Accountability in governance and code of ethics is a fundamental principle of Ethics, ensuring that public officials are answerable for their actions and decisions. It promotes transparency, trust, and responsibility in public administration, ultimately strengthening democratic institutions.
Previous Year Questions
Accountability in Governance
| Year | Question | Marks |
| 2013 | What are the characteristic features of ‘good governance’? | 5M |
| 2013 | What has been the progress in the realm of Citizen’s Charters in India ? Discuss the positive impact and Limitations ? | 5M |
| 2021 | Each other’s success teaches a lesson for better governance. Analyse this statement with examples. | 10M |
Code of conduct & Code of Ethics
| Year | Question | Marks |
| 2013 | If you were asked to prepare a ‘Code of Ethics’ for the civil servants of India, which five important principles will you prioritize ? | 5M |
- Accountability is the state of being responsible for one’s decisions and actions.
- Accountability = Transparency + Answerability + Enforceability
Why important –
- It creates trust and confidence in the public.
- Improves performance
- Eliminates confusion – It promotes ownership of decision [People value their work].
- As a remedial measure
- A Civil servant is accountable to his/her senior, government and people whom he is serving. This means that civil servants must provide the same standard of free, frank, impartial, and responsive advice irrespective of the political party in power Recommended by 2nd ARC and Nolan committee.
- Eg. – Lal bahadur Shastri was the first railway minister who resigned from office following a major train accident as he felt morally responsible.
- Ex ISRO Chairman Satish Dhawan accepted responsibility for Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s failure in 1979 when the Dr Kalam-headed SLV-3 Mission satellite fell into the Bay of Bengal.
An administrator is accountable to
- Constitution
- Parliamentary laws and policies –
- Consumer rights (Consumer protection act 2019, Jaago Grahak Jaago)
- Citizen are consumer of public service
- Right to information Act 2005
- Whistleblower Protection Act, 2014
- Institutions –
- Lokpal and lokayukta
- Agencies like ED, CBI, CVC, CAG, Election commission etc
- Self –
- Citizen charter and Internal audit
- Technology (E-Governance Initiatives) –
- Jan Sampark Portal
- Jan Soochna Portal
- CCTV, Chatbots
- DBT, Aadhar integration
- Biometric attendance
- Citizen –
- CPGRAMS (Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System)
- Social Audit
- 360 degree appraisal
- Institutional audit, third party audits
- Training and capacity building
Code of Conduct
Code of conduct is a legally enforceable set of principles that one must follow in an organisation.
- Examples
- The central services conduct rules 1964
- The AIS conduct rule 1968
- The Railway services conduct rule 1966
- Conduct rules for ministers by MHA 2013
- Rajasthan Civil services conduct rule 1971
General Code of conduct for civil servants
Prior permission –
- Campaigning to raise a fund
- Public functions/demonstration
Prohibited to –
- Give or take dowry
- Accept lavish gift from a person dealing in official capacity
- lease government accommodation
- Communicate official information to a person not authorised
- Criticise the policies of the government
- Make a statement which embarrass the relationship between governments
- Engage in strikes
- Join any association which is prejudiced to sovereignty and integrity of India
- Join any political party
- Private business and trade
Be cautious –
- While speaking to media
- Dealing with political representatives
Other –
- File annual property return
- Avoid conflict of interest
Code of ethics
- Code of ethics is an aspirational document containing ethical standards, values, principles and ideals for an organisation.
- This is subjective in nature (Open to interpretation)
- No legal backing (Hota committee recommended it for legal backing)
- 2nd ARC recommended that civil servants should follow higher ethical codes transcending the conduct rules.
- The Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) held its first All India Public Relations Conference in Delhi in 1968, where it adopted a code of ethics.
- This code is also known as the “Code of Athens” because the International Public Relations Associations adopted it in 1965 in Athens, Greece.
- Organizations like WHO are famous for their detailed code of ethics.
- Eg. – Hippocratic oath taken by doctors is an oath of ethics
- Eg. – Ethics committee of parliament.
- Code of ethics includes – honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, fairness.
- Broader than code of conduct, not mandatory to follow, non specific.
Code of ethics recommended by 2nd ARC
- Following the ideals mentioned in the preamble to the constitution.
- Apolitical functioning
- Good governance is the primary goal of bureaucracy.
- Being objective and impartial
- Accountability and transparency in taking decisions.
- Maintaining the highest ethical standards.
- Merit based selection of civil servants with due regard to diversity of the nation.
- Ensuring economy and avoiding wasteful expenditure.
- Promoting a congenial and healthy work environment.
- Consultative and participatory approach to administration.
Accountability in Governance
