Civil services refers to the permanent executive branch of the State’s administration, excluding the military and the judicial branch. The Indian civil services are modelled on the pre-independence administrative system of the British which is essentially a hierarchical and merit-based career system with accountability to the political executive. It acts as the backbone of entire machinery of the government and is important for a democracy like India because:

• Instrumental in policy formulation: It helps identifying policy areas, analyzing solutions, designing policies, determining programmes of action and suggesting policy modification.
• Provides policy continuity: The governments change after every five years, however, it is the civil servants who provide continuity to programs and policies and a stable administration without any political bias.
• Public Service Delivery: They perform the welfare and regulatory functions of the government by delivering the promised goods and services to the intended beneficiaries.
• Implementation of Laws: Civil servants uphold the rule of law and secure public order in the society.
• Facilitating participatory democracy: Civil servants secure the support of the people for developmental activities by involving them in the process. E.g. formulation of citizens charter.
• Role in exigencies: They are the first official responders to any calamity or hazard. E.g. role played in management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• National binding force: The civil services with its national character, have been a strong binding force and it has greatly contributed to national development.

However, Indian civil services are alleged to be status quoist, bound by rigid rules, filled-up with generalists and marred by corruption and political interference. In that context, several committees such as Hota Committee, Santhanam Committee, Surinder Nath Committee and 2nd ARC etc. have recommended following reforms:

• Enhancing accountability and transparency in the system:

• A statutory Central Civil Services Authority to deal with matters of assignment of domain, preparing panels for posting of officers at different levels, fixing tenures and determining which posts should be advertised for lateral entry.
• A fixed minimum tenure and an annual performance target along with a three-member Ombudsman for grievance redressal in case of early transfer.
• Lateral entry to be done through an institutionalized and transparent process at both the Central and state levels.

• Capacity building: Successful completion of a mandatory training at the induction stage and periodically during service, as a minimum necessary condition for confirmation in service and subsequent promotions. Mission Karmayogi’ the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) is a significant step in this direction.
• Use of technology: Technology could be leveraged for seamless coordination between centre and states e.g. instituting Online Probity Management System’ in all central and state cadres and strengthening the implementation of online Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).
• Code of Ethics: A comprehensive code incorporating the core values of integrity, merit and excellence in public service should be drawn up for civil servants.

These reforms not only strengthen the administrative capacity to perform core government functions to raise the quality of governance but also contribute to macroeconomic stabilization, improved development performance and effective implementation of social development programs.

Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) around Protected Areas (PA), National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, under provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The delineation of ESZ is site specific and relates to regulation rather than prohibition of specific activities.

Significance of ESZS:

• Acts as shock absorber: PAs are based on the core-buffer model of conservation. While core areas have legal status of being a national park, buffer areas don’t have such a status and can be a reserved forest, wildlife sanctuary or tiger reserve. ESZs thus act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas of lesser protection and work as shock absorbers around PAs.
• Minimizes harmful impacts of developmental activities: Some activities like movement of commercial vehicles at night, construction of roads etc. are allowed but regulated in ESZs. Therefore, such transition zones minimize adverse impacts of developmental activities around PAs.
• Conserve biodiversity: Areas outside PA network are vital ecological corridor links and require protection to prevent biodiversity fragmentation. ESZs help in conserving biodiversity, reducing forest depletion and man-animal conflict.
• Promote Eco-tourism: ESZs help in in-situ conservation of flora and fauna and promote eco- tourism.
• Bottoms up approach: Respective states, local bodies and experts are involved in deciding the extent of ESZ, permitted activities in it and management of the area.

Challenges associated with ESZS

• Identification of ESZS
  • As per 2011 Guidelines, proposals for ESZ should be prepared by states. However, states hesitate to finalize ESZ as it might hamper finances due to closure of industries and tourism activities. Presence of minerals and resources near PAs further disrupts the identification of ESZS.
  • For PAs around heavily populated urban areas such as Guindy National Park in Chennai, ESZ loses relevance as its limit extends up to a few meters only.
• Lack of consultation: A survey of the implementation of ESZs in the Jim Corbett National park revealed that it is an exclusionary mode of conservation that does not include local communities in consultation process, displaces them and denies them their livelihoods.
• Developmental activities:
  • Activities such as construction of dams, roads, urban and rural infrastructures in ESZs negatively impact the environment and cause habitat destruction.
  • States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa etc have deliberately kept mining areas out of ESZs, irrespective of its ecological value.
• Insufficient regulation of tourism: There are no policies to regulate tourism. Hotels and mega resorts dominate the area and locals are restricted to low paying jobs. Also, the current guidelines do not put any restriction on the vehicular pollution in the area.

Identifying the importance of ESZs, the Madhav Gadgil committee (2011) had recommended converting the whole Western Ghats into an ESZ. The Kasturirangan committee (2012) had recommended a complete ban on quarrying and sand mining in the ESZs and to demarcate the cultural and natural landscape of the area. In 2018, the Supreme Court ordered MoEFCC to declare an area of 10Km around 21 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries as ESZs.

Microplastics are defined as plastics less than five millimetres in size. There are two categories of microplastics: primary and secondary. Primary microplastics are tiny particles designed for commercial use, such as cosmetics, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets. Secondary microplastics are particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items such as water bottles. This breakdown is caused by exposure to environmental factors, mainly the sun’s radiation and ocean waves.

Microplastics like any other plastics do not biodegrade into harmless molecules and their invasion appears to occur across all ecosystems, from the terrestrial to marine environments creating following impacts

• Oceans: Oceans and marine life is most vulnerable to exposure to microplastics. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), 13 million tonnes of plastic leak into the oceans every year. It enters the food chain and it has been detected in marine organisms from plankton to whales. Ingested plastic materials can be damaging for marine organisms, as they can lead to digestive blockage or internal damage from abrasion.
• Soils: Sludge discharges, debris from plastic waste decomposition are key sources of microplastics in the soil, which results in degradation of soil impacting agriculture and contaminating groundwater.
• Biodiversity hotspots: Oceanic and wind currents transport these microplastics to pristine ecologies and contaminate them. As microplastics provide abundant surfaces for small organisms to attach, it provides colonization opportunities to invasive species.
• Human health: Microplastics pass the filtration and treatment processes for wastewater due to small size and end up in sites of nature endangering the food chain.
  • Carcinogenic chemicals present in the plastic materials interfere with the body’s endocrine system, causing developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune disorders in both humans and wildlife.

Further, many coastal communities are dependent on ocean resources for their livelihood and well- being, which gets negatively impacted by the microplastics pollution. In this context, tackling the problem of microplastics requires a range of responses, such as:

• Reduce plastic uses: Use of alternative eco-friendly substitutes for plastic products like cloth, paper, jute bags should be encouraged and adopted. Further, single use plastic should be completely discontinued by 2022 as decided by the government.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): It should be the responsibility of the producer to collect used plastics. Further, an effective publicly accessible waste disposal mechanism for creation of a circular economy needs to be provided.
• Behavioural change in society: “Nudges” and campaigns aimed at reducing the use of plastics products and synthetic textiles needs to be undertaken as a social awareness measure.
• Policy and legislative measures: Higher taxes should be levied on products releasing microplastics and national level legislation to holistically deal specifically with microplastic should be legislated.
• Protecting water bodies: Management of runoff and wastewater to treat microplastics needs to be improved in order to check the export of microplastics from cities and the landscape and restore affected water ecosystems.
• Technological solutions and innovations: Scientists need to devise ways to break plastic down into its most basic units, which can be rebuilt into new plastics or other materials.

In this context, India is undertaking a study to understand the extent of microplastic pollution in the marine ecosystem, which is supposed to help frame National Marine Litter Policy. In a similar manner, a policy specifically and holistically dealing with microplastics needs to be framed.

Ethical competency refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and effectively navigate ethical dilemmas and make well-reasoned moral judgments. It involves a set of skills, knowledge, and dispositions that enable individuals to make ethical decisions and act in a manner that is consistent with moral principles and values.

The key elements necessary for possessing ethical competency include:

1. Ethical Awareness:
   • The ability to identify ethical issues, recognize moral implications, and be attuned to the potential consequences of one’s actions on others.
   • This involves being sensitive to contextual factors, stakeholder perspectives, and the potential for harm or benefit.
2. Ethical Knowledge:
   • A solid understanding of ethical theories, frameworks, and principles, such as utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and human rights.
   • Knowledge of ethical codes, professional standards, and relevant laws and regulations.
3. Ethical Reasoning Skills:
   • The capacity to analyze ethical dilemmas, weigh competing values and principles, and engage in critical thinking to arrive at well-justified ethical decisions.
   • This includes the ability to gather relevant information, consider multiple perspectives, anticipate consequences, and apply ethical reasoning to complex situations.
4. Ethical Decision-Making:
   • The ability to make sound, ethically-grounded decisions and take appropriate actions in response to ethical challenges.
   • This involves the willingness to take responsibility for one’s decisions, consider the interests of all stakeholders, and be accountable for the outcomes.
5. Ethical Sensitivity and Empathy:
   • The capacity to recognize and consider the perspectives, feelings, and needs of others who may be affected by one’s decisions and actions.
   • This emotional and interpersonal component helps foster compassion, respect, and a commitment to ethical values.
6. Ethical Courage and Integrity:
   • The willingness to uphold ethical principles and act in accordance with one’s moral convictions, even in the face of personal or professional pressure to act otherwise.
   • This includes the courage to speak up, challenge unethical practices, and maintain moral consistency in the face of adversity.
7. Ethical Commitment and Reflexivity:
   • A genuine commitment to ethical behavior and a willingness to continuously reflect on one’s own actions, biases, and moral development.
   • This includes the ability to learn from mistakes, seek feedback, and engage in ongoing ethical self-assessment and improvement.

The “golden rule” is a moral principle that suggests treating others the way you would want to be treated yourself. It is often expressed as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This principle emphasizes the importance of empathy, compassion, and reciprocity in human relationships and interactions.

The golden rule is about how one should act towards others. It encourages individuals to consider the perspectives and needs of others, and to treat them with the same care and consideration that they would want for themselves. This principle is found in various forms across different religions, philosophies, and cultural traditions, and it is often seen as a fundamental tenet of ethical behavior.

Examples of the golden rule:

1. If you would not want someone to lie to you, then you should not lie to them.
2. If you would want others to be kind and helpful to you, then you should be kind and helpful to them.
3. If you would not want to be discriminated against, then you should not discriminate against others.

The “Golden Mean”:
The “golden mean” is a philosophical concept that emphasizes the importance of finding the right balance or moderation between two extremes. It suggests that the virtue or ideal lies in the middle, avoiding both excess and deficiency.

The golden mean is about finding the appropriate degree or level of a particular quality or behavior, rather than solely focusing on how one should treat others. It encourages individuals to seek a balance and avoid going to extremes, as the middle path is often considered the most prudent and virtuous.