Ethics, codes of conduct and public-service values

Detail

1. Code of conduct vs code of ethics

• Civil servants are the permanent executive. They stay in office when ministers (the political executive) change. So they need fixed rules on how to behave.
• Code of conduct is a list of specific dos and don'ts that can be enforced.
• If an officer breaks one, the officer can be punished through disciplinary rules.

• Example: "Do not accept a gift above a set value without permission."

• Code of ethics is a statement of values, such as integrity (being honest and not corrupt), fairness, impartiality and service to the public.

• It guides the officer's judgement where no rule applies.

• Breaking a value is usually not punishable unless a law turns it into a duty.

• The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission (2nd ARC) wanted a code of ethics made law, so that the values have legal force.

Feature	Code of conduct	Code of ethics
What it contains	Specific dos and don'ts	Broad values
Example in India	AIS (Conduct) Rules 1968; CCS (Conduct) Rules 1964	Values proposed by the 2nd ARC; Nolan principles (UK)
Can it be enforced?	Yes, through disciplinary action	Only if a law makes it binding
Kind of integrity it builds	Compliance-based	Value-based

2. All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968

• All India Services (AIS) are services shared by the Union and the states. Officers are recruited by the Union but serve in state cadres. They are created under Article 312.

• The three services are the IAS, IPS and IFoS (Indian Forest Service).

• The rules are framed under the All-India Services Act, 1951. Their full text is on India Code [3].

• Core duties: integrity, devotion to duty, political neutrality and accountability.
• Restrictions:
• Gifts: gifts above set limits must be reported or need prior permission.
• Politics: officers cannot join a political party or take part in political activity.
• Press: officers cannot contact the press without permission.
• Criticism: officers cannot publicly criticise government policy.
• Business: officers cannot run a private trade or business, and cannot speculate in investments.

• Property returns: officers must file regular returns of their immovable property (land and buildings) and report big transactions.

• 2014 amendment (listed values): The All India Services (Conduct) Amendment Rules, 2014 added sub-rule (1A) to rule 3(1) and sub-rule (2B) to rule 3(2) [2].

• Rule 3(1A): every officer must maintain [2]:
  • high ethical standards, integrity and honesty;
  • political neutrality;
  • merit, fairness and impartiality in their work;
  • accountability and transparency;
  • responsiveness to the public, especially the weaker sections;
  • courtesy and good behaviour with the public.
• Rule 3(2B): every officer must also [2]:
  • uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and democratic values;
  • defend the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, public order, decency and morality;
  • maintain integrity in public service;
  • take decisions solely in the public interest;
  • use public resources efficiently, effectively and economically.
• (NCERT: the listed values were "added later".) The year was 2014 [2].
• Why it matters: these were values, but putting them into the conduct rules made them enforceable. This is a partial step towards the 2nd ARC's idea of legal public-service values.

3. Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964

• These rules cover central government employees who are not in the AIS, such as Group A, B and C central services.
• Key rules:
• Rule 3: general duty of absolute integrity and devotion to duty.
• Rule 5: no taking part in politics or elections, and no membership of political organisations.

• There are also rules on gifts and on property returns and property deals.

• RSS and the July 2024 order:

• 1966-80: a series of government orders put the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on the list of organisations that central employees could not join, under the political-activity rule.
• July 2024: an office memorandum (OM, a formal government order) from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) removed the RSS from that list.
• Result: central employees can now take part in RSS activities without breaking the CCS (Conduct) Rules.
• Debate: supporters say it ends an old political ban. Critics say it weakens the political neutrality expected of civil servants.

4. 2nd ARC: the code of ethics proposal

• The 2nd ARC (2005-09), chaired first by M. Veerappa Moily, submitted 15 reports.
• 4th Report, "Ethics in Governance" (2007):
• It says good governance needs strong ethical values rooted in the Constitution.
• Para 2.7 deals with ethics for civil servants. It proposes a set of public-service values and a code of ethics in place of the long lists of don'ts.

• A Group of Ministers set up to review the 2nd ARC's recommendations considered this report among twelve reports [4].

• 10th Report, "Refurbishing of Personnel Administration" (2008):

• It proposed a Civil Services Law (a single Act for the civil services). This Act would set out public-service values, the code of ethics and the duties of officers.

• Draft Public Service Bill (2006-07):

• It would have made public-service values and a code of ethics binding by law.
• It was never enacted (never passed into law).
• So India still relies on conduct rules (made by the executive under Article 309 or the AIS Act 1951), not a statute (an Act of Parliament).

5. Nolan principles (UK, 1995)

• The Nolan Committee, officially the Committee on Standards in Public Life, gave its first report in 1995. It was set up after "cash-for-questions" scandals in the UK.
• It listed seven principles of public life:

Principle	Meaning in simple words
Selflessness	Act only in the public interest
Integrity	Avoid any obligation to people who might influence your work; do not seek benefits for yourself, family or friends
Objectivity	Decide fairly, on merit and evidence, without bias
Accountability	Answer to the public for your decisions and accept scrutiny
Openness	Act and decide openly; withhold information only for clear, lawful reasons
Honesty	Be truthful
Leadership	Show these values in your own behaviour and challenge poor behaviour

• The 2nd ARC's 4th Report used these principles as a model for India.

6. Rules vs values: two kinds of integrity

• Compliance-based integrity: an officer avoids wrongdoing because a rule forbids it and punishment may follow.

• Weakness: it covers only the cases the rules foresee. Officers may follow the letter of a rule but break its spirit.

• Value-based integrity: an officer does right because they believe in fairness, honesty and service.

• Strength: it guides behaviour in new situations, such as social media or AI-based decisions.

• Summary: rules punish wrongdoing, while values build character. A good system needs both. Integrity based only on rules is weaker than integrity based on values.

7. Gaps in the present framework

• Asset declarations (Lokpal Act s.44):
• Original s.44 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 had these requirements [5][6]:
  • every public servant had to declare their own assets and liabilities, and those of their spouse and dependent children;
  • an annual return was due by 31 July;
  • the returns had to be published on the ministry website by 31 August.
• Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Act, 2016 (passed by Lok Sabha on 28 July 2016) replaced these with a declaration "in such form and manner as may be prescribed" [5].
  • It removed the required declaration for the spouse and children [5].
  • It removed the required website publication [5].

• Gap: there is less public checking of officers' wealth.

• Conflicts of interest and jobs after retirement:

• Retired officers need government approval to take up commercial employment within a cooling-off period (a waiting period after retirement) under pension rules.

• However, there is no full conflict-of-interest law covering revolving doors (officers who regulated a sector later working for firms in it).

• Gifts and hospitality: the rules set money limits, but they do not clearly cover hospitality, sponsored travel and gifts made through relatives.

• Social-media conduct: the conduct rules were written before social media. Rules on criticism and press contact are applied to posts case by case, without a clear code.
• Whistle-blowing inside the service:
• A whistle-blower is an officer who reports wrongdoing in their own office.
• Such officers have weak protection from transfer or harassment.

• This links to the transparency-accountability theme.

• Ethics training: ethics training for officers under Mission Karmayogi (2020) is covered in Section 12.

Prelims Hooks

• AIS (Conduct) Rules 1968 cover IAS, IPS and IFoS. The AIS are created under Article 312, and the rules are framed under the All-India Services Act, 1951.
• The 2014 amendment to the AIS (Conduct) Rules inserted rule 3(1A) and rule 3(2B). These listed accountability, transparency, responsiveness to weaker sections and courtesy [2].
• CCS (Conduct) Rules 1964: rule 3 is about integrity and rule 5 is about taking part in politics.
• July 2024 DoPT OM: it removed the RSS from the list of banned organisations. This reversed orders of 1966-80.
• 2nd ARC 4th Report is "Ethics in Governance" (2007). The 10th Report proposed a Civil Services Law.
• Draft Public Service Bill (2006-07): never enacted. Trap: the code of ethics for civil servants is not a statute.
• Nolan Committee (UK, 1995) gave seven principles. "Efficiency" and "loyalty" are not among them. Trap: "Openness", not "transparency", is the Nolan word.
• Lokpal Act s.44: the 2016 amendment dropped the required spouse/children asset declaration and the required website publication [5].

Mains Points

• Values vs rules: India's conduct rules are long lists of don'ts. They build compliance-based integrity. The 2nd ARC (4th and 10th Reports) argued for statutory public-service values and a code of ethics, using the Nolan model. The 2014 AIS amendment did this only partly, through rules and not an Act of Parliament.
• Political neutrality debate: the July 2024 removal of the RSS from the CCS banned list raises a question. Does neutrality mean not belonging to any group, or only staying impartial while on duty? It also raises the need for a clear, rule-based list of banned organisations instead of changing executive orders.
• Transparency trade-off: the 2016 dilution of Lokpal s.44 protected officers' family privacy (Articles 14 and 21) but weakened public scrutiny [5]. One option is to make declarations public while hiding personal details.
• Reform agenda: a full conflict-of-interest and revolving-door code, clear social-media guidelines, stronger protection for whistle-blowers inside the service, and a Civil Services Law with enforceable values. These should be backed by value-based training (Mission Karmayogi).