Category: Ranker Webinars

Concluded successfully: register for the recorded session register and also get a PDF of the daily timetable for the next 7.5 months and free mentorship call

UPSC 2022 Mains will be over by the end of this week. UPSC 2023 exam date is already out and Prelims are scheduled for May 28th, 2023. That’s just 8 months away. Understanding the criticality of time is of utmost importance. If you want to crack UPSC with a rank in 2023, everything that you do must be under a plan, a strategy.

CivilsDaily IAS is conducting a Seminar for UPSC Exam 2023

Table of content

1. Topic, date, venue
2. Who can register for this Seminar?
3. CivilsDaily’s Preparatory package worth Rs 7000 for FREE + 10% Scholarship
4. 12 Important Points to be covered in the Workshop

The topic for the Seminar:

How to clear UPSC 2023 in just 8 months with 5 hrs/day of study time?(Detailed points and agenda below)

Date and Time:

17th October 2022 (Monday) at 5 pm

Venue:

Time: 5 pm to 7 pm

Venue: This Workshop will be held in both offline and online mode. You can attend in CivilsDaily’s Pune center in offline mode, and for Online mode, we will share a Zoom link in your email. Please register.

Address: Civilsdaily IAS, First floor, 518, Ramprasad, opposite Radhika Bhel, Sadashiv Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411030

Contact here: 086685 82260

(10% scholarship (FEE waiver) across all courses of CivilsDaily to Seminar attendees)

FREE CivilsDaily’s Preparatory Package worth Rs 7000 + Personalized Mentorship session

Post-seminar CivilsDaily will share a special Preparatory Package both for Offline and Online attendees. Details here

You are also entitled to a personalized intensive mentorship session by a senior IAS mentor wherein you can avail of a personalized study plan, schedule, and doubt resolution session.

This is for you if you are:

1. A UPSC beginner – confused about the syllabus, prioritizing subjects, making timetables & targets, or just getting started.
2. A working professional or college student who will be attempting UPSC 2023 with a job. Facing a serious time crunch and mismanagement in UPSC preparation.
3. A veteran or aspirant trying to improve your rank in UPSC 2023 attempt.

Strategic planning will help you fully uncover your options, set priorities for them, and define the methods to achieve them.

This is going to be an interactive 1-1 session with Senior mentors and UPSC Rankers. These points will be discussed.

12 Important Points to be discussed in the Seminar

1. Trend analysis of UPSC based on the previous 10 years’ CSE exam, Understanding the expectations of UPSC, and devising an evolving adaptive strategy for UPSC 2023 Prelims and Mains.

2. What should be your approach for the next 8 months even if you have just started the preparation? Strategy for the next 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and like that, will be shared with you.

3. How to cover the UPSC syllabus? The syllabus, and not the books, must be completed. Focussing on the essentials first. Eg. This year in Mains 2022 Modern History questions were missing, similarly, there were many firsts in Prelims 2022. How that affects your preparation and how you should prepare?

4. You just need to invest effectively 5 hours per day for UPSC success. How to effectively manage preparation time? Make a timetable and set targets.

5. Managing UPSC preparation with a serious time crunch; job – working professionals, college students, and family (especially for homemaker aspirants)

6. Building a strong foundation: NCERT, current affairs, and standard books. How and which one to focus more on? Best sources for GS and Current Affairs.

7. Breaking the inertia towards answer writing, and attempting mock tests. When and how to attempt tests and start mains answer writing?

8. Do’s and Dont’s; and breaking the myths around UPSC. Eg. Aspirants from rural or non-engineering backgrounds are at a disadvantage.

9. How to take notes and organize information/content for UPSC prelims and Mains answers? Making notes of case studies, schemes, examples, etc.
Basically the skill of taking notes. What topics necessitate notes and which do not?

10. UPSC Hacks and tricks like Tikdams that worked for UPSC rankers. A PDF will be shared with you all.

11. Revision techniques that are common, standard, and used frequently. What exactly are they?

12. How to take full advantage of the FREE CivilsDaily’s Preparatory Package and personalized mentorship session (FREE) that will follow?

What you’ll get as a part of the Special Preparatory Package?

As a part of this:

1. FREE Mentorship session with Senior IAS Mentor on strategy and approach for UPSC 2023. (You can schedule by clicking here as well)
2. Samachar Manthan’s current week’s module and Mains Questions
3. Prelims Weekly MCQ PDF
4. Mains 250+ Value notes
5. Current month’s Monthly Magazine

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

Context

• India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, late General Bipin Rawat was instrumental in laying down the foundation for joint theatre commands in India.
• His successor, Lt. General Anil Chauhan has now spelt it as his priority area.
• In his maiden communication with the three defence forces, the new CDS asked the Army, the Navy and the Air Force to make a move ahead toward the creation of integrated theatre commands.

What is Theaterisation?

• It is a concept that seeks to integrate the capabilities of the three services — army, air force and navy — and optimally utilise their resources for wars and operations.
• Specific theatre commands – or units – will be placed under the Theatre Commander.
• Such commands are expected to come under the operational control of an officer from any of the three services, depending on the function assigned.

The committee, which was headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar (retd) has recommended the creation of 3 integrated theatre commands i.e.: 

1. Northern for the China border,
2. Western for the Pakistan border and
3. Southern for the maritime role.

 What will it entail?

• The current theaterisation model under consideration seeks to set up at least six new integrated commands.
• The first phase involves the creation of Air Defence Command and Maritime Theatre Command.
• Air Defence Command: This will control air defence resources of all three services and will be tasked with protecting military assets from airborne enemies. It will be headed by a top three-star Indian Air Force officer based in Prayagraj.
• Maritime Theatre Command: This will be responsible for securing India from seaborne threats and will have army and air force elements. It will be headed by a top three-star Indian Navy officer and will be based in Karwar, Karnataka.
• Ultimately, India is expected to have three other integrated commands to secure its western, northern and eastern fronts.
• Additionally, a logistics command is in the works to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.

How many commands does the military currently have?

• The armed forces currently have 17 single-service commands spread across the country’s geography.
• The Army has 7 commands, IAF has 7 commands and the Navy, 3 commands.
• Creating theatres would involve merging existing commands.
• The Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Command is the only tri-service command.

What is the current status?

• Lack of consensus: A lack of consensus on the military’s theaterisation model emerged during a key meeting of top government officials reviewing a draft cabinet note on the new joint structures.
• Expert panel working in tandem: This led to the government setting up an expert committee last week for consultations and to remove differences before the reform plan is sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval.  The panel has members of the armed forces, defence ministry and other ministries (finance and home).

Who has reservations about the current model?

• In-favor: While the army and navy are in favour of theatre commands, the IAF has concerns about the model over the division of its air assets, the nomenclature of commands, the leadership of theatre commands and dilution of powers of chiefs.
• Against: The IAF’s traditional resistance to theaterisation is well-known and has been articulated by its top leadership. The expert committee is expected to hold more discussions to iron out the details of the theaterisation plan and bring all stakeholders, especially the IAF, on board.

Deliberations on the proposal are likely to take more time and previous timelines may have to be revised.

How will the role of service chiefs change?

• Operational control of the theatre commands will eventually come under the CDS, with the service chiefs being responsible for raising, training and sustaining their forces.
• CDS is expected to have operational control over all integrated commands when they are fully functional — this will be in his role as CDS, and not as permanent chairman, COSC.

Which other militaries have theatre commands?

• Most leading militaries, including those of the US, Russia, China, UK and France, function as per the theatre command concept with the idea of seamless integration.
• The US military, the world’s most powerful, has 11 combatant commands, each with a geographic or functional mission.
• Similarly, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has five theatre commands — eastern, southern, western, northern and central, with its western theatre handling the entire border with India.
• Pakistan has sought Beijing’s help to reorganise its forces under the same military concept.

Why is there a need to integrate Armed Forces?

• Changed nature of warfare: The nature of warfare itself has witnessed a paradigm shift in the planning and execution of operations. The modern-day wars will be fought with simultaneity in a non-linear pattern across the spectrum of land, sea and air.
• Multi-pronged strategy: The execution of operations would entail well-coordinated offensive-defensive manoeuvres, net-centric operations, information warfare, cyber-attacks, possibly under nuclear overhang etc.
• Magnifying security threats: India has two hostile nuclear neighbours. Additionally, there is Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in almost half the districts in the country and international power play unfolding in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) as well as the Asia-Pacific Regions.

Arguments for integrated theatre command

• Better acclimatisation of troops: This aims to the given battle space, which will assist them to comprehend the operational requirements correctly in the assigned area of operation.
• Training needs and administrative requirements: This can be better understood for troops, which would allow specialisation and suitable honing of battle drills at all levels.
• Quick mobilization of troops: Equipment can be procured, maintained and pre-positioned for quick mobilisation and apt application during the envisaged, short-duration, high-intensity war.
• Optimal use of resources: The allocation of military hardware, in terms of weapon systems, command, control and communication equipment and combat support elements will be theatre specific and result in optimisation of the resources.
• Precision in combat action: Unified command of the three Services under one designated commander will allow for prompt and precise decision-making and will remove unnecessary tri-services one-man-up ship.

Challenges ahead

• Perception of superiority: There is deep-rooted insecurity among the Services, arising out of loss of absolute authority over its Service, loss of identity of each Service in an integrated set up and erosion of empire within each Service. This may lead to unwillingness among the Armed Forces to integrate.
• Political willingness and divided opinions: This will despite being convinced about the requirement of integration of the Armed Forces. There is a sense of reluctance arising out of insecurity to bestow the complete authority of Armed Forces with one individual.
• Military hierarchy: The structure of command, i.e. who will report to who within the tri-services and joint theatre command configurations, and who will have operational command over personnel and machinery, service chiefs or theatre commanders.
• Shortage of resources: Shortages within the Indian Air Force (IAF) which has only 31 operational squadrons against a modest sanctioned strength of 42, would make it difficult for the IAF to permanently station assets in a particular command with territorial boundaries.
• Inter-services competition: This exists everywhere in the world wherein each service zealously oversees its own assets and strives for a greater share of the defense budget and influence might prove to be an obstacle in creating synergy among the services.
• India’s limited experience:  India may require a fair bit of mid-course corrections which would require problems to be timely identified and remedied, and slow down the integration process regardless.

Conclusion

• Even though both merits and demerits highlight logical arguments, the truth is this was a much-needed reform in Indian Armed Forces.
• Thus this integration would lead to theaterisation which would further lead to the modernization of forces. Until now, modernization was implemented from the equipment and weapons system per se but this restructuring into unified commands is the other side of modernization of forces.
• Even though there is a line of difference between Jointmanship among armed forces and Integration of Armed Forces, cooperation is a prerequisite of armed forces.

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

Context

• The death of 66 children in the Gambia, linked to cough syrups manufactured by an Indian firm, has spurred the government to launch an urgent probe into the matter.
• Samples of the cough syrups, being blamed for the deaths, have been sent for testing.

Kids poisoned by cough syrup in Gambia

• The cough syrups contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, considered to be poisonous compounds.
• After this, the WHO raised an alert, linking the deaths in the Gambia to the four cough syrups, made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

While the probe is on, the incident has certainly put the spotlight once again on quality monitoring and due diligence by companies and the need for stricter regulations.

India’s drug export to Africa

• India is a significant player in the pharmaceutical market in Africa.
• A recent report revealed that 20% of India’s exports of pharmaceuticals of about $17 billion go to Africa.
• The Gambia received 3.6 lakh doses of the Indian vaccine in March 2021, showing the importance that India attaches to this nation.
• Africa is, therefore, a major partner in India’s pharmaceutical industry.

What is Diethylene Glycol (DEG)?

• WHO said that Diethylene Glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol is toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.
• It can cause kidney and neurological toxicity and has been associated with several cases of mass poisoning when consumed via drugs.
• The chemical tastes sweet and is water-insoluble.
• The toxic effects of the chemical include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury.

Are the syrups sold in India?

• A drug regulatory expert who was part of the investigation into the 2020 J&K deaths said India has phased out syrups in favour of suspensions.
• The chemical is used as a solvent for Active Pharma Ingredients (API).
• To save on costs, some companies use industrial propylene glycol that may contain diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants.

India’s response to Gambia deaths

• It is certainly the responsibility of the importing country to test medicines before releasing them in their market.
• After being informed about the incident, India’s apex regulatory body, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) opened investigations and lifted control samples.

Issue: India’s credibility at stake

• India is one of the leading exporters of medicines.
• PM Modi recently stressed that Indian drugs had earned the world’s trust and that India could be called the ‘pharmacy to the world’.
• However, such negative reports on the quality and safety of our medicines will be a massive blow to the country’s image as a source of cheap generic drugs to the world.

Issues highlighted by the incident

• Smuggling of cheap drugs: Inquiry reveals that these were imported from an Indian manufacturer, not under public tender but privately.
• Ignorance by authorities: The drug which is banned for domestic consumption has got exported and led to fatalities. This is a huge blissful mistake by Indian Authorities.
• Lack of inspection: There are not enough drug inspectors in the country to conduct as many inspections as is ideally required in such as vast set-up.
• Inadequacies in quality-check: Despite huge production units, there are not an adequate number of laboratories to test the samples in time if all the samples that should be lifted for testing are picked up.
• Blot on credibility: The matter, if not properly handled, can damage the perception that Indian medicines are trustworthy for African countries and the global South.

Health cooperation between India and Africa

• Health cooperation is an important part of the India-Africa engagement.
• The India-Africa Health Sciences platform, Pan-African e-Network project, e-Arogya Bharti, and training programs under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program are part of inter-governmental action.
• There is a growing pharmaceutical trade, medical tourism and hospital management between India and Africa.
• This is because of the confidence that India is a cost-effective but efficient partner in the health sector.
• Indian companies have established a reputation as partners of choice — particularly of international healthcare NGOs and aid agencies — over the past decades.
• They have followed WHO standards in the main and their budget-friendly medicines have been a boon to many African countries for their public health programs.

Possible factors behind this tragedy

• There are rackets of counterfeit Indian medicines turning up in many African countries.
• Some of these were coming from unregistered producers in India, who would produce medicine depending on what cost was paid to them without concern for quality.
• In some cases, competitors from other countries were known to make counterfeit medicines with Indian markings and dump them in markets where Indian pharmaceuticals were well regarded.

Way forward

• The pharmaceutical trade is vital and must be protected from predatory practices and violations of regulatory norms.
• Regulatory mechanism on both sides should be strengthened.
• African importers should be given lists of recognised Indian manufacturers.
• Training should be provided to drug controllers to curtail the menace of counterfeit and poor-quality medicine entering Africa from India.

UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)