This document organises Ethics Section-B questions from the sources by year, identifies the relevant UPSC syllabus point, and highlights key terms essential for examination focus.
| Year | Question Ref. | Theme / Key Concepts | Source Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | |||
| 2024 | Q.1 (7) | Artificial Intelligence vs. Environment: CEO's dilemma regarding AI-driven energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and achieving net zero. | |
| 2024 | Q.2 (8) | Internal Security & Social Media: Recruitment of unemployed youth by terrorist groups via digital platforms; intelligence gathering ethics. | |
| 2024 | Q.3 (9) | Naxalism & Conflict Management: SP's dilemma involving the arrest of hardcore insurgents vs. an aggressive protest by tribal women. | |
| 2024 | Q.4 (10) | Conflict of Interest: Procurement in a private hospital involving a family member's bid and potential favouritism. | |
| 2024 | Q.5 (11) | Resource Allocation: Water shortage management; balancing needs of agitated farmers vs. water-intensive industries. | |
| 2024 | Q.6 (12) | Bioethics: Pharmaceutical research shortcuts, data manipulation, and drug trial ethics during a viral outbreak. | |
| 2023 | |||
| 2023 | Q.1 | Banking Ethics: Illegal use of dormant account funds for a medical emergency of a colleague’s relative. | |
| 2023 | Q.2 | Disaster Management: Ethical dilemma of performing a blood transfusion without a blood bank in an emergency (medical vs. legal duty). | |
| 2023 | Q.3 | Work-Life Balance: Challenges faced by women in civil services regarding social obligations vs. professional dedication. | |
| 2023 | Q.4 | Corruption & Political Pressure: Whistleblowing against a politically connected Chairman in a state corporation. | |
| 2023 | Q.5 | Workplace Harassment: Power dynamics, insecurity, and harassment within a government architecture division. | |
| 2023 | Q.6 | Cyberbullying & Social Media: Response to bullying of a child and subsequent fake propaganda against a government official's family. | |
| 2022 | |||
| 2022 | Q.1 | Corporate Espionage: Bribery and illegal procurement of rival bid documents for a Defence Ministry tender. | |
| 2022 | Q.2 | Infiltration & Duty: Handling illegal migration in border states under threat of transfer and stalled promotion. | |
| 2022 | Q.3 | Mining Mafia & Media Ethics: Journalist's dilemma in exposing a nexus between politicians and the stone mafia. | |
| 2022 | Q.4 | Quality Control: Ethics of selling poor quality export-rejected goods in the domestic market to avoid corporate loss. | |
| 2022 | Q.5 | Labour Relations: Strike management and compensation dilemmas following a violent altercation involving a bus driver. | |
| 2022 | Q.6 | Environmental Compliance: Balancing the closure of polluting industries against the livelihoods of migrant workers. | |
| 2021 | |||
| 2021 | Q.1 | Sand Mining Mafia: Threats to family and integrity of a civil servant tackling illegal mining in tribal areas. | |
| 2021 | Q.2 | Academic Integrity: Dealing with cheating in exams involving children of influential figures and management pressure. | |
| 2021 | Q.3 | Infrastructure Safety: Pressure to ignore construction defects (cracks in bridge piers) to meet political deadlines. | |
| 2021 | Q.4 | Pandemic Management: Resource allocation and staff management criteria in public vs. private hospitals during COVID-19. | |
| 2021 | Q.5 | Food Safety: Ethics of a food company selling sub-standard products domestically while meeting international standards. | |
| 2021 | Q.6 | Toxic Work Culture: Dealing with an insensitive and humiliating senior officer in a government department. | |
| 2020 | |||
| 2020 | Q.1 | Fund Diversion: Re-appropriation of funds from a social housing scheme to export/energy projects. | |
| 2020 | Q.2 | Arms Trade: Ethical considerations of a self-reliant nation exporting military weaponry to other countries. | |
| 2020 | Q.3 | Child Labour: Vulnerability of minor girls in cotton farms and developmental challenges in tribal districts. | |
| 2020 | Q.4 | Building Safety: Nexus between builders and officials leading to illegal constructions and fatal accidents. | |
| 2020 | Q.5 | CSR & Development: Evaluating a plastic factory's role in the development of a backward rural area. | |
| 2020 | Q.6 | Migrant Crisis: Ethics of care-giving and civil society's role during a national lockdown. | |
| 2019 | |||
| 2019 | Q.1 | Public Service Resilience: Handling public anger and team morale during difficult natural calamity rescue operations. | |
| 2019 | Q.2 | Administrative Justice: Protection of honest civil servants from prosecution for bona fide mistakes. | |
| 2019 | Q.3 | Sexual Harassment: Negotiating and withdrawing complaints in exchange for money in a corporate setting. | |
| 2019 | Q.4 | Political Neutrality: Consequences of the politicisation of the permanent executive (bureaucracy). | |
| 2019 | Q.5 | Narcotics & Patronage: Addressing a drug menace supported by a nexus of politicians and police. | |
| 2019 | Q.6 | Institutional Integrity: Measures to internalise ethics and strengthen ethical competence in civil services. | |
| 2018 | |||
| 2018 | Q.1 | Discretionary Powers: Handling a health care scheme beneficiary who meets all but one rigid criterion. | |
| 2018 | Q.2 | Land Acquisition: Realignment of projects for personal gain (minister's farmhouse) and environmental cost. | |
| 2018 | Q.3 | Social Transformation: Using a socio-economic approach vs. law and order to tackle illicit liquor distillation. | |
| 2018 | Q.4 | Environment vs. Economy: Closure of a chemical plant due to pollution vs. resulting unemployment. | |
| 2018 | Q.5 | Tax Ethics: Pursuing technical defaults vs. substantial compliance for a charitable hospital project. | |
| 2018 | Q.6 | Whistleblowing: Ethical vs. legal justifications of leaking state secrets (Edward Snowden case). | |
| 2017 | |||
| 2017 | Q.1 | Ethical Conduct: Examining perceptions of ethical difficulty, the influence of a minority, and "small gifts" in efficiency. | |
| 2017 | Q.2 | Personal vs. Professional Duty: Choosing between an IAS interview and saving injured relatives in an accident. | |
| 2017 | Q.3 | Compensation Ethics: Worker death while intoxicated and managing resulting strikes. | |
| 2017 | Q.4 | Witness Responsibility: Truthfulness in a hit-and-run case vs. securing a critical business deal. | |
| 2017 | Q.5 | Illegal Construction: Reasons and measures for preventing illegal building collapses. | |
| 2017 | Q.6 | RTI Activism: Distinguishing between genuine justice-seeking and extortion-based RTI applications. | |
| 2016 | |||
| 2016 | Q.1 | Corporate Accountability: Secret discharge of toxic waste into a river vs. personal job security. | |
| 2016 | Q.2 | Rehabilitation Policy: Drafting unethical distribution of costs/benefits for displaced people. | |
| 2016 | Q.3 | Rule of Law vs. Compassion: Supporting a destitute woman who lacks the required identity documents. | |
| 2016 | Q.4 | Personal Conduct of Superior: Discovering domestic violence perpetrated by a respected boss. | |
| 2016 | Q.5 | Industrialisation Tension: Chaos caused by a new plant in an underdeveloped but tranquil region. | |
| 2016 | Q.6 | Governance & NGOs: Corruption and cumbersome procedures thwarting social service projects. | |
| 2015 | |||
| 2015 | Q.1 | Mob Pressure: Political party members gate-crashing a private company to demand jobs. | |
| 2015 | Q.2 | Social Prejudice: Caste discrimination in mid-day meal schemes and falling school attendance. | |
| 2015 | Q.3 | Profit vs. Altruism: High R&D cost for human drugs to treat diseases rampant only in poor areas. | |
| 2015 | Q.4 | Rescue Prioritisation: Ordering rescue of VIPs vs. vulnerable citizens during devastating floods. | |
| 2015 | Q.5 | Vested Interests: School construction on a heritage site involving a predecessor’s relative. | |
| 2015 | Q.6 | Gender Justice: Village elders boycotting girls' education and handling subsequent clashes. | |
| 2014 | |||
| 2014 | Q.1 | Sustainable Development: Balancing global economic thrust with environmental survival. | |
| 2014 | Q.2 | Pragmatism vs. Ethics: Advising a friend on whether to follow the "path of least resistance" in public service. | |
| 2014 | Q.3 | False Allegations: Dealing with a retaliatory sexual harassment complaint during a disciplinary cleanup. | |
| 2014 | Q.4 | Bribery: Dilemma of paying a bribe to secure a tender to save a production line from closing. | |
| 2014 | Q.5 | Urban Migration: Socio-economic and emotional factors behind rural-to-urban shifts. | |
| 2013 | |||
| 2013 | Q.1 | Transparency (RTI): A PIO's response when an RTI query targets their own past wrong decision. | |
| 2013 | Q.2 | Structural Integrity: Flyover construction defects vs. public pressure and superior’s orders to ignore them. | |
| 2013 | Q.3 | Child Labour (Sivakasi): Evasion of labour laws via "household-based" unit loopholes in the firecracker industry. | |
| 2013 | Q.4 | Institutional Independence: Political pressure to favour a relative in professor selections for funds. | |
| 2013 | Q.5 | Confidentiality: Leaking policy decisions to builders before public notification under superior's pressure. | |
| 2013 | Q.6 | Corporate Conduct: High-performing employee committing sexual harassment vs. company revenue. | |
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