Sajal Sir’s packed session at our Pune officePravin Sir rocking it with his presentation
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GS-1 The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
GS-2 Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
GS-3 Indian Economy; Changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
GS-4 Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
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.:
Northern for the China border,
Western for the Pakistan border and
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.
GS-1 Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present – significant events, personalities, issues.
GS-2 Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
GS-3 Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
GS-4 Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
GS-1 Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
GS-2 Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability; Government Policies
GS-3 Indian Economy
GS-4 Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
“Guys, Let us spark up in October so that we can make it better than September.”- Civilsdaily
Civilsdaily is launching the special OCTOBER edition of the on-demand ‘Smash Ethics Program’. It’s a special October Batch for UPSC-CSE 2023 and 24. The ETHICS program assesses your ‘ethical competence‘ and not only mere ‘knowledge about ethics‘.
Mains GS Paper 4, Ethics is the most dynamic paper out of the lot. There is no “ONE WAY approach” in ethics. But, Scoring well in the Ethics paper is the sine qua non for featuring in the final list and getting one’s desired service. As the essay paper, this paper offers maximum returns. With very little effort, one can score good marks.
In our experience of working with 2000+ students, ethics is a game-changer for the UPSC examination. Scoring well in the ethics paper is the sine qua non for getting featured in the final list and one’s desired service. The ETHICS paper is designed to evaluate the ‘ethical competence’ but not the ‘knowledge about ethics’.
REMEMBER: General studies paper 4 is the only paper where you can score 120+ marks easily.
The TRICK is to learn the static portion, link them to current affairs and bring it in writing. So, the ethics paper needs to hold over the ART OF ANSWER WRITING as well as STATIC MATERIAL.
Our October Smash Ethics Program also helps in adding the moral dimension to answers in GS Paper-1, 2, and 3 papers and also the Essay paper. It also helps in coming across as a person who has the qualities desired of a civil servant in the personality test.
Watch: Messages of our Hall of Fame 2021 Top Rankers
👉 The Smash ethics program will focus on both the needs of answer writing and static coverage of the syllabus. Being the composition paper, it offers maximum returns. With very little effort, one can score good marks. Thorough preparation of this paper also helps in adding the moral dimension to answers in GS Paper-1, 2, and 3 papers and also the essay paper. It also helps in coming across as a person who has the qualities desired of a civil servant in the personality test.
Structured video lectures of Paper 4 for a concrete understanding of the syllabus. Our novel methodology accompanied by an in-depth explanation ensures comprehensive coverage of every topic in the syllabus. Added to this, we have made sure to add that extra element of fun. Here’s a snapshot of the lecture for you:
8 FLT Tests:
FLT tests will help to bring together the ideas and concepts of the art of answer writing. Practice full-length tests to evaluate your levels. With every test and discussion on strategies to follow, one can improve with every test. Questions framed are from the most important UPSC relevant themes and papers are based on the latest pattern of UPSC. Get model answers covering all the aspects of a question and providing enriching points to the student.
1-1 Mentorship support
A schedule is created where dedicated days are kept to discuss your doubts regarding each test and lecture. Weekly zoom calls can help boost ideas and discussion on various techniques, also among peers so that one can get a lot of exposure to various answer writing techniques and points to write in the answer. Also, the best answer copy of the week can be taken for discussion so that you can get an idea of how to write better.
👉Acknowledging the need to ensure the fastest mentorship response, Senior IAS mentors like Partha Sir, and Swatantra Sir, will receive your call.
Civilsdaily’s Handholding
You’ll be given membership to an exclusive group on Civilsdaily’s Habitat. The group will be headed by Sukanya ma’am herself. From doubt resolution and discussion will be done by Sukanya ma’am only. Here you can directly connect with ma’am. Habitat is where everything comes together learning, doubt clearing, mentor’s support, and a focused community. You’re going to learn and discuss it like never before.
Sukanya ma’am has firsthand experience of 4 mains and 2 interviews with UPSC. She has also appeared in the State PCS interview. Before she worked as an officer in a public sector bank and now as a Mentor at Civilsdaily, she aims to guide future aspirants in finding success. Sukanya Ma’am has scored consistently 100+ marks in ethics and in 2019 her marks were 140 in GS 4. In 2020, under her mentorship, many smash mains students were able to secure 120+ marks.
👉 Acknowledging the need to ensure the fastest mentorship response, Senior IAS mentors like Partha Sir, and Swatantra Sir will receive your call.
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.
Current Affairs for UPSC is such a necessary evil that terrifies many aspirants for good reason. Aspirants feel that there is no single source to help them navigate this section & it all feels like one big haze. In such, confusion 90% of aspirants start to plan their own and start a separate current affairs preparation/strategy for UPSC Prelims and Mains. But current affairs is not a subject that we can filter out for objective types and for descriptive types separately.
They should be dealt with in an integrated manner rather than in a silos approach (covering CA for prelims and mains separately).
Following an integrated approach is an important UPSC skill that is lacking in many relatively fresher/beginner aspirants, and even veteran aspirants. Covering current affairs in such a balanced manner makes preparation effective, outcome-oriented, and simple.
Purnima ma’am will be taking up a special Masterclass to help you impart this skill and teach how to cover current affairs in an Integrated manner for UPSC 2023.
You will get an opportunity to talk and discuss 1-1 with Purnima ma’am. Register now.
1. Balancing Prelims and Mains wrt Current Affairs.
Approaching Current Affairs in an Integrated manner for UPSC pre+mains. Instead of covering current affairs in a silos approach, there should be a high level of interlinking and alignment towards both stages. Else it would be a wasteful approach.
2. Balancing Dynamic-Static part.
Linking Current Affairs with the Static part of the syllabus.
UPSC expects a candidate to be well aware of the implications and impact of a particular issue, that is currently in news, on various aspects of life, the state, society, etc. For this, we need to link it with the GS subjects and topics that explain the static part.
3. Following a selective and effective approach
Reading everything under the sun is a bad approach to dealing with Current Affairs. Following a selective and effective approach to cover CA is essential for success in UPSC in just one attempt.
4. Making notes, collecting info like case studies, examples, etc.
You have to cover a lot of things in Current Affairs for UPSC over the course of around 1 year. Organizing the information, facts, and data to be used in answers and solving MCQs or revision is a crucial skill one must have. We’ll discuss this in the masterclass.
5. Writing Daily mains answers and attempting prelims MCQs. (Best resources for this)
Reading and Organising current affairs is not of any use until and unless you know how to use that fodder. Thus writing daily mains answers based on current affairs and solving MCQs is really important. We will also discuss the best resources, freely available, in this masterclass.
6. LIVE doubt resolution and interaction with Purnima ma’am
A 1-to-1 Q&A session will follow the masterclass because you have questions and doubts that need resolution on a personal level. List down all your questions. We will tackle them in the masterclass/webinar
Aspirants, UPSC 2023 is around 8 months away and it is high time now to start Essay writing. A lot of aspirants delay it till the post-prelims phase, considering the weightage of this Exam (250 marks in mains), this is a poor strategy and a recipe for disaster.
Before you get into the Prelims 2023 zone, which will be from Feb, you must utilize the next few months (Oct-Feb) for Essay particularly.
An Essay is a ‘Written Interview’ in UPSC mains
CivilsDaily is pleased to launch Essay Essential Program 2023 and this time we have made it holistic for you. One of the changes is lectures, that Zeeshan sir will be imparting skills in Essay writing.
Two essays are given and have to be written in under 3 hours in 1000-1200 words. Each essay carries 125 marks for a total of 250
The essay paper is divided into two sections- Section A and Section B. Each section carries a choice of 4 essays, and the aspirants have to choose only one essay from each section.
The instructions in the syllabus are clear in what is expected from aspirants. And Aspirants are expected to keep their thoughts closely to the subject and arrange their ideas accordingly. It further states that credit is given for effective and coherent expression
The underline keywords are super important because, after content, these are the exact parameters on which the essay will be evaluated.
Essay writing is an important component of the Civil Services Examination (CSE), which tries to gauge the writing skills, knowledge, critical thinking, imagination, and creativity of the candidates. Particularly, in the UPSC CSE (Main), scoring well in the Essay paper, which is allocated a decent share of 250 marks, has become crucial to final selection into the coveted services like IAS, IPS, IFS, etc.
In the Essay paper, the UPSC demands certain attributes, which focus on “conciseness, relevance, and effective and exact expression” of the views presented, in an orderly fashion. However, the scenario may not be as simple as it appears. This segment is not easy to master, and getting a good score in an Essay has always been a challenge for the aspirants.
An essay is an organized piece of writing. This means that it consists of several paragraphs which are arranged in such a way that there is a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Although many say that practice makes one perfect, in the case of UPSC essays practice alone is not enough. To clear and get top rank in UPSC, certain things are required, like; Accurate basic structure, Body Keywords, Central idea of the thesis statement, Brainstorming, Adding elements, PESTLE analysis, Outlining the essay, Sticking to the word and time limit, fitting introduction and mark-leaving conclusion, Quotes, Etc.
And for a beginner, acquiring all these concepts, dimensions, and solutions required to solve is nothing but deep pain.
Writing a good essay can be very challenging and confusing. Time and again we’ve received many queries from students like:
Reviews provide additional points but don’t address the inherent shortcomings and deficiencies in my skills.
Will reading ready-made sample essays help me prepare for essays?
Don’t know how to start an essay, or how to organize one.
Can we do well in essays without practicing by re-using our GS paper knowledge alone?
Is there a universal format that I can stick to?
Content related- some suffer from information overload others from information deficit.
Importance of rough work for essays.
Difficulty in balancing time and quality in both topics.
That’s why we’ve invested a great deal of energy to create a program the likes of which are offered by no one else
Civilsdaily’s Essay Programs 2023
Civilsdaily’s Essay program is now complete with Essay Writing, Test series, evaluation, and 1-1 mentorship component.
There are two variants this time:
Essay Essential Program 2023 with lectures and 1-1 mentorship
Essay Essential Program Plus 2023 with lectures and Zeeshan sir’s mentorship
What are we offering and how is it unique?
What makes CivilsDaily’s program distinctive is – its process-driven approach. The process may have some common minimum steps for all but your individuality in the form of your essay writing is paramount. Here comes the role of a mentor with whom a reliable one-to-one discussion will certainly be a game-changer.
Not information-centric but rather an analytical and critical style of Essay writing. Our focus is on personalized attention in evaluation, execution, and course correction.
Essay writing and foundation-building lectures by Zeeshan sir
Zeeshan sir will be taking 15 lectures covering different themes and frameworks for UPSC Essays. These lectures will form the foundation of your content for the essay.
Zeeshan sir will also be discussing different frameworks for writing an Essay.
CEP Methodology:
Orientation Session – brainstorming, thesis statement, types of introduction, way to conclude, main body arguments, and their organization in your essay.
Pre-test discussion on the theme for building the arguments and content.
Post-test one-on-one discussion with an evaluated copy.
Highly relevant, precise, and thoughtful topic selection
Our research tells us there are 8 broad themes of essays being asked since 2010 – Economy, Polity, Women Issues, Education, Science & Tech, Philosophy, IR, Miscellaneous.
Social Issues- Women Issues, Social Movements, Class, Caste, Youth, Geriatric
Economy,
Political System and Governance
Human Development- Health, Education, Employment
Science & Technology- IT/ITeS, AI
Ethical, Abstract or Philosophical,
IR
Miscellaneous
An innovative methodology for reviews
Our biggest innovation lies in our review methodology. Specific portions of your essay will be highlighted with symbols to indicate issues in essay writing:
Fundamental Flaws like judgments/strong postures that you need to be avoided at all costs.
Appreciation for uniqueness.
Structure is not maintained. Issues with Language and expression.
General Suggestions for candidates.
Along with this, Zeeshan sir and senior mentors will also leave specific reviews on strengths and weaknesses.
We don’t want to merely suggest additional points that can be googled by the student or point out superficial flaws like not ‘sticking to the topic’. They don’t necessarily highlight the shortcomings in the essay. This adds very little value to students. We go much beyond that and help students fix major flaws in their essays.
10 parameters on which your essays are going to get evaluated
Comprehension of the Essay topic
Language and Expression of Essay writing
Structure and Organization of thought.
Objectivity and Biases. Balance of perception
Attitude whether a learner or judgmental
Focus and attention
Content, Knowledge, and information processing capability
Ability to forge links in an interdisciplinary manner
The simplicity of disposition
Observational Skills
Model essays with indicative structure and good essay copies
You will be provided with good essay copies to serve as sample answers. This is a better alternative than sample answers which are hastily written and at times not updated with the latest figures.
Students have an incorrect impression that going through a sample essay will somehow help them write better essays. This is incorrect.
To develop your competency in tackling different topics, you have to be able to come up with appropriate structures. This aspect of the program addresses this issue.
The expectation from you would be that you study the solutions in detail and try to address the shortcomings in your essays. Should doubts persist, we’re here to help.
One-to-one Mentorship and CivilsDaily’s handholding
This component of the program is the most important. Post-evaluation of your essay test you will get on a one-to-one discussion with senior mentors and in the case of Essay Essential Plus Program 2023 with Zeeshan sir. You will be discussing the topics in considerable depth, appropriate structure, pitfalls to avoid, etc.
Along with that, Sir will also discuss copies presenting different styles in which the essays could be attempted.
Habitat is our learning platform, here you’ll be given membership to an exclusive Essay group. This group will be administered by Zeeshan sir, Sajal sir, in-service officers, rankers, and other mentors.
For essays, you need multiple perspectives to understand a topic or an issue in its entirety. You need discussions; arguments; confluence, confrontation, and integration of ideas. Here, discussions will be facilitated by mentors and enriched by different viewpoints from peers. Moreover, you can ask and discuss any of your doubts with peers and Zeeshan sir.
Habitat discussions
Besides these, you will be given the following
Any additional material that we release for essays.
Notes and reference material including good articles, essays, etc. on Habitat group.
Program inclusion
8 FLTs before Prelims and 5 FLTs Post Prelims
Zeeshan sir’s lectures that will include – Orientation, Process building session, Content/approach building session.
Model essays
One-to-one mentorship
In Essay Essential Program 2023 by senior mentors
In Essay Essential Plus Program 2023 by Zeeshan sir
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
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