Describe the relevance of the following in the context of civil servants: (a) Dedication (b) Accountability.

(a) Dedication

• Dedication is sustained devotion to the public end when posting, praise, and comfort pull the other way.
• The Gita’s nishkama karma is its classical form: do the work without making the fruit a private harvest.
• Weber called politics and office a vocation; Gandhi’s constructive work and Kautilya’s yogakshema both treat the officer as bound to the people’s security, not to the bungalow.
• Relevance: flood nights, election rolls, a tuberculosis round, and a communal rumour do not wait for office hours; dedication is showing up when the camera has left.
• Dedication without law becomes zealotry; it must stay inside statute and impartiality, or it is only a passionate injustice.

(b) Accountability

• Accountability is the duty to answer for power — to the Constitution, the legislature, audit, courts, and the citizen — not only to the immediate superior.
• The Second ARC’s Ethics in Governance report treated accountability as the core of a code of ethics: result, process, and conduct, not only a charge-sheet after collapse.
• Tools: RTI, CAG, CVC, social audit, citizen charters, speaking orders, and asset declarations under Conduct Rules.
• Nolan names accountability as a standard of public life; Bentham’s publicity is the older utilitarian cousin — more eyes, less private sale of the file.
• Relevance: dedication can be claimed in a speech; accountability is the hearing list, the reason on the noting, and the recoverable scholarship amount.
• Case-ready: a PCS officer who sleeps in a flood camp shows dedication; the same officer who publishes the relief list and signs a reasoned rejection shows accountability.