GS4 · UPSC Mains
Sunshine electronics is a domestic mobile manufacturer and you are its CEO. Sunshine electronics has made an affordable 5g phone with over 80% domestically sourced components. It has spent a large amount of money for promotion of the phone. General public is excited about the new phone and the company has already received over 1 lakh pre-launch orders from various online shopping portals. The achievement of the company has also received recognition from the highest political level and has been cited as a successful example of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat. The Central Minister of Electronics and Information Technology is the chief guest in the launch event of the new mobile phone. Just a day before the launch of the new phone, you received a call from the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of your company. He informs you that the US has banned Huwu Technologies Pvt. Ltd. from doing business in the USA and a similar ban is expected to be imposed by the EU in the next few days. The ban on Huwu is based on a report claiming that Huwu has been working very closely with the Chinese government and there are technical 'backdoors' in the components made by Huwu that allows it to spy on users of the devices that have these components. The new phone made by your company also uses a chip manufactured by Huwu. To fulfil the pre-orders in the shortest possible time, Sunshine Electronics has also manufactured around fifty thousand devices. Cancelling or postponing the launch event would be embarrassing for political dispensation and financially disastrous for your company. On the other hand, going ahead with the launch would mean potentially risking the privacy and security of your customers. 1) On the basis of this case, identify the various ethical dilemmas involved. 2) What principles of corporate ethics would you consider while taking the decision in this case? 3) Examine various options available with you for handling the issue at hand. What will you do in the given case?
GS4 · Case studies on the above issues GS4 · Public/civil service values & ethics in public administration — status & problems; ethical concerns & dilemmas; conflict of interest
| Topper | Rank | Source | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch Aswani Kumar | AIR 256 · 2025 | Forumias | p.29 |
| Garima Lohia | — | Forumias | p.27 |
| Rahul Srivastava | — | Forumias | p.29 |
| Mukan Dagar | — | Forumias | p.29 |
| Shivin Chaudhary | — | Forumias | p.5 |