(a) What do you understand by probity in governance? Based on your understanding of the term, suggest measures for ensuring probity in government. (10 marks, 150 words) (b) “Emotional Intelligence is the ability to make your emotions work for you instead of against you”. Do you agree with this view? Discuss. (10 marks, 150 words)

(a) Probity in governance

Probity is complete and confirmed integrity, uprightness and honesty in the conduct of public office — doing the right thing not because it is watched but because it is right. In governance it means using public authority and resources solely for public good, with transparency and accountability.

Measures to ensure probity:

• Legal-institutional: Lokpal and Lokayuktas, CVC, RTI, Prevention of Corruption Act, and whistleblower protection.
• Systemic: e-governance and DBT to cut discretion, citizen's charters, social audit and outcome monitoring.
• Behavioural: a Code of Ethics, values-based training, and ethical leadership that models integrity.

(b) Emotional intelligence

I agree with the view. Emotional intelligence, as Salovey, Mayer and Goleman describe it, is the capacity to perceive, understand, use and manage emotions. Making emotions 'work for you' means channelling them constructively rather than being driven by them.

Goleman's five components show how: self-awareness lets you recognise a rising emotion; self-regulation lets you pause rather than react; motivation converts feeling into purposeful drive; empathy reads others' emotions; and social skills build cooperation. For a civil servant, EI enables calm decision-making under pressure, empathetic service delivery and conflict resolution — turning emotion into an asset rather than a liability.