Gore Akash — DrishtiIAS GS Paper 4 (Ethics) copy
GS Paper 4 · EthicsPDF · 19.1 MB
What’s inside this copy
- ▸Full attempt — all 12 questions answered across the 60-page booklet of a 250-mark GS-4 (Ethics) Drishti Test-24 mock
- ▸Written entirely in English in a disciplined point/bullet format with underlined sub-headings and arrow markers
- ▸Rich contemporary example bank: Vaccine Maitri, China debt-trap/Sri Lanka, SEBI-Adani-Hindenburg, MGNREGA digitisation, CCI vs Google
- ▸Maps thinkers/frameworks to questions — Kant & Gandhi (ends-means), Utilitarianism, Plato's Republic, Advaita, Nolan Committee
- ▸Case studies follow a consistent template: stakeholders -> ethical principles -> available options -> recommended best course of action
- ▸Q6(b) on Plato's Republic is markedly thin (under a page) versus the fuller treatment elsewhere
What to learn from this copy
- ★Ran all six 20-mark case studies (Apex Tutorials, Sonia Patel/RTI, HealthInnovate, Ravi Kumar flood, Mayor Mehta stray-dogs, PMGSY/Vikram Joshi) on one fixed template — stakeholders -> ethical principles at stake -> available options -> recommended best course of action -> A repeatable scaffold lets you write every case at consistent depth under time pressure instead of improvising structure six times.
- ★Anchored the abstract 'means shape the outcome, so ends cannot justify means' question (Q2a) in three named frameworks at once — Kant's universalisability, Gandhi on means-ends, and Utilitarianism's 'greatest good' — plus a live dilemma (encounter killing of a rapist under public pressure) -> Theory questions score when you name and contrast specific thinkers and then test them against a concrete case, not when you stay in vague generalities.
- ★Reused one deeply-developed example across two linked questions — India's Vaccine Maitri / vaccines to African countries served both Q4a (ethics of international aid) and Q5a (vaccine diplomacy) -> Build a few rich, fact-specific examples you can redeploy across related questions rather than collecting many shallow ones.
- ★Illustrated Tagore's quote 'love must contain truth' (Q3b) with a sharp contrast — Naxalites' compassion rooted in genuine poverty versus corporate greenwashing as a false 'love' for nature -> For quotation questions, prove the quote with one positive and one negative real-world instance so the abstract claim becomes concrete and arguable.
- ★Backed Kofi Annan's 'every faith holds tolerance' (Q3c) with multi-tradition evidence pulled directly to the prompt — Guru Nanak/Sikhism, Akbar's Din-i-Ilahi, the Gita and 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav', and tribal syncretism -> When a quote makes a universal claim, supply diverse, specific examples that each independently support that exact claim.
- ★Stocked answers with a current, India-specific example bank — SEBI/Adani-Hindenburg and regulatory trust (Q6a), MGNREGA digitisation and social audit exposing scams (Q2b), Nolan Committee on standards in public life, CCPA action on misleading ads (Case 7) -> Pairing each ethics concept with a named institution, committee or recent episode signals current-affairs grounding and lifts answers above textbook definitions.
Questions attempted in this booklet (19)+
- 1(a).How persuasion impacts public opinion and fosters social change (10)
- 1(b).Difference between probity and integrity with examples; measures to ensure probity in governance (10)
- 2(a).'Means shape the outcome, so the ends cannot justify the means' — discuss with examples (10)
- 2(b).Ethics of withholding information in public administration; transparency enhancing accountability (10)
- 3(a).Quote — Henry Paulson on ethics being most important in every area of society (10)
- 3(b).Quote — Rabindranath Tagore, 'Love is not a mere impulse, it must contain truth, which is law' (10)
- 3(c).Quote — Kofi Annan on tolerance and mutual understanding in every faith/tradition (10)
- 4(a).Role of ethics in international aid to less-developed nations, with examples (10)
- 4(b).Key workplace ethical challenges; effect on organisational culture/morale; strategies to foster ethics (10)
- 5(a).Vaccine diplomacy; ethics of prioritising domestic vaccine distribution over sharing (10)
- 5(b).Major teachings of Adi Shankaracharya and their relevance to current social/ethical challenges (10)
- 6(a).SEBI Chief allegations / corporate ethics; role of regulatory bodies in upholding trust (10)
- 6(b).Plato's Republic — justice as virtue of people and of institutions; comment (10) [notably brief]
- 7.Case study — Apex Tutorials misleading JEE-coaching ads / CCPA action (20)
- 8.Case study — Sonia Patel (PIO), RTI vs withholding sensitive EIA report (20)
- 9.Case study — HealthInnovate Inc., experimental drug / compassionate-use access (20)
- 10.Case study — Ravi Kumar (District Collector), flood disaster resource allocation/evacuation (20)
- 11.Case study — Mayor Rajesh Mehta, stray-dog bite: public health vs animal welfare (20)
- 12.Case study — PMGSY road, contractor Vikram Joshi corruption / role of social audit (20)
Examples, data & evidence used
- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan — Amitabh Bachchan persuading on sanitation/hygiene (Q1a)
- 'Selfie with Daughter' campaign for gender equality (Q1a)
- Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement (Q1a)
- Lokpal & Lokayukta; 2nd ARC (Q1b)
- Encounter killing of a rapist/heinous criminal under public pressure (Q2a)
- Kant's universalisability, Gandhi on means-ends, Utilitarianism 'greatest good' (Q2a)
- Nolan Committee (UK) on standards in public life (Q2b)
- RTI; MGNREGA digitisation exposing scams; social audit (Q2b)
- Nuclear technology for energy not bombs; compassionate conservatism (Q3a)
- Naxalites — compassion rooted in poverty; corporate greenwashing as false 'love' for nature (Q3b)
- Guru Nanak/Sikhism, Akbar's Din-i-Ilahi, Bhagavad Gita & 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav', tribal syncretism (Q3c)
- China's debt-trap diplomacy; Sri Lanka; IMF/World Bank aid conditionality; US/Europe arming Ukraine (Q4a)
- India's Vaccine Maitri during Covid-19, vaccines to African countries (Q4a, Q5a)
- Google's friendly/informal work culture (Q4b)
Quotes the candidate used
- Henry Paulson — 'In just about every area of society, there's nothing more important than ethics' (Q3a prompt, interpreted)
- Rabindranath Tagore — 'Love is not a mere impulse, it must contain truth, which is law' (Q3b prompt, interpreted)
- Kofi Annan — 'In every great faith and tradition one can find the values of tolerance and mutual understanding' (Q3c prompt, interpreted)
- Gandhi — 'Commerce without morality' (candidate-introduced, Case 7)
- 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav' (cited in Q3c)
How it’s written: Answered entirely in English in a tight point/bullet format rather than flowing prose. Each answer opens with a 1-2 line intro defining the concept, develops the body as short bulleted points (often led by dashes/arrows), and closes with a brief conclusion; underlined mini sub-headings are used ("Ethical Challenges"…
Diagrams & visuals: None clearly visible in the OCR/scan — answers appear to be text and bullet points only; no flowcharts, diagrams or maps detected
Evaluator: No evaluator marks, ticks, scores or written comments are legible in the scan. The printed Drishti evaluation apparatus is present — the cover 'To be filled by Evaluator only' marks grid (1(a) through 12 plus Grand Total), the 6-paramete…