Program starting from 19th June 2021

40 Tests (8 Basic, 8 Advanced, 10 Current Affairs, 10 Full Length, 4 CSAT)

Download PDF for better visibility – Prime Prelims TS 2022 Time Table

 It’s 2021-22 session and we are set to look at the brighter side of Covid mayhem. Apparently, it dented our confidence but not the will to stand tall. So much happened over the last couple of years and now things are set for a revival. Several exams were battered with UPSC Civil Services being no exception.

Despite the churnings happening around us, few fundamentals couldn’t be challenged at least about the UPSC exam. Much coveted UPSC civils service has always attracted the best talents from across India. Hence on the flip side heightening the competition. So, you really have to strive hard. As a result, a focussed and measured approach is always needed and that too throughout the year.

Those who have already faced the exam would know it themselves. The importance & contribution of the Mock Tests in finetuning the prep process cannot be overemphasized.

I wouldn’t mention anyone else but cite my own example.

During the first year of preparations, I used to struggle through Hindu and Express for current affairs. Investing around 4 hours a day fighting the menace of changing context all on my own. Then I realised the need for something which had the potential to give me clarity on the content and samples of what comes in the exam.

It then became evident that a reliable touch of direction and a source of instant help, whenever necessary is indispensable. That’s when I would know what are my weaknesses and how to correct them. Not only that but also how to mend my gaps in understanding.

These sessions have the power of healing touch and reassurance. That’s how I could divert all my energy with a needle tip precision and forsake all the non-core worries to my mentors/course designers.

Now fast forward to the present, to prove the point we have many testimonies and attestations. Not the least many top rankers in several pep talks have emphasised the importance of Mocks / Practice Test papers. And Civilsdaily IAS has always been at the centre stage.

Presenting you few highlights about our Prime Prelims Program 2022

1. Complete course revision with Test Paper-based time-plan

The complete course has 36 Test papers, to enhance the exam worthiness of an aspirant. Especially those who have their house (concepts) in order about the course/syllabus. The idea of solving test or mock papers is with the intent to find out the gaps in our preparation. Sometimes they are also helpful for the mains or subjective type questions.

2. A holistic mix of Static – cum- Dynamic Test series

Course completion is what we care to establish with each finishing module. And this incorporates the aspect of Current affairs and Associated statics as well. Hence an aspirant gets a holistic mix of Static cum Dynamic elements featured in this course.

3. Mentor & Discussion help for 1-1

This is an important element for aiding/expediting the process of course completion within a specified time limit. Mentorship with tests is going to help an aspirant keep a track of the syllabus, which was earlier either glossed over or paid little attention to. Mentors will be the person who would have the responsibility to ensure you end up with all the papers. Also, imparting valuable advice to stay sane and mindful.

Test Mentorship calls would be provided once you are up-to-date with all the allotted tests. Calls would be scheduled as per this plan:

1. One call after the first two tests. Aimed at guiding the basics.
2. One call after the successful completion of basic tests.
3. One call after the successful completion of Advanced tests.
4. One call before the start of FLTs.
5. One call before the Prelims Exam.

4. All India Rankings

All India rankings are here to help you deal with the moments of truths vis-à-vis your preparation level. They give you the necessary nudge to focus back on evaluating the current state of preparation. Your mentor would have a lot more to focus on wrt the rankings you achieve.

5. Performance-based Aspirant Cohorts on Civilsdaily Habitat

At Civilsdaily, you would get a community always ready to deal with unexpected roadblocks. We aim to create a like-minded and similarly placed aspirant cohort. For a better discussion of tasks and problem-solving capabilities. So as a member of any Cohort, chat (responsibly) with other learners.

 If you have a question, chances are, you’re not alone. Reach out in the discussion forum to ask for help from other learners taking this program.

6. CivilsDaily Habitat Sessions – Ask Anything

Where your queries about courses/syllabus / basic doubts would be addressed to keep you always on the move.

Throughout this course, you will learn about the techniques of time management, the ability to find a static–dynamic convergence. Also, peace of mind about course completion under the guidance of a mentor. The mentor would also provide a lot of reading material from time to time. But sometimes, you may need to look things up on your own for extra learning. Things change fast in our dynamic socio-political setup, so it is critical to do your own research so you can stay up-to-date on what is new.

7. Tikdams for mastering the art of intelligent guesstimates

Tikdam technique is a very important skill which can boost your score by 30+ marks. It will prepare you and enhance your ability to perform under pressure (& lack of information). 

We not only impart but make you practice these skills in our Test Series. We will provide:

1) Static and Tikdam Lectures: Lectures on static subjects will *not* focus on explaining you the basics but instead focus on important details/trivia you skip to miss. From a prelims perspective, these details become very important. We are also releasing 30+ Hours of Advanced Video Lectures on Static subjects – Polity, History, Geography, Economy

2) Economic Survey and Budget lectures: The importance of Union budget and economic survey can’t be overstated, not only for UPSC prelims but also for Mains and Essay as well, it is a not to be missed section for preparation. Even for UPSC interview candidates, these lecture series are very important.

3) Static PDF Notes: Civilsdaily has been known for its high-quality content. In this Program, We will be providing Static notes of various Subjects like Economics, Arts and Culture, Environment, Geography, History etc.

Our Testimonials:

What is there on Habitat?

• #DDS sessions – Dedicated sessions every day to resolve doubts in real-time. Never keep a doubt to yourself.
• An ecosystem for co-learning and active learning.
• A highly motivated community to bring flexibility and consistency to your preparation.
  Habitat – Desktop and Mobile view

Program inclusion:

• 40 Tests
  • 8 Basic tests
  • 8 Advanced tests
  • 10 Current Affairs
  • 10 Full-Length Tests
  • 4 CSAT tests
• Civilsdaily’s Monthly Magazine Combo
• Individual Mentorship
• Economic Survey & Budget Videos and Notes
• Advanced Static + Tikdam Videos
• Admission to the exclusive Civilsdaily Prelims club on Habitat.
• Monthly Zoom call and Static PDF notes.

This is what our students have to say about our mock tests..

Civilsdaily’s Community: Testimonials

Two variants of Prelims Ts 2022:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has lauded the Centre’s Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), saying that it should serve as a “best practice” for other countries where regional disparities in development status persist for many reasons.

UNDP has termed ADP as the most successful model of the Local Area Development.

Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP)

• Launched in January 2018, the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative aims to remove this heterogeneity through a mass movement to quickly and effectively transform these districts.
• The broad contours of the program are Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors), and Competition among districts driven by a spirit of mass Movement.
• With States as the main drivers, this program will focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts.

Behind the name

• Hon’ble PM has negated the idea of naming any scheme based on their backwardness.
• Rather the name ‘Aspirational’ presents a more affirmative action-based execution of the scheme.

Selection of districts

• A total of 117 Aspirational districts have been identified by NITI Aayog based upon composite indicators.
• The objective of the program is to monitor the real-time progress of aspirational districts based on 49 indicators (81 data points) from the 5 identified thematic areas.

Weightage has been accorded to these districts as below:

• Health & Nutrition (30%)
• Education (30%)
• Agriculture & Water Resources (20%)
• Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%)
• Basic Infrastructure (10%)

Strategy of the ADP

The core Strategy of the program may be summarized as follows.

• Making development a mass movement in these districts
• Identify low hanging fruits and the strength of each district, to act as a catalyst
• for development.
• Measure progress and rank districts to spur a sense of competition.
• Districts shall aspire to become State’s best to Nation’s best.

Features of the ADP

• It has transformed into a Jan Andolan.
• The ADP is different in trying to monitor the improvement of these districts through real-time data tracking.
• The programme seeks to develop convergence between selected existing central and state government programmes.
• District performance in the public domain and experience building of the district bureaucracy is another notable feature.
• The programme is targeted, not towards any single group of beneficiaries, but rather towards the population of the district as a whole.

What makes this program special?

The program reflects what has become of the development project in India under neoliberalism, especially after the end of planning.

• Long overdue sectors have been given more emphasis.
• It is not a tailormade program with one-size-fit strategy. More onus has been laid on the districts. It has a district-intervention strategy.
• It works on the principle of SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threats) model and comparison with national best parameters for effective resource management.
• It is the most reviewed programme by the Prime Minister.
• A general idea behind the idea is that a good work never goes un-noticed. It is duly appreciated on social media as well as by the officials.
• Through ADP, momentum in expediting growth is maintained as well so for the success of the program to be scaled and replicated in other districts which are still ranking low.
• In principle, the programme does note the importance of quality of life and quality of services available.

COVID and ADP

• ADP had found elderly citizens as the mist vulnerable in this pandemic.
• Programs such as Surakshit Dada-Dadi Nana-Nani were held and almost every elderly person was reached.
• Omnicus Platform with a panel of experienced doctors for COVID and ‘India Fights Covid’ Platform are other such initiatives.

Programmatic Strengths

• A key strength of the ADP is the collection of baseline data and follow-ups at regular intervals.
• Sustaining this effort would create a robust compilation of statistics for use by both researchers and policy-makers.
• In doing this, the government also brings much-needed attention to human development and a willingness to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Incremental progress being made in the chosen districts as reflected in the rankings.
• The programme also claims to be “non-partisan and unbiased” and geared towards all-India growth.
• The selection of districts indeed suggests that the programme has not favored any bias either regional, political or any other.
• The programme seeks convergence of central and state schemes anchored around specific activities.
  

Issues with the programme

• The programmatic limitations of the ADP with respect to agricultural development or poverty eradication are clearly visible.
• Using the case of Bihar, they argue that the programmes selection of districts itself is problematic.
• In fact, it actually excludes the most backward districts because per capita income, the most basic measure of development, has not been considered.
• There seems to be some ambiguity around the issue of whether the programme is concerned only with improved access or also with the quality of service provided.
• The indicators used are not defined relationally, rather they are static human development indicators that do not see people mired in dynamic social relations.
• Similarly, the programme envisages “development’ in these districts as taking place in isolation from wider development.
• For instance, under skill development, the programme seeks to encourage industry-relevant training and apprenticeship of youth in an environment of jobless growth.
• It is also accused that the state is not making any new or focused public investment (except for possible use of Flexi-funds) into these districts, on the other hand, it is moralizing about their inability to improve (through rankings). 
• The programme is carrying the burden of proving the government’s “developmental” work without addressing any of the fundamental issues around achieving equitable development.
• Yet, the NITI Aayog justifies the overall approach as capitalizing on “low-hanging fruit.”

Way forward

• The program has been able to make difference in the lives of citizens of India, in education, health, nutrition, financial inclusion, skill development and this has made a difference to some most backward and most geographically far-flung districts of the nation.
• ADP is ‘aligned to the principle of “leave no one behind—the vital core of the SDGs. Political commitment at the highest level has resulted in the rapid success of the program the report said.
• UNDP has recommended revising a few indicators that are slightly close to reaching their saturation or met by most districts like ‘electrification of households’ as an indicator of basic infrastructure.

Conclusion

• The resounding success of the ADP is a testament to the efforts of the national, state and district level administrations, at the head of which is the empowering vision of our PM.
• The transformational growth story of these districts would not have been possible without the continuous support of knowledge and development partners as well as civil society organizations.
• A programme of this scale has redefined the contours of India’s development narrative and will continue to garner many more accolades as it achieves one progressive milestone after another.
• The challenge of improving the country’s human development is real and pressing, as is the need to refocus on the most marginalized districts.

14th June 2021

Hartog Commission – 1929

• Sir Philip Joseph Hartog committee was appointed by the British Indian government to survey on the growth of education in India.
• The Hartog committee 1929, had devoted more attention to mass education than the secondary and University education.
• The Hartog committee highlighted the problem of wastage and stagnation in education at the primary level.
• It recommended the policy of consolidation instead of multiplication of schools. The duration of the primary course was to be fixed to four years.
• It recommended for the improvements in quality, pay, and service conditions of teachers and relating the syllabus and teaching methods to the local environment of villages and locality
• The Hartog committee on education recommended for the promotion of technical and commercial education by universities to control the problem of unemployment.
• The recommendation of the Hartog committee of 1929 was an attempt for consolidation and stabilization of education. The Hartog committee of 1929 was seen as a torchbearer of the government’s effort to improve the quality of education.
• However, these recommendations of Hartog committee of 1929 remained only on paper and could not be implemented due to the great economic depression of 1930-31.

Sargent Plan – 1944

• The Sargent plan of education came after Sir John Sargent was given the task to prepare a comprehensive scheme of education for India in 1944 and he made the following recommendations:
• Pre-primary education for children between 3 to 6 years of age.
  Universal, compulsory and free primary or basic education for all children between the ages 6—11 (junior basic) and 11—14 (senior basic).
• High school education for six years for selected children between the years 11—17.
• Degree course for three years beginning after the higher secondary examination for selected students
• Technical, commercial, agricultural and art education for full time and part-time students, girls schools are to teach domestic science.
• The liquidation of adult illiteracy and the development of a public library system in about 20 years.
• Full provision for the proper training of teachers.
• Educational provision is made for the physically and mentally handicapped children.
• The organisation of compulsory physical education.
• Provision be made for social and recreational activities.
• The creation of employment bureaus.
• The creation of the Department of Education in the centre and in the states.
• The use of mother tongue is to be used as the medium of instruction in all high schools.

Famine Commissions during British Rule in India

Campbell Commission

• In 1865-66, a famine engulfed Orissa, Bengal, Bihar, and Madras and took a toll of nearly 20 lakhs of lives with Orissa alone loosing 10 lakh lives, since the famine was most severe in Orissa; it is called the Orissa famine.
• The Government officers though forewarned took no steps to meet the calamity.
• The Government adhered to the principles of free trade and the law of demand and supply, the Government did provide employment to the table booked men leaving the work of charitable relief to the voluntary agency.
• But the famine proved a turning point in the history of Indian famines for it was followed by the appointment of a committee under the chairmanship of Sir
  George Campbell.

Stratchy Commission

• It was set up in 1878 under the Chairmanship of Sir Richard Strachey.
• The commission recommended state interference in food trade in the event of famine. India witnessed another major famine in 1896-97.

Lyall Commission

• It was constituted in 1897 under the Chairmanship of Sir James Lyall. This commission recommended the development of irrigation facilities.

MacDonnell Commission

• It was set up in 1900 under the Chairmanship of Sir Anthony (Later Lord) McDonnel to re-evaluate and recommend changes in report of the previous commission, based on the findings of the recent famine.
• This Commission recommended that the official machinery dealing with a famine must work around the year so that the scarcity of food grains could be controlled well in time.

Law Commission

• Law Commissions in India have a pre-independence origin. The first Law Commission was formed in 1834 as a result of the Charter Act, 1833 under the chairmanship of TB Macaulay.
• The first commission’s recommendations resulted in the codification of the penal code and the Criminal Procedure Code.
• Three other law commissions were constituted before independence by the British government.
• All four pre-independent law commissions have contributed to the statute books immensely.
• After independence, the first Law Commission was constituted in 1955 in a continuance of the tradition of bringing law reforms in the country through the medium of law commissions.
• Second Pre-Independence Law Commission,1853 – Sir John Romilly.
• Third Pre-Independence Law Commission, 1862- Sir John Romilly.
• Fourth Pre-Independence Law Commission, 1879 – Dr Whitley Stokes.

Currency Commission

Mansfield Commission by Dufferin in 1886

• The Indian Currency Committee or Fowler Committee was a government committee appointed by the British-run Government of India on 29 April 1898 to examine the current situation in India.
• Until 1892, silver was the metal on which Indian currency and coinage had largely been based. In 1892, the Government of India announced its intent to “close Indian mints to silver” and, in 1893, it brought this policy into force.

Other Commissions on Currency:

• Fowler Commission by Elgin II in 1898
• Babington Smith Commission by Chelmsford in 1919
• Hilton Young Commission by Linlithgow in 1926

Other Important Commissions

• Scott-Moncrieff Commission (Irrigation) by Curzon in 1901
• Fraser Commission (Police Reforms) by Curzon in 1902
• Hunter Commission (Punjab Disturbances) by Chelmsford 1919
• Butler Commission (Indian States relation with British Crown) by Irwin in 1927
• Whiteley Commission (Labour) by Irwin in 1929
• Sapru Commission (Unemployment) by Linlithgow in 1935
• Chalfield Commission (Army) by Linlighgow 1939
• Floud Commission (Tenancy in Bengal) by Linlighgow in 1940

Samanvaya: Free 1-to-1 mentorship for UPSC IAS

Fill up this form to schedule a free on-call discussion with senior mentor from Civilsdaily. Once submitted we will call you within 24 hours.