people in private jobs with monthly salary less than ₹50,000.
What is Quota for Locals?

Ans. Constitutional provision for Equal Treatment
- Article 16 of the Constitution guarantees equal treatment under the law in matters of public employment. It prohibits the state from discriminating on grounds of place of birth or residence.
- Article 16(2) states that “no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State”.
- The provision is supplemented by the other clauses in the Constitution that guarantee equality.
- However, Article 16(3) of the Constitution provides an exception by saying that Parliament may make a law “prescribing” a requirement of residence for jobs in a particular state.
- This power vests solely in the Parliament, not state legislatures.
Why does the Constitution prohibit reservation based on domicile?
- When the Constitution came into force, India turned itself into one nation from a geographical unit of individual principalities and the idea of the universality of Indian citizenship took root.
- India has single citizenship, and it gives citizens the liberty to move around freely in any part of the country.
- Hence the requirement of a place of birth or residence cannot be qualifications for granting public employment in any state.
But are reservations not granted on other grounds such as caste?
- Equality enshrined in the Constitution is not mathematical equality and does not mean all citizens will be treated alike without any distinction.
- To this effect, the Constitution underlines two distinct aspects which together form the essence of equality law:
1. Non-discrimination among equals, and
2. Affirmative action to equalize the unequal
Supreme Court rulings on quota for locals
- The Supreme Court has ruled against reservation based on place of birth or residence.
- In 1984, ruling in Dr Pradeep Jain v Union of India, the issue of legislation for “sons of the soil” was discussed.
- The court expressed an opinion that such policies would be unconstitutional but did not expressly rule on it as the case was on different aspects of the right to equality.
- In a subsequent ruling in Sunanda Reddy v State of Andhra Pradesh (1995), the Supreme Court affirmed the observation in 1984 ruling to strike down a state government policy that gave 5% extra weightage to candidates.
- In 2002, the Supreme Court invalidated appointment of government teachers in Rajasthan in which the state selection board gave preference to “applicants belonging to the district or the rural areas of the district concerned”.
- In 2019, the Allahabad HC struck down a recruitment notification by the UP PSC which prescribed preference for women who are “original residents” of the UP alone.
September 9, 2021

Issues related to MSP

The Centre has increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various crops ahead of the upcoming rabi season harvest.

Answer this PYQ from CSP 2018

Q.Consider the following:

Areca nut

Barley

Coffee

Finger millet

Groundnut

Sesamum

Turmeric

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has announced the Minimum Support Price for which of the above?

(a) 1, 2, 3 and 7 only

(b) 2, 4, 5 and 6 only

(c) 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7

Post your answers here.

What is the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system?

MSP is a form of market intervention by the Govt. of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
MSP is price fixed by GoI to protect the producer – farmers – against excessive falls in price during bumper production years.

Who announces it?

MSP is announced at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on recommendations by Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices(CACP) and announced by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the PM of India.

Why MSP?

The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution.
They are a guaranteed price for their produce from the Government.
In case the market price for the commodity falls below the announced MSP due to bumper production and glut in the market, government agencies purchase the entire quantity offered by the farmers at the announced MSP.

Historical perspective

Till the mid-1970s, Government announced two types of administered prices:

Minimum Support Prices (MSP)
Procurement Prices

The MSPs served as the floor prices and were fixed by the Govt. in the nature of a long-term guarantee for investment decisions of producers, with the assurance that prices of their commodities would not be allowed to fall below the level fixed by the Government, even in the case of a bumper crop.
Procurement prices were the prices of Kharif and rabi cereals at which the grain was to be domestically procured by public agencies (like the FCI) for release through PDS.
It was announced soon after harvest began.
Normally procurement price was lower than the open market price and higher than the MSP.

Crops Covered

Government announces minimum support prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative prices (FRP) for sugarcane.
The mandated crops are 14 crops of the kharif season, 6 rabi crops and two other commercial crops.
The list of crops is as follows:

Cereals (7) – paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi
Pulses (5) – gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil
Oilseeds (8) – groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed, and nigerseed
Raw cotton
Raw jute
Copra
De-husked coconut
Sugarcane (Fair and remunerative price)
Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco

Exception for Sugar

The pricing of sugarcane is governed by the statutory provisions of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 issued under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955.
Prior to the 2009-10 sugar season, the Central Government was fixing the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane, and farmers were entitled to share profits of a sugar mill on a 50:50 basis.
As this sharing of profits remained virtually unimplemented, the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 was amended in October 2009 and the concept of SMP was replaced by the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane.

Back2Basics: Rabi and Kharif Crops

Rabi Crops	Kharif Crops
· Rabi crops are sown at the end of monsoon or the beginning of winter. They are also known as winter crops.	· Kharif crops are sown at the beginning of the rainy season and are also known as monsoon crops.
· Flowering requires a long day length.	· Flowering requires a short day length.
· These crops need a warm climate for seed germination and cold climate for growth.	· These crops require a lot of water and hot weather to grow. They depend on rainfall.
· Unseasonal rainfall can damage Rabi crops.	· Kharif crops depend on rainfall patterns.
· The harvesting months are March and April.	· These crops are harvested in September and October
· Examples: Mustard, wheat, cumin, coriander etc.	· Examples: Rice, bajra, groundnut.

Zaid Crops

The wide range of crops that grow in the short season between Kharif and Rabi crop seasons are known as Zaid crops. These are the months of March till July.
Examples: Pumpkin, cucumber, bitter gourd etc.

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September 9, 2021

Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment Centres
The state government in Punjab is banking on Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment Centres (OOAT) to curb the drug menace in the state.

What are the OOAT Centres?
- The move to set up OOAT centres in Punjab began in October 2017.
- The centres administer de-addiction medicine, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, to the opioid-dependent people registering there.
- Administered in the form of a pill, the treatment is primarily for addicts of opioid drugs, including heroin, poppy husk and opium.
- There are such private and state-run centres in Punjab.
Why is the Punjab government planning?
- Punjab is planning to open OOAT linked extension centres and clinics in rural areas to broaden the outreach of this treatment.
- The idea is that patients get medicine nearer their place of residence.
- It will also reduce pressure on existing OOAT centres which cater to patients from far-off places.
Administering medicine at OOAT Centres

The patients are broadly put into three categories or phases.
- In the induction phase, the newly-registered patients are administered medicine at the OOAT centres for a week or two to manage withdrawal symptoms in the presence of the doctor and counselor.
- In the second, stabilization, phase, which extends between two to four months.
- The patient is put on watch for taking any opioid-based “super-imposed” illicit drug and accordingly maximum tolerated dose is administered to nullify the kick of the “super-imposed” drug.
- In the third, maintenance, phase, the patient is given take-home medicine and it continues for a year and a half before an assessment is done to see whether the medicine can be tapered off.
Why is Punjab banking so much on OOAT therapy?

There are two major approaches to wean away opioid-dependent persons.
- One is the abstinence approach and another alternate medication approach.
- There are more chances of relapse in an abstinence-based approach as compared to alternate medication for de-addiction.
- In the abstinence approach, it would have taken years to rehabilitate patients by admitting them to facilities and there would have been increased chances of relapse.
- On the other hand, the alternate medication approach has been acknowledged as better in various scientific studies worldwide.
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September 9, 2021
Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers
Activists have highlighted the plight of rivers as well as the support building up for according rights to them under the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers.

What constitutes the Rights of Rivers?
- Flow: If we look at a river as an ecosystem instead of cubic metres of water, then the ambit of rights gets broadened.
- Flora and fauna: It includes aquatic flora and fauna, the biodiversity in its catchment areas, forests, its tributaries, groundwater, the rocks and soil in its bed and banks.
- Human settlements: The rights of rivers in a sense would mean the ecological causes and conditions making up the natural habitat. Human settlements dependent is the prime factor.
- Economy: Such rights should not put an end to fishing or other localized, subsistence-based human needs related to the river, but rather push for a healthy relationship respecting the river as an ecosystem.
Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers
- The declaration is a civil society initiative to define the basic rights to which all rivers are entitled, according to a note by non-profit, International Rivers.
- This trend of granting rights to nature, taking place across the world, signals the beginnings of a radical shift from an extractive mindset to one where conservation safeguards are being extended to nature.
- The right to recognize rivers as living entities rather than mere human property started in 2008.
- That year, Ecuador became the first country to constitutionally recognize the Rights of Nature.
Present campaigns
- In the one year since the declaration, rights have been recognised or declared for the Boulder Creek watershed in the US, the Magpie River in Canada, the Alpayacu river in Ecuador and the Paraná river and its wetlands in Argentina.
- Several campaigns calling for rights to be accorded to rivers have also incorporated the declaration.
- These include campaigns for the Lempa river in El Salvador, Tavignanu river in France, Ethiope river in Nigeria, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Frome river in the UK.
- In 2017, a treaty agreement between the Whanganui Iwi (a Māori tribe) and the New Zealand government recognized the Whanganui River as a legal person.
Recognition of such rights in India
- In 2017, the Uttarakhand HC ruled that the Indian rivers Ganga and Yamuna, the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers, as well as other related natural elements are “legal persons” with all corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities of a living person.
- Subsequently, in 2018, the same high court ruled that the entire animal kingdom has rights equivalent to that of a living person.
Challenges
- Cultural practices: Activists and communities have been arguing for a need of cultural change that can bring about the ethic of care with regard to the rest of nature. Indigenous people have had such an ethic in their worldviews and ways of living.
- Development paradigm: The most critical challenge is whether can rights be protected without changing the current development paradigm. Any paradigm shift also needs questioning of fundamental forms of injustices, including capitalism, statism, anthropocentrism, and patriarchy.
- Cross-boundary issues: Rivers don’t necessarily follow human-made political boundaries. Indus, one of the longest that runs through China, Pakistan, and India, doesn’t flow as per political boundaries. Its contiguity demands a cross-boundary approach.
- Cooperation deficit: There is still very limited understanding across the world on how a law on the rights of rivers can be implemented. What would be the best ways to ensure custodianship, restitution, compensation.
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September 9, 2021
Places in news: Qeqertaq Avannarleq Island
A group of researchers who went out to collect samples off the coast of Greenland in July found themselves on a tiny, uninhabited and previously unknown island.

Qeqertaq Avannarleq
- Measuring 60×30 metres and with a peak of three metres above sea level, it has now become the new northernmost piece of land on Earth.
- Before this, Oodaaq was marked as the Earth’s northernmost terrain.
- The new island is made up of seabed mud and moraine, i.e. soil, rock and other material left behind by moving glaciers, and has no vegetation.
- The group has suggested the discovery be named ‘Qeqertaq Avannarleq’, which is Greenlandic for “the northernmost island”.
How this island came to existence?

Ans. Undoubtedly, climate change in Greenland
- Global warming has had a severe effect on the ice sheet of Greenland.
- The new island, which was exposed by shifting pack ice, is, however, not a direct consequence of climate change.
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September 9, 2021
KNOWLEDGE EUPHORIA – ACHIEVE 2X SYLLABUS COMPLETION RATE
From Articles of Constitution to National parks

From listing mountain ranges to Mauryan administration

From Artificial intelligence to Repo rate……There is so much variety in UPSC CSE Syllabus.

Learning so many new subjects and new topics, one can feel the influx of knowledge in the preparation mode. This newfound knowledge generates a sense of euphoria in many aspirants. To keep feeding this euphoria, many aspirants make the mistake of reading more and more material, be it the current or static part. Sadly, unchecked knowledge euphoria can hijack your preparation.

IS SYLLABUS COMPLETION A SERIOUS ISSUE YOU ARE FACING IN YOUR PREPARATION? IS IT SO THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING MOCK TESTS, YOU VAGUELY RECALL THE TOPICS? OR LOOKING AT SO MANY BOOKS MAKE YOU LOSE INTEREST IN THE PREPARATION?

If yes, then something has to change in your strategy. In fact, you are not alone facing this challenge. Check out the video given below of our student discussing the same problem and how it affected his performance in the last 5 attempts.

Giving prelims without even completing the whole syllabus once is like killing your own golden duck. In our interaction with our Mentors and their mentees, we identified few common mistakes when it comes to incomplete syllabus attempts:
- Habit of collecting and reading too many books, Photostatted material and online content
- Reading every book from cover to cover with giving equal importance to every topic
- Mismanagement of current affairs and static part
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Obviously, solutions to these problems differ from student to student. BUT ONE MANTRA THAT ALL OUR MENTORS SWEAR BY IS INSTEAD OF HARD WORK, DO SMART WORK. SO, WHAT DOES SMART WORK MEAN?

WHAT NOT TO READ: Common impression about UPSC CSE preparation is that you have to know everything under the sun. But there is a catch here! Try to learn everything under the sun from a Generalist than a specialist point of view. This can be done if you know “WHAT NOT TO READ?”. Let our mentors look at the material you are reading and chuck out the unnecessary clutter.

MARK BOUNDARIES: This is all about making sure that every subject has 1-2 reference material, which you will focus on. Marking boundaries is also important in the case of current affairs. Usually, students end up using 4-5 hours of their time just for daily current affairs. This for sure is not Smart study!

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REVISION: Yes! we all know that revision is important. But do you know you have to divide your revision into 3 groups: Short term, medium-term and long-term revision. Revision should not be a bi-annual exercise. Syllabus completion and revision have to be done side by side. So, getting this balance in your preparation is where we as a mentor come in.

COVER TO COVER: Don’t read your books like novels. You have to constantly tell yourself that ‘BE EXAM ORIENTED’. In each subject, you should have a rough idea about ‘UPSC FAVORITES’. Finish them first!

MONITORING: A neutral third-person monitoring can be a great addition to your preparation. Constant check on what you are reading, what good material not to miss, and focusing on high importance areas is the priority in our mentorship program.

Mentorship is subjective but we are trying to add a bit of science to it with years of data collection on performances, feedback, and interviews with our students. Fill up the form below and let us know what issue you are facing? Surely we will resolve it together!

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September 9, 2021
[Yojana Archives] Probity in Governance
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August 2021

“Where do the evils like corruption arise from? It comes from the never-ending greed. The fight for corruption-free ethical society will have to be fought against this greed and replace it with ‘what can I give’ spirit.”

—Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

Introduction
- Ethics is a set of standards that helps guide behavior, choices and actions of individuals. It is multidimensional as it is governed by the value system of the society including the concept of rights, obligations, fairness, virtues, etc.
- Ethics and probity form the cornerstone of the public administration system.
- In today’s world, when the governments are playing an active role in the socioeconomic development of the country, the role of the government functionaries becomes more challenging as they are both the facilitators and enforcers of the law and rules.
- Responsibility and accountability are integral to ethics. The character of laws and rules through which accountability is enforced is based on the moral ideas of society.
What are Ethics?
- The word ‘ethics’ is from the original Greek term ‘ethikos’, meaning ‘arising from habit’.
- Undoubtedly, culture, values, character, the sense of right and wrong are quintessential determinants of ethics.
- Ethics in public is not limited to the expression of high moral values alone.
- It also refers to the framework for holding the public functionaries legally accountable for their acts of omission and commission.
The conception of Ethics in India

The Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1964) also known as ‘Santhanam Committee had observed:
- The public confidence and respect which the functionaries enjoy is largely the result of collective efforts.
- Adherence to key principles of Integrity, Honesty, and Objectivity promotes trust and confidence among the stakeholders and enhances credibility.
- The conduct of Government functionaries should be beyond reproach in all circumstances.
- Any deficiency in their professional or personal conduct places their personal integrity and quality of work in unfavorable light and raises doubts about their actions.
Ethics in Governance

Ethics is concerned with human character and conduct. It condemns all types of falsehood. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission in its Second Report on Ethics suggested the principles for ethics in the governance and stated that:
- Values serve as guiding stars showing the path to all the members of the society and everyone is expected to respect and follow them. As they are not codified and are subject to interpretation, situations of conflict do arise.
Any framework of ethical behaviour must include the following elements:
1. Codifying ethical norms and practices
2. Disclosing personal interest to avoid conflict between public interest and personal gain
3. Creating a mechanism for enforcing the relevant codes
4. Providing norms for qualifying and disqualifying a public functionary from office
Civilizational traits: At the same time, a sense of right and wrong is deeply ingrained in culture and civilization. The ethos of the society is designed by the behavior patterns of its citizens building an environment of trust and confidence.

Integrity: It has to be seen as a holistic concept covering various aspects of conduct and not limited to financial honesty. Public office should be treated as a trust which imposes a lot of responsibility on the holders of the office and makes them accountable to society.

Righteousness: The power of righteousness and the capability to uphold the truth have to come from within. Honesty can’t simply be a mandate emanating out of a government order.

Public interest: Integrity requires the public functionaries to exercise due Diligence while discharging their duties responsibly, make decisions with the public interest in mind and be honest in carrying out their work and handling government resources.

Code of Conduct
- The Code of Conduct for the Civil Servants has evolved over time.
- A compendium of instructions containing ‘dos and don’ts’ for Civil Servants was issued in the 1930s and collectively called ‘Conduct Rules’.
- In pursuance of the recommendations of the Santhanam Committee, the Conduct rules were revised and enlarged resulting in CCS Conduct Rules 1964 being followed today.
- These rules are a dynamic set of instructions for the Government servants as based on the introduction of new dimensions in the legal framework.
- The Conduct Rules prescribe some general behavioral norms like ‘maintaining the integrity and absolute devotion to duty’ and not indulging in ‘conduct unbecoming of a government servant’.
Framework

Probity in governance is absolutely essential for an efficient and effective system of governance. Ethics and probity cannot be seen in isolation. Both are intertwined and have to be seen as complementary to each other. The Consultation Paper on ‘Probity in Governance’ issued in 2001 by the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution highlighted many legislative and institutional issues including:
- Need for enforcing section 5 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act,
- The necessity for a law providing for the confiscation of illegally acquired assets of public servants,
- Enactment of a Public Interest Disclosure Act,
- Enactment of a Freedom of information Act,
- The necessity for enacting a Lok Pal Bill in addition to
- The Central Vigilance Commission Act and
- Strengthening of the Criminal Judicial System.
Probity in governance is expected to ensure accountability, transparency, and integrity in public life. In India, we have an extensive legislative and institutional framework to address the issues relating to probity as detailed below:

Apart from the existing framework accountability and transparency can be enhanced by-
- Minimizing the discretions in various functions.
- More extensive use of Information technology in all fields of governance.
- Making Citizens’ charter more elaborate with clear time lines for delivery of services and related activities as well as identifying the officer responsible for that delivery; further a monthly report on compliance to Citizens’ charter can be placed on the website of the organization.
Conclusion

The Government functionaries are part of the society and to that extent are influenced by societal norms. At the same time being part of the governance structure, they have to be more responsible and seen to be above board all the time. There is a strong legal and institutional framework for ensuring probity. It needs to be strengthened and made more effective by nudging people to follow the laws of the land and making punishments for the delinquents very severe.
September 9, 2021