“Integrity in public service is the foundation of ethical governance.” Discuss the challenges in maintaining integrity in day-to-day administration and suggest measures to strengthen it.

Integrity in Public service is the foundation for ethical public management. It not only entails more than just honesty in financial dealings but  it also involves consistency in one’s principles, words and deeds. In today’s government where civil servants face media scrutiny, public pressure and political influence, integrity is most commonly tested everyday in subtle and situational decisions rather than major ethical confrontations.

Everyday Ethical Challenges

Civil workers today face ethical quandaries in everyday administrative responsibilities such as granting licenses, managing procurement, assigning welfare payments and dealing with transfers and postings. Each action involves an ethical trade-off where personal convenience versus fairness, loyalty to superiors versus devotion to the law or short-term efficiency versus long-term justice.

Critical Dimensions:

• Institutional Environment: Organisational culture frequently influences how integrity is viewed like tolerance for minor ethical flaws legitimises larger violations over time.
• Moral bravery: Integrity necessitates the bravery to defend the right even when no one is looking to convert ethics from conformity to conviction.
• Accountability and transparency: Systems must ensure that administrative discretion is open to scrutiny by the public reducing the possibility of subjective or biased decision-making.
• Public Trust: The credibility of government is dependent on citizens thinking that even minor choices are made impartially and in the public interest.

Way forward

• Enhance ethics infrastructure including vigilance cells, whistleblower protection and regular integrity audits.
• Integrate ethics training into service curriculum which focuses on real-life case studies that imitate common situations.
• Encourage value-based leadership in which senior officials demonstrate ethical consistency in their daily activities.
• Promote citizen engagement and transparency mechanisms such as RTI portals, social audits  and open data to strengthen accountability at all administrative levels.

In nutshell, integrity is a continuous practice of prioritising right over convenience in all situations rather than a single heroic act. When government officials preserve ethical behaviour in their daily tasks, governance transforms from a mere rule-enforcement mechanism to a living embodiment of public confidence.

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About the Author: Jyoti Verma