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IASBABA
[ETHICS- PROBITY]
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Contents
PROBITY IN GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................................................ 2
Concept of Public Service .......................................................................................................................... 2
Probity in Governance .............................................................................................................................. 2
Principles of Probity .................................................................................................................................. 3
Need for Probity in Governance ............................................................................................................... 4
Challenges to Probity in Governance ........................................................................................................ 4
How to Bring Probity in Governance ........................................................................................................ 5
Information Sharing and Transparency ........................................................................................................ 5
Need for Transparency ............................................................................................................................. 6
Impediments to Transparency .................................................................................................................. 7
Way Forward............................................................................................................................................. 7
Right to Information ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Right to Information Act: Critical Analysis ................................................................................................ 8
Ways to Strengthen RTI in India................................................................................................................ 9
Code of Conduct vs Code of Ethics ............................................................................................................... 9
Code of Conduct for Civil Servants ............................................................................................................. 10
Citizen’s Charter .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Components of a Good Citizen’s Charter ............................................................................................... 13
Six Principles of the Citizens’ Charter ..................................................................................................... 14
Citizen’s Charters: Criticism .................................................................................................................... 14
How to Make Citizen’s Charters More Effective ..................................................................................... 14
Quality of Service Delivery: Sevottam Model ............................................................................................. 15
Components of Sevottam Model of Quality Service Delivery ................................................................ 15
Benefits of Sevottam Model ................................................................................................................... 16
Seven Step Model for Sevottam ............................................................................................................. 16
Challenges of Corruption ............................................................................................................................ 17
Causes of Corruption in India.................................................................................................................. 17
Impact of Corruption .............................................................................................................................. 17
Ways to Counter Corruption in India: 2nd ARC Recommendations ........................................................ 18
Recent Steps Taken by the Government ................................................................................................ 18
Extra: Anti-Corruption Agencies in India................................................................................................. 18
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PROBITY IN GOVERNANCE
The term 'public service' is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be
available to all, regardless of income.
The concept of public service has evolved over thousands of years. In the beginning of human
life, the needs of people were few though resources were in plenty. In that state of nature
everybody could get his needs fulfilled without making any serious conscious effort. Population
was small, life was quite simple, needs were few while resources were in plenty. The sense of
competition and struggle were largely absent. Despite the lack of institutional mechanisms,
peace and order prevailed in society.
As life evolved from simple to complex, population increased, struggle for survival commenced.
When this struggle for survival became unsustainable the concept of state was consciously
developed, so that p order could be meted in the society. Other objective of creating a state
was to ensure that the minimum needs of everybody get fulfilled. To achieve this, public service
infrastructure was created.
Probity in Governance
Probity is the act of strict adherence to highest principles and ideals (integrity, honesty,
decency). It balances service to the community against the self-interest of individuals.
Probity in public life requires adherence to high moral and ethical standards like integrity,
honesty, impartiality, commitment to constitutional principles, dedicated and selfless public
service on the part of all public servants.
Probity has been described as a risk management approach ensuring procedural integrity. It is
concerned with procedures, processes and systems rather than outcomes.
The principle of probity in public life is the cornerstone of good governance. It is the sine qua
non of democracy and sustainable development.
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A well-functioning civil service helps to foster good policy making, effective service delivery,
accountability and responsibility in utilizing public resources which are the characteristics of
good governance.
According to Second Administrative Reforms Commission, apart from the traditional civil
service values of efficiency, integrity, accountability and patriotism, it is necessary for civil
servants to inculcate and adopt ethical and moral values including probity in public life, respect
for human rights and compassion for the downtrodden and commitment to their welfare.
For Government employees and agencies, maintaining probity involves more than simply
avoiding corrupt or dishonest conduct. It involves applying public sector values such as
impartiality, accountability and transparency.
Principles of Probity
Accountability: It is the obligation to be able to explain or account for the way duties
have been performed. Government should have appropriate mechanisms in place to
show that they are accountable for their practices and decisions.
Transparency: It is important that the process is transparent to the maximum extent
possible so that all stakeholders can have confidence in the outcomes. Transparent and
open processes also minimize the opportunity for, and the risk of, fraud and corruption.
Confidentiality: All public servants are under a general obligation of confidentiality to
their employer. All Government servants, advisors, members and any other third party
that is part to commercially sensitive information must provide a formal undertaking to
Government that they will keep this information confidential.
Management of Conflicts of Interest: Government representatives should perform their
duties in a fair and unbiased manner and that decisions they make will not be affected
by self-interest or personal gain.
A conflict of interest arises where an individual associated with the process is, through their
particular associations or circumstances, influenced to obtain an unfair advantage for him or
herself or another party. Conflicts of interest are often unavoidable. However individuals
associated with the process should be aware of chances in which a conflict of interest can
arise and it is their responsibility to report conflicts. Public servant should ensure that the
conflicts are adequately addressed and the manner in which they have been addressed is
adequately documented.
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Need for Probity in Governance
The public servant should act as the ideal citizen for other to follow. Instead, public service in
India is marred with corruption, favouritism, criminalization, high-handedness, indifference.
Given the high rate of poverty, illiteracy, poor health standards in India, there is an urgent need
to improve the quality of governance. Thus, to overcome these challenges, probity in public life
is required.
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How to Bring Probity in Governance
Above all, the overall education system in India should reformed as such where morals, ethics,
non-violence, truth, brotherhood, honesty, integrity and uprightness become part of the
curriculum. Aim should be to channelize the youth in the right direction so as to establish an
orderly society. An orderly society brings probity in public life and thus it becomes a norm.
Transparency is one of the pillars of good governance that promotes openness. Transparency in
government operations improves the confidence of citizen towards their government, while
reminding government about the need to be transparent to citizens in their decisions and
associated impact.
Governments exist to serve the people. Information on how officials conduct the public
business as agents of serving the society and spend taxpayers’ money must be readily available
and easily understood.
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Government needed to be controlled, and the people are the most powerful tool to do so.
Control over the government would come in the form of an informed citizenry. Bureaucratic
administration always tends to exclude the public, to hide its knowledge and action from
criticism.
Information sharing is also the key to the Government’s goal of delivering better, more
efficient public services that are coordinated around the needs of the individual. It is essential
to enable early intervention and preventative work, for safeguarding and promoting welfare
and for wider public protection. Prior information is the only means to have an early
intervention and preventive work. So information sharing is a vital element in improving
outcomes for all.
Transparency is about sharing all the information the receiver wants and not just the
information that the sender is willing to share. It is about putting all facts on the table, even
when some of them are uncomfortable. It is about being honest and open about what actions
are taken, by whom and on what grounds.
Transparency is about removing any barriers that hinder people from accessing the information
they could need to be better at their jobs. It is about making people and their skills, knowledge
and ideas visible and accessible to all.
Transparency, however, may be defined as not only the disclosure of government information,
but the access, comprehension, and use of it by the public. Transparency, as such, requires
a public that can acquire, understand, and use the information. Users of such released
information must have the time and the tools to interpret and understand the data in order to
hold government accountable.
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Impediments to Transparency
Red Tapism - excessive rules in administration
Lack of timely, publicized information
Information not accessible to disadvantaged
Lack of open-service culture in government
Way Forward
Strengthening of the RTI law – strict implementation, redressal, inclusion of all public
functionaries including political parties
Mandatory use of instruments in like social audit in implementing government schemes
Promotion to e-governance which by nature is more transparent and inclusive. For e.g.
important government data is easily available on MyGov platform for anyone to use
Effective Citizen’s Charters can also bring in transparency
Right to Information
Right to Information Act 2005 mandates timely response to citizen requests for government
information. It replaces the erstwhile Freedom of information Act, 2002.
The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except Jammu & Kashmir.
Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen may request information from a “public
authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to
reply expeditiously or within thirty days.
The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide
dissemination and to proactively certain categories of information so that the citizens
need minimum recourse to request for information formally.
The Act covers the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir, where J&K Right to
Information Act is in force.
Private bodies are not within the Act’s ambit directly. In a decision of Sarbajit Roy
versus Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Central Information Commission
affirmed that privatized public utility companies continue to be within the RTI Act.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has also held that the political parties are
public authorities and are answerable to citizens under the RTI Act.
SC exempted itself from RTI
Exclusions
Central Intelligence and Security agencies specified in the Second Schedule like IB,
Directorate General of Income tax (Investigation), RAW, Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence etc. are excluded from
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providing the information.
Agencies specified by the State Governments through a Notification will also be
excluded.
The exclusion, however, is not absolute and these organizations have an obligation to
provide information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights
violations. Further, information relating to allegations of human rights violation could
be given but only with the approval of the Central or State Information Commission.
Section 8 of RTI Act includes the situations in which information can be denied
(threatening sovereignty etc)
The Right to Information Act, 2005 is one of the most prominent pieces of law which aims to
uphold transparency and accountability in the working of the public authorities.
It enforces the right of every citizen of India to have an access to the information regarding any
money given by the State to any authority, thereby causing such authority to utilize such money
reasonably and judiciously and also for keeping a check over their conduct and indulgence in
corrupt activities.
Nevertheless, there exist certain loopholes in the Act that cause ambiguity and confusions. For
e.g. it explains what comes under the purview of the term “public authority” but it does not
give a comprehensive idea and creates ambiguities which pose problems for the Information
Commission to decide the nature of an authority. Moreover, the phrase “substantially
financed” also does not give a clear picture that what constitutes the word “substantial” which
cause. Other issues in the functioning of the RTI Act:
Many public authorities continue to evade the provisions of the law. For e.g. political
parties do not comply with RTI application despite the Supreme Court declaring them
public authorities for the purpose of RTI Act
“Secrecy” attitude of bureaucracy which withholds information – defeating the
fundamental principle of RTI
CICs are toothless tigers which lack adequate powers to force compliance by public
authorities
Quality of information shared through RTIs is often superficial, incomplete and not
relevant. There is no provision as such to ensure complete information is shared at the
earliest. It is partly due to poor record keeping by authorities.
Judiciary has self-exempted itself from the Act, thus setting a bad example for every
other public authority
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There is lack of awareness among the public – for e.g. only 10% application comes from
rural areas.
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Code of Conduct for Civil Servants
The Civil Service is an integral and key part of the Government of India. 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, they are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are
expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its
core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
The Public servants need to uphold the dignity, integrity and incorruptibility of their service and
they have to adopt themselves to democratic ways of administration. is their bounden duty to
treat the common men in India as their own or to put it correctly, to feel themselves to be one
of them and amongst them. Civil servants have special obligations because they are responsible
for managing resources entrusted to them by the community, because they provide and deliver
services the community and because they take important decisions that affect all aspects of a
community's life.
The community has a right to expect that the civil service functions fairly, impartially and
efficiently. It is essential that the community must be able to trust and have confidence in the
integrity of the civil service decision-making process. Within the civil service itself, it needs to be
ensured that the decisions and actions of civil servants reflect the policies of the government of
the day and -the standards that the community expects from them as government servants.
The expectation that the civil servant will maintain the same standards of professionalism,
responsiveness and impartiality in serving successive political governments is a key element of
the way our democratic polity functions. In a democracy, an efficient civil-service must have a
Set of values that distinguishes it from other professions. Integrity, dedication to public service,
impartiality, political neutrality, anonymity etc. are said to be the hallmarks of an efficient civil
services. The crux of ethical behavior does not lie in bold words and expressions enshrined as
standards, but in their adoption in action, in sanction against violations, in putting in place
competent disciplinary bodies to investigate allegations of violations and to impose sanctions
quickly and in promoting a culture of integrity. CiviI Service Values which all public servants
should aspire, should be defined and made applicable to all tiers of government.
In 1996, the UN adopted an 'International Code of Conduct for Public Officials' which opened
with the following general principles:
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institutions of government. Public officials shall ensure that they perform their
duties and functions efficiently, effectively and with integrity, in accordance with
laws or administrative policies. They shall at all times seek to ensure that public
resources for which they are responsible are administered in the most effective and
efficient manner. Public officials shall be attentive, fair and impartial in the
performance of their functions and, in particular, in their relations with the public.
They shall at no time afford any undue preferential treatment to any group or
individual or improperly discriminate against any group or individual, or otherwise
abuse the power and authority vested in them.
In India, civil service values have evolved over years of tradition. These values also find place in
various rules, including the Code of Conduct. The current set of 'enforceable norms' are
'Conduct Rules', typified by the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules - 1964 and analogous rules
applicable to members of the All India Services or employees of various State Governments.
Draft Public Service Bill, 2007- In 2007 Department of personnel drafted Public Service Bill. It
extends to the whole of India & state. It envisages a moral behavior from the civil servants &
enumerates certain values which should guide the Public Servants in the discharge of their
functions which are as follows:
1. Allegiance to the Constitution and the law, democracy, nationalism, sovereignty &
integrity of India and the security of the nation
2. Function in apolitical manner, act objectively, impartially, honestly, equitably, and in a
fair and just manner
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3. Act with integrity and in a courteous and just manner.
4. Establish high standards, and ensure quality service, effective working and prompt
decision making.
5. Be accountable for the decisions
6. Establish merit as the fundamental principle in employment, promotion and placements
7. Discharge functions with due regard to diversity of the nation/community and religion
but without discrimination of caste, community, religion, gender or class and duly
protecting the interest of poor, underprivileged and weaker sections.
8. Provide honest, impartial and frank advice to political executive.
9. Ensure that public money is used with utmost care .
10. The public servant function with the objective that Public Services and Public Servants
are to serve as instruments of good governance and to provide services for the
betterment of the public at large; foster socio-economic development, with due regard
to the diversity of the nation but without discrimination on the ground of caste,
community, religion, gender or class and duly protecting the interest of poor,
underprivileged and weaker sections.
11. Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, on the
recommendations of or in consultation with the Central Authority, notify from time to
time other values in this Section.
United Nations has formulated a 'Code of Conduct' for public officials by its resolution 58/4 of
31st Oct. 2003. The code of conduct states that "Each State party shall promote, interalia,
integrity, honesty, and responsibility among its public officials in accordance with the
fundamental principles of its legal system."
1. The Civil Service is an integral and key part of the Government of the United Kingdom. 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.
2. As a civil servant, you are appointed 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. In this Code:
• ‘integrity’ is putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests;
• ‘objectivity’ is basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence; and
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• ‘impartiality’ is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well
Governments of different political persuasions.
3. These core values support good government and ensure the achievement of the highest
possible standards in all that the Civil Service does. This in turn helps the Civil Service to gain
and retain the respect of Ministers, Parliament, the public and its customers.
Citizen’s Charter
The concept of Citizens’ Charter was introduced in the early 1990’s. It represented a
landmark shift in the delivery of public services.
A Citizens’ Charter is a public statement that defines the entitlements of citizens to a
specific service, the standards of the service, the conditions to be met by users, and the
remedies available to the latter in case of non-compliance of standards.
In other words, The Citizens’ Charter seeks to make an organization transparent,
accountable and citizen friendly.
1. The Vision and Mission Statement of the organization. This gives the outcomes desired
and the broad strategy to achieve these goals and outcomes. This also makes the user
aware of the intent of their service provider and helps in holding the organization
accountable.
2. The organization must clearly state in its Citizen’s Charter what subject it deals with and
the service areas it broadly covers. This helps the user to understand the type of
services they can expect from a particular service provider
3. The Citizen’s Charter should also stipulate the responsibilities of the citizens in the
context of the Charter.
The commitments / promises at (a) and (b) constitute the heart of a Citizen’s Charter. Even
though these promises are not enforceable in a court of law, each organization should ensure
that the promises made are kept and, in case of default, a suitable compensatory / remedial
mechanism should be provided.
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Six Principles of the Citizens’ Charter
1. Quality – improving the quality of services
2. Choice – for the users wherever possible
3. Standards – specifying what to expect within a time frame
4. Value – for the taxpayers’ money
5. Accountability – of the service provider (individual as well as Organization)
6. Transparency – in rules, procedures, schemes and grievance redressal
In its Fourth Report on ‘Ethics in Governance’ the 2nd ARC Commission has observed that in
order to make Charters an effective tool for holding public servants accountable, the Charters
should clearly spell out the remedy / penalty / compensation in case there is a default in
meeting the standards spelt out in the Charter.
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Quality of Service Delivery: Sevottam Model
The word "Sevottam" is a combination of two Hindi words: Seva (Service) and Uttam
(Excellent). It means “Service Excellence”, emphasizing the idea of “Service”. It symbolizes the
change in mindset within the Government, from administration and control to service and
enablement.
Sevottam is an assessment - improvement model that has been developed with the objective
of improving the quality of public service delivery in the country. The model was conceived by
the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel,
Public Grievances and Pensions in 2006.
The key components of Sevottam are captured with the following objectives:
1. Successful implementation of Citizen’s Charters: It requires opening up a channel for
receiving citizens' inputs into the way in which organizations determine service delivery
requirements. Citizens' Charter publicly declare the information on citizens' entitlements;
making citizens better informed and hence empowering them to demand better services
2. Service Delivery Preparedness and achievement of Results: An organization can have an
excellent performance in service delivery only if it is managing the key inputs for good
service delivery well, and building its own capacity to continuously improve delivery. This
shall include identification of services rendered, the service delivery process, and its control
and delivery requirements.
3. Sound Public Grievance Redress Mechanism: This requires a good grievance redress system
operating in a manner that leaves the citizen more satisfied with how the organization
responds to complaints/grievances, irrespective of the final decision.
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Benefits of Sevottam Model
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6. Evaluate impact through an independent mechanism
7. Continuous improvement based on monitoring and evaluation
Challenges of Corruption
In its simplest sense, corruption may be defined as an act of bribery or misuse of public position
or power for the fulfillment of selfish motives or to gain personal gratifications. Corruption in
India is a consequence of the nexus between bureaucracy, politics and businessmen and
muscled by criminals. Corruption in India is so deeply entrenched in the society that it almost
seen as a way of working in India.
Impact of Corruption
Proliferation of black money and creation of parallel economy which severely affects the
formal economy and growth
Leads to high levels of income inequality as money is concentrated into a few hands
Poor quality of service delivery – for e.g. reports of low quality of food served in Mid-
Day Meal scheme or the state of public health in India
Criminalization of politics – as people with money and muscle power fight elections
Weakening of democracy – as power is taken away from people by corrupt public
functionaries
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Ways to Counter Corruption in India: 2nd ARC Recommendations
Make democracy more participative – empower citizens with tools to hold the
government accountable for its actions. For e.g. RTI, social audits etc.
Promotion to e-governance – which is more transparent
Effective citizen charters
Strengthening of institutional mechanisms – CVC, CBI, Lokpal etc.
Stringent laws coupled with swift action – update Prevention of Corruption Act to match
the complexities of present economy
Implement a Code of Ethics (similar to Nolan Committee in the UK)
Security of tenure for public officers to prevent political interference
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