Attitude Previous Year Questions for UPSC Mains

Attitude is an important topic of General Studies 4 (Ethics paper) of the Civil Services Examination (CSE.) This article will provide you with a set of Attitude previous year questions that have been asked in the Mains GS IV of the IAS Exam, from the year 2013-2020. 

Candidates can get other subject-wise/topic-wise GS 4 questions from the links provided in the table below:

For details of UPSC Mains, check the linked article.

UPSC Mains GS 4 Attitude Questions (Year-Wise)

We have segregated the attitude questions from GS paper 4 from 2013-2019. There are two sets: 

• Theoretical Questions
• Case Studies. 

Candidates can find both the sets under each year one after another. A number of questions are asked from this topic and for complete trend analysis of general studies 4, you can check our GS Paper 4 Strategy, Structure and Syllabus page. 

Attitude Questions (Year-Wise)

1. A positive attitude is considered to be an essential characteristic of a civil servant who is often required to function under extreme stress. What contributes to a positive attitude in a person?
2. “Hatred is destructive of a person’s wisdom and conscience that can poison a nation’s spirit.’ Do you agree with this view? Justify your answer.

1. What is meant by ‘crisis of conscience’? How does it manifest itself in the public domain? 

1. 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.

1. Young people with ethical conduct are not willing to come forward to join active politics. Suggest steps to motivate them to come forward.
2. Without commonly shared and widely entrenched moral values and obligations, neither the law, nor democratic government, nor even the market economy will function properly. What do you understand by this statement? Explain with illustration in contemporary times.

1. How could social influence and persuasion contribute to the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?
2. Our attitudes towards life, work, other people and society are generally shaped unconsciously by the family and the social surroundings in which we grow up. Some of these unconsciously acquired attitudes and values are often undesirable in the citizens of a modern democratic and egalitarian society. (a) Discuss such undesirable values prevalent in Today’s educated Indians (b) How can such undesirable attitudes be changed and socioethical values considered necessary in public services be cultivated in the aspiring and serving civil servants?

1. Two different kinds of attitudes exhibited by public servants towards their work have been identified as bureaucratic attitudes and democratic attitudes.
   • Distinguish between these two terms and write their merits and demerits.
   • Is it possible to balance the two to create a better administration for the faster development of our country?

1. You are recently posted as a district development officer of a district. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable tension in the rural areas of your district on the issue of sending girls to schools. The elders of the village feel that many problems have come up because girls are being educated and they are stepping out of the safe environment of the household. They are the view that the girls should be quickly married off with minimum education. The girls are also competing for jobs after education, which have traditionally remained in boys’ exclusive domain, adding to unemployment amongst the male population. The younger generation feels that in the present era, girls should have equal opportunities for education and employment, and other means of livelihood. The entire locality is divided between sexes into both generations. You come to know that in Panchayat or in other local bodies or even in busy crosswords, the issue is being acrimoniously debated. One day you are informed that an unpleasant incident has taken place. Some girls were molested, when they were en route to schools. The incident led to clashes between several groups and a law and order problem has arisen. The elders after heated discussion have taken a joint decision not to allow girls to go to school and to socially boycott all such families, which do not follow their dictates. 
   • What steps would you take to ensure girls’ safety without disrupting their education?
   • How would you manage and mould the patriarchal attitude of the village elders to ensure harmony in intergenerational relations?

GS 4 Related Links:

1. What factors affect the formation of a person’s attitude towards social problems? In our society, contrasting attitudes are prevalent in many social problems. What contrasting attitudes do you notice about the caste system in our society? How do you explain the existence of these contrasting attitudes? 

1. Suppose you are the CEO of a company that manufactures specialized electronic equipment used by a government department. You have submitted your bid for the supply of this equipment to the department. Both the quality and cost of your offer are better than those of the competitors. Yet the concerned officer is demanding a hefty bribe for approving the tender. Getting the order is important both for you and your company. Not getting the order would mean closing a production line. It may also affect your own career. However, as a value-conscious person, You do not want to give bribes. Valid arguments can be advanced both for giving the bribe and getting the order and for refusing to pay the bribe and risking the loss of the order. What those arguments could be, Could there be any better way to get out of this dilemma? If so, outline the main elements of this third way, pointing out its merits.

Candidates can get UPSC Previous Year Question Papers from the linked article.

Attitude Questions for UPSC Mains GS 4:- Download PDF Here

To get the topic-wise GS 4 questions for UPSC Mains in one place, check the linked article.

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