Stewardship

noun

/ˈstjʊəd.ʃɪp/

The responsible management and custodianship of resources, institutions, or the environment entrusted to one's care on behalf of others — in public administration ethics, the principle that public officials hold power and resources in trust for citizens, not for personal gain, imposing obligations of prudence, accountability, and long-term thinking

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1997) invoked the public trust doctrine — an expression of stewardship ethics — to hold that the state holds natural resources in trust for the people and cannot alienate them for private commercial gain.

Synonyms

custodianshiptrusteeshipguardianshipresponsible managementpublic trust

Antonyms

self-interestmisappropriationexploitationdereliction of duty

🌱 Word Family

stewardship (n), steward (n/v), stewardly (adj, rare)

🔡 Root

Old English stigweard = hall-keeper/house-guardian (stig = hall/house + weard = guardian/ward) + -ship = quality/condition suffix

📜 Etymology

From Old English stigweard; historically a steward managed an estate on behalf of a lord; in public administration and environmental ethics, stewardship evolved to describe the trustee relationship between officials and the public; the concept underpins India's constitutional doctrine of public trust in natural resource management (Kamalnath case, 1997)

🧠 Memory Hook

STEWARD + SHIP: a STEWARD looks after something that belongs to OTHERS — STEWARDSHIP is the SHIP you sail on behalf of the people, not yourself

🧭 Ethics & Integrity 📖 Seen in: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude — Complet...

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