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  • [Prelims Spotlight] Acts & Schemes Related to Education

    1.SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAAN

    Salient Features –

    • Universalizing elementary education across the countryRashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, Vidhyanjali, PBBB.
    • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments for universalizing elementary education across the country. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels of children.
    • SSA provides for a variety of interventions, including inter alia, opening of new schools, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for learning achievement. These provisions are made in accordance with norms and standards and free entitlements as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human resources Development

    2. Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat

    Salient Features –

    • The programme looks to improve the reading and writing skills of children in classes I and II, along with their mathematics skills.
    • It is being implemented under the aegis of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human resources Development

    3.The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)

    Salient Features –

    • To raise the minimum level of education to class X and universalize access to secondary education;
    • To ensure good-quality secondary education with focus on Science, Mathematics and English; and
    • To reduce the gender, social and regional gaps in enrolments, dropouts and improving retention
    • To make sure that the secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, etc.Important physical facilities are provided which include, (i) additional class rooms, (ii) laboratories, (iii) libraries, (iv) art and crafts room, (v) toilet blocks, (vi) drinking water provisions, (vii) electricity / telephone/internet connectivity and (viii) disabled friendly provisions. Improvement in quality through, (i) appointment of additional teachers to improve PTR (ii) in-service training of teachers, (iii) ICT enabled education, (iv) curriculum reforms and (v) teaching learning reforms. Equity aspects addressed through (i) special focus in micro planning, (ii) preference to areas with concentration of SC/ST/minority for opening of schools, (iii) special enrolment drive for the weaker section, (iv) more female teachers in schools and (v) separate toilet blocks for girls.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human resources Development

    4.Atal Tinkering Laboratories

    • Part of Atal Innovation Mission.
    • NITI Aayog

    5.RASHTRIYA UCHCHATAR SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (RUSA)

    Salient Features –

    Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013. It aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions based on their progress.

    • The key objectives of RUSA are to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.

    • The central funding (in the ratio of 60:40 for general category States, 90:10 for special category states and 100% for union territories) would be norm based and outcome dependent.

    • The funding flows from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of human resources

    6.Ucchatar Avishkar Yojana

    Salient Features –

    The objectives of UAY scheme are to promote innovation in IITs addressing issues of manufacturing industries; to spur innovative mindset; to co-ordinate action between academia & industry and to strengthen labs & research facilities.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of HRD

    7.Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan

    Salient Features –

    Building institutional capacity in Institutes of higher education in research & training relevant to the needs of rural India. ii.Provide rural India with professional resource support from institutes of higher education ,especially those which have acquired academic excellence in the field of Science, Engineering & Technology and Management.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of HRD

    8.Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) –

    Salient Features –

    • Aimed at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs, internationally to encourage their engagement with the institutes of Higher Education in India.
    • To augment the country’s existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reform, and elevate India’s scientific and technological capacity to global excellence.
    • It enables interaction of students and faculty with the best academic and industry experts from all over the world and also share their experiences and expertise to motivate people to work on Indian problems.
    • It is a system of Guest Lectures by internationally and nationally renowned experts targeted towards a comprehensive Faculty Development Programme not only for new IITs, IIMs, IISERs but also other institutions in the country.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human Resource Development

    9.Vishwajeet Scheme

    Salient Features –

    The scheme entailed the provision of Rs. 1,250 crore to each of the top seven IITs over a period of five years to upgrade infrastructure, hire foreign faculty, and collaborate with foreign institutions to break into the top league in global rankings.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of HRD

    10.Higher Education Finance Agency

    Salient Features –

    • The HEFA will be jointly promoted by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and identified Promoter.
    • HEFA will have an authorised capital of 2,000 crore rupees and the government equity would be 1,000 crore rupees
    • It will be formed as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) within a PSU Bank or the Government-owned-NBFC (Promoter)
    • It would leverage the equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding infrastructure and development projects of world class Labs in IIMs/IITs/NITs and such other institutions.
    • The HEFA will also mobilise CSR funds from Corporates/PSUs which will in turn be released for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on grant basis
    • The principal portion of the loan will be repaid through the ‘internal accruals’ of the institutions earned through the fee receipts, research earnings etc
    • All the Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions will be eligible to join as members of the HEFA
    • For joining as members, the educational institution must agree to escrow a specific amount from their internal accruals for a period of 10 years to the HEFA.
    • This escrow will secure the future flows that would be securitised by the HEFA for mobilising the funds from the market.
    • Each member institution would be eligible for a credit limit based on the amount agreed to be escrowed from the internal accruals as decided by HEFA.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of HRD and identified promoter

    11.UDAAN (Giving Wings to Girl Students)

    Salient Features –

    • Aims at addressing the lower enrolment of girls in engineering colleges/IITs and technological institutions. -Udaan is a platform that empowers the girl students, facilitate their aspiration of joining the prestigious engineering institutions and take important role in development/ progress of the country in future.
    • -Under this program, students are provided free offline / online resources through virtual weekend contact classes and study material on pre-loaded tablet while studying in Class XI and Class XII for preparation of admission test to various premier engineering colleges in the country

    .Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human Resource Development

    12.SWAYAM

    Salient Features –

    • Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds
    • To provide the best quality education to more than three crore students across the country – It is the Indian electronic e-education platform which proposes to offer courses from the high school stage to Post-Graduate stage in an interactive electronic platform.
    • US government is cooperating in this project.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human Resource Development

    13. Swayam Prabha

    32 Direct-to-Home channels for transmitting high-quality educational content.

    14.National Digital Library

    The National Digital library of India (NDLI) is a project under Ministry of Human Resource Development, India. The objective is to integrate several national and international digital libraries in one single web-portal. The NDLI provides free access to many books in English and the Indian languages.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human resource Development

    14.National Academic Depository

    Authenticating all certificates issued by institutions

    15.ShaGun

    Salient Features –

    • It has two components i.e. one is a Repository of best practices, photographs, videos, studies, newspaper articles etc on elementary education, State /UT wise. These would be in the public domain with the purpose to provide a platform for all stakeholders to learn from success stories of each other. This would also instill a positive competitive spirit among all the States and UTs.
    • The second part is regarding the online monitoring of the SSA implemented by States and UTs and will be accessed by Government Officers at all levels using their specific passwords.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry for Human Resource Development (MHRD)

    16. Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY)

    Salient Features –

    • To track the educational journey of school students from Class I to Class XII across the 15 lakhs private and government schools in the country.
    • ASMITA will be an online database which will carry information of student attendance and enrolment, learning outcomes, mid-day meal service and infrastructural facilities among others. Students will be tracked through their Aadhaar numbers and incase those not having unique number will be provided.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human Resource Development.

    17.Saransh

    Salient Features –

    Tool which allows the schools to identify areas of improvement in students, teachers and curriculum to facilitate and implement change.

    18.Shala Siddhi

    Salient Features –

    Comprehensive instrument for school evaluation which enables the schools to evaluate their performance in more focused and strategic manner to facilitate them to make professional judgement for continuous improvement

    19.Shaala Darpan

    Salient Features –

    Shaala Darpan is an ICT programme of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India that to provide mobile access to parents of students of Government and Government aided schools.

    Using Shaala Darpan parents can view updates on their child’s progress. They can view records of attendance, assignments and achievements of their child. The ministry aims to launch the service by 2015 academic session.

    20. Ishan Vikas

    Salient Features –

    Academic Exposure for North Eastern Students ; to bring selected college and school students from the north eastern states into close contact with IITs, NITs and IISERs

    21. Saransh

    Salient Features –

    • Saransh is a web portal launched by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) of India, with the primary aim of promoting information and communication technologies in schools-It serves as an interface for enhancing communication between schools as well as parents.
    • It offers a data-driven decision support system to aid parents in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of children, which, in turn would assist in taking informed decisions for children’s future.

    CBSE

    22. Ishan Uday

    Salient Features –

    For Students of North East Region . The UGC has launched a special scholarship scheme for students of north east region, Ishan Uday .

    23. Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF)

    Salient Features –

    Scholarship for higher education

    23. Revitalization Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE)

    Salient Features –

    • It is a new initiative to step up investments in centrally funded institutions like IITs, Central Universities and others such institutes
    • Funding will be provided through Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA)

    Nodal Ministry –

    .Ministry of Human Resource Development.

    24.TECHNICAL EDUCATION QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME

    Salient Features –

    • (TEQIP)aims to overhaul the quality of technical education in the Low Income States and Special Category States (SCS).-The project commenced with the World Bank assistance to Government of India to launch a TEQIP as a long term programme of 10-12 years and in 2 or 3 phases. The present 3rd Phase of the schemes has central, eastern and north-eastern region and hill states as its focus states
    • The measures under TEQIP include:
    • Institution based: accreditation of the courses through NBA, governance reforms, improving the processes, digital initiatives, securing autonomy for the colleges.
    • Student based: improving the quality of teaching, teacher training, equipping the class rooms, revision of syllabus, industry interaction, compulsory internships for students, training the students in industry relevant skills, preparing them for the GATE exam etc.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of Human Resource Development

    25.SAMEEP

    Salient Features –

    • Student and MEA Engagement Program (SAMEEP) is an outreach program to familiarise the students in India about the functioning of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and also take India’s global engagement and its foreign policy to the grass root levels.
    • It is voluntary in nature under which MEA officers, under-secretary and above will visit their home towns and cities and their Alma Maters to bring foreign policy to the masses and raise their interest in diplomacy as career option.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Ministry of external affairs

    26.Vidyanjali

    Salient Features –

    • Creating an ecosystem,wherein education will be attached with imbibing knowledge and improving learning output-To involve volunteers from different walks of life to strengthen the co-scholastic activities in government schools.,
    • Performing arts and life skills also to be included.
    • Intended beneficiaries are School going children of Government school, Government Aided school etc.,

    27. Prashikshak

    Salient Features –

    • Teacher education portal for District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). – A unique IT initiative, a first of its kind in the country, which will contain a comprehensive database of all DIETs in the country with all relevant performance indicators
    • Gives the opportunity to Central and State Governments to do real time monitoring of the institutions.
    • Helps benchmark DIETs to enable aspiring teachers to make informed choices about their future.

    Nodal Ministry –

    Joint collaboration between Ministry of Human Resource Development(MHRD) and Central Square Foundation.

    28.Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas

    Salient Features –

    Opened in Educationally Backward Blocks where the female rural literacy is below the national average to provide for residential upper primary schools for girls.

    29.Saakshar Bharat

    Salient Features –

    Initiatives have been taken under financial literacy to include certified adult literates under Jan Dhan Yojna and mobilize them to open bank accounts

  • [Prelims Spotlight] NGOs, Institutions, and Summits related to environment conservation in India

    Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT)

    Established When and by Whom: It is an autonomous organisation established during 1986 under Societies Act by the Government of Kerala, now functioning under power dept.

    Headquarter: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

    Objective: To gather and disseminate useful knowledge in various fields of Non-Conventional Energy, Energy Conservation, and Rural Technology.

    Key Functions:

    To conduct studies, demonstrate, implement and support implementations of schemes and project in these fields and thereby deal with the problems arising out of the rapid depletion of conventional energy sources

    To update the technologies used in rural areas as well as introduce appropriate new technologies with an aim to reduce drudgery, increase production and improve quality of life.

     

    Wildlife Trust of India

    Established When and by Whom: It was formed in November 1998 in response to the rapidly deteriorating condition of wildlife in India. WTI is a registered charity in India (under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961). It is a non-profit organisation.

    Headquarter: NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh

    Objective: To conserve wildlife and its habitat and to work for the welfare of individual wild animals.

    Key Functions:

    WTI currently focuses its resources on six priority landscapes – northeast India, western Himalayas, terai, southern Ghats system, central India and marine.

    Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) currently runs 44 projects across India.

    Its Depth Projects holistically address multiple conservation hurdles specific to an area through a multi-pronged approach

    Its Breadth Projects address specific conservation issues that may not be limited in time and space in the country, such as the training of frontline forest staff and preventing wild animal deaths due to train hits.

    Wildlife Institute of India

    Established When and by Whom: It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India. It was founded in 1982.

    Headquarter: The institute is based in Dehradun, India.

    Objective: To nurture the development of wildlife science and promote its application in conservation, in consonants with our cultural and socio-economic milieu.

    Key Functions:

    WII carries out wildlife research in areas of study like Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Wildlife Policy, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Forensics, Spatial Modeling, Ecodevelopment, Habitat Ecology and Climate Change.

    WII has a research facility which includes Forensics, Remote Sensing and GIS, Laboratory, Herbarium, and an Electronic Library.

    World Sustainable Development Summit

    Organised When and by Whom: The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) annual event, the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), has evolved to the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS).
    Date: 5 October 2016–8 October 2016

    Location: New Delhi

    Objective: To provide long-term solutions for the benefit of the global community by assembling the various stakeholders on a single platform(in the area of environment conservation).

    Key Takeaways:

    The WSDS brings together Nobel laureates, political leaders, decision-makers from bilateral and multilateral institutions, business leaders, high-level functionaries from the diplomatic corps, scientists and researchers, media personnel, and members of civil society; to deliberate on issues related to sustainable development.

    India specific trivia:

    WSDS 2016 was held in New Delhi from October 5-8, 2016 under the broad rubric of ‘Beyond 2015: People, Planet & Progress’, and it broadly focused on actions, on accelerated implementation of SDGs and NDCs.

    The 4 days of discussions among different stakeholders clearly established that sustainability should not be a peripheral activity but should become a mainstream movement and that now is the time to translate all the promises to action.

     

    Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

    Established When: 1980.

    Headquarter: New Delhi

    Objective:  To develop into an excellent resource centre with information — printed and visual — on sustainable development issues, which is possibly the best in India.

    Key Functions:

    It is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy organisation.

    It works as a think tank on environment-development issues in India, poor planning, climate shifts devastating India’s Sundarbans and advocates for policy changes and better implementation of the already existing policies.

    CSE uses knowledge-based activism to create awareness about problems and propose sustainable solutions.

     

    Conserve

    Established When and by Whom: In 1998, when the Delhi government launched the Bhagidari campaign, asking its citizens to participate in civic initiatives, the conservationist, Anita Ahuja and her IIT-alumna husband Shalabh rose to the challenge and launched Conserve. It is an NGO.

    Objective: To counter the issue of plastic bags.(Recycling)

    Key Functions:

    Anita and Shalabh Ahuja founded Conserve India as an NGO to recycle the waste in their neighborhood that wasn’t being managed by local authorities.

    They quickly realized that plastic bags pose the biggest problem, not only because there are so many of them but also because they could not be recycled locally.

    After much experimentation, the team at Conserve India realised that the solution lay in upcycling the bags into sheets of plastic that could be reinvented as fashion accessories. They named this material Handmade Recycled Plastic.

    Shalabh and Anita combined his expertise in engineering and her creative talents to get the most out of their solution to this huge problem.

    As well as cleaning Delhi’s streets, they have worked to provide hundreds of jobs for some of the poorest people living in their city. The income they generate by selling products made from Handmade Recycled Plastic, is then spent on social welfare projects.

    Today they continue to realise their vision. Conserve India bags are being sold around the world. The proceeds of this work are put to good use.

    Firstly, better wages for Conserve employees – a ragpicker collecting bags for Conserve earns on average three times more selling to us than they would earn elsewhere.

    Secondly, training opportunities for all staff at Conserve India so that they can get more skilled jobs either within the organisation or elsewhere.

    Thirdly, a school in the slum where many of the ragpickers we work with live. Finally, loans for Conserve workers to develop their own start-up businesses, and most recently a health clinic for the entire workforce.

     

    Environmentalist Foundation of India

    Established When and by Whom: Started in 2007 and registered in 2011

    Headquarter:  Chennai, Hyderabad, Puducherry and Coimbatore

    Objective: Wildlife conservation and habitat restoration

    Key Functions:

    • The organisation is known for its work in cleaning and scientific restoration of lakes in India for biodiversity.
    • The organisation and its efforts grew from that one pond in Chennai to include over 39 lakes and 48 ponds in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Pondicherry and Gujarat in the last 10 years (2007 to 2017)
    • EFI is also involved in the setting up of herbal biodiversity gardens at schools and special interest zones. The idea behind the herbal gardens are to increase people’s interest in green cover and live healthy with native Indian herbs.
    • EFI’s “Clean for Olive Green” is a beach clean up project that is organised every year in the months of December to May to keep Chennai’s beaches clean for the nesting Sea Turtle Mothers.

    National Green Corps

    Established by Whom: It is a programme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests of Government of India.

    Objective of the body:

    NGC Programme aims at building cadres of young children working towards environmental conservation and sustainable development.

    Key Functions:

    The functions of this programme are:

    • to impart knowledge to school children, through hands on experience, about their immediate environment, interactions within it and the problems therein
    • to inculcate proper attitudes towards the environment and its conservation through community interactions
    • to sensitize children to issues related to environment and development through field visits and demonstrations
    • to motivate and stimulate young minds by involving them in action projects related to environmental conservation.

    Bombay Natural History Society

    Established When: It was founded on 15 September 1883. It is an NGO.

    Headquarter: Mumbai

    Objective of the body: Environment Conservation and biodiversity research

    Key Functions:

    • It supports many research efforts through grants and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
    • BNHS is the partner of BirdLife International in India.
    • It has been designated as a ‘Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’ by the Department of Science and Technology.
    • It sponsors studies in Indian wildlife and conservation, and publishes a four-monthly journal, Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), as well as a quarterly magazine, Hornbill.

     

    The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI)

    Established When and by Whom:  Established in 1974, it was formerly known as Tata Energy and Resource Institute. As the scope of its activities widened, it was renamed The Energy and Resources Institute in 2003.

    Headquarter: New Delhi, India

    Objective: To work towards global sustainable development, creating innovative solutions for environment conservation.

    Key Functions:

    1. The scope of the organisation’s activities includes climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, biotechnology, and social transformation.

    World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) – An annual summit which facilitates the exchange of knowledge on diverse aspects of global sustainable development.

    LaBL (Lighting a Billion Lives) – An initiative to provide clean lighting access to bottom of the pyramid communities.

    Green Olympiad – Conducted in association with MoEF, it is an international environment examination that is annually organized for middle and high-school students.

    1. TERI Press, TERI’s publishing arm releases a plethora of publications out of which some noteworthy publications are :

    TerraGreen – Monthly magazine of TERI on issues of environment, biodiversity, livelihood rights, wildlife, energy, and sustainable development.

    TERI Energy Data Directory and Yearbook (TEDDY) : Launched in 1986, it is a compilation of energy and environment data. It is a comprehensive reference document and a source of information on energy supply sectors (coal and lignite, oil and gas, power, and renewable energy sources) as well as energy-consuming sectors (agriculture, industry, transport, residential, and commercial sectors).

    1. GRIHA

    Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) was conceived by TERI and developed with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is a national rating system for green buildings in India

     

    Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation

    Established When: It is a registered non-profit organisation, founded in 2012.

    Headquarter: Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh

    Objective:

    To protect and conserve the nature, natural resources and rights of the nature dependent communities in the ecologically fragile landscape of Vindhya Range in India. It tries to achieve its objective through Research, Advocacy, Education, Community mobilization, Litigation.

    Key Functions:

    Vindhya Bachao Abhiyan: It is the flagship program of VENHF which works towards environmental equity and bringing ecological justice through research-based environmental litigation, strengthening grass-root environmental movements, supporting institution of local governance and protecting the rights of nature dependent indigenous communities.

    *VENHF is partner of EKOenergy and Global Call for Climate Action

    Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

    Established by: Kamaljit S. Bawa is its founder.

    Headquarter: Banglore

    Objective:

    Its mission is to generate rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge for achieving environmental conservation and sustainable development in a socially just manner, to enable the use of this knowledge by policy makers and society, and to train the next generation of scholars and leaders.

    Key Functions:

    It is a research institution in the areas of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. It focuses on applied science through research, education and action that influence policy and practice on conservation of nature, management of natural resources, and sustainable development.

    It envisions a society committed to environmental conservation and sustainable and socially just development, in which ATREE plays the role of a model knowledge-generating organization for catalyzing the transition to such a society.

     

    Save Aravali Trust

    Headquarter: Faridabad, Haryana

    Objective:

    Major objectives are:

    1. Afforestation and wildlife care
    2. Water Conservation
    3. Environmental Literacy
    4. Waste Management

    Key Functions: It is working for the betterment of Aravali– the oldest mountain range of India. The motive is to make it green, home to wildlife and entity of prosperity for the humans.

     

    Narmada Bachao Aandolan

    Established When and by Whom:  The people’s state the Narmada Bachao Andolan, every people practice hard for save to the Narmada River. This Movement is mobilised itself against the development in the mid and late 1980’s.

    Objective: The people started the Narmada Bacho Andolan with the goal of saving and protest the River Narmada.

    Why was it started?

    • It is a social movement consisting of adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the number of large dams being built across the Narmada River, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, all over India.
    • Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is one of the biggest dams on the river and was one of the first focal points of the movement. It is one of the many dams under the Narmada Dam Project. The main aim of the project is to provide irrigation and electricity to people in these states.
    • Their mode of the campaign includes court actions, hunger strikes, rallies, and garnering support from notable film and art personalities. Narmada Bachao Andolan, with its leading spokespersons Medha Patkar and Baba Amte, who have received the Right Livelihood Award in 1991.
  • Kamyaa Misra, AIR 172, CSE 2018 | 1st Attempt, Youngest Female at UPSC

    She is super sharp, super intelligent and exceptionally talented.

    Presenting Kamyaa Misra. It is going to be an absolute delight for you guys to watch her.  A talk that is not supposed to be missed.

     

     

  • [Prelims Spotlight] Important Straits

    A strait is a naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies of water. Most commonly it is a channel of water that lies between two land masses. Some straits are not navigable, for example because they are too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago.

    1.Sunda Strait   

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Java Sea & Indian Ocean

    Location: Indonesia

     

    2. Palk Strait      

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Palk Bay & Bay of Bengal

    Location: India-Sri Lanka

    3. Malacca Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Andaman Sea & South China Sea

    Location: Indonesia –Malaysia

    4. Yucatan Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea

    Location: Mexico-Cuba

    5. Mesina Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Mediterranean Sea

    Location: Italy-Sicily

    6. Otranto Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea

    Location: Italy-Albania

    7. Bab-el-Mandeb Strait        

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Red Sea & Gulf of Aden

    Location: Yemen-Djibouti

    8. Cook Strait     

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :South Pacific Ocean

    Location:  New Zealand (North & South Islands)

    9. Mozambique Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Indian Ocean

    Location: Mozambique -Malagasy

    10. North Channel

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Ireland-England

    11. Hormuz Strait       

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Gulf of Persia & Gulf of Oman

    Location: Oman-Iran

    12. Hudson strait         

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Canada

    13. Gibraltar Strait      

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Spain-Morocco

    14. Magellan strait       

    Join: Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Chile

    15. Makkassar Strait   

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Java Sea & Celebeze Sea

    Location: Indonesia

    16. Tsungaru Strait     

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean

    Location: Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu Island)

    17. Tatar Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea

    Location: Russia (East Russia-Sakhalin Islands)

    18. Fovex Strait 

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : South Pacific Ocean

    Location: New Zealand (South Island- Stewart Island)

    19. Formosa Strait      

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : South China Sea & East China Sea

    Location: China-Taiwan

    20. Taurus Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua

    Location: Papua New Guinea — Australia

    21. Bass Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Tasman Sea & South Sea

    Location: Australia

    22. Bering Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Bering Sea & Chuksi Sea

    Location: Alaska-Russia

    23. Bonne-Fasio Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Mediterranean Sea

    Location: Corsika — Sardinia

    24. Bosporous Strait   

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Black Sea and Marmara Sea

    Location: Turkey

    25. Dardenleez Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Marmara Sea and Agean Sea

    Location: Turkey

    26. Davis Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Greenland-Canada

    27. Denmark Strait     

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean

    Location: Greenland-Iceland

    28. Dover strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :English Channel & North Sea

    Location: England-France

    29. Florida Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean

    Location: USA-Cuba

     

  • [Prelims Spotlight] Tribes in news

    1. Gonds

    Known for their valor, the Gond tribes are mostly found in Central India in the Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh. They are also spotted in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa. The Gond tribes have a good command over Telgu, Hindi, Marathi, Parsi and many other Dravadian languages.

    2. Bhils

    This tribal community in India is mostly spotted in the Aravali Ranges of Sirohi in Udaipur and some places of Dungarpur and Banswara districts of Rajasthan. Further, the settlements of the Bhil tribes are also found in parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tripura.

    3. Santhals

    The Santhal tribes are the major tribes of West Bengal and are mostly seen in the districts of Bankura and Purulia. They are also widely seen in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Assam. The Santhals are largely dependent on agriculture and livestock; further, they are well versed in the art of hunting.

    4. Great Andamanese Tribe

    The Great Andamanese Tribe, which includes the Onge, Jarawa, Jangil and Sentinelese, are said to be the first inhabitants of the islands. But today a significant number is on its way to extinction. Nonetheless, the left over population of the Great Andamanese are largely dependent on the vigorous campaign by Survival and Indian organizations. The Great Andamanese are mostly spotted in Strait Island and parts of Rutland Island.

    5. Khasi

    The Khasi tribes are mostly spotted in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya and are also found in parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and West Bengal.

    6. Garo

    One of the few remaining matrilineal societies in the world that are mostly spotted in the hills of Meghalaya, the Garo Tribes are ideally known for their vivid lifestyle. They are also spotted in the neighbouring areas of Bangladesh and parts of West Bengal, Assam and Nagaland. It is easy to distinguish the Garo tribes from other tribes of Meghalaya. Women are often found in varieties of traditional ornaments, whereas men are seen wearing turbans with feathers stuck behind them.

    7. Angami

    The Angami Nagas are one of the major tribes of Nagaland, widely present in the district of Kohima. Apart from the Hornbill Festival, the major attraction remains their intricate and beautiful woodcraft and artwork. The Angami Nagas are known for the producer of bamboo work, cane furniture, beds, shawls and powerful machetes.

    8. Munda

     

    Munda tribe settlement is largely based in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region and is mostly spotted in the dense of Jharkhand. Further, parts of West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha are also inhabited by the Munda Tribes.Mage, Phagu, Karam and Sarhul are the major festivals of the Munda tribes that attract travellers from different parts of the world.

    9. Bhutia

    Dominating the landlocked territory of Sikkim that is bordered by the Indian Himalaya, the Bhutias are widely known for their traditional grandeur, art and cuisine.

    10. Chenchu

    The Chenchu tribes are one of the indigenous people of Andhra Pradesh inhabiting over the years in the midst of the forest of Nallamala Hills. They are mostly seen in the districts of Mahboobnagar, Nalgonda, Prakasam, Guntur and Kurnool. Life is hard for them as they are largely dependent on hunting and trading jungle products like roots, tubers, fruits, beedi leaves, mahua flower, honey, gum, tamarind and green leaves.

    11. Kodava

    The Kodava tribes, known for their bravery since ages have Coorg  flourishing as one of the eco – tourist destinations in India.

    12. Toto

    One of the isolated tribal groups inhabiting the village of Totopara in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal is the Toto tribes. They have a simple lifestyle and are largely dependent on trading vegetables and fruits. In spite of the fact that they define themselves as Hindus, the Totos are believers of god Ishpa and goddess Cheima.

    13. Irulas

    Expert snake and rat catchers… that’s what make the Irula tribes of South India special. With a population of approximately 3,00,000 the Irulas inhabits parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Moreover, the Irulas are the second largest tribe in Kerala and is mostly seen in the district of Pallakad.

    14. Nyishi

    The Nyishi tribes are the largest inhabitants of the mountainous state of Arunachal Pradesh and are mostly spotted in the districts of Papum Pare, Lower Subansiri, Kurung Kumey, East Kameng, parts of Upper Subansiri.

    15. Bodo

    Believed to be the early settlers of Assam, the Bodo tribes today are found in Udalguri and Kokrajhar of Assam and parts of West Bengal and Nagaland.

    16. Warli

    The Warli or Varli tribes of Maharashtra and Gujarat display a unique form of art and painting that reflects the mural paintings of 500 – 10,000 BC carved in the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, in Madhya Pradesh. Their form of art follows the rudimentary technique with mixture of earth and cow dung, branches, red ochre, rice paste, bamboo stick and more.

    17. Toda

    Dominating parts of the Nilgiri Mountains, the Toda tribes are largely dependent on cattle-herding and dairy-work. They are also skilled in art and architectural works like embroidery products and dogles, type of oval and pent – shaped huts made of bamboo canes and thatched roof.

    18. Kurumban

    Another major tribe dominating parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the Kurumban tribe exhibits a simple lifestyle, depending largely on agricultural products. Moreover, they are widely known for witch-craft and magical performances as well as traditional herbal medicines.

    19. Soliga

    Inhabiting the dense forest of BR Hills of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Soliga tribes are yet another indigenous group of people, further divided to five sub groups – Male Soliga, Urali Soliga, Pujari, Kadu and Burude.

    20. Siddis

    The Siddi tribes of Karnataka are believed to have descended from the Bantu people of Southeast Africa who were treated as slaves by Portuguese merchants. Today, the Siddi people are predominantly found around Yellapur, Haliyal, Ankola, Joida, Mundgod, Sirsi, Belgaum and Dharwad in Karnataka apart from some pockets of Pakistan. The Siddi people are mostly Roman Catholic but some follow Hinduism and Islam.

    21.Sentinelese Tribals

    The Sentinelese, a negrito tribe who live on the North Sentinel Island of the Andamans, have not faced incursions and remain hostile to outsiders.The inhabitants are connected to the Jarawa on the basis of physical, as well as linguistic similarities.Based on carbon dating of kitchen middens by the Anthropological Survey of India, Sentinelese presence was confirmed in the islands to 2,000 years ago.Genome studies indicate that the Andaman tribes could have been on the islands even 30,000 years ago.

  • [Prelims Spotlight] Important summits, conventions and Declarations (Part 2)

    1.Convention on biological diversity

    The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a legally binding treaty to conserve biodiversity has been in force since 1993.

    Objectives-

    • It has 3 main objectives: The conservation of biological diversity.
    • The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity.,fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
    • The CBD, one of the key agreements adopted during the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, is the first comprehensive global agreement which addresses all aspects relating to biodiversity.

    2.Asia Lpg summit 2019

    The summit will offer a unique opportunity to the global LPG industry to interact with development agencies, NGOs and non-profit organizations who have facilitated last-mile access to LPG for the beneficiaries.

    Objectives-

    • The summit will also bring together academia and private sector to exchange their views on the use of LPG and how pathbreaking initiatives such as ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ can bring remarkable socio-economic transformation.
    • The WLPGA promotes the use of LPG to foster a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous world.
    • With over 200 members and presence in more than 125 countries, the WLPGA represents the interests of private and public companies from the entire LPG value chain under one umbrella.
    • The WLPGA provides a platform for the exchange of best practices, facts and figures among its members.
    • The Association regularly organises interactive meetings between technical experts, members and key stakeholders to demonstrate the benefits of LPG.

    3.Global Digital Health Partnership Summit

    The Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) is an international collaboration of governments, government agencies and multinational organisations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of their citizens through the best use of evidence-based digital technologies.

    Objectives-

    • Governments are making significant investments to harness the power of technology and foster innovation and public-private partnerships that support high quality, sustainable health and care for all. The GDHP facilitates global collaboration and co-operation in the implementation of digital health services.The GDHP is committed to improving health and care through promoting its principles of equality, co-operation, transparency and responsibility.
    • Equality: All participants will have an equal opportunity to participate and contribute to the development of the GDHP deliverables and share in the lessons learnt and outputs of the GDHP.
    • Co-operation: Participants are helpful and supportive and participate in debates thoughtfully, constructively and respectfully.
    • Transparency: Participants act with openness in their engagement with fellow participants to contribute to improved health services, promote innovation and create safer and healthier communities.
    • Responsibility: Participants are responsible for their country’s input through their active contribution to GDHP activities that are guided by the annual work plan. Each participant shall endeavour to ensure that outcomes from meetings, such as tasks appointed to them or in general, are carried out effectively and efficiently. Participants will make decisions and participate in discussions in a transparent and fair manner, using evidence, and without discrimination or bias, ensuring they act in the public interest and not for commercial purposes.

    4.TIR

    The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets is a multilateral treaty that was concluded at Geneva on 14 November 1975 to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international road transport.

    Objectives-

    • The TIR Convention establishes an international customs transit system with maximum facility to move goods:in sealed vehicles or containers;
    • from a customs office of departure in one country to a customs office of destination in another country;
    • without requiring extensive and time-consuming border checks at intermediate borders;
    • while, at the same time, providing customs authorities with the required security and guarantees.

    5.International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

    The workshop aims to i) identify good practices of disaster risk management in key infrastructure sectors, ii) identify specific areas and pathways for collaborative research on DRI (Transport, Energy, Telecom and Water), iii) discuss and co-create the broad contours of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as well as a notional roll-out plan for the next three years, and iv) build a forum for members to work on areas of common interest and make specific commitments.Various international agreements have also reiterated the importance and long-term benefits of investing in resilient infrastructure.

    Objectives-

    • The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030, which is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda, identifies investing in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) for resilience and to build back better in reconstruction as priorities for action towards reducing disaster risk.
    • Similarly, Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognizes disaster resilient infrastructure as a crucial driver of economic growth and development.
    • Besides reducing infrastructure losses, disaster resilient infrastructure will also help achieve targets pertaining to reduction in mortality, number of affected people and economic losses due to disasters.

    6.International Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

    The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control treaty that outlaws the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors.Key points of the Convention

    Objectives-

    • Prohibition of production and use of chemical weapons
    • Destruction (or monitored conversion to other functions) of chemical weapons production facilities
    • Destruction of all chemical weapons (including chemical weapons abandoned outside the state parties territory)
    • Assistance between State Parties and the OPCW in the case of use of chemical weapons
    • An OPCW inspection regime for the production of chemicals which might be converted to chemical weapons
    • International cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry in relevant areas

    7.Convention on Supplementary Compensation for nuclear

    Damage (CSC)

    The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage is a 1963 treaty that governs issues of liability in cases of nuclear accident. It was concluded at Vienna on 21 May 1963 and entered into force on 12 November 1977. The convention has been amended by a 1997 protocol. The depository is the International Atomic Energy Agency.

    Objectives-

    • The Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) aims at establishing a minimum national compensation amount and at further increasing the amount of compensation through public funds to be made available by the Contracting Parties should the national amount be insufficient to compensate the damage caused by a nuclear incident.
    • The Convention is open not only to States that are party to either the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage or the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy (including any amendments to either), but also to other States provided that their national legislation is consistent with uniform rules on civil liability laid down in the Annex to the Convention.

    8.Hague Code of Conduct

    The International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, also known as the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), was established on 25 November 2002 as an arrangement to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles.

    Objectives-

    • The HCOC is the result of international efforts to regulate access to ballistic missiles which can potentially deliver weapons of mass destruction. The HCOC is the only multilateral code in the area of disarmament which has been adopted over the last years.
    • It is the only normative instrument to verify the spread of ballistic missiles.
    • The HCOC does not ban ballistic missiles, but it does call for restraint in their production, testing, and export.

    9.Refugee Convention

    The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.In the general principle of international law, treaties in force are binding upon the parties to it and must be performed in good faith. Countries that have ratified the Refugee Convention are obliged to protect refugees that are on their territory, in accordance with its terms.There are a number of provisions that States parties to the Refugee Convention must adhere to.

    10.Biological weapons convention

    The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire category of weapons.

    Objectives-

    • Each State Party to this Convention undertakes never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain:
    • Microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;
    • Weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict.”
    • The United States Congress passed the Bioweapons Anti-Terrorism Act in 1989 to implement the Convention. The law applies the Convention’s convent to countries and private citizens, and criminalizes violations of the Convention.

    11.Sendai Framework

    The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) is an international document which was adopted by UN member states between 14th and 18th of March 2015 at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in June 2015. It is the successor agreement to the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005–2015), which had been the most encompassing international accord to date on disaster risk reduction.

    Objectives-

    • The Sendai Framework sets four specific priorities for action:
    • Understanding disaster risk;
    • Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk;
    • Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience;
    • Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

    12.Outer Space Treaty

    The Outer Space Treaty, formally the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a treaty that forms the basis of international space law. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space, prohibits military activities on celestial bodies, and details legally binding rules governing the peaceful exploration and use of space.

    13.Kyoto Protocol

    The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 UNFCCC that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that

    (a) global warming exists and (b) human-made CO2 emissions have caused it.

    Objectives-

    • The main feature of the Protocol is that it established legally binding commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases for parties that ratified the Protocol.
    • The commitments were based on the Berlin Mandate, which was a part of UNFCCC negotiations leading up to the Protocol.
    • Minimizing Impacts on Developing Countries by establishing an adaptation fund for climate change.

    14.U.N. Frame Work Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

    Objectives-

    • A framework for international cooperation to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and coping with impacts that were inevitable.
    • The primary goals of the UNFCCC were to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at levels that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the global climate.
    • The convention embraced the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities which has guided the adoption of a regulatory structure.

    15.Basel Convention

    1. The industrialized world in the 1980s had led to increasing public resistance to the disposal of hazardous wastes, in accordance with what became known as the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) syndrome, and to an increase of disposal costs.

    2. This in turn led some operators to seek cheap disposal options for hazardous wastes in the developing countries.

    3. Environmental awareness was much less developed and regulations and enforcement mechanisms were lacking.The objectives of the convention are to reduce trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes, to minimize the creation of such wastes and to prohibit their shipment from developed countries to the LDCs.

    16.Montreal Protocol

    Objectives-

    • The protocol set targets for reducing the consumption and production of a range of ozone depleting substances.
    • In a major innovation the protocol recognized that all nations should not be treated equally.
    • The agreement acknowledges that certain countries have contributed to ozone depletion more than others.
    • It also recognizes that a nation‘s obligation to reduce current emissions should reflect its technological and financial ability to do so.
    • Becauseof this, the agreement sets more stringent standards and accelerated phase-out time tables to countries that have contributed most to ozone depletion

    17.World Conservation Strategy

    Objectives-

    • It set out fundamental principles and objectives for conservation worldwide, and identified priorities for national and international action.
    • It is considered one of the most influential documents in 20th century nature conservation and one of the first official documents to introduce the concept of sustainable development.

    18.Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention)

    Objectives-

    • Aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avianmigratory species throughout their range.
    • The Convention facilitates adoption of strict protection measures for endangered migratory species, the conclusion of multilateral agreements for the conservation and management of migratory species, and co-operative research activities.

    19.World sustainable Development summit

    • WSDS has replaced TERI’s earlier called Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS). The first DSDS was organised in 2005. It underscored need for businesses and private sector to take lead in poverty reduction and to ensure rapid and sustained adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
    • It had brought together Nobel laureates, decision-makers political leaders from around the world to deliberate on issues related to sustainable development.
    • The aim of the summit is to provide various stakeholders a single platform in order to provide long-term solutions for the benefit of the global community.

    20.Kigali Agreement

    The Kigali Amendment amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol to

    now include gases responsible for global warming and will be

    binding on countries from 2019.

    Objectives-

    • It also has provisions for penalties for non-compliance.
    • It is considered absolutely vital for reaching the Paris Agreement target of keeping global temperature rise to below 2-degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
    • Under it, developed countries will also provide enhanced funding support estimated at billions of dollars globally. The exact amount of additional funding from developed countries will be agreed at the next
    • Meeting of the Parties in Montreal in 2017 to reduce the emissions of category of greenhouse gases (GHGs) which leads to hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs)
  • Last days to join our Super Intensive Prelims (Mini) with Advanced Lectures on Budget

    Detailed Timetable can be obtained from here

    Starts on 10th April. The program has 4 components. Scroll down to read.

    Dear Students,

    Last minute revision is the key to cracking the exam. If you don’t spend ample time revising topics, you will find it hard to recall what you have studied.

    We are excited to announce our Crash Course program for Prelims – Super Intensive Prelims (SIP) (Mini).

    The program is designed for extensive coverage and the right amount of depth as per the requirement of the prelims exam to help you with maximum retention and ensure a better performance in Prelims.

    Here’s what we are offering.

    The program is divided into 4 components

    1. Current Affairs – ( From May 2018 – April 2019) 40 hours

    2. Budget (2019) – 5 hours

    3. 11 Current affairs monthly prelims test (From June 2018 – April 2019)

    4. Samanvaya (Mentorship)

    Key features of the Program

    1. Current Affairs (Videos and lectures)

    We will cover it in 2 phases

    1st phase – Till December 2018

    2nd phase – After December 2018

    The focus of the lecture will be on the following areas

    Prelims Specific Trivia

    What, When, Where, Why, How.

    Similar question asked in the last 4-5 years

    Subjects covered will be –

    1.Polity

    2.Governance

    3.Economics

    4.International Relations – Terms in news, Places in news, Trade Routes, Choke Points, Conflict Zones, Ethnic groups in news

    5.Environment – Environmental terms in news, maps for all reserves, marine protected areas, wetlands.

    6.Sc & Tech

    7.International Organizations(covered in ppt format) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZTYLkxalE7IdQVcMXDWOUnoCMC9zVN1Y)

    8.Schemes (covered in ppt format)

     

    2. Budget

    – Video lecture by Himanshu Sir who works at Prime Minister’s economic advisory council.

    – Short and crisp Summary of Budget 2019.

     

    3. Current affairs Monthly prelims test

    -Current affairs monthly prelims test (From June 2018 – April 2019) (Note: Only SIP(mini) Plus subscribers will get this).

     

    4. Samanvaya (Mentorship)

    CD has earned a reputation for giving personalized attention to students and helping them actualize their true potential. While other institutes are bombarding you with more and more questions, we are more concerned about teaching you the right things and helping you retain more and retain better.

    -Private Telegram Group: All your queries solved within 24 hours

    -1 on 1 calls Sessions basis merit of participation within the group


    Faculty 

    V.P. Singh, IRPS 2009

    Himanshu Arora, Economist, Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council

    Sajal Singh, MS & MA Economics, Core faculty, Civilsdaily

    Rakesh Dalal, MBA, MA, Core faculty, Civilsdaily


     Detailed Timetable can be obtained from here
    On popular demand, a variant on discount is as follows –
    Old Student Discount Applicable
    Prime TS and SM students get 20% discount – *Please ensure you are enrolled in those courses first*