UPSC Mains 2016 GS4 Q4 — Corruption and Persuasion
(a) "Corruption causes misuse of government treasury, administrative inefficiency and obstruction in the path of national development." Discuss Kautilya's views. (150 words) 10 (b) How could social influence and persuasion contribute to the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan ? (150 words) 10
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- DiscussHow could
- Scope keywords
- misuse of government treasuryadministrative inefficiencyobstruction in the path of national developmentKautilya's viewssocial influencepersuasionSwachh Bharat Abhiyan
- Implicit sub-parts
- What is the Arthashastra's specific philosophy on the nature of human greed ('honey on the tongue')?
- What were Kautilya’s proposed mechanisms for monitoring and punishment to ensure 'national development'?
- How do Cialdini’s principles of persuasion (like Social Proof or Authority) apply to the ODF campaign?
- How did the campaign shift 'social norms' from private habit to public responsibility?
- Common pitfalls
- Writing a general essay on corruption instead of specifically citing Kautilya’s 40 ways of embezzlement or his fish-and-water analogy.
- Failing to link Kautilya's views to the modern keywords provided in the prompt (efficiency and development).
- Describing the success of Swachh Bharat as a policy achievement rather than explaining the psychological 'process' of how persuasion worked.
- Confusing social influence with simple advertisement; neglecting the role of community-led total sanitation (CLTS).
- Dimensions required
- Philosophical (Kautilyan ethics)Administrative/GovernanceBehavioral Economics/PsychologySocio-cultural (Social Norms)
- Marks allocation hint
For part (a), allocate 40 words to Kautilya’s diagnosis of corruption and 35 words to his prescriptive solutions. For part (b), use 30 words to define the psychological tools and 45 words to demonstrate their specific application in the Swachh Bharat context, ensuring a 50-50 split in total marks.
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