What is aptitude, and how does it differ from attitude and intelligence? Explain why aptitude alone cannot guarantee ethical conduct in civil services.

Definition: Aptitude is the latent capacity to acquire a specific skill through training; attitude is a learned evaluative disposition shaping intent; intelligence is general cognitive problem-solving capability across domains, measurable but not equivalent to either.

Illustration: The Civil Services Aptitude Test measures reasoning aptitude; the Personality Test probes attitude and emotional intelligence. E. Sreedharan possessed exceptional engineering aptitude that delivered the Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro on schedule, but his integrity flowed from attitude — refusing extensions despite repeated requests. Conversely, officers implicated in the Madhya Pradesh Vyapam scam (2013) demonstrated high aptitude with corrupted attitudes, proving that capability without character is hazardous in public office. Aptitude alone cannot guarantee ethical conduct because it answers 'can I do this' rather than 'should I do this' — the latter requires value-grounded attitude, sustained by self-regulation under Goleman's framework.

Application: The 2nd ARC's Refurbishing of Personnel Administration recommends explicit attitudinal screening at recruitment, complementing aptitude assessment.