CHALLENGES TO ETHICAL GOVERNANCE IN INDIA (01:06 PM)

• Political challenges
• Excessive political interference in policy-making exercises where the emphasis is on populist considerations rather than elements of ethical governance. 
• Even the civil servants are more concerned about impressing their political bosses rather than focusing on ethical considerations of administration.
• The political executive often expects civil servants to perform tasks contrary to this principle of ethical governance.
• Since, they enjoy the power to control the appointments, postings, and transfers. 
• Institutional challenges
• The concept of career civil services compromises dedication to public service resulting in complacency among the civil servants. 
• Civil servants enjoy wide discretionary power which often comes without checks and balances resulting in issues. 
• The economic model adopted after independence vested excessive power in a centralised form of government creating conducive conditions for misuse of power.
• The civil services by their very nature focus on preserving and enlarging their powers rather than focusing on service of public interest.
• Societal challenges
• Society has witnessed a significant decline in morals and values and as a result, the civil servants focus more on the accumulation of wealth and material resources than the cause of public service. 
• Even society has become more tolerant of unethical conduct and behavior and this has further disincentivized civil servants to focus on ethical behaviours.
• Some 'smart people' believe that ethical values are utopian and they have no relevance such thinking has led to the overall decline of values.
• Corruption is being accepted and even being glorified. 
• Operational challenges
• In bureaucracy, secrecy is the norm and transparency is an exception. 
• Therefore resulting in a lack of accountability and breeding corruption.
• Administrative procedures are complicated in nature and designed to avoid errors in decision-making. 
• It leads to a lack of accountability and excessive delays in decision making so much so making governance inaccessible to the common man.
• Civil servants often tend to develop a lack of empathy and compassion due to the hierarchical nature of bureaucracy that creates distance between citizens and civil services and as a result, they drifted from the main goals of governance. 

CODE OF ETHICS AND CODE OF CONDUCT (01:59 PM)

• Code of Conduct:
• It refers to a specific set of guidelines provided to the members of an organization concerning how they should conduct themselves in certain specific situations.
• One can say that the code of conduct defines the dos and don'ts for the civil servant.
• They are like a set of negative instructions provided to civil servants. 
• All India Services lays down the following standards of behavior by the civil servants. 
• They should not take part in political activities or any organization associated with political activity. 
• They are supposed to remain sober and not appear in public spaces in a state of intoxication and use drinks and drugs in access.
• They should observe the existing policies and laws regarding crime against women. 
• They should manage their financial matters in such a manner to avoid insolvency.
• No member should give or take dowry. 
• Members should not directly or indirectly engage in any trade or business or any other employment or participate in making sponsored media or any such program. 
•  Civil servants may accept from near relatives gifts on celebratory occasions but must report it to the government if they are in value above rupees 25,000. 
• Civil servants cannot accept without permission, from outsiders, if the value of gifts exceeds rupees 10,000. 
• Code of Ethics:
• It is a loose set of principles that should guide the behavior of the civil servants.
• They are a general set of principles that ensure ethical conduct on their behalf.
• Unlike the Code of Conduct, they do not have a legal backing but rather a moral force behind them. 
• E.g. Code of Ethics may prescribe that civil servants should follow transparency and accountability in the functioning of their office but it is not legally enforceable if one does not do so. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CODE OF ETHICS AND CODE OF CONDUCT 

• Nature:
• Code of Ethics is generic in nature and code of conduct is more specific. 
• Enforceability:
• There is no punishment for not following the code of ethics as they only have a moral sanction behind them whereas the code of conduct can be enforced by the specific department. 
• Focus area:
• Code of Ethics focuses on compliance with values and principles whereas conduct focuses on compliance with rules and regulations. 
• Time:
• Enforcing a code of ethics can ensure long-term sustainable changes in the behavior of civil servants whereas a code of conduct only guides the behavior of the civil servants over a short time. 
• Explicit
• A code of ethics is implicit and provides general guidance in specific situations. 
• Whereas COde of conduct is explicit providing specific guidelines in specific situations. 

SIGNIFICANCE OF CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT (02:50 PM)

• Civil services are often accused of having a poor work culture that can be reaffirmed by following a code of ethics and code of conduct diligently. 
• Sustaining ethical behavior within organizations becomes more achievable when internal accountability mechanisms are prioritized over external enforcement, as a conscientious adherence to a robust code of ethics fosters a culture of diligence and responsibility.
• Civil servants are entrusted with the resources of the community and following the codes would create a culture of honesty and integrity. 
• Therefore ensuring effective utilization of resources. 
• These codes ensure that civil servants respect the human rights and dignity of individuals and do not engage in discrimination and abuse of power. 
• Civil servants often face ethical dilemmas and without such codes, their behavior would be driven by individual morals resulting in a lack of consistency and uniformity in actions. 
• These codes can ensure that civil servants will perform their duties with integrity, compassion, and accountability.
• Therefore effectively addressing the trust deficit between the citizens and the government. 

LIMITATIONS

• Enforcement of the Code of Conduct depends upon departmental discretion whereas the Code of Ethics has no legal enforceability at all.
• It therefore results in a situation, where these codes are not taken seriously and there is little accontability for violating them.
• The code of ethics is too vague and subjective therefore the enforcement is individual-centric. 
• Additionally in a diverse country such as India, social and cultural norms can influence ethical behavior.
• Many civil servants are not aware of these codes and do not receive adequate training to enforce them.
• No added incentives are provided for following these codes nor do they have a significant impact on career progression and promotion.  
• The code of ethics does not define which principles would apply in which circumstances, on the other hand, the code of conduct has limited application in different situations. 
• It is often said that the erosion of moral values has happened to such an extent in the civil service that these codes would have a negligible impact on probity in governance.
• It is difficult to adhere to these codes and values in present circumstances where excessive political interference in administrative matters has become a routine practice. 

SUGGESTIONS/WAY AHEAD (03:26 PM)

• In the future, the code of ethics and code of conduct should take into consideration the existing legal measures related to ethical problems in government departments.
• These codes should include a warning to public officials that they should not assume any unethical activity not covered specifically by the code is permissible.
• They must be an outcome of discussion held within the department since no externally enforced code can ever achieve the desired objectives. 
• Several people suggest that these codes should be made legally enforceable in the courts, such a move may not be very effective as it would lead to unnecessary litigation, and delays and also affect the flexibility to adjust according to the change in circumstances.
• Not only that human beings by nature are likely to show more respect to a loosely enforced code over a firmly organized legal body.
• Public Service Authority consisting of prominent citizens and reputed civil servants may be given the task of overseeing the implementation of these codes. 
• Civil Society Organizations must be involved in the process of designing these codes in the future.
• Public Service values and ethics must be inculcated through regular training programs.
• E.g. IIPA has introduced a two-week course on ethics and administration for senior administrators. 
• A reward mechanism as an incentive can be considered to ensure the effective implementation of these codes.
• 2nd ARC Recommendations: 
• 2nd ARC proposed the enactment of a service code in the form of a Public Service Code Bill in 2007.
• That would provide legal backing to the Code of Ethics.
• Similar laws have been enacted in countries such as Poland and Australia. 
• The second ARC suggested that the code should be divided into three levels:
• Level 1: A clear statement of values should be provided that a civil servant should observe which would act like the preamble to the code. 
• Some of these values include patriotism, upholding national pride, allegiance to the Indian constitution, etc. 
• Level 2: It should include the broad principles that should govern the behavior of all civil servants.
• These principles should help the department to draw a public service code for ethics in consultation with the Public Services Authority. 
• Some of these principles are as follows, Every public service employee:
• Shall discharge official duties with competence, accountability, and impartiality. 
• Should have the opportunity to grow professionally and develop leadership capabilities. 
• Should avoid the misuse of official positions and use public money with utmost care. 
• Should serve as an instrument of good governance and promote socio-economic development with due regard for the diversity of the nation but without discrimination, on grounds of religion, sex, etc.
• Level 3:
• It would consist of a specific code of conduct providing a list of acceptable and nonacceptable behaviors to be termed as the Public Service Management Code. 
• It should be drawn based on the following principles:
• To establish public services as professional merit-based institutions for promoting good governance. 
• Mechanisms and incentives to maintain a high level of productivity, efficiency, and excellence.
• Should emphasize promoting the sustainability of public service keeping in view the finances of the government. 

The topic for the next class: Code of Ethics for Ministers/Judges, Corruption, etc.