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UPSC 2019 GS-IV · 10 marks · 150 words

What are the basic principles of public life? Illustrate any three of these with suitable examples.

What “Illustrate” demands

make the point through specific, concrete examples rather than generalities.

The characteristic failure: asserting the general claim with no example that demonstrates it.

What a top answer must contain

These are the checkable specifics from the marking standard for this question — the actual case, committee, datum or thinker, not an instruction to “give examples”.

  • Nolan Committee's seven principles: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership
  • 2nd ARC's 'Ethics in Governance' foundational values and the proposed Public Service Bill
  • Each of the three chosen must carry a concrete illustration, not a definition restated
  • Illustrations that work: an officer refusing a transfer-linked favour (integrity), publishing selection criteria (openness), owning a departmental failure (accountability)
  • Constitutional anchoring: Arts 14 and 311, the oath under the Third Schedule

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