Aptitude and foundational values for

Civil Services
An aptitude is a constituent of a capability to perform certain task at a certain level, which can also
be considered talent. Aptitudes may be physical or mental. Aptitude is not knowledge,
understanding, learned or acquired abilities (skills) or attitude. The innate nature of aptitude is in
contrast to achievement, which signifies knowledge or ability that is expanded. Aptitude is
considered as natural capability for doing a particular work or solving a particular problem or facing a
particular problem or facing a particular situation. Also to be very specific one requires a different skill
for law and order, for investigation of a case or for working in an intelligence agency. Though to
some extent skill is inherent, but it can be learned and upgraded through training and capacity
building. At the written examination stage, it is a fact that applicants do not have working experience,
yet they are expected to take decisions and justify them. Experience can be successfully gained
through discussing good number of case studies.

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Following are some values which forms the basis of civil service ethics:
1. Impartiality
2. Objectivity
3. Reliability of administrative operations
4. Openness
5. The service principle
6. Responsibility
The changes in management and its operating environment have shaped also new values, such as
efficacy and result-orientation. These values usually relate to the operations of agencies and they
are defined separately for each agency.

Civil Service Values

The statutory basis for the management of the Civil Service is set out in Part 1 of the Constitutional
Reform and Governance Act 2010.

The Civil Service is an essential part of the government. It supports the government of the day in
developing and implementing its policies, and in delivering public services. Civil servants are
accountable to ministers, who in turn are accountable to Parliament. As a civil servant, candidates
are selected on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out your
role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty,
objectivity and impartiality.

Integrity
Integrity is the fundamental moral concept in civil services. It is an important basis of ethical
behaviour and ethical competency. It is associated with the value of being honest and maintain
strong moral principles. Integrity includes financial integrity, professional integrity and intellectual
integrity. Ethics and integrity are closely related. An ethical person having strong moral values is
bound to be a man of integrity. Those people who have experience of working in the government
know that integrity is evaluated every year through their Annual Performance Report. The
assessment takes place on the basis of decisions/performance of the individual Civil Servants
throughout the year. In conducting interview for testing personality of the candidates, the board
carefully observes the approach of the answer of individual candidate while assessing their integrity.
In written examination, the examiner will obviously look into moral stand of the candidates especially
on issues and conflicts faced by them while dealing with various glitches.
The notion of integrity has to do with perceived steadiness of actions, values, methods, measures,
principles, expectations and outcome. When used as a virtue term, "integrity" denotes to a quality of
a persons character. Some professionals visualize integrity as the quality of having a sense of
honesty and truthfulness in regard to the motivations for ones actions. Persons of integrity do
not just act consistently with their endorsements, they stand for something. They stand up for their
best judgement within a community of people trying to discover what in life is worth doing. Other
observers emphasize the idea of integrity as personal honesty: acting according to ones beliefs
and values at all times. When discussing about integrity, it can emphasize the wholeness or
intactness of a moral stance or attitude. Some of the wholeness may also emphasize
commitment and authenticity. With reference to accountability, integrity serves as a measure of
willingness to adjust value system to maintain or improve its consistency when an expected result
appears incongruent with observed outcome. Many scholars consider integrity as a virtue in that
they see accountability and moral responsibility as necessary tools for maintaining such consistency.
Halfon (1989) offers a different way to explain integrity in terms of moral purpose. Halfon designates
integrity in terms of a persons dedication to the pursuit of a moral life and their intellectual
responsibility in seeking to understand the demands of such life.
For an individual, his values and culture which determine personal integrity. Personal integrity is
about demonstrating accountability for personal actions, conducting personal relationship and
activities fairly and honestly. For an individual, it is professional duty and obligation which determine
his professional integrity. This means conducting professional relationship and activities fairly,
honestly, legally, and in conformance with the professional code of ethics. Institutional integrity is a

broader concept which is determined by the mission and vision statements of an organisation. The
process which it follow: the code of conduct for its employees and the results of the procedure
followed. Thus Institutional integrity is the about fostering the ethical behaviour throughout an
institutions through personal example, management practices and ethical training (Santosh Ajmera,
2015).
Basically integrity approach empowers an individual to make value judgement about right or wrong.
It is a value driven instead of rule driven. One has to learn how to deal with challenges and
dilemmas.
Integrity

Model

Training, ethical education, leadership, incentives and ethical decision making models, theories, are
techniques which help in the integrity approach to decision making (Santosh Ajmera, 2015).

Impartiality and Non-partisanship

Impartiality is a norm of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective standards,
instead of on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the advantage to one person over another for
unsuitable reasons. Impartiality is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving
equally well governments of different political persuasions. Impartiality means that civil bureaucrats
in carrying out their official work, including functions like procurement, recruitment, delivery of
services etc., should take decisions based on merit alone. Impartiality implies that the behaviour of,
and treatment by a bureaucrat to any individual or entity has to be exclusively on the basis of merit.
An administrator has to take numerous major decisions such as recruitment, procurement and
allotment. To make such decisions effective and efficient, there has to be absolute impartiality.
Impartiality is the eminence of a person where one is impartial while allocating any goods or services
among several people or selecting a person from a set of people based on certain set of abilities.

In Impartiality, candidates must: Perform his responsibilities in a way that is fair, just and equitable
and reflects the Civil Service commitment to equality and diversity They must not act in a way that
unjustifiably favours or discriminates against particular individuals or interests.
In political Impartiality, person must:
Serve the government, whatever its political persuasion, to the best of his ability in a way which
maintains political impartiality and is in line with the requirements of this code, no matter what your
own political beliefs are.
Act in a way which deserves and retains the confidence of ministers, while at the same time
ensuring that you will be able to establish the same relationship with those whom you may be
required to serve in some future government.
Comply with any restrictions that have been laid down on your political actions.
Candidates must not act in a way that is determined by party political considerations, or use official
resources for party political purposes and allow their personal political views to determine any advice
they give or their actions (Reddy, et, al., 2015).

Non Partisanship
Non-partisanship is not being precisely owned or allied with any group, party or cause. Nonpartisanship can be called political neutrality. Non-partisanship infers that the officer is to do his task
without any fear of, or favour to any political party. The values of the administrator will flow from the
constitution not from the philosophy of any political party. Non-partisanship is the process of not
involving any political party even if the person has strong faith in any political thought.

Importance of these Two Values

In egalitarianism, well-organized civil service must have set of values that differentiates it from other
occupations. Integrity, dedication to public service, impartiality, political neutrality, anonymity and
non-partisanship are promises of an effective civil service. The public has a right to expect the civil
service functions honestly, impartially and efficiently.
Impartiality empowers the administrator to fill the gaps of trust deficit between the subjects and the
Government. Impartiality provides lawfulness to the behaviour of administrator and makes it more
effective.
Major task of administrators is to adopt a partial (non-neutral in true sense) approach towards
serving the poor and underprivileged, over and above personal gain and conferred interests. Nonpartisanship strengthens the democratic procedures and institutions along with maintaining the
integrity of the service. The administrators are always with continuous interface with the politicians,
therefore it is necessary to detach themselves from any political dogma and do his duty sincerely. It
does not matter which party is in power. Significance of non-partisanship can be appreciated by
considering a situation in which this virtue is absent. If the administrator is motivated to any political
party, there would always be a group that would remain alienated from the government services as

they would have voted for losing party. It strongly fascinates other prerequisites of moral
administration like clearness and trustworthiness.

Objectivity
Objectivity is founding advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence. It entails that a
truth remains true universally, independently of human thought or approaches. It is established that
objective decisions are not impacted by personal feelings or opinions in considering and
representing facts. Taking an objective approach to an issue means having due regard for the known
valid evidence (relevant facts, logical implications and viewpoints and human purposes) pertaining to
that issue. If significant valid evidence is denied or counterfeit, an objective approach is incredible.
An objective approach is particularly important in science, and in decision-making processes which
affect large numbers of people (e.g. politics, beurocracy). In some circumstances, an objective
approach is unmanageable because people will naturally take a biased, self-interested approach.
That is, they will select out those views and facts which agree with their own.
To maintain objectivity in public services, candidates must:
o

Provide information and advice, including advice to ministers, on the basis of the evidence,
and accurately present the options and facts.

Take decisions on the merits of the case.

Take due account of expert and professional advice.

Candidates

must

not:

Disregard inconvenient facts or relevant considerations when providing advice or making decisions.
Frustrate the implementation of strategies once decisions are taken by declining to take, or
abstaining from, action which flows from those decisions. Therefore objectivity means consideration
of convenient and in convenient facts, taking decision based on merits of the case in the matters
related to:
o

Public administration.

Policy implementation.

Policy formulation.

Awarding contracts.

Making recommendation for awards and benefits.

In brief, objectivity entails implementation of policy in letter and spirit without any personal bias
(Reddy, et, al., 2015).

Dedication
Dedication is the eminence of people to be devoted or loyal to a duty or purpose, thought or action.
Dedication is vital personality trait of an individual. In organizational framework, faithful employees
work towards achieving the organizational goals. Dedication will carry person through a lack of
motivation. It is his ability to continue acting when motivation is lacking. Dedication will drive to
certain task rapidly. There are some occupation in which employees dedicate their lives to public
service even sacrificing their personal life and comfort.

Empathy, Tolerance and Compassion towards the weaker

sections
A public service officials must possess all the three traits depending on situation. Public servants are
meant to serve and this requires developing a humanistic attitude. These traits guarantee that the
public servants act sympathetically and interpret the rules so as to advance public interest.

Empathy
Empathy is described as understanding what others are feeling. Empathy is the capability to
understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other persons frame of
reference. In general term, empathy is about being able to accurately hear out and understand the
opinions, feelings and concern of other people in society. Positive psychology explain empathy as
the quality of feeling and understanding another persons situation in present moment, their
perspective, emotions and action and communicating this to the person. Barker (2003) defined
empathy as "the act of perceiving, understanding, experiencing, and responding to the emotional
state and ideas of another person".
Empathy is emotional intelligence competency. Among many competency, empathy falls in social
awareness competency. This skill reflects persons ability to connect with others and to relate
them which is necessary skill in building and managing healthy relationships. Without the ability to
understand what other is going through relationship remains superficial and without the depth and
richness that occurs when candidates share an emotional connection the opportunity to work for the
person in an effective manner is lost (Reddy, et, al., 2015).
Importance of empathy: Empathy is considered as important in any social and organizational setting.
Empathy is the ability to recognise, understand, and share the feelings of other people. Its an
invaluable trait for managers, since it enables them to look at things from their employees
perspective. Empathetic officers are required in current scenario of administration targeted towards
inclusive growth.
Power of empathy: Empathy may be used to understand negative emotions of other person such as
cause of aggression. Empathy makes officer noble and commendable to the people being led.
Sacrifice and solidarity for the greater good are easier for people when their leader shows empathy
for their struggles. Followers need someone they can identify with, but more importantly someone
who understands their pain.

For public servant, there are various level of empathetic situations. It starts from understanding the
content and promoting an environment and a culture of respect and service (Reddy, et, al., 2015).

Level 1: Understands unspoken

contents

Demonstrates active listening skills ( such as

asking probing questions , not interrupting)

Recognises body language, facial expression

and/or tone of voice to understand the unspoken
message.

Recognises unexpressed or poorly expressed

thoughts, concerns and feelings.

Picks up signals when others are not feeling

comfortable and displays considerations

Level 2: Has concerns for

others

Open to diversity of opinion.

Understands both what is being said by a
person and underlying reasons for the emotional
state of the person.

Understands
and
appreciates
others
concerns and feelings

Probes to understand peoples issues,

unspoken thoughts and feelings.

Displays openness to diversity of opinion and

adapts behaviour to be helpful and considerate.

Makes inferences that go beyond the explicitly

expressed content and emotion.
Identifies a unique characteristic or the
strengths of the other person.
Is sensitive to underlying the problems, and why
people act or behave the way they do.
Demonstrates
empathy
by
correctly
understanding reactions or emotions of others.
Builds trust by demonstrating respect for
others point of view.

Level 4: Acts as a Role model

Displays an in-depth understanding of the

ongoing reasons for a persons behaviour and
response.

Understands the longer term reasons for

behaviour

Makes a balanced assessment of a persons

strengths and weaknesses based on a deeper
understanding of the individual.

Demonstrates an astute understanding of

others view by asking the right questions at the
right time.

Level 5: Creates and promotes

an environment of respect

Creates a culture of mutual trust and respect.

Encourages others to read deeper into
others emotions by providing practical tips.

Creates the systems promoting empathy.

Tolerance
Tolerance is a great feature of civil servants. Tolerance comprises of allowing people to exercise their
rights, religious or constitutional. Tolerance teaches us to exercise restraint in sensitive matters.
Tolerance is defined as a fair and objective outlook towards those whose lifestyle differs from
person. It refers to the skills person need to live together peaceably. It is established in reports that
the term tolerance means the willingness to accept or to tolerate, especially opinions or behaviour
people may not agree with, or to behave sensibly with those who are not like them. It means
showing respect for the race, gender, opinions, religion and ideologies of other people or groups,
and to admire the good qualities and good work of others. And to express ones point of view in
a decent and respectful way while respecting the sentiments of others.
In times of peace, people have a chance to thrive socially, economically and emotionally. Tolerance
creates a society in which people can feel valued and respected, and in which there is room for
every person, each with their own ideas, thoughts and dreams. Due to these reasons, most of the
experts believe that tolerance is important as it is an indispensable aspect of a healthy, liveable
society. Actually, it is the only way in which a country as diverse as India (politically, religiously,
economically) can function and use each and every difference to make its people thrive rather than
suffer.
In the age of globalization, individuals come from different backgrounds, cultures and religions and
work together, and where the world has become multicultural and full of diversity, establishing
tolerance and harmony has become very crucial and important, and fostering mutual love and
affection has become vital. Without tolerance and harmony, the lasting peace of societies cannot be
maintained, and loyalty for each other cannot be established. Tolerance does not imply that only one
person exhibit tolerance and the others do not. When some people disagree on particular issue they
must support and express their opinion in a courteous manner, and they should not use hateful and
provocative words. Tolerance must be revealed from both sides on issues, in order for it to be
effective (Reddy, et, al., 2015).
Tolerance can be revealed in numerous ways, on different instances and at different times. A person
might fully disagree with others on any issue, from religion to politics, while at the same time
honouring and respecting those with different ideas and opinions and treating them with full selfrespect and honour.

Compassion
Compassion is a feeling of empathy towards another person. It is the emotion that people feel in
response to the suffering of others which in turn motivates a desire to help. Compassion is a process
of connecting by identifying another process. This identification with others through compassion can
lead to increased enthusiasm to do something in an effort to relieve the distress of other.
Compassion is regarded as having an emotional aspect to it though when based on cerebral notion
such as fairness, justice, interdependence, it may be considered rational in nature and its application

understood as an activity based on sound judgement. There is also an aspect of compassion which
regards a quantitative dimension such as individuals compassion is often given a property of
depth, vigour or passion (Reddy, et, al., 2015). This term is often confused with empathy.
Compassion has added element of comprising a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering of others.
Emotional

support

in

distress

It can be recognized that above core values support good government and guarantee the
accomplishment of the highest possible standards in all that the Civil Service does. This in turn helps
the Civil Service to gain and maintain the respect of ministers, Parliament, the public and its
clienteles.

Attitude vs Aptitude: Whats the difference?

Attitude

Aptitude

It is your positive/negative feeling towards a person, object,

event, idea, environment.

Associated with character

Attitude determines How people arrive at correct judgment, how

theyll perform a given task?

Latin Word Aptus meaning

Innate, inborn potential. But

nurtured.

Associated with competence.

e.g. If an officer has negative attitude towards minorities, he may

delay passing their scholarship files.

It determines whether Perso

task?

Examples of attitudes

Examples of aptitude

Confidence

Quantitative aptitude

Cautious

Verbal aptitude

tolerant

Reasoning aptitude

pessimism

Finger dexterity

responsible

Visual memory

Both physical and mental. E.g.

Only mental.
Surviving terminal disease depends on your attitude towards life
rather than aptitude in physical training.

To become an officer in defe

physical and mental aptitude.

Aptitude of hand and eye co

In India, most people pickup

aptitude for it or not?

They choose a profession b

So, they make a living from

Most Engineers, pharmacist an

A Civil servant must have 3 aptitude

1.

Intellectual aptitude.

2.

Emotional aptitude.

3.

Moral aptitude.

Aptitude vs skill, ability & Interest

Ability

Things you can do. e.g. I can do addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.

Ability + Practice = Skill.

Skill

All of us can drive. But were not skilled drivers like Michael Schumacher.

Same way youve basic ability to do 4 fundamental operations of mathematics- if you pr

Data interpretation portion of the CAT exam.

Later, if you teach multiple batches, youll become a skilled trainer/faculty for CAT coach

Thus, skill is the proficiency you gained with repeated activity.

Things you can do in future, if you were trained.

Clearing UPSC with high rank certifies that youve aptitude to be an IAS.

Later youre trained at LBSNAA and at District so you gain new skills and abilities to perfo

Time + Effort = Learning => Learning helps gaining aptitude for new things.

Aptitude

Intelligence

Aptitude is not same as intelligence. Two people with same intelligence quotation (IQ), may have
and another novelist.

Interest

Things youll do without your skill/aptitude. E.g. every teenager is interested to become Sachin, S
simultaneously all three.)

Baswan committee

ANOTHER COMMITTEE WHOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE MOSTLY IGNORED JUST LIKE ITS PREDECESSORS

Over the years, government has setup many committees to reform UPSC examination
process so that candidates with right aptitude can be selected.
Latest is, DoPTs committee under B S Baswan (Ex-IAS) to revisit patten of UPSC civil
service examination. Itll look into following:
1.

For IAS, IPS and other jobs, each requires separate set of skills, so
a.

Whether to make changes in the present exam pattern?

b.

Whether to have separate papers for IAS/IPS candidates?

c.

How to ensure inclusiveness in the selection process I.e. candidates from

different academic disciplines and different walks of life are selected?

2.

How to use ICT technology to reduce the time for completing one cycle of UPSC exam?

3.

Update the eligibility criteria for UPSC candidates- age and attempt limit?

4.

Review the eligibility of toppers re-appearing in the exam to improve their rank (I.e.
IAS/IFS cant re-appear without resigning from job, should same rule be applied to toppers
allotted in other jobs?)

Sidenote: Earlier, same Baswan chaired a Committee to look at the requirement of IAS
officers over a longer timeframe- mostly pertaining to the vacancies in various statecadres.

Civil service values

Values are the standards on which, we evaluate things.

For every situation we dont have time to test the case on ethics theories such as
utilitarianism.

Values provide time saving short-cut in such situation.

For example, political neutrality is one value of civil service.

Question: Should an IAS officer participate in a political rally?

To answer this question, we need not waste time in testing the premise on utilitarianism
or refined egoism theory.

we know that political neutrality is desirable value, therefore itll be wrong for an IAS to
participate in a political rally. End of discussion.

Thus, Value means a set of standards, on basis of which, well judge things.

Values have hierarchy. For Gandhi highest value was truth >> then non-violence.

For a judge, value hierarchy should be Justice >> then mercy.

Value orientation

examples

End (goal) oriented

socio-economic-political justice.

Means (process) oriented

Empathy, impartiality, integrity, discipline etc.

Why do we need foundational values?

Under New public management (NPM), the concept of public services is fast changing.

Bureaucrat has become directly accountable to citizen-customer. He has to respond to

moral universe of the citizens.

He has discretionary powers, therefore he must be provided with guiding principles to

prevent abuse of power.

The foundational values provide these guiding principles. (remember otherwise, hell
have to test every primse on ethics theories- time consuming process. Values will help him
take shortcut to arrive at right decision)

Various committees have recommended foundational values for civil services. The two
big names are (1) Nolan committee (2) second ARC: ethics in governance report.

Nolan committee (UK-1996)

Listed seven foundational values
1.

Leadership

2.

Honesty

3.

selflessness

4.

Openness

5.

accountability

6.

Integrity

7.

objectivity

Well not go into details of Nolan because theyre self-explanatory.

We didnt we copy Nolan report recommendations for India and instead setup our own
administrative reform commissions. WHY?

Because Weberian model considered bureaucracy uniform. But in ethics, the value
system is culture specific. Hence itll be unwise to adopt western model directly.

Selflessness: we hardly require this, because were a collective society.

Lets focus on 2nd ARC report.

2nd ARC: Ethics in Governance
Their bottom line is- prepare code of ethics and code of conduct for various
departments. Well discuss that during the lecture on probity and corruption.
2nd ARC reports can be downloaded free of cost from (http://arc.gov.in).
For the moment lets only focus on list of values that mentioned in the UPSC GS4
Syllabus topic number 4 viz.

1.

Integrity, objectivity

2.

Dedication to public service.

3.

Empathy, tolerance, Compassion towards the weaker section

4.

Impartiality, non-partisanship

Value#1: Integrity vs. honesty and probity

In terms of broadness: Probity << Honesty << Integrity (highest and most
comprehensive.)
Probity

lack of corruption- just financial propriety.

Honesty

you should be truthful to your actions, thoughts and behavior. Doing your duty faithfully.

Integrity

if youre a person of integrity, youll not do the duties your conscience doesnt agree with. E.
protestors. Honest policeman will obey the order. Policeman of integrity, will refuse to fire.

In integrity, youre not blindly following duties. Only if your conscience permits, youll do it.

1.

Value system should match with your behavior. Your C-A-B component should be
consistent. Often in India, we believe in one thing, but do something else e.g. Corruption- all
believe that its bad, yet all indulge in it. All religions favor abstinence, yet we do them with
guilt, yet we wont change our behavior.

2.

Your value system should be internally consistent: you believe in capitalism and
youre supporting new land ordinance, then there is conflict. Because capitalism rests in
free market, consent and private property. But in land ordinance the consent portion is
diluted in land acquisition.

3.

Often people have 2 set of moralities: one for themselves, second set for the others.
E.g. Hygiene- wed keep our homes clean but not public places. All religions says women
are to be respected. Youngsters would respect their mothers and sisters, yet indulge in eveteasing. Such person is always in a state of guilt or cognitive dissonance.

4.

Value system in itself should be rational: There can be a value system that matches
with your conduct, and it is internally consistent, but it may not be rational. E.g. Creationism.

5.

Example of rational value system: utilitarianism, middle-path.

Integrity @Intellectual, Professional and Org. Level

False attribution error:- if you succeed, youd say you worked hard. If someon
/ external factors.

That shows lack of intellectual integrity, because youre not evaluating everythi

Same happens during prejudice.

Intellectual Integrity

Professional integrity

for Doctors, pharmacists, chartered accountants etc. It is enforced by their regulatory

Organizational
integrity

e.g. Facebooks value connecting people.

How to inculcate integrity?

Through Training.

Through Institutional structure: laws, rules, regulation- with carrots and sticks approach.

2nd ARC recommends setting up code of ethics for all departments of the government.
Itll have broad principle- that all participants have to follow and its reports will be given and
evaluated by the HoD.

E.g. Speaker will monitor how many times parliament was disrupted, a committee will
moniter it and report will be published.

But itll not have any penal provision. Its just to create public / social / peer pressure.

Integrity testing: select random sample (officer) and try to bribe him. This is not same
as CBI/ACB raid, they want to flush out corrupt people. But integrity testing is done to
establish honesty. CBI raid is done once in a while, but integrity testing done more
frequently. (as in New York police department. Hence deterrent value high because all
officers afraid theyll be subjected to it.)

If young recruits first posting is made under honest officer, then hes more like to remain
honest for the rest of his life because of mentoring by a good role model.

Value#2: Objectivity

It is the opposite of subjectivity. You must not make decision on your values, emotions.

Policy based / rule based decisions are examples of objective decision because youre
doing them as per the prescribed policy/rule.

Objectivity is most crucial in following process

Selection/recruitment/posting/transfer/promotion.

Selection of right agency for contract/tendering.

Selection for Bharat Ratna, Padma-awards etc.

Daily administrative work.

How to inculcate objectivity?

Again- Training

Critical thinking: 013: ASI began gold hunting in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, on
order of a union minister who believed a baba. They showed lack of critical thinking by
blindly following dictates of higher authority.

Right to review decisions: within judicial / administrative procedure, there should be

mechanism for appellate board e.g. in taxation, land acquisition etc.

Right to be heard: often officers dont hear the complaint or opinion of people properly
and just do the things that are in their mind. Hence new schemes should have social
audit / public hearing components.

Information management: if you dont have hardcore information /statistics, you cant
take objective decisions. e.g. sustainable development goals (SDG) have 17 goals and 169
targets. Previously in Millennium development goals (MDG), we had 18 indicators, yet we
lacked proper statistical databases to compare performance. Lack of data, prevents us from
finding the faults and fixing them.

Transparency: e.g. right to information act. Bureaucrat will think twice before taking
subjective/discretionary decisions, fearing that hell have to answer it if someone files an
RTI.

Value#3: Dedication to public service

Mostly bol-bachchan topic, so not much point writing about this value

If youre a judge, what is the main interest of public from your organization? Ans. Justice.

So justice has to be your primary interest and you must show perseverance in ensuring
justice all the time.

You must then stop other things from interfering e.g. Mercy. if judge gives lenient
punishment to a convict, because of his poor socio-economic background, then he has
deviated from public service of delivering justice.

An aptitude is a component of a competency to do a certain kind of work at a certain

level, which can also be considered talent. Aptitudes may be physical or mental.
Aptitude is not knowledge, understanding, learned or acquired abilities (skills) or
attitude. The innate nature of aptitude is in contrast to achievement, which represents
knowledge or ability that is gained.

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.

The winners edge is not in a gifted birth, a high IQ, or in talent. The winners edge is all
in the attitude, not aptitude. Attitude is the criterion for success.
People often assume that the same approach will work for everyone, that the same
habits will work for everyone, and that everyone has the same aptitude and appetite for
forming habits, but from my observation, thats not true.
Some values which forms the basis of civil service ethics are the following:

independence

impartiality

objectivity

reliability of administrative operations

openness

the service principle

responsibility

The changes in administration and its operating environment have created also new
values, such as effectiveness and result-orientation, which complement the above list.
These values generally relate to the operations of agencies and they are defined
separately for each agency. The realisation of the above-mentioned values is ensured
by provisions and judicial practice. In addition to provisions and instructions, values are
conveyed to new civil servants through the actions of superiors and colleagues. The aim
should be that the training of civil servants also deals with ethical questions.
The clarity of norms, ethical instructions:
Every civil servant should know what is expected of him. Factors promoting awareness
include the clarity of norms, information on them and knowledge of their practical
application. The special features of the status of civil servants are not self-evident

especially to new civil servants irrespective of whether they are young people just
entering working life or people who have worked for a long time outside State
administration. Therefore the central employer and personnel policy unit and every
organisation has to take responsibility for increasing awareness.
An individual civil servant will be faced with situations in which the correct code of
conduct or practice is not clear in advance. There might be no detailed regulation or
ethical guidelines. In the opinion of the Working Group, the necessity of an ethical
instruction based on values and starting from the duties of ones own organisation
should be evaluated in connection with the value process. On the one hand, the
instruction would clarify the realisation of the aims which are central for the agency.
In addition, it could make the contents of good governance tangible in the activities of an
individual agency.
The agencies could also develop a solution to ethical problems so that civil servants are
provided an opportunity for ethical consultation in individual problem situations.
Open discussion within the working community promotes the realisation of good
objectives.
Civil service code should also consist

personnel management grievances

disagreements about the merits of policy

disagreements about management decisions

Attributes of a Good Administrator

1.

Willingness to assume responsibility.

2.

A steadily enlarging ability to deal with more

3.

A strong bent toward action.

4.

A good listener.

5.

Eective with people.

6.

Capacity to build his own strength by building the competence of his organization.

7.

Capacity to use his institutional resources.

8.

Avoiding using power or authority for their own

9.

Welcoming reports of troublesome things.

10.

A good team-worker.

11.

A good initiator.

The rst ARC recommended the creation of a separate Department of Personnel

to be entrusted with the responsibility for

Formulation of personnel policies for the Central and All-India Services, and
inspection and review of their implementation.

Talent-hunting, development of personnel for senior management and processing

of appointments for senior posts.

Manpower planning, training and career development, research in personnel

administration.

Discipline and welfare of sta and machinery for redressal of their grievances.
Liaison with the Union Public Service Commission, State Governments and
professional institutions.
Stang of middle-level positions in the Central Secretariat.

As a result of the deliberations of these Commissions and Committees on dierent

aspects of public administration and the recommendations made, there have been
incremental reforms-such as creation of a separate Department of Administrative
Reforms in the Union and State Governments, setting up of the Indian Institute of Public
Administration, setting up of the Central Vigilance Commission, Constitution of
Lokayuktas in States, strengthening of citizens grievance redressal machinery, drawing
up of citizens charters, focus on training and capacity building of civil servants,

restructuring of the recruitment process and modifications in the performance appraisal

system. Many of the recommendations involving basic changes have not been acted
upon and therefore, the framework, systems and methods of functioning of the civil
services based on the Whitehall model of the mid-nineteenth century remains largely
unchanged.