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Context: The ministry of education released the findings of the All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) for 2019-20 on June 10.

However, the report also contains enough evidence to suggest that India’s higher education sector confronts serious issues of inequality across the gender, caste, and regional axis.

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Day 33 – Q. 3. Mr. Raghav Verma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has recently been posted as the District Collector of Lakshmipur, a backward but ecologically sensitive district in central India. A powerful conglomerate has proposed setting up a large cement manufacturing unit in the region. The proposed project promises to generate over 4,000 jobs and improve local infrastructure, and has received political backing at the state level. However, environmental assessments conducted by a neutral research body raise serious concerns. The region falls within an elephant corridor and includes tribal villages dependent on forest-based livelihoods. The plant’s operations may lead to irreversible groundwater depletion and air pollution. Raghav receives unofficial calls from state-level officials urging him to push through the final clearance. Simultaneously, he is visited by tribal elders and local activists who plead with him to protect their land and forests. Raghav is caught between the lure of rapid development, intense political pressure, and the ethical responsibility to safeguard the environment and the rights of vulnerable communities. Questions What are the different options available to Raghav in this situation? What are the ethical implications of each option? In your opinion, what should Raghav do? Justify your answer with suitable ethical reasoning. How can public servants ethically balance economic development with sustainable governance in such high-pressure roles? (250 words, 20 marks)
Day 33 – Q. 2. A massive fire at the official residence of a sitting High Court judge uncovers bundles of charred currency notes amounting to several crores. Preliminary investigations suggest a serious case of financial misconduct, triggering nationwide outrage. A Supreme Court-appointed panel recommends initiating impeachment proceedings, putting the spotlight squarely on the integrity of the higher judiciary. This incident has sparked a fierce debate. While the legal community defends the sanctity and independence of the judiciary as essential to democracy, civil society, media, and common citizens demand immediate action and structural reforms to prevent such breaches of public trust. Many view this as a symptom of a deeper systemic issue, not merely an isolated moral failure. The Ministry of Law and Justice is now under pressure to institutionalize a credible framework that ensures accountability while preserving the independence of judges. As a senior bureaucrat, your role involves reconciling competing concerns: respecting judicial autonomy as guaranteed under the Constitution while reinforcing mechanisms of integrity, transparency, and public confidence. Questions What ethical values and constitutional principles are at stake in this situation? How can the judiciary be held accountable without undermining its independence? As a senior bureaucrat in the Ministry of Law and Justice, what should be your course of action to address this issue institutionally and ethically? (250 words, 20 marks)
Day 33 – Q. 1. As an officer in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), you are part of a high-level panel tasked with reviewing the authenticity of reservation-related documents—such as those for SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and persons with disabilities—submitted by a number of civil servants at the time of their appointment. Recent audits have raised serious concerns regarding the legitimacy of some of these certificates. Many of the individuals under scrutiny have already been serving in various government departments for 5 to 10 years, with overall satisfactory performance records and no major disciplinary issues. While legal action, including termination and prosecution, is being actively considered for those found guilty of submitting false documents, a parallel debate has emerged. Some experts and internal stakeholders argue that administrative leniency should be shown in cases where there was no clear malicious intent or where systemic lapses—such as inadequate verification mechanisms—enabled the breach. However, rightful candidates who were displaced due to the fraudulent use of reserved category certificates are now demanding justice and restoration of their lost opportunities. Civil society groups and public interest litigants are also adding pressure, urging the government to take decisive, transparent, and equitable action. In this context, the government must walk a tightrope—balancing the legal and moral imperative to uphold fairness in public employment with the pragmatic challenges of dealing with long-serving officials who may have been products of an administrative failure. Questions What are the ethical concerns involved in allowing or removing such officers from service? How can the principle of natural justice be upheld while ensuring fairness to genuine beneficiaries? What measures would you suggest to strengthen the verification of eligibility claims in public service recruitment. (250 words, 20 Marks)
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Total Enrolment In Higher Education	3.42 crore in 2014-15. 3.74 crore in 2018-19. 3.85 crore in 2019-20: Growth of 11.36 lakh (3.04 per cent) Out of these, nearly 85% of the students (2.85 crore) were enrolled in the six major disciplines such as Humanities, Science, Commerce, Engineering & Technology, Medical Science and IT & Computer.
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)	24.3% in 2014-15 26.3% in 2018-19 27.1% in 2019-20 GER in higher education is calculated for the 18-23 age group. It is the ratio of enrolment in higher education to the population in the eligible age group.
Gender Parity Index (GPI)	GPI in Higher Education in 2019-20 is 1.01 against 1.00 in 2018-19 indicating an improvement in the relative access to higher education for females of eligible age group compared to males.
Students Pursuing PhD	1.17 lakh in 2014-15. 2.03 lakh in 2019-20
Total Number of Teachers	15,03,156 comprising 57.5% male and 42.5% female Pupil Teacher Ratio in Higher Education in 2019-20 is 26.

EDUCATION/ GOVERNANCE

All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20

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