Probity in Governance

Prerequisites: Ethics in public administration · Governance, Transparency and Accountability

The Hook: Reading the Muster Rolls Aloud

Connect: In the News → Concept

In the 1990s, the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), a collective of workers and peasants in rural Rajasthan, began holding public hearings (jan sunwais). Villagers obtained copies of official records of local public works — muster rolls and bills — and read them aloud in the village. People discovered wages paid to the dead, materials billed for buildings never built, and names of workers who had never worked. The campaign’s demand was simple: our money, our accounts.

That movement fed into a national campaign that led to the Right to Information Act, 2005. It also captures the meaning of probity: public money and public power are held in trust, and those who hold them must be able to show — not merely claim — that they were used honestly.

The Core Concept

What is probity?

Probity is the quality of having strong moral principles — integrity, uprightness and honesty — demonstrated in the exercise of public functions. It goes beyond the absence of corruption: it means acting, and being seen to act, fairly, transparently and in the public interest. Probity in governance is the essential condition for an efficient and effective system of governance and for socio-economic development.

Concept of public service

Public service is the provision of services by the State, through its employees, for the benefit of citizens, with the public interest as the sole motive. Its defining ideas:

Public office is a public trust — power is held on behalf of the people.
Service, not rule — the citizen is the master, not a supplicant.
Equal treatment — services are a right, not a favour.

Philosophical basis of governance and probity

Source	Idea	Link to probity
Social contract (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau)	Government exists by the consent of the governed	Power must be used for the purposes for which it was given
Kautilya	The ruler’s welfare lies in the welfare of subjects; officials must be watched for embezzlement	Welfare as duty; vigilance and audit
Plato	Guardians without private property, trained for the common good	Selfless, disinterested service
Gandhi	Trusteeship; sarvodaya; the talisman	Power and wealth as trusts for the poorest
Public trust doctrine	Natural resources are held by the State as trustee for the public (M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath, 1997)	Public resources cannot be used for private gain
The Preamble	“We, the People of India…”	Sovereignty lies with the people; officials are their servants

Transparency is the foundation of probity: what is visible is harder to abuse. The Second ARC titled its First Report (2006) Right to Information: Master Key to Good Governance.

Provision of the RTI Act, 2005	What it does
Section 4	Proactive (suo motu) disclosure of information by public authorities
Section 6	Any citizen may request information without giving reasons
Section 7	Reply within 30 days; within 48 hours where life or liberty is involved
Section 8	Exemptions (sovereignty and security, Cabinet papers until decision, personal information, etc.); Section 8(2) allows disclosure if public interest outweighs harm
Section 24	Listed intelligence and security organisations excluded, except for information on corruption and human rights violations
Chapters III–IV	Central and State Information Commissions as appellate bodies

Challenges: pendency in Information Commissions, weak proactive disclosure, threats to RTI users, poor record management, and tension with the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

Codes of ethics and codes of conduct

	Code of ethics	Code of conduct
Nature	Broad statement of values and principles	Specific rules of permitted and prohibited behaviour
Purpose	Inspire and guide judgement	Regulate and enforce behaviour
Enforcement	Mostly self-regulation, peer pressure	Disciplinary action
Example	“Act with integrity and impartiality”	Rules on gifts, assets, political activity
Indian instance	Values listed for civil servants; recommended by the Second ARC	Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964; All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968; Code of Conduct for Ministers; Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct

A code of ethics says what we stand for; a code of conduct says what we must and must not do. Both are needed: values without rules lack teeth; rules without values breed loophole-hunting.

Citizen’s charters

A citizen’s charter is a public document in which an organisation states the services it offers, the standards and timelines citizens can expect, and how to seek redress. The idea was launched in the United Kingdom in 1991 and adopted in India in 1997.

Problems noted in practice: drafted without consulting citizens, vague standards, no remedy when standards are breached, low awareness, not updated.
Sevottam, a service-delivery excellence model promoted by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, has three modules: citizen’s charter, public grievance redress and service delivery capability.
The Second ARC’s Twelfth Report, Citizen Centric Administration (2009), recommended making charters effective and linking them to accountability.
Many States have enacted right to public services laws, which give citizens a legal right to time-bound services with penalties for delay; Madhya Pradesh was the first, in 2010.

Work culture

A healthy work culture combines punctuality, merit, teamwork, initiative, courtesy and pride in service. Common problems: rigid hierarchy, status-quoism, fear of taking decisions under the shadow of vigilance inquiries, file-pushing and poor recognition of good work. Remedies: e-Office and process simplification, performance-linked recognition, delegation, protection for good-faith decisions, and leaders who model the culture they want.

Quality of service delivery

Quality means services that are accessible, timely, reliable, affordable and courteous. Tools: e-governance and digital public infrastructure, Direct Benefit Transfer (launched January 2013), single-window and doorstep delivery, online grievance redress (CPGRAMS), social audit, and citizen feedback.

Utilisation of public funds

Safeguard	Function
Article 266	All revenues go into the Consolidated Fund; no money is withdrawn without appropriation by law
CAG (Articles 148–151)	Audits accounts; reports to the President or Governor, laid before the legislature
Public Accounts Committee	Examines CAG reports on behalf of Parliament
General Financial Rules, 2017	Norms for expenditure and procurement
Outcome budgeting	Links money spent to results achieved
E-procurement, PFMS	Transparency and tracking of fund flows

The ethical principle: public money must be spent with the same care a prudent person would use with their own — the “standard of financial propriety”.

Challenges of corruption

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.

Causes	Consequences
Excessive discretion and complex procedures	Leakages from welfare schemes
Low accountability and slow punishment	Poor quality infrastructure and services
Election funding pressures	Distorted policy, loss of investment
Social tolerance of “speed money”	Erosion of trust and legitimacy
Weak whistle-blower protection	Hardest burden on the poor

Legal and institutional framework:

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, amended in 2018 to make bribe-giving an offence, to add Section 17A (prior approval for investigating decisions taken in the discharge of official functions), and to set time limits for trials.
Central Vigilance Commission — set up in 1964 on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee; statutory under the CVC Act, 2003.
Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 — a Lokpal at the Centre with a chairperson and up to eight members, half of them judicial members; States to set up Lokayuktas.
Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 — enacted to protect those who disclose wrongdoing, though its operationalisation has been delayed.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002; Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, substantially amended in 2016; Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
UN Convention against Corruption — India ratified it in 2011.

Memory Anchors

Code of ethics vs code of conduct: Ethics = Values (inspire); Conduct = Rules (enforce). “Ethics is the why, conduct is the what.”

Sevottam’s three modules: “Charter, Grievance, Capability” — “CGC”.

RTI’s numbers: “4–6–7–8–24” → disclose, ask, answer (30 days / 48 hours), exempt, exclude.

One-line Mains hook: “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants” — a remark associated with US Justice Louis Brandeis, often used to argue for transparency.

Definitions to Know

Crisp definitions examiners reward

Probity: adherence to the highest standards of integrity, uprightness and honesty in public functions — being, and being seen to be, fair.
Public service: service rendered by the State in the public interest, treating office as a public trust.
Transparency: openness of government decisions and information to public scrutiny.
Code of ethics: a statement of values that guides judgement; code of conduct: enforceable rules of behaviour.
Citizen’s charter: an organisation’s public commitment on services, standards, timelines and grievance redress.
Corruption: the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.
Public trust doctrine: the principle that the State holds natural resources as a trustee for the public.

For Mains

Dimensions: philosophical (trust), legal (RTI, PC Act, Lokpal), institutional (CVC, CAG, commissions), administrative (charters, work culture, service delivery), technological (e-governance, DBT), social (social audit, civil society).
Keywords: public trust, proactive disclosure, suo motu, codes of conduct, Sevottam, right to services, financial propriety, outcome budgeting, collusive corruption, whistle-blower.
Value-addition:
- MKSS and the RTI movement; Second ARC First Report (2006).
- Second ARC Twelfth Report, Citizen Centric Administration (2009).
- Santhanam Committee (1962–64) and the CVC.
- Kautilya’s warning about officials and public money.
- The 2018 amendment to the PC Act — bribe-giving made an offence.

Common Traps

Trap #1: Codes of ethics and codes of conduct used interchangeably

They differ in nature and enforcement. Define both and give an Indian example of each; the CCS and AIS Conduct Rules are codes of conduct, not codes of ethics.

Trap #2: Probity equals 'not taking bribes'

Probity covers transparency, fairness, proper use of funds, avoiding conflicts of interest and quality of service — not merely refraining from corruption.

Trap #3: Transparency without limits

RTI has legitimate exemptions — security, privacy, Cabinet deliberations until a decision. A balanced answer defends transparency while recognising the public-interest test in Section 8(2).

In the News

March 2019 — the first Lokpal chairperson, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, was appointed under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
July 2019 — the RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 allowed the Central Government to prescribe the term and salaries of Information Commissioners.
August 2023 — the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 amended Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act on personal information.

Practice

Mains

UPSC Practice · Mains GS IV 10 marks · 150 words Qprb-m1

Distinguish between a code of ethics and a code of conduct. Why are both needed to ensure probity in public life?

Solution

Introduction: Codes of ethics and codes of conduct both guide public servants, but they differ in nature, purpose and enforcement.

Body:

Code of ethics: broad values and principles (integrity, impartiality, public interest); aspirational; guides judgement in situations rules do not cover; enforced mainly through conscience and peer pressure.
Code of conduct: specific rules on permitted and prohibited behaviour (gifts, assets, political activity, private employment); enforceable through disciplinary action. Indian examples: CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964; AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968; Code of Conduct for Ministers.
Why both are needed:
- Rules without values breed loophole-hunting and mere compliance.
- Values without rules lack teeth and clarity.
- Ethics covers grey areas; conduct rules cover clear wrongs.
Second ARC recommended codes of ethics for ministers, legislators and civil servants alongside conduct rules.

Conclusion: A code of ethics explains why; a code of conduct prescribes what. Together they build a culture of probity.

UPSC-pattern practice question

UPSC Practice · Mains GS IV 10 marks · 150 words Qprb-m2

Citizen’s charters were meant to make public services accountable, yet their impact in India has been limited. Examine the reasons and suggest measures to make them effective.