3.

Reinvigorating and strengthening the Financing for Development follow-up

process.
The conference gathered high-level political representatives, including
heads of state or government and ministers of finance, Foreign Affairs and
Development Cooperation, as well as all relevant institutional stakeholders, non-
governmental organisations and business sector entities. The conference
resulted in a negotiated outcome which provides:
1. A new global framework for financing sustainable development that aligns
all financing flows and policies with economic, social and environmental
priorities.
2. A comprehensive set of policy actions by member states, with a package of
over 100 concrete measures that draw upon all sources of finance,
technology, innovation, trade and data in order to support mobilisation of
the means for a global transformation to sustainable development and
achievement of the sustainable development goals.
The Addis Agenda represents a move away from the outdated donor-
recipient dichotomy to a new global partnership for sustainable development.
The document establishes a closer link between the international development
and climate agendas. It underlines the importance of domestic and private
resources for financing sustainable development.
It looks closely at non-financial issues that are crucial to sustainable
development. This includes, for example, technology transfer and international
trade. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda thus forms a solid framework for the
implementation of the new global development goals that were adopted in
September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Germany and other international partners launched the Addis Tax Initiative
to support developing countries in enhancing their tax and customs systems so
that they are able to increase their tax-to-GDP ratios in the long term. The
German government has considerably increased its international cooperation on
public finance and taxes.
Practice Questions
1. What is the basic philosophy of international funding? (100 words)
2. What actions may be required to develop the best international relationships? (150 words)
3. What befits accrue to the donor and recipient countries in case of foreign assistance? (150
words)
4. What are the political and strategic interests of the donor countries in the concept of
international funding? (150 words)
5. Explain the concept of entitlement in context of international funding. (150 words)
6. What are the different Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? To what extent, these goals
have been achieved. (150 words)
7. What were the main decisions of 2015 UN Conference on Financing for Development? (150
words)
8. Explain the relevance of ‘The Monterrey Consensus’ in the context of international funding.
(150 words)
9. Analyse John Rawls’s concept of social justice in the Indian context. (150 words) (CSE 2016)
10. Strength, peace and security are considered to be the pillars of
international relations. Elucidate. (150 words) (CSE 2017)
 SECTION XIV

Tips for Answer Writing

 Tips for Answer-Writing

‘You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and
thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.’
— .

In order to score top marks in the paper of ‘Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude’, it is
not sufficient to have knowledge of the subject, which is easy. What is most
important and rather difficult is to develop the right aptitude of a civil servant.
We, as citizens of India, hardly deal with the government on a day-to-day basis.
We know about the government functioning only through newspapers and
media reporting, which is mostly negative. We hear only about the corruption
and inefficiency of the government departments, and so, we tend to form an
opinion that the way everything works in the government is corrupt or rotten.
Some people believe that civil servants are helpless before the politicians, and
that they have to act as per the instructions of the latter.
The reality is just the opposite. There are good and bad people in every
organisation. It is unrealistic to expect civil servants to be the paragon of virtues
when the general morality of the country is low and they elect people of
equivalent morality into power during elections. However, fortunately, Indian
Constitution provides considerable protection to the civil servants if they are
doing their job honestly and diligently. Even a Prime Minister can’t dismiss or
appoint a civil servant at will, without following the due process of law.
Another differentiating factor of the civil services in India is that it clearly
differentiates the role of political executives and civil servants. While political
executives make laws and supervise the ministries, the actual implementation is
done by the government departments—which are headed by the civil servants.
The civil servants enjoy all their powers from the laws passed by the Parliament,
and they are empowered to take all functional decisions without seeking any
permission from politicians. For example, a tax officer assesses the tax or
conducts raids on the basis of his information and intelligence, rather than
seeking any approval from the minister. Even a Prime Minister can’t perform the
job of a civil servant, like granting refunds or ordering arrests.
It is, therefore, important to deeply understand the power and
responsibilities of a civil servant. A civil servant, in order to perform his duties,
must cultivate the foundational values as discussed in the book. Our answers in
civil services papers must reflect the right aptitude for the job.
 Hence, writing great answers in civil services require skills which can be
mastered only by practise. In this chapter, we shall learn these skills; they can
improve our writing skills and help us score better marks in civil services
examination.
Scheme of Paper
The paper of Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude (General Studies Paper IV) consists
of two parts:
Part A: Theory (eight-nine questions)
Part B: Case Studies (six questions)
We shall be discussing the Case Studies in a separate chapter. In this
chapter, we shall discuss Part A of the paper which deals with theory questions.
There are eight-nine theory questions in Part A, and the total marks
allocated for this part is around 130. The 10-marks questions are to be
answered in 150 words. Hence, the total number of words for this part would be
around 2,000.
We can divide the questions in Part A in four categories:
1. Knowledge-based questions
2. Quotation-based questions
3. Analysis-based question
4. Opinion-based questions
1. Knowledge-based questions
In this type of questions, accurate knowledge of the topic is required. If you don’t
have the knowledge, you can’t answer such questions. Some examples are—
1. What do you understand by the following terms in the context of public
service? (CSE 2013)
(i) Integrity
(ii) Perseverance
(iii)Spirit of service
(iv)Commitment
(v) Courage of conviction
2. Discuss Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of seven sins. (CSE 2016)
3. Analyse John Rawls’s concept of social justice in the Indian context. (CSE
2016)
4. Discuss the Public Services Code as recommended by the second
Administrative Reforms Commission. (CSE 2016)
5. Distinguish between Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct with suitable
examples. (CSE 2018)
Such type of questions can’t be answered without having accurate
knowledge of the subject. In order to answer these questions well, you must do
a thorough study of the subject and cover the full
syllabus.
Suppose that you don’t have much idea about the questions. Still, you must
attempt to answer and write something from your general knowledge and
assumption. Each mark is important in civil services and you may score some
marks when you answer a question as opposed to leaving it completely
unanswered. However, don’t write anything which is factually incorrect.
2. Quotation-based Questions
The syllabus of this paper includes two specific topics, whose ambit is virtually
infinite. These topics are:
Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the
world.
Lessons from the lives, and teachings of great leaders, reformers and
administrators.
We have discussed the thoughts of several philosophers, thinkers, social
reformers, leaders and administrators in detail in this book. However, the list of
great thinkers, scholars and leaders is virtually infinite, and it is impossible to
cover the thoughts of all great thinkers in one single book. It is also not desirable
to spend too much time reading books on or about various leaders, for one can
utilize the same time and energy for preparing other topics of the civil services
better. If you have studied the thoughts of a few great minds, it would not be
difficult to understand the thoughts of others using your intuition and
imagination.
The quotation-based answers may ask you to discuss, explain, justify or
elucidate certain quotes. Some examples are as follows:
1. Given below are three quotations of great moral thinkers/philosophers. For
each of these quotations, bring out what it means to you in the present
context: (CSE 2013)
a. ‘There is enough on this earth for every one’s need but for no one’s
greed.’ —Mahatma Gandhi.
b. ‘Nearly all men can withstand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s
character, give him power.’ —Abraham Lincoln.
c. ‘I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who
overcomes his enemies.’ —Aristotle.
2. ‘Corruption causes misuse of government treasury, administrative
inefficiency and obstruction in the path of national development,’ said
Kautilya. Discuss his views. (CSE 2016)
3. Max Weber said that it is not wise to apply to public administration the sort
of moral and ethical norms we apply to matters of personal conscience. It
is important to realise that the state bureaucracy might possess its own
 independent bureaucratic morality.’ Critically analyse this statement. (CSE
2016)
4. ‘In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity,
intelligence and energy. And if they do not have the first, the other two will
kill you.’ —Warren Buffett. What do you understand by this statement in
the present-day scenario? Explain. (CSE 2018)
If you closely observe, you will notice that not all types of quotations appear
in the examination. The quotations pertain to topics like ethics, morality,
corruption, public administration, probity in governance, emotional intelligence,
etc. that are part of the GS-IV syllabus. If you have good knowledge of the
subject, you can write excellent explanation to the quotations.
You must practise a large number of quotations on similar topics to prepare
for the examination. Read some answers as given in the last part of the book
(Solved Problems); they will help you write better answers within the word limit.
If you have thoroughly studied the fundamentals of the course and the thoughts
of a thinker/s, you must connect your knowledge of the personality and write
your answer accordingly.
3. Analysis Based Questions
There are certain types of questions that test your analytical skill. It is important
to understand here that when we prepare for our examinations in our schools or
colleges, we usually refer to a textbook which already tells us what the right
answer is. However, for the real world problems, there are hardly any right
answers. For example, you will find a considerable number of people for and
against issues like Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) or National Registrar of
Citizen (NRC). You must have the ability to critically analyse both sides of the
thoughts and come to a conclusion of your own.
Hence, you must develop the skill to analyse complex issues for which no
single answer can be provided. In such type of questions, the presentation of
the answer is as important as the knowledge of the topic. Let us take some such
questions asked in previous year’s papers.
1. What do you understand by ‘values’ and ‘ethics’? In what way is it
important to be ethical along with being professionally competent? (CSE
2013)
2. What is ‘emotional intelligence’ and how can it be developed in people?
How does it help an individual in taking ethical decisions? (CSE 2013)
3. What does ethics seek to promote in human life? Why is it all the more
important in public administration? (CSE 2014)
4. The Right to Information Act is not all about citizens’ empowerment alone, it
essentially redefines the concept of accountability. Discuss. (CSE 2018)
These types of questions test not only your knowledge of the subject, but
also your ability to analyse them and predict their impact in the real world,
particularly in the context of the civil services. For example, you should not only
know the specific provision of the RTI Act, but also know how it empowers
citizens and brings accountability to the public servants.
4. Opinion-based Question
There is a fourth category of questions in this paper where your opinion on a
particular issue is tested. Some example are as follows:
1. Some people feel that values keep changing with time and situation, while
others strongly believe that there are certain universal and eternal human
values. Give your perception in this regard with due justification. (CSE
2013)
2. All human beings aspire for happiness. Do you agree? What does
happiness mean to you? Explain with examples. (CSE 2014)
3. Young people with ethical conduct are not willing to come forward to join
active politics. Suggest steps to motivate them to come forward. (CSE,
2017)
4. One of the tests of integrity is complete refusal to be compromised. Explain
with reference to a real-life example. (CSE, 2017)
5. With regard to the morality of actions, one view is that means is of
paramount importance and the other view is that the ends justify the
means. Which view do you think is more appropriate? Justify your answer.
(CSE 2018)
You have much more flexibility in writing an answer when your opinion is
asked. However, you are more susceptible to making mistakes in answering
such questions because the question often tries to misguide you into writing
wrong answers. Moreover, there is no standard answer to such questions
available in any textbook. These questions try to test your core personality, and
attempt to know you at the deepest level.
You must have the ability to imagine yourself as a civil servant and then
provide an answer from their perspective. You are expected to show maturity,
rationality and emotional stability while answering these questions. Your
answers must display the qualities a civil servant possesses—like impartiality,
objectivity, justice, political neutrality, secularism, etc. For example, when you
answer the questions “All human beings aspire for happiness. Do you agree?
What does happiness mean to you?”, you may either choose duty, service to
nation, etc. as your aspiration rather than happiness, or you can write that
happiness to you mean doing your duties and serving the nation.
You must not focus on what you expect from the job, you must rather focus
on what is expected from you by your job. While writing answers always
remember the words of John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for
you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Tips to Improve Writing Skills
A famous English writer Samuel Johnson had once said, ‘What is written without
effort is in general read without pleasure.’ Good writing is always a great effort.
No one is a born writer; writing is a skill, and everyone can develop this skill with
hard work and practise. We can improve our writing skills by following these
steps.
1. Learning by Doing
There is no shortcut to develop writing skills. You can learn it only by doing.
Even if you have memorised the entire book How to Drive a Car word by word,
you still can’t drive a car unless you practise. You learn driving only when you sit
on the driver’s seat and drive your car on a busy road. If you wish to swim, you
have to jump into the water and learn swimming yourself. You have to suffer the
pain of breathlessness, experience the fear of sinking under the water and learn
keeping your head above the water while paddling your hands and legs.
Someone wisely said, ‘No pain, no gain.’
Good writers are not the slave of their mood. Sometimes they write because
they are inspired, and sometimes inspiration comes to them due to writing. You
may create an excellent piece of writing either way. Ernest Hemingway, an
American novelist, short story writer and journalist, had said this bluntly, ‘There
is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.’
2. Acquire Accurate Knowledge
There is no shortcut to success in life. The key to success in civil services
examination is knowledge. You can’t write good essays unless you know the
subject well. You must, therefore, learn about the variety of topics that
may be relevant from reliable sources to ensure your writing is meaningful.
Nowadays, a lot of unverified and fake knowledge is shared on social
media. Much of these news items are false and motivated. However, they go
viral and reach millions of people because they are interesting and often
sensational. Let’s not learn from the University of WhatsApp or Facebook if we
wish to acquire the right knowledge.
Instead, read from books that are authored by good writers who are highly
qualified, and have accumulated years of experience in their relevant subject.
Sometimes, it may be better to refer to original sources, like a government
website or the original reports, for accurate and factual information. However, it
is better to read important issues from books or articles written by credible
authors because good writers have the ability to simplify complex matters and
present them in an interesting manner, which makes learning easier.
Develop the habit to read articles and reviews in newspapers, magazines
and books to get a vantage point. Watch debates on Rajya Sabha TV, NDTV,
India Today etc. to get varied perspective of the experts.
3. Research
It is often said that if two people think similarly, one of them is redundant. The
best writing is one which is not presented in black and white with a single colour,
i.e. your own opinion. Beautiful writing is like a spectrum which has various
opinions and views from the best writers. You must learn the art of assimilating
diverse thoughts and present a variety of opinions in order to write beautiful and
interesting articles.
Robert J. Sawyer, a Canadian science fiction writer, said this aptly, ‘The
heart and soul of good writing is research; you should write not what you know
but what you can find out about.’ Therefore, research to find out what other
people think about a particular topic. You may form your own views but you
must know why you agree or disagree with a particular view. You can then
present the spectrum of thoughts through your writing like a garland made of
flowers of numerous varieties and colours.
You must avoid giving personal opinions based on intuition without basis.
Rather, you must use references and quotes to back up your points. Try to
strengthen your argument by providing documents, data, references and
evidence.
Your answer must demonstrate that you have wide knowledge of your
subject and that you possess in-depth knowledge on the topic. However, it is not
a good idea to use too much of other people’s opinions, which may suggest that
you don’t have the knowledge or confidence to explain things in your own
words.
While writing an analytical answer, try to give both sides of an argument and
present information impartially, and consider multiple points of view. However,
you must form your own views after logically analysing all the points and after
weighing the evidence comprehensively and write them unambiguously.
4. Plan Your Answer
You must answer the question which has been asked and not the question you
want to answer. Don’t try to mould the question to what you know or what you
like to write about. Even if you have written a brilliant answer, which is out of
context, you may not be able to impress the examiner and get good marks.
You must, therefore, make a full picture of the answer in your mind before
you pen the first word on paper. Don’t move back and forth. You must format the
answer first and jot down the salient points in bulleted form. Prioritise the points
and write your answer in such a way that you don’t miss even one, single
important point.
You must always come to some specific conclusion based on your own
analysis after weighing the evidence. Your opinion and interpretation matters
most to the examiner for judging your suitability for the job.
5. Know Your Reader
It is always important to know the audience to whom you have to deliver your
message. For example, your Facebook posts are read mostly by your friends
and relatives, and your Quora answers are read mostly by young people under
the age of 30. However, your answers in UPSC examination is meant for the
examiner, who is likely to be in the age group of 40-60 years, with wide
experience of life and in-depth knowledge of the subject. Write your answers
keeping this in mind.
You should not write what is popular but what is right. You have to impress
the examiner by showing your suitability for the job as a civil servant. Your
purpose should be to leave an impression on the mind of the examiner about
your knowledge, sincerity and commitment to serve the nation, so that he sees
an ideal civil servant in you after reading your answer.
6. Develop Your Own Style
Examiners get bored reading the same type of answer since most students use
the same sources for preparation. They must find something refreshing and new
in your answer to award you extra marks.
You should not hide behind what other people say about the topic. You must
show them that you have an independent mind, and that you have an intelligent
opinion on everything.
You may use quotations to make your answers interesting and convincing.
You may also add pictures and sketches for a more effective and persuasive
communication. You must try to captivate your reader by the power of reasoning
and the beauty of presentation.

7. Spelling and Grammar

It would be a good idea to practise answer writing on computer which can
immediately point out the errors in spellings and grammar. You will thus know
where you are weak and you can work upon it. If you write blogs or answers on
Quora, the readers must have pointed out your mistakes and that can help you
correct your errors and make your writing better.

8. Edit and Proofread

You must always edit and proofread your answer. You are bound to make
mistakes even if you are extremely careful. The books authored by the greatest
writers of the world undergo several rounds of editing and proofreading. Once
you have written your answer, please revise it before you submit your copy.

9. Stick to the Time and Word Limit

When you are writing an answer, divide the time available to you fairly among all
the answers on the basis of the marks allocated for each answer. You must
keep at least 10 per cent of the time as buffer, in case you exceed the time limit
in any question. Try to complete your answer before this allocated time so that