Year: 2016

GS4 (Ethics)

How do laws and ethics complement each other? Are they the same? If yes then can we do away with ethics?

GS3 (Internal Security)

How does illegal trans-border migration pose a threat to India’s security? Discuss the strategies to curb this, bringing out the factors which give impetus to such migration.

Previous Year 2014 Mains Question

GS2 (Polity and Governance)

Land acquisition is a controversial subject in India. Discuss why the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 which came into force on January 1, 2014, is considered to have halted land acquisition. How is the Central govt dealing with this issue?

GS1 (Geography)

What are the issues concerning Air Quality Standards? And why are Indian Air Quality standards not considered safe?

For a discussion of this questions, see this blog by K Siddhartha.

Similar Previous Year Question – Enumerate the National Water Policy of India. Taking river Ganges as an example discuss the strategies which may be adopted for river water pollution control and management. What are the legal provisions of management and handling of hazardous wastes in India? [2013]

Kumar Ashirwad belongs to a village where electricity is a luxury and internet connection a futuristic notion. Facing all odds, he completed his schooling from Darjeeling and Jamshedpur and graduation from IIT Kharagpur.

In 2011, he went to Mukherjee Nagar to start his civil service preparation and it took him four attempts and five years to clear the exam with AIR 35.

His journey:

During these 5 years he admits to have committed every mistake that a candidate can make in their Civil services preparation. And hence he puts forth a list of suggestions that he feels will help to avoid the same mistakes.

• You don’t have to study a lot for this exam, instead need a broad common sense and understanding of a wide variety of issues. He persuades, focus on broad understanding instead of deep understanding.

For instance, if there is some report, instead of reading the entire report read only its main features. This will save time and moreover, it’s easier to remember and write the key features. On the other hand, it is humanly impossible to remember and reproduce the entire report on answer sheet.

• The parameters for choosing an optional subject are sometimes not rooted in reality. Do not make “interest in the optional” the only criteria. You should definitely not hate the optional subject, but interest holds only the first time you read the subject. Revisions are never interesting. So while choosing an optional please also take into consideration the recent performance of the subject, length of the syllabus, etc. While studying an optional for the first time go through the previous years’ question papers frequently and see whether you can answer the questions.
• One should not read newspapers the whole day. The aim is to develop a broad understanding of important issues.
• Join a Test Series where you can get personal guidance instead of any TS, because they enroll too many students and hence the quality of checking suffers. Note down the flaws at the back of each answer sheet. Read them for at least half an hour before the next test, so as not to repeat them.
• You don’t need to study for 14-15 hours a day, 9-10 hours daily is enough. Most importantly, BE CONSISTENT. Give up the habit of studying for 14 hours a day, four days continuously, and then feeling so pleased that you give yourself a break for 2-3 days.
• We all love to gather tips for UPSC, but understand that no two people are same. Do not blindly follow tips.

Prelims Strategy:

• Reserve 2-3 months (as per your situation) exclusively for prelims. Apart from 1-2 hours for optional every day, the rest of these 2-3 months should be devoted entirely for prelims. Success rate in Prelims is nearly 1 in 40. The prelims preparation should be such that you are never in doubt about clearing prelims.

Mains Strategy:

• The importance of repeated revision in UPSC cannot be overstated. Hence READ LESS, REVISE MORE.
• Attempting the entire paper is a MUST. Check your writing speed in tests. Also try to improve your speed by giving lots of tests.
• Give up the habit of writing very long answers at the start and very short answers at the end of the test. The length of your answers should be uniform.
• Reserve 1 minute for reading the question 3 times. Read the question twice before starting to write the answer. In the second reading, circle the keywords of the question. Decide whether you can split up the keywords into subparts. Only then start answering the question.

Tips:

“During your preparation, there will come a number of instances when you will be dejected and hopeless. It is inevitable. It is exactly in times such as these that you need to remember why you are here. You are here to serve the weakest and the poorest.”

What are the nuances that differentiate among international agreements, framework, treaty, protocols and conventions?

Everyday we read news, but do we do more than read it? The best way to learn from news is to find the issues and facts which we don’t know and research them. Starting today we will try to list some topics to help you do that.

Let’s call this the new avatar of #Back2Basics

Following topics are based on today’s news –

1. There is a news item on a national gas hub. What is the Henry Hub and other such terms mentioned? (A question on similar oil and gas terms came in UPSC prelims a few years ago.) – PRELIMS

2. There is a news item on sex selection. Don’t just look at the SC judgment and the law mentioned, use this as a occasion to research on sex selection – definition, why it happens, effects on society, govt measures to combat it etc. – MAINS

3. There is a climate summit taking place in Marrakech, Morocco. What are the details of the summit? (Is it under UNFCCC, etc). Where is the location? (Continent, surrounding countries, water bodies etc). – PRELIMS

4. SC dismisses Jallikattu plea. What fundamental rights can be connected to such as issue? – MAINS

Alternatively, revise your notes on these issues if you have them.

GS4 (Ethics in Public Administration)

What are the 3 most important values for a civil servant? Discuss with examples.

Similar Previous Question – What does ethics seek to promote in human life? Why is this all the more important in public administration? [2014]