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Year: 2016

  • 18 Oct 2016 | GS1 | Despite Schemes like Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, why do people in India still defecate in the open? What measures are required to make India defecation free?

    GS1 (Indian Society)

    Despite Schemes like Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, why do people in India still defecate in the open? What measures are required to make India defecation free?

    Best answer

    Nitish Singh wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 4/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer  of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)

    October 2nd 2014 marked the launch of a new scheme called the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, focused on fulfilling Gandhi’s dream of seeing a clean India. The mission aims at eradicating open defecation till 2019, thus restructuring the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan.

    Although such schemes and steps have been taken place by the consecutive governments, little has changed on the ground level with a major chunk of the population still defecating in the open. Following are the reasons :

    a) Social : There is mindset problem among people who consider having a toilet at home, where apparently we also have a kitchen and a temple a “sin”. Also, manual scavenging is forced upon the lower caste people and the upper caste don’t appreciate doing the same work, but instead defecate in the open as an option.

    b) Economic : Some households wish to have a toilet but don’t have the amount of investment required to have a toilet at home.

    c) Behavioral : Some have a false notion that defecating in open is actually good for health and is a better practice.

    d) Structural : Problem with construction and designing of toilets. Most toilets under Swacch Bharat have small pits which gets filled easily and people stop using it hence.

    e) Gender-bias : Question on why should the women use the same toilet as men also is prevalent. This patriarchy also publicizes open defecation.

    Measures required :
    a) Structural : Better running-water and properly designed toilets should be prioritized.
    b) Economic : Assistance to households wanting to build a toilet.
    c) Mindset change : Information, Education and Communication(IEC), advertsiments, Nukkad Nataks, engaging NGO’s and Civil society for changing the behavior and mindset of the people must be done.
    d) Centralized water system should be the focus so that toilets get the required amount of water.

    The message of the health conditions by not having a toilet does not go down to people. We can target school children, community and SHGs to send across the message in a stronger way.

  • 18 Oct 2016 | Prelims Daily: CA Questions with Tikdams & Tidbits

    Dear students,

    When you submit your answer, if possible, give some reasoning & more info. along with the ABACAA format. Elaborate on what you know. This helps the whole community to know more and learn more!

    Q.1) Consider following statements about ‘Kigali amendment to Montreal Protocol’.

    1. Kigali Agreement is a reaffirmation of the global intent to mitigate climate change and exemplifies international co-operation in this regard.

    2. This is not a legally binding agreement to reduce use of HFCs.

    3. In all, 197 countries agreed to a timeline to reduce the use of HFCs by roughly 85 per cent of their baselines by 2045.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

    a) 1 and 2 only

    b) 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3 only

     

    Q.2) Consider following statements about China’s ‘Manned Space Mission’, which was recently in the news.

    1. This mission launched as part of China’s efforts to set up its own manned space station by 2022.

    2. This will make it the only the country to have such a facility in service as the current in-service International Space Station (ISS) retires by 2024.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 only

    c) Both 1 and 2

    d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    Q.3) Consider following statements about ‘Botany legend Janaki Ammal’.

    1. She organised and associated with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

    2. She was one of the first women scientists to receive the Padma Shri award way back in 1977.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 only

    c) Both 1 and 2

    d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    Q.4) In 1990s, Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov articulated concept of a “strategic triangle” which was associated with which of the following multilateral group?

    a) ASEAN

    b) BRICS

    c) SCO

    d) BIMSTEC

     

    Q.5) The Temple Mount (Haram esh-Sharif) is the religious site located in

    a) Indonesia

    b) Saudi Arabia

    c) Iran

    d) Jerusalem

    IMPORTANT STUFF: 

    1. These questions are mostly derived from our daily newscards. Reading daily news from Civilsdaily’s App (click here) or website + solving these questions will help you reinforce the basics.

    2. For a comprehensive preparation of IAS Prelims 2017 – consider joining one of the three Prelims Modules by CD – prelims.civilsdaily.com

    3. Solutions will be uploaded at 8 p.m. Click here for solutions.

    4. For attempting previous Prelims Daily Questions – Click here

    5. How to apply Tikdams? Read this, this and this

  • Will NOTA work for India?

    “Hi, Mom! What’s for dinner?” That was Teenager, back from his badminton practice at about 8:00 p.m.

    “Well,” I said enthusiastically, “there’s roti, beans, dal and carrot raita in curd!” That was me, happy and secure in my belief that I’m feeding all the right stuff to my family.

    “What? Beans? Uuuuuuuuuugggggggggggghhhh. NOONE eats beans, Ma, except us. And we eat it every third day! Beans, potato, beans, brinjal, beans, capsicum, beans
?”

    I looked at him speculatively. Teenager has taken this one thing from me, for sure. He can exaggerate. The boy can have a golden career as an economist, I started thinking. “The GDP growth rate of India is 7%, nnnno, its actually 7.3%, nnnnnnnnaaahhh, it’s more like 7.8%!” Yeah, he can really do a fine career out of this wonderful trait. Put him in the RBI, and your CPI will go crashing down to 4% or wherever it is that Urjit wants it to be. Put him in NITI Aayog, and you will get your growth numbers right. Put him in the Commerce Ministry, and India’s trade to world trade ratio will cross the dreaded 3% psychological benchmark in a matter of minutes! Heehee, the boy has potential, I tell you. He simply HAS to become an economist.

    “I am NOT going to eat this! Give me something interesting, Mom, I’m hungry! And I’m bored” That broke my reverie and jerked me back to reality. And the reality is that teenagers have absolutely no clue or interest in any career profiles. They have only two massive sensations. One, hunger and two, boredom. Sigh.

    “Beans are great for health! And 
”

    “Mom, why can’t you make Chhole-bhature or pasta for dinner?”

    “Because the former is oily and the latter is maida. Only calories. No nutrients. Beta, dinner has to be healthy! And this week, we’ve not really had beans for about
”

    “20 hours,” piped in the Hubs, with a sly smile. “This time she has really broken all records and cooked beans within the usual 24 hour deadline!”

    “Oh, shut up, both of you! And boys, you can’t declare a strike at 8:00 p.m. Food is ready, I am beat and I am not going to cook anything else. It’s too late for that.”

    “This is so not fair!” Teenager, indignant with rage and upset at the gastronomical disappointment. “If it’s not possible to change the menu at the last minute, then ask me earlier, Mom. Next time, ask me when you go shopping for veggies. ONLY the vegetables I approve should be bought next week. Else you’ll keep on dishing out what you feel is right
”

    That’s interesting! Thought Econ Mom, surfacing suddenly in Mrs. Phadke’s kitchen. Hmmm, isn’t that exactly what the State Election Commissioner had been saying, just a couple of days ago, in our meeting at Mumbai?

    “We need to take a look beyond our usual role.” The Commissioner, as always, had come well prepared with his ideas on what needs to be done. “The role of the State Election Commission of Maharashtra (SECM) is to conduct local body elections in a free, fair and transparent manner. And we do that, to the best of our capacities and abilities. But the real question is, even if the election is conducted fairly, are people really getting a fair choice to choose from?”

    For the uninitiated reader, let me just put in a little bit of gyan. When the candidates file their nomination forms for an election, that is when the voters come to know what is the mix of people from which they select a people’s representative for themselves. With great foresight and I must say, with a lot of gumption, the state of Maharashtra offers a “NOTA” i.e. “None Of The Above” option for its voters, so that the voters do not have to always choose the least of all evils. They are getting a choice to say that they want none of the candidates at all. And this, is supposed to be an absolute triumph for democracy.

    However, deeper thought tells you that while NOTA is great for freedom of expression, the fact that hordes of people have this expression is itself worrisome. Thus, what is happening is that candidates filing nomination do not match the expectations of the electorate. The authorities know this, but they can’t do much about it. So, they decide to give the NOTA option to the electorate so that their voice can be heard loud and clear on the day of the election. “We do NOT like these candidates.” The problem is, that it is kinda late to do anything about this, just pretty much like it was too late for me to cook a different recipe for Teenager at 8 p.m.

    “The true solution is to give them a voice before the elections.” That was what the Commissioner was saying in the meeting. Is it really necessary to do that? Even while this thought hit my mind, I got the answer. “Our job is to do everything in our scope to strengthen democracy. If the electorate is not happy with the candidature, we can’t just sit around offering NOTA. NOTA might bring the issue to light, but it certainly does not resolve it.” NOTA is the dressing on the wound. The team was brainstorming on why there is the wound in the first place.

    And out of that emerged one solution. Accordingly, we’re currently doing a snap poll on voter perceptions, or what the voters want. What kind of a candidate do they really want? Do they want people who are clean, or is the priority on efficiency? How many voters feel that candidates ought to be well-educated in order to be a good representative? What proportion of voters feel that women make better representatives than men? How many people are of the opinion that good candidates stay away due to criminalization of politics?

    Data analysis will soon reveal voters’ preferences. This is to be done prior to the filing of nomination forms, so that the political party heads too will get a pulse of what the common man wants. This will hopefully feed into a more scientifically designed ticket distribution process, with at least a few deserving candidates getting the tickets. Rather like buying only those veggies that Teenager approves of. This will truly give voice to the electorate and make the process more participative, which is exactly where we want to go, right?

    Right, but, will this work? Even if the data analysis brings out these trends, are political parties going to toe the line? Are they going to go by statistics, or by the simple chemistry of dynasty and money? We all know the answer, don’t we? Then am I doing something futile? Why should we create this data-base on voter perceptions when we know that the true users of this data, the political parties, can, but won’t use it?

    I sat in my chair, post dinner, brooding over the futility issue, when Teenager started a discussion with Daddy dearest on poetry. They were both arguing about what a line in some poem meant. I was far away from the discussion, disturbed and restless. Suddenly, Teenager propped his English text in front of my eyes. “Mom? Have you ever read these lines?” he asked.

    And Econ Mom found her answer. In a dog-eared literature text-book. The answer to why a scientifically designed statistical survey has to bring out voter issues, political parties be damned. “Tis better to have loved and lost”, said Alfred Lord Tennyson, “than never to have loved at all.” Bravo.

  • Is there any recent news on the commission's advent to reduce maximum age?

    The UPSC announced that there has been talks of reducing the maximum eligible age of aspirants aiming for Civil Services to 26 years from 32 years presently. This is only for general candidates.

  • 17 Oct 2016 | GS4 | You are recently posted as district development officer for Shivamogga district, Karnataka. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable tension in the rural areas of your district on the issue of communalism.

    GS4 (Case study)

    You are recently posted as district development officer for Shivamogga district, Karnataka. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable tension in the rural areas of your district on the issue of communalism.

    Dalits and indigenous people (Scheduled Tribes or adivasis) face discrimination, exclusion, and acts of communal violence. Laws and policies adopted by the Indian government to provide a strong basis for protection are not being faithfully implemented by local authorities. On December 25, 1992 a group of 44 striking Dalit village labourers were murdered by a gang, allegedly sent by their landlords, as they were demanding higher wages.

    On 11 July 1997, a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in the Dalit colony of Sugur village was dishonoured by unknown individuals. An initially peaceful protest was fired on by the police, killing ten people. Commentators suggested that the arbitrarily violent response from the police had been the result of caste based prejudice, as the leader of the team stood accused in multiple cases involving caste-based discrimination.

    One day you are informed that an unpleasant incident has taken place. The members of the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) were protesting over refusal to allow a Dalit to be cremated on the land allotted by the district administration. In April, 2016 the district administration sanctioned 32 guntas of gomala land on the outskirts of Sugur village to develop a cremation ground. But those who were engaged in the cultivation of this land brought an injunction order against outsiders entering it. On Thursday, Ramaswamy (60), a Dalit resident of the village, died. When his body was taken for cremation, those cultivating the land refused to allow it. A verbal duel ensued between them and a few DSS members.

    Following this, the DSS members staged a protest.

    (a) What steps would you take to ensure safety of the Dalit community without disrupting their daily life?

    (b) How would you manage and mould discriminatory attitude of the villagers to ensure harmony?

    GS4 question powered by mitrasias.com

    Best answer

    Amruta Joshi wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 5/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer  of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)

    The case study mentioned above shows the prevalence of caste based discrimination still present in the Indian society. The situation mentioned shows the vulnerability of the dalit community towards the other elements and the discrimination they have been facing since years.

    Thus, the first need is to ensure the safety of vulnerable community and the following steps would be taken:
    1. As the case mentions about the police being insensitive to the community, there is a need to sensitize them towards the plight of dalit and reminding them of their duty to serve each and every section equally. Providing police protection to them would be the next step.
    2. Setting up of a cell to monitor the activities of other community members and a greivance redressal to solve the problems faced by the dalits would ensure in preventing conflicts and monitor their safety.
    3. Rigorous implementation of SC and ST prevention of atrocities act would be looked upon.

    Though the above steps would ensure for dalit safety but the real change has to come from the villagers who still believe in this discrimination.
    1. Roping in NGO’s and sensitizing the villagers through plays,acts about the plight of dalits.
    2. Making them realize that they too form a part of society and enjoy equal rights as everybody.

    Caste based discrimation ,today still grapples the society and the need is to change this attitude and has to largely come from the society. As , a development officer the need is to even see the social development of the society ,which is the core to ensure harmony among communities.

  • 17 Oct 2016 | GS3 | India’s cash to GDP ratio is one of the highest in world and India lags far behind when it comes to the number of cashless transactions. What are the challenges India faces in moving towards a cashless economy?

    GS3 (Science and Technology)

    India’s cash to GDP ratio is one of the highest in world and India lags far behind when it comes to the number of cashless transactions. What are the challenges India faces in moving towards a cashless economy?

    Best answer

    Aman Chauhan wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 5/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer  of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)

    From Belgium (93%) ,US ( more than 80% ) to U.K. and even economies like china increasingly adopting non cash transactions in stark contrast to our nation where less than 5% transactions are cashless .
    A cashless economy has following advantages –
    1.curbing black money – It becomes easier to check on tax evasion / corruption and keeps a check on parallel economy
    2.security to wealth of individual
    3.saving expenditure in manufacturing and transporting currency notes
    4.plugging leakages in govt disbursal and promoting inclusion
    5. Increases direct tax collection thereby more money with the govt for spending on welfare schemes and health and education sector
    But on average each Indian does about 6 non cash transactions annually due to certain challenges like –
    1.Cash transactions are quick and hassle free unlike card payments
    2.very few merchants have POS machines (1.2 million against 30 million merchants ) and is indeed true for small merchants in our neighbourhood
    3.Pos machines are costly and a percentage of sale goes as merchant discount rate to banking firms making small transactions via card non appealing to such merchants
    4.various e-wallets provide transactions only on certain services like ola wallet for rides , phone pe wallet for shopping on certain sites ,etc .
    5.inspite of financial inclusion schemes like Jan Dhan, penetration of bank branches in rural areas has been low and most of functional debit cards are accounted for in urban areas .
    Way forward –
    1. Incentivise cashless transactions by offering small income tax rebate
    2. Provide cheap PoS machines to small merchants specially in rural areas
    3. Decrease the transaction fees on such payments
    4. Unified payment interface integrated with Aadhar and a smartphone with risks scanner can be promoted as PoS machines
    5. Increase bank branches in rural areas to further inclusion
    6. Adopting an integrated universal wallet which can be used from shopping to taxi rides to recharges to pretty much anything
    7. Increase familiarity and awareness with digital payment systems
    India has a lot to gain if our economy becomes cashless . But, a gradual implementation of UPI with timely removal of digital bottlenecks is need of the hour .

  • 17 Oct 2016 | GS2 | The recent amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 offers steps to end discrimination and ensure equality for the affected people. Discuss.

    GS2 (Polity and Governance)

    The recent amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 offers steps to end discrimination and ensure equality for the affected people. Discuss.

    Best answer

    Nitish Singh wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 5/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer  of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)

    India is home to the world’s third-largest population suffering from HIV/AIDS. With over 2 million people, there is a lot of stereotyping and social stigma attached to these patients. The following are the problems faced :

    a) Social : Stereotype in the mind of the people who consider HIV positives as “against” the culture of this country. Also the misconception that it spreads by touching and eating together also prevails in many parts.
    b) Economic : Very difficult for them to get job, insurance cover or any monetary assistance.
    c) Political : Don’t have the confidence to fight elections as people wouldn’t even consider the patient as a competent candidate.

    The Bill seeks to remove this stigma attached to the patients “legally”, also making it obligatory to provide health insurance to such patients, which if denied, would be punishable by law.

    Amendments proposed :
    a) Prohibits all kinds of discrimination against an HIV infected person.
    b) Makes the consent of the person compulsory for any kind of HIV tests, medical treatment and research.
    c)Safeguards employment, educational services, public facilities, property rights, holding public office, and insurance for people living with HIV.

    The amendments are major steps in eradicating inequality with the infected persons. Now no insurance company can deny insurance citing HIV as a reason. Also, recruiters cannot cite the infection of the person as a reason for denying him the job. Although all these moves cannot guarantee complete eradication, but the legislative framework making it a legally punishable offence would at least instill a fear in the minds of such persons.
    Again, discrimination against a person is against Article 14 of the Indian constitution, and eradication of HIV infected persons one of the SDG’s. Eradication can happen only when the stereotyping is removed. This bill is a step in this direction.

  • 17 Oct 2016 | GS1 | While India dreams of campaigns like Digital India on one hand, the data released by Global Hunger Index India’ s findings reflect a cause for serious concern. Discuss the findings of the report and analyse the causes. On which issues does India need to focus in such a situation?

    GS1 (Poverty and developmental issues)

    While India dreams of campaigns like Digital India on one hand, the data released by Global Hunger Index India’ s findings reflect a cause for serious concern. Discuss the findings of the report and analyse the causes. On which issues does India need to focus in such a situation?

    Best answer

    Nitish Singh wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 4.5/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer  of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)

    The new Global Hunger Report released by IFPRI showed that India suffers from the menace of acute hunger with about 15% and 39% of the population being “under-nourished” and “under-5-stunted” respectively. Except for Pakistan, India scores severely bad among its neighbors, with a global ranking of 97 among 118 developing nations.

    The following can be regarded as the causes for this hunger :
    a) Social : Low status of women in the house. Because of this many women are denied education, and hence don’t have the awareness level to give proper nourishment to her child, who goes on to become undernourished.
    b) Economic : Low purchasing power of the house, no family planning and sole earning members on which the whole family depends. Hence low amount of food left for individual’s consumption. Stunted growth among children as family cannot afford nutritious supplements.
    c) Political : Lack of political will. Politicians awaken only during elections, many states still don’t consider implementing National Food security act.
    d) Prevailing corruption : In PDS, leakages, ghost beneficiaries and channeling of benefits to wrong routes.
    e)Institutional : Problems in bufferstocks, grains rot while people die.
    f)Cultural : Muslim Communities -> No to Immunization (with certain beliefs) > Immunization is a part of Holistic Development of Children > Malnourished.

    Approach to be adopted :
    a) Empowering women, educating them,providing them jobs, increasing family income hence.
    b) Better implementation of schemes like NFSM, increasing efficiency of PDS.
    c) Bio-fortification of food to make them nutritious rich (Vitamin A rich Rice, Zinc rich Bajra, Iron rich Ragi which serve the nutrition needs of the women and children)
    d) Including nutritious food like egg, apple a day under Mid Day meals.

    Way forward : Keeping Sustainable Development Goal of eradication acute hunger and keeping in mind the need for an able manforce in the coming times, time is ripe to make sure children of today become capable enough to be the future of tomorrow.

  • 17 Oct 2016 | Prelims Daily: CA Questions with Tikdams & Tidbits

    Dear students,

    When you submit your answer, if possible, give some reasoning & more info. along with the ABACAA format. Elaborate on what you know. This helps the whole community to know more and learn more!

    Q.1) Consider following statements about ‘Women of India Festival-2016’.

    1. Festival is intended to highlight the health and environmental advantages of organic goods and benefits to women entrepreneurs.

    2. It was organised and sponsored by the Union Ministry of Health and Family welfare.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 only

    c) Both 1 and 2

    d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    Q.2) Consider following statements about ‘The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)’.

    1. BIMSTEC is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia.

    2. Myanmar and Thailand are only member states of BIMSTEC from South East Asia.

    3. BIMSTEC Headquarters is situated in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

    a) 1 and 2 only

    b) 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3 only

     

    Q.3) Recently, ‘Investing in Urban Resilience’ report is published by

    a) BRICS

    b) IUCN

    c) World Bank

    d) APEC

     

    Q.4) Consider following statements about ‘Commonwealth of Nations’.

    1. It is a voluntary intergovernmental organisation of 53 independent and equal sovereign states.

    2. The Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters is at the Marlborough House, London.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 only

    c) Both 1 and 2

    d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    Q.5) Recently, India is focusing on offshore rupee bonds to finance its long-term infrastructure projects rather than green bonds. Consider following statements about ‘Green bonds’ .

    1. Green bonds is debt instruments specifically used to fund ‘green’ environment-friendly projects.

    2. The Exim Bank of India issued a India’s first dollar-denominated green bond.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 only

    c) Both 1 and 2

    d) Neither 1 nor 2

    IMPORTANT STUFF: 

    1. These questions are mostly derived from our daily newscards. Reading daily news from Civilsdaily’s App (click here) or website + solving these questions will help you reinforce the basics.

    2. For a comprehensive preparation of IAS Prelims 2017 – consider joining one of the three Prelims Modules by CD – prelims.civilsdaily.com

    3. Solutions will be uploaded at 8 p.m. Click here for solutions.

    4. For attempting previous Prelims Daily Questions – Click here

    5. How to apply Tikdams? Read this, this and this

  • Help regarding UPSC exams in 2018

    I am currently in sy.bcom. Have started with ncert and hindu for now. I want to do an integrated preparation for prelims as well as mains. I want to apply for 2018 exams so please can anyone give me targets like ideally which subject i should complete in how much period roughly. Any help is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.