Case Study You are the Sarpanch of a Panchayat. There is a primary school run by the government in your area. Midday meals are provided to the children attending the school. The Headmaster has now appointed a new cook in the school to prepare the meals. However, when it is found that the cook is from Dalit community, almost half of the children belonging to higher castes are not allowed to take meals by their parents. Consequently the attendance in the school falls sharply. This could result in the possibility of discontinuation of midday meal scheme, thereafter of teaching staff and subsequent closing down the school. (a) Mention ethical issues of the case and also discuss some feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and to create the right ambience. (b) What should be the responsibilities of different social segments and agencies to create positive social ambience for accepting such changes?

Case Study As a civil servant, you have been appointed as the District Collector of your district. One day, you receive a complaint from a local NGO stating that a government-run school in a remote village in your district is not providing students with proper facilities and infrastructure. The NGO has also provided you with photos and videos as evidence of the poor conditions at the school. Upon investigation, you find that the allegations made by the NGO are true and the schools in your district are indeed in a poor state. You also find out that they lack basic facilities such as clean drinking water, proper classrooms, and proper sanitation facilities etc. You are faced with a dilemma - on one hand, you want to take immediate action and improve the conditions of schools in your district to provide the students with a better learning environment. On the other hand, you are aware that the process of improving the school's facilities will take time and money, and you are not sure if the funds allocated for the district will be sufficient to cover the costs. As a district collector what would you do in this situation?

Case Study Meera Sharma is a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in a district where a large highway expansion project has been approved by the government. The project is expected to improve connectivity, promote regional trade, and generate employment opportunities. However, the project requires acquisition of agricultural land from several villages. While many landowners have accepted the compensation determined under the law, a group of small and marginal farmers is strongly opposing the acquisition. They argue that although the compensation is legally fixed, it does not adequately compensate for the long-term loss of livelihood, as farming is their primary and sometimes only source of income. During a public consultation meeting, local activists accuse the administration of prioritizing economic development over the welfare of vulnerable farmers. Some villagers have also started organizing protests. At the same time, higher authorities are pressuring Meera to complete the land acquisition process quickly, as the project has strict deadlines and political importance. Meera realizes that delaying the project may lead to administrative criticism and financial losses, but proceeding without addressing the farmers’ concerns may lead to social injustice and unrest. Meera now faces a difficult ethical dilemma. Questions Q1. What are the ethical issues involved in this situation? Q2. What options are available to Meera in this situation? Evaluate them. Q3. What course of action should Meera adopt in this situation? Justify your answer.

Migrant workers have always remained at the socio-economic margins of our society, silently serving as the instrumental labour force of urban economics. The pandemic has brought them into national focus. On announcement of a countrywide lockdown, a very large number of migrant workers decided to move back from their places of employment to their native villages. The non-availability of transport created its own problems. Added to this was the fear of starvation and inconvenience to their families. This caused, the migrant workers to demand wages and transport facilities for returning to their villages. Their mental agony was accentuated by multiple factors such as a sudden loss of livelihood, possibility of lack of food and inability to assist in harvesting their rabi crop due to not being able to reach home in time. Reports of inadequate response of some districts in providing the essential boarding and lodging arrangements along the way multiplied their fears. You have leant many lessons from this situation when you were tasked to oversee the functioning of the District Disaster Relief Force in your district. In your opinion what ethical issues arose in the current migrant crisis? What do you understand by an ethical care giving state? What assistance can the civil society render to mitigate 2 the sufferings of migrants in similar situations? (UPSC GS-4 Mains 2020)