Best Book for Ethics - GS Paper 4 - CSE Mains

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Hello everyone. So here is this book which I have written on ethics, integrity, and aptitude.

[00:00:05]So before I wrote this book, the first question I asked myself was, "Should I even be writing a book on ethics?" And then I thought, [snorts] "Yes, because during my days of preparation this was the only subject which I felt was extremely boring.

[00:00:18]The reason simply was because in the market all the materials that you have, they make the subject very boring.

[00:00:24]All the materials, they just start with defining what is ethics, clarifying all the different terminologies, putting you to sleep before you even go to the interesting part of case studies.

[00:00:34]And to decide whether you should be reading this book or not, let me first give you some idea about the reality of the examination.

[00:00:41]>> [gasps] >> So let's say in GS paper four, in the in your mains, you have to first understand the nature of question split.

[00:00:50]So you have 125 marks on theory part.

[00:00:54]Then you have another 125 marks on case studies.

[00:00:58]Right?

[00:00:59]And even in this theory part, if you see, just 40 to 50 marks comes from terms, theories, and all of that.

[00:01:10]>> [gasps] >> Another 30 marks is what comes from philosophers, thinkers. So what is their quote and how do you perceive that quote? Another 30 more marks. The rest of the questions are simply from current affairs.

[00:01:26]But the problem in most of the market material is they only keep focusing on this for around 300 pages, 400 pages.

[00:01:34]After all, for 40-50 marks.

[00:01:36]And whatever philosophers you read in the books, none of that is going to be asked in the exam. UPSC asks very new philosophers year after year. So another 100 pages that you read normally in the books on philosophers is also a waste of time.

[00:01:50]Right? And current affairs, the static books, there is a plenty There are plenty of books for ethics in the market. None of them actually go into current affairs.

[00:01:58]And for that, every academy, they come up with current affairs compilation.

[00:02:02]All right? So, you have to read a 400-500 pages of ethics book covering all of this only to find that it has such a minuscule use in your real exam.

[00:02:10]And then you have to brush up, add supplement with current affairs compilations.

[00:02:15]But what this book does, so what my book does for a change is that it introduces it starts with an introduction into case studies.

[00:02:26]Just think about how did you learn cycling? Did you attend a lecture on what is a handlebar, what is a carrier, what is a pedal? And is that after that you started cycling? No.

[00:02:35]You did it. You put yourself in the shoes of a cyclist, then you learned about the nuances of cycling.

[00:02:41]So, that's the intent of this book as well.

[00:02:44]If you see, the first introduction of the book clearly lays out the mindset and the vision why I have even written this book.

[00:02:51]The paper is surprisingly light on pure theory. As I told, only 40 marks in the real exam comes from pure theory. And don't fall into philosopher's trap.

[00:03:00]Whatever you read here will not matter at all in the real examination.

[00:03:05]Right? And third, this paper is about application, not abstraction. UPSC doesn't care about whether you memorize all the definitions, terms, and jargons.

[00:03:14]No. UPSC is more concerned about how are you able to apply those ideas behind these terms when you write your case studies? How are you able to connect what happens in your real world with the terms that you read in the ethics paper for syllabus sheet.

[00:03:28]Right? It's about application. It's about connection. It's not simply about just dumping dictionary definitions.

[00:03:34]That's not the idea behind why you read for ethics paper.

[00:03:38]So, that's the whole intent of this paper. So, that's why you can see here the first thing with which the book opens, there are 15 chapters. And all these 15 chapters, they are from my personal experience serving as an IAS officer.

[00:03:52]And you may ask me, why should you be reading my experience? The simple logic is, out of the 125 marks that you experience in case studies in that exam, let's say in the paper of 2025 ethics paper, four out of six case studies were from the life of an IAS officer.

[00:04:07]The situations that they mimic is basically the situation where you are appointed as an IAS officer. Right? So, four out of six case studies touch upon the life of an IAS officer. So, that's why I cater to the most essential requirement of this exam. I start this book the talking about the different dilemmas you face in in IAS.

[00:04:27]Right? There are 15 chapters. Do give a read to it. Once you read it, you will start loving ethics because everything connects to you nicely. Everything gives you kind some kind of a practical solution rather than some very generalized vague uh uh solutions given by people who have written lot of ethics book, but they have zero administrative experience.

[00:04:48]Right? So, this is going to be a bible of preparation. So, theme one is designed, it is written with this mindset that I wanted to write a book which I would love to read.

[00:04:58]I know the pain of an aspirant. When I was an aspirant, all ethics book did put me to sleep.

[00:05:03]Right? You keep on reading what is ethics, meta ethics, normative ethics. I have a simple question to ask you. Do you know the difference between ethics, morals, and values? If you do not, just dump all those books because no matter what you read, something is not getting inside you.

[00:05:18]What if I offer an alternative method of preparation? That's what this book is.

[00:05:23]You have just 150 pages in this book. I wanted to keep it very small. I did not want to simply add to the bulkiness of this book.

[00:05:32]Just 150 pages, but 150 pages of solid content. Content that is connected to the life of a real bureaucrat.

[00:05:39]Right? So, that's what you read in theme one. And four out of six questions in case studies, I'm very sure, just after finishing these 15 themes, you will yourself be able to generate frameworks to look at case studies that are asked in ethics paper. Right? So, that's why you should be reading these first 15 chapters. The next 10 chapters are about current affairs.

[00:05:59]Right? It could be as simple as what's happening around you.

[00:06:02]Right? America is attacking Iran. Why?

[00:06:04]America doesn't want Iran to become a nuclear power nuclear state. But, don't you think that's very discriminatory?

[00:06:08]How can you have select nations having the right to have nuclear weapons, whereas most nations should not have?

[00:06:14]Right? So, that's the first theme. The ethics of select nations having nuclear capability.

[00:06:19]The second is about world engaging with Taliban. So, it goes on. There are 15 themes. It could be about social media and its influence in your real life. It could be about the recent issue of euthanasia as well. So, I would just taken care to give my opinion on the most select 10 themes in current affairs. You should be reading it.

[00:06:38]By reading it, you will be developing your perspectives towards things that are happening around you in your real world. Because what is happening in the role of a bureaucrat is something that you are yet to step in. But, whatever is happening around you, you are expected to look at things from an ethical perspective, and that's exactly what theme two does to you.

[00:06:57]Right? So, I arranged the order I arranged the different themes in the priority of their descending importance.

[00:07:03]So, this is theme five. And basically in theme five, you have my own handwritten answers for 2025 question paper.

[00:07:12]Right? So, I have attempted around seven questions altogether. Five theory questions and two case studies. And if you look at the progression of these answers, in the very first page I give you a glimpse about how my mind works.

[00:07:26]I in this first part of every answer, I give you an idea about how do I plan to proceed further with this answer. The first part of the answer, what am I going to do? In the second part of the answer, what am I going to do? So, this is just a plan. This is not the answer.

[00:07:38]The real answer starts from the next page onwards. And it goes on and on and on. So, I think this is going to be the most useful part for serious aspirants who want to get into serious writing practice for ethics.

[00:07:52]This is how you have to structure your answers. All these answers just come from my experience and from my heart.

[00:07:58]Nothing is AI generated.

[00:08:00]You If you go through it, you'll find that it is very simple. Even you can write answers like this. There's no complexity. There are no complex terms or anything. Just common sense. A lot of common sense you'll find in these answers. So, every answer has this part of planning. So, I give an idea about how do I plan. See, this is not something that I'll be writing in the real exam. But this is just for the readers of this book to get a sense of what is happening in this answer. Right?

[00:08:23]So, that's all. And I think this book is going to make your preparation very easy. It's going to make it very enjoyable. I'm sure every aspirant before they enter into the next prelims, they should feel that they are their preparation for ethics is totally done, dusted, and completed. All right? So, if you really like my reading my book, please do give a review. Just send a message to me saying what was your experience with this book.

[00:08:47]All right? So, thank you.