UPSC Mains 2020 GS4 Q7 — Public Fund Utilization
Rajesh Kumar is a senior public servant, with a reputation of honesty and forthrightness, currently posted in the Finance Ministry as Head of the Budget Division. His department is presently busy in organising the budgetary support to the states, four of which are due to go to the polls within the financial year. This year's annual budget had allotted ₹ 8300 crores for National Housing Scheme (NHS), a centrally sponsored social housing scheme for the weaker sections of society. ₹ 775 crores have been drawn for NHS till June. The Ministry of Commerce had long been pursuing a case for setting up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in a southern state to boost exports. After two years of detailed discussions between the centre and state, the Union Cabinet approved the project in August. Process was initiated to acquire the necessary land. Eighteen months ago a leading Public Sector Unit (PSU) had projected the need for setting up a large natural gas processing plant in a northern state for the regional gas grid. The required land is already in possession of the PSU. The gas grid is an essential component of the national energy security strategy. After three rounds of global bidding the project was allotted to an MNC, M/s XYZ Hydrocarbons. The first tranche of payment to the MNC is scheduled to be made in December. Finance Ministry was asked for a timely allocation of an additional ₹ 6000 crores for these two developmental projects. It was decided to recommend re-appropriation of this entire amount from the NHS allocation. The file was forwarded to Budget Department for their comments and further processing. On studying the case file, Rajesh Kumar realized that this re-appropriation may cause inordinate delay in the execution of NHS, a project much publicized in the rallies of senior politicians. Correspondingly, non-availability of finances would cause financial loss in the SEZ and national embarrassment due to delayed payment in an international project. Rajesh Kumar discussed the matter with his seniors. He was conveyed that this politically sensitive situation needs to be processed immediately. Rajesh Kumar realized that diversion of funds from NHS could raise difficult questions for the government in the Parliament. Discuss the following with reference to this case: (a) Ethical issues involved in re-appropriation of funds from a welfare project to the developmental projects. (b) Given the need for proper utilization of public funds, discuss the options available to Rajesh Kumar. Is resigning a worthy option? (250 words) 20
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Discuss
- Scope keywords
- re-appropriation of fundswelfare project to the developmental projectsproper utilization of public fundsnational energy security strategypolitically sensitive situationnational embarrassment
- Implicit sub-parts
- Evaluation of the 'Opportunity Cost' of delaying a housing scheme for the poor vs. the 'Credibility Cost' of defaulting on an international contract.
- Analysis of the accountability mechanisms in re-appropriation (Legislative oversight vs. Executive discretion).
- Assessment of the long-term socio-economic impact of prioritizing infrastructure (SEZ/Gas) over basic social rights (NHS).
- Critique of the ethics of 'Resignation' as an escapist vs. a principled act in public service.
- Common pitfalls
- Focusing too much on the political 'rallies' aspect instead of the technical budgetary ethics of re-appropriation.
- Presenting a binary choice between welfare and development without exploring middle-ground budgetary alternatives like supplementary grants.
- Treating resignation as a heroic act rather than evaluating it as a failure of a civil servant's duty to provide objective advice.
- Ignoring the specific gravity of 'international project' defaults and 'energy security' which carry significant sovereign risk.
- Dimensions required
- Socio-Economic EthicsAdministrative Law (Budgetary Rules)Political AccountabilityInternational Relations and Global CredibilityProfessional Integrity of Civil Servants
- Marks allocation hint
Devote 100 words to Part (a) by balancing the 'Ethics of the Ends' (Development/Security) vs 'Ethics of the Means' (Welfare/Parliamentary transparency). Use the remaining 150 words for Part (b) to evaluate specific options like phased allocation or supplementary demands, ensuring a robust dismissal of resignation as an ethical retreat.
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 250 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →