First Principles IASlearning from first principles

Strengthening ethics in governance

Syllabus
Strengthening of Ethical and Moral Values in Governance
As of
October 2026
  • ethics infrastructure
  • OECD
  • guidance management and control
  • ethical competence
  • integrity risk
  • Mission Karmayogi
  • rule based to role based
  • iGOT Karmayogi
  • Capacity Building Commission
  • FRACs
  • integrity pact
  • Independent External Monitor
  • ethics audit
  • nudge
  • value based appraisal

The first principle

Ethics cannot be strengthened by appeals to conscience alone, nor by punishment alone. It grows when the whole system around an officer points the same way: clear standards, training that builds judgement, working conditions that make honesty affordable, and controls that make misconduct risky. The aim is to make the right choice the easy choice, so that integrity does not depend on rare heroes.

The core

  • An ethics infrastructure: the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD) described eight elements that together support public integrity, grouped as guidance, management and control, and its 1998 Recommendation on Improving Ethical Conduct in the Public Service set out principles for managing ethics on this basis.
  • Three fronts of action: anticipating threats to integrity before they arise, building the ethical competence of officers, and designing processes that leave little room for misconduct.
  • From compliance to values: rules mark the floor, but values guide the many decisions no rule foresaw, so a sound system invests in both.
The ethics infrastructure: eight elements grouped under guidance, management and controlAn ethics infrastructureafter the OECDGuidancePolitical commitmentLeaders model itCodes of conductClear standardsSocialisationTraining, mentorsManagementService conditionsFair pay, tenureCoordinating bodyOwns the systemControlLegal frameworkLaws, sanctionsAccountabilityAudit, reviewCivil societyMedia, citizens
Figure: the eight elements of an ethics infrastructure under guidance, management and control.

Dimensions

Three areas of action: anticipating threats, building ethical competence, and processes that promote integrityThree fronts of actionAnticipate threatsMap risky posts: procurement, licensing,land, transfers; rotate and screenBuild ethical competenceCase based training, ethics advisers,mentoring, value based appraisalDesign processes for integrityOnline services, integrity pacts,reasons on file, open dataThe aimMake the right choice the easy choice
Figure: the three fronts of action, with measures for each.
  • Individual: character, conscience and emotional intelligence, built through training, mentoring and example from seniors.
  • Organisational: leadership that models integrity, fair postings and appraisals that weigh conduct as well as output.
  • Systemic: online services, transparency and audit, which remove the discretion and opacity in which corruption thrives.
  • Societal: citizens, media and civil society who expect and reward honest conduct.

In practice

  • Mission Karmayogi (National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building): approved by the Union Cabinet on 2 September 2020. It moves training from rule based to role based, maps each post to a Framework of Roles, Activities and Competencies (FRACs), and runs learning through the iGOT Karmayogi online platform. A Capacity Building Commission sets training standards, and the Cabinet decision put the coverage at about 46 lakh central employees.
  • Integrity pacts: the buyer and every bidder sign a pledge not to bribe or collude, and Independent External Monitors hear complaints. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was the first Indian adopter in 2006, and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) issued a standard operating procedure in 2009.
  • Ethics audit: a periodic review of an office's culture, risks and processes, not only its accounts, followed by changes to systems.
  • Examples: online land records and direct benefit transfer remove intermediaries, which is ethics built into process rather than demanded of individuals.
The structure of Mission Karmayogi from the Prime Minister's council to the online platformMission Karmayogiapproved 2 September 2020Public Human Resources CouncilChaired by the Prime Minister; setsdirection, approves plansCapacity Building CommissionSets training standards, overseestraining institutionsiGOT Karmayogi platformOnline learning, run by a not for profitcompany owned by governmentCoordination unitHeaded by the Cabinet SecretaryRule based to role basedEach post mapped to roles, activitiesand competencies (FRACs)
Figure: the structure of Mission Karmayogi.
How an integrity pact works in public procurementIntegrity pactBuyer pledgesNo bribe sought,fair processBidders pledgeNo bribe offered,no collusionBoth sign before biddingPact is part of the tenderIndependent External MonitorsApproved by the CVC; hear complaintsfrom either sideBreachBid rejected, contract ended,firm debarredIn IndiaONGC first, 2006; CVC procedure, 2009
Figure: how an integrity pact works in public procurement.

Issues and way forward

  • Training without change in incentives, because officers return from courses to the same pressures. Pair Mission Karmayogi with fixed tenure and integrity weighted appraisal.
  • No statutory code of ethics, because the proposed public service law never passed. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) recommended stating public service values in law, and an executive code could come first.
  • Integrity pacts applied unevenly, because they depend on each organisation's will. Extend them to more procurement and publish the monitors' findings.
  • Ethics treated as a lecture topic, because it is hard to measure. Use ethics audits and staff surveys to find risks, then fix the processes that create them.
The cycle of an ethics audit in a public officeAn ethics auditMap ethical risksReview rules, filesSurvey staff, usersReport findingsFix systemsMonitor, repeatAudits culture,not only accounts
Figure: the cycle of an ethics audit in a public office.

Common confusions

  • Ethics infrastructure and anti corruption agencies. Agencies such as the CVC and the Lokpal are only the control part. The infrastructure also includes guidance, such as codes and training, and management, such as service conditions.
  • Ethics audit and financial audit. A financial audit checks whether money was spent properly. An ethics audit checks whether the culture, rules and risks of an office support honest conduct.
  • Integrity pact and code of conduct. A code of conduct binds officers. An integrity pact binds both the buyer and private bidders for one contract.

For the exam

  • Keyword bank: ethics infrastructure, guidance, management, control, anticipating threats, ethical competence, integrity by design, Mission Karmayogi, role based training, FRACs, iGOT Karmayogi, Capacity Building Commission, integrity pact, Independent External Monitor, ethics audit.
  • Previous year questions: Practise the previous year questions on this topic →
  • Introduction lines:
    • Mission Karmayogi, approved in September 2020, set out to move the training of about 46 lakh central employees from rules to roles.
    • The Second Administrative Reforms Commission argued in 2007 that ethics must be built into institutions and not left to individual virtue.
  • Conclusion lines:
    • Ethics is strengthened not by exhortation but by systems in which integrity is easy, visible and rewarded.
    • Training builds the will to act rightly, and well designed processes remove the chance to act wrongly, so governance needs both.