Category: Ranker Webinars

Topics for Today’s questions:

GS-1        Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent)

GS-2      Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of the vulnerable sections.

GS-3        Indian Economy

GS-4        Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.

Question 1)

Q.1 What do you understand by the Arctic Paradox? Highlight the spatial distribution of mineral and energy resources in the Arctic region. (15 Marks)

Question 2)

Q.2 There is a surge in demand by forest communities to not only access the resources of their habitat, but also to establish their ownership over forests. In this context, analyse the issues with working of FRA 2006. (10 Marks)

Question 3)

Q.3 Recently released RBI data on the states’ outstanding debt has registered an upward movement. In this context, analyse the issues between centre and state in fiscal domain. Also shed light on the issues with discretionary spending by the states. (15 Marks)

Question 4)  

Q.4 In the quest for scientific and technological development, ethical values should not be neglected. Discuss in the current context. (10 Marks)

HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?

1. Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.

2. 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.

3. You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.

4.  Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.

5. Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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*. 

1. For the philosophy of AWE and payment: 

Topics for Today’s questions:

GS-1        Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent)

GS-2        Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

GS-3        Challenges in internal security

GS-4        Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance

Question 1)

Q.1 What are ferrous minerals? Give an overview of the distribution of iron ore in India with examples. (10 Marks)

Question 2)

Q.2 Discuss the role of the Departmentally Related Standing Committees in strengthening parliamentary democracy in India. (10 Marks)

Question 3)

Q.3 Do you think AFSPA is license to kill? Critically examine the utility of AFSPA today. (10 Marks)

Question 4)  

Q.4 Integrity and probity can be maintained in public life by empowering the human consciousness. Explain. (10 Marks)

HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?

1. Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.

2. 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.

3. You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.

4.  Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.

5. Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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*. 

1. For the philosophy of AWE and payment: 

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

Context

• As External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar wrapped up a visit to Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, we take an in-depth look at India’s ties with Latin America.
• Latin America is generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South America in addition to Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean.

India-Latin America Relations: A Backgrounder

(i) Beginning

• India’s ties with certain Latin American nations are longstanding and Mexico was the first Latin American country to recognize India after its independence in 1947.
• When Fidel Castro ousted the Batista regime in Cuba in 1959, India was one of the first countries to recognize the new government, set-up an embassy in Havana and establish diplomatic relations.
• However, relations between India and Latin America did not gather momentum throughout most of India’s post-independence history.

(ii) Post-independence

• India and Latin American nations were both colonies of European powers. After achieving independence, both adopted socialist policies, which did little to enhance relations.
• Many Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries joined the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
• India also supported LAC countries against US interventions in the UN and other multilateral gatherings, but this did not address the deficit in the relationship.

Why does Latin America matter to India?

(i) Economic determinants

• Energy demand is rising: In a view of India’s growing demand for energy and its interest in seeking overseas investments, Latin America attracts New Delhi’s interest. After all, the region is rich in extractive resources.
• Important markets: Given that three G20 economies, i.e. Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina are in Latin America, Indian businesses are keen to tap its expansive market.
• IT collaboration: During the last two decades, India’s trade with Latin American countries has grown substantially and its investments are diversified in sectors such as Information Technology (IT) and manufacturing.
• Export hub: Moreover, the region has emerged as an important market for the Indian pharmaceutical and automobile industries.

(ii) Geopolitical determinants

• China’s emergence in the region: Analysts within India’s strategic community are of the view that China is fast emerging as Latin America’s economic and strategic partner, and that India must begin expanding its own footprint in the region.
• India’s Soft Power is making difference: To its advantage, India’s status as a rising power, its economic growth, as well as its soft power in the form of its cultural and civilizational practices such as yoga have gained traction in Latin America.

Hurdles in cooperation

• Geographic distance: Relations between India and Latin America did not gather momentum owing mainly to the geographical distance between the two regions, and differing domestic and international priorities.
• Lack of cultural connection: There has also been a lack of cultural, linguistic and diaspora connections between the two regions in the past.

Significance of India-Latin America Relations

• Pharma exports: India exports a billion dollars worth of generic medicines to Latin America, which has helped these countries reduce the cost of healthcare.
• FDI: Latin American firms have invested about a billion dollars in India in areas such as soft drinks, multiplexes, theme parks, and auto parts.
• Software production: Latin American software firms have also established development and delivery centres in India, employing over a thousand Indian software engineers
• Energy security: Latin America has also emerged as a key contributor to India’s energy security. India now imports 20% of its crude oil from Brazil, Columbia, Mexico and Venezuela.
• ITES exports: India also constitutes one of the largest suppliers of IT services to Latin America. Over 35,000 Latin Americans are employed in Indian IT companies operating in the region

Key factor: Countering Chinese domination

• Although India has steadily expanded its footprint in Latin American countries over the past several years, it is still dwarfed by China’s immense presence in the region.
• Many Latin Americans governments resent Chinese imports, which flood their markets at the cost of local businesses.
• They are also worried by their growing dependence on Chinese investments.
• By contrast, India’s modest trade and investments are welcomed with virtually no opposition.
• This gives New Delhi an unexpected, long-term competitive advantage over China.

India’s interests in Latin America

(1) Economic

• Latin America is also very rich in minerals such as copper, lithium, iron ore, gold and silver. It gives India an opportunity to increase investments for their extraction as well as for their imports at cheaper rates.
• India’s exports to Latin America increased by 9.6% in 2018-19 (April to March) reaching $13.16 billion from $12 billion in 2017-18.

(2) Strategic 

• The region is very important for India in order to achieve its global ambitions such as in order to pursue its membership of the UNSC, the NSG and at various other negotiations like climate change, terrorism, trade, etc
• India is cooperating with Brazil at platforms like BRICS, IBSA which has provided an alternative platform for developing countries and reduces their dependence on existing institutions controlled by west.

(3) Energy security

• Currently India sources 15% of its crude oil from Latin America countries.
• Latin America is also an important partner in the India led International Solar Alliance.

(4) Food security

• Latin America region is five times that of India and only has half as much population.
• India is importing pulses and oil seeds from many of African and Southeast Asian countries at very high costs.

Why India should expand ties with Latin American countries

• Growth prospect: With a collective GDP of more than $6 trillion, and a combined population of more than 600 million, half of which is under the age of thirty, Latin America constitutes a dynamic, growing and resource-rich part of the world with huge economic prospects for India.
• Food Security: Latin America can also contribute towards food security. The region is five times the size of India and has only half the population. India is currently importing pulses and oilseeds from other countries at high costs.
• Cheaper imports: Latin America is also very rich in minerals such as copper, lithium, iron ore, gold and silver, and could give India an opportunity to increase investments for their extraction as well as for their import at cheaper rates.

Way Forward

• Bringing India and Latin America together will require effective institutional framework as well as businesses and people-to-people networks.
• India must also promote Latin American studies, invest in shipping industries, and conclude preferential trade agreements and free trade agreements at the earliest.
• Latin American languages must be encouraged in India to incentivise Indian professionals to take jobs in these countries, and to promote trading ties.
• The commerce ministry should revive its ‘Focus: LAC’ programme, which has previously helped encourage and support Indian exporters to explore business opportunities in the region.

Conclusion

• Despite recent improvements on many fronts, however, both India and the LAC countries face some formidable challenges.
• They still have some of the highest inequality indices in the world, as well as serious deficiencies in infrastructure, technology, innovation and competitiveness.
• India and the LAC region could approach these challenges as opportunities to forge new partnerships to promote growth and development through increased trade and investment.

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

Topics for Today’s questions:

GS-1        Salient features of world’s physical geography.

GS-2        Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.

GS-3        Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

GS-4        Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions

Question 1)

Q.1 Volcanic eruptions are widely considered to be agents of destruction but they also have certain positive impacts on the people and landscape. Discuss. (10 Marks)

Question 2)

Q.2 There are similarities and interactions between the affirmative action adopted by India and USA owing to similar historical injustices faced by their respective vulnerable groups. Discuss. (15 Marks)

Question 3)

Q.3 India manages to recover and recycle only about 1% of its construction and demolition waste. Analyse the constraints involved. Also, suggest some positive measures to address this challenge. (10 Marks)

Question 4)  

Q.4 Discretionary power by itself is not pure evil but gives much room for misuse. Discuss in the context of administration in India. (10 Marks)

HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?

1. Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.

2. 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.

3. You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.

4.  Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.

5. Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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*. 

1. For the philosophy of AWE and payment: 

Topics for Today’s questions:

GS-1        Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

GS-2        Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate. 

GS-3        Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

GS-4        Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world.

Question 1)

Q.1 Recognising unpaid work of women is a necessary but challenging task. Discuss. (10 Marks)

Question 2)

Q.2 State the functions of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Also, discuss the issues faced by the Council in the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. (10 Marks)

Question 3)

Q.3 As the world copes with the repercussions of carbon emissions, there is growing pressure to achieve climate-compatible growth. In this context what do you understand by the term green finance? Discuss how it will help to achieve climate-compatible growth along with limitations of green finance. (10 Marks)

Question 4)  

Q.4 The teachings of Arya Samaj present key ethical lessons for present day India. Discuss. (10 Marks)

HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?

1. Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.

2. 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.

3. You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.

4.  Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.

5. Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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*. 

1. For the philosophy of AWE and payment: 

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

Context

The Supreme Court of India has delivered a judgement on how to write a judgement!  A bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna made this crucial observation while dealing with a judgment of the Himachal Pradesh High Court which was found to be “incomprehensible“.

• Judgment writing is a critical instrument in fostering the rule of law and in curbing rule by the law.
• That was the assertion made by the Supreme Court recently while delivering a judgment on how to write a judgment.

How can judges ensure lucidity in writing judgments? How can judgments be more structured? These are aspects on which the apex court has given directions.

Writing a Judgement

• A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna noted that the purpose of judicial writing is:
• Not to confuse or confound the reader behind the veneer of complex language
• Judgments speak to the present and to the future in settling crucial issues of law, besides providing a platform for societal dialogue.
• Setting down guidelines for judicial writing, the two-judge bench underlined that confidence in the judicial process is predicated on the trust that its written word generates.
• If the meaning of the written word is lost in language, the ability of the judge to retain the trust of the reader is severely eroded.

Guidelines for making a judgment

[A] A judgment is a manifestation of reason

• A judgment culminates in a conclusion. But its content represents the basis for the conclusion.
• A judgment is hence a manifestation of reason.
• The reasons provide the basis of the view which the decision maker has espoused, of the balances which have been drawn.
• That is why reasons are crucial to the legitimacy of a judge’s work.
• They provide an insight into judicial analysis, explaining to the reader why what is written has been written. The reasons, as much as the final conclusion, are open to scrutiny.
• The validity of the decision is tested by the underlying content and reasons.

[B] A judgment speaks to the present and to the future

• Judicial outcomes taken singularly or in combination have an impact upon human lives.
• Hence, a judgment is amenable to wider critique and scrutiny, going beyond the immediate contest in a courtroom.
• Citizens, researchers and journalists continuously evaluate the work of courts as public institutions committed to governance under law.
• Judgment writing is hence a critical instrument in fostering the rule of law and in curbing rule by the law.

[C] Judgment writing is a layered exercise

• Judgment writing is a layered exercise. In one layer, a judgment addresses the concerns and arguments of parties to a forensic contest.
• In another layer, a judgment addresses stakeholders beyond the conflict.
• It speaks to those in society who are impacted by the discourse.
• In the layered formulation of analysis, a judgment speaks to the present and to the future.
• Whether or not the writer of a judgment envisions it, the written product remains for the future, representing another incremental step in societal dialogue.

[D] Brevity is an unwitting victim of an overburdened judiciary

• Brevity means concise and exact use of words in writing a judgment.
• Many judgments do decide complex questions of law and of fact.
• Hence Brevity is an unwitting victim of an overburdened judiciary.
• It is also becoming a victim of the cut-copy-paste convenience afforded by software developers.

Issue, Rule, Application and Conclusion: IRAC Method of Judgment Writing

In terms of structuring judgments, it would be beneficial for courts to structure them in a manner such that the “Issue, Rule, Application and Conclusion” are easily identifiable.

1. Issue: It refers to the question of law that the court is deciding. A court may be dealing with multiple issues in the same judgment. Identifying these issues clearly helps structure the judgment and provides clarity for the reader on the specific issue of law being decided in a particular segment of a judgment.
2. Rule: It refers to the portion of the judgment which distils the submissions of counsel on the applicable law and doctrine for the issue identified.
3. Application: This rule is applied to the facts of the case in which the issue has arisen. The analysis recording the reasoning of a court forms the “Application‟ section.
4. Conclusion: Finally, it is always useful for a court to summarize and lay out the “Conclusion‟ on the basis of its determination of the application of the rule to the issue along with the decision vis-à-vis the specific facts. This allows stakeholders, especially members of the bar as well as judges relying upon the case in the future, to concisely understand the holding of the case.

Significance of lucid judgments

• Judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court serve as precedents to guide future benches.
• A judgment must make sense to those whose lives and affairs are affected by the outcome of the case.
• While a judgment is read by those as well who have training in the law, they do not represent the entire universe of discourse.
• If the meaning of the written word is lost in language, the ability of the adjudicator to retain the trust of the reader is severely eroded.

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