Some legislators were suspended for one year by the Maharashtra Assembly for alleged disorderly conduct.
The unusually long period of suspension has been questioned by the Supreme Court, which is hearing a challenge to the Assembly’s action.
A case in apex court
The court has reserved its judgment after hearing elaborate arguments.
The main question before the court is whether suspension for a whole year is valid.
Suspending MLAs: A fact check
Each state has their individual rules for the conduct of assembly. These rules provides for the suspension of MLAs.
Under Rule 53 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules, 1960, only the Speaker has the power to suspend MLAs indulging in unruly behavior.
Therefore, the motion to suspend cannot be put to vote as this would allow the Government to suspend as many Members of Opposition as it sees fit.
Constitutional ground behind this suspension
The Court referred to Article 190 (4) of the Constitution which says that if for a period of 60 days, a member of a House, without its permission, is absent; the House may declare his or her seat vacant.
Suspension of MLAs beyond this period would lead to their disqualification.
What did the Supreme Court observe?
Suspension of the MLAs would amount to punishing the constituencies as a whole.
Each constituency has equal amount of right to be represented in the House, observed the court.
The apex court observed that any state cannot create a constitutional void, a hiatus situation for any constituency.
It said the House cannot suspend a member beyond 59 days.
What does the State government say?
Counsel for the State government has argued that there is no limitation on the power of the legislature to punish for breach of privilege or disorderly conduct in the course of its proceedings.
Once the power to punish a member for disorderly conduct is recognized, there can be no judicial review of the manner in which it is exercised.
Further, during suspension, a member continues to hold office, but only loses their voice in the legislature.
The Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA), the first-of-its-kind State-level bird atlas in India, has created solid baseline data about the distribution and abundance of bird species across all major habitats, giving an impetus to futuristic studies.
Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA)
The KBA has been prepared based on systematic surveys held twice over 60 days a year during the wet (July to September) and dry (January to March) seasons between 2015 and 2020.
It was conducted as a citizen science-driven exercise with the participation of over 1,000 volunteers of the birdwatching community.
The KBA accounts for nearly three lakh records of 361 species, including 94 very rare species, 103 rare species, 110 common species, 44 very common species, and 10 most abundant species.
It was found that the species count was higher during the dry season than in the wet season while species richness and evenness were higher in the northern and central districts than in the southern districts.
Significance of KBA
The KBA offers authentic, consistent and comparable data through random sampling from the geographical terrain split.
It is arguably Asia’s largest bird atlas in terms of geographical extent, sampling effort and species coverage derived from the aggregation of 25,000 checklists.
The KBA is considered to be a valuable resource for testing various ecological hypotheses and suggesting science-backed conservation measures.
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has underlined some green rules for the living root bridges of Meghalaya to get the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag.
Living Root Bridges
A living root bridge is a type of simple suspension bridge formed of living plant roots by tree shaping.
They are common in the southern part of the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. Such a bridge is locally called jingkieng jri.
They are handmade from the aerial roots of rubber fig trees (Ficus elastic) by the Khasi and Jaintia peoples of the mountainous terrain along the southern part of the Shillong Plateau.
Most of the bridges grow on steep slopes of subtropical moist broadleaf forest between 50m and 1150m above sea level.
Why is it so unique?
As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the roots in the bridge can naturally grow thick and strengthen.
New roots can grow throughout the tree’s life and must be pruned or manipulated to strengthen the bridge.
Once mature some bridges can have as many as 50 or more people crossing, and have a lifespan of up to 150 years.
Work is going apace on the 216-ft tall ‘Statue of Equality’ of the 11th century reformer and Vaishnavite saint, Sri Ramanuja, to be unveiled by PM Modi next month in Hyderabad.
Statue of Equality
The ‘Statue of Equality’, as it is called, is being installed to mark the 1,000th birth anniversary of Sri Ramanuja.
It was built of panchaloha, a combination of gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc, by the Aerospun Corporation in China and shipped to India.
It is the second largest in the world in sitting position of the saint.
The monument will be surrounded by 108 “Divya Desams” of Sri Vaishnavite tradition (model temples) like Tirumala, Srirangam, Kanchi, Ahobhilam, Badrinath, Muktinath, Ayodhya, Brindavan, Kumbakonam and others.
The idols of deities and structures were constructed in the shape at the existing temples.
Who was Sri Ramanuja?
Ramanuja or Ramanujacharya (1017–1137 CE) was a philosopher, Hindu theologian, social reformer, and one of the most important exponents of Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism.
His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.
His works
Ramanuja’s philosophical foundation was qualified monism and is called Vishishtadvaita in the Hindu tradition.
His ideas are one of three subschools in Vedanta, the other two are known as Adi Shankara’s Advaita (absolute monism) and Madhvacharya’s Dvaita (dualism)
Important writings include:
Vedarthasangraha (literally, “Summary of the Vedas meaning”),
Sri Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Brahma Sutras),
Bhagavad Gita Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita), and
The minor works titled Vedantapida, Vedantasara, Gadya Trayam (which is a compilation of three texts called the Saranagati Gadyam, Sriranga Gadyam and the Srivaikunta Gadyam), and Nitya Grantham.
Mobile apps have become a significant part of the lives of smartphone users. Almost every person seems to be dependent on them.
However there is a huge flipside of this flourishing mobile app environment which has become evident quite often in the recent past in cases like that of Bulli Bai App.
These apps were used to target women and communities.
So how do we deal with such challenges and what are the provisions in the legal framework to tackle such issues.
Bulli Bai App Controversy: A Backgrounder
On New Year’s Day, hundreds of Muslim women in India including journalists, social workers, and other prominent personalities found their images and derogatory content about them on a new app called “Bulli Bai”.
The app, created on hosting platform Github, offered an online “auction” of women.
It derives its name from the derogatory term used for women of a particular community.
A critical case of abuse
The app is clearly an example of online trolling where the dignity and modesty of a woman is highly downgraded.
This has not been the very first time. Earlier, no arrests were ever made showing Police inaction.
The authorities were using the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to obtain information about the creators of such apps from California-based GitHub.
Why is it a cause of worry?
Large user-base: There are about 40 crore internet users and about 25 crore social media users in India.
Behavioral impact: Apart from having a huge impact on the life of people, the apps also influence how a person thinks, behaves, or perceives.
Lack of regulatory framework: India currently does not have a dedicated legal framework to govern mobile applications.
No self regulations: There is no government or self guidelines currently in place in India, regulating the apps.
Legal provisions against such Crimes
For making arrests, the police have invoked Sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 354D, 500 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
Section 153A pertains to the offence of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony
Section 153B relates to imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration
Section 295A provides punishment for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings
Section 354D provides that any man who monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication with malintent, commits the offence of stalking.
Section 500 defines the punishment for defamation
Section 509 addresses the offence of word, gesture or act intended insulting the modesty of a woman
Section 67 of the IT Act lays down the punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form
What are the other provisions related to cybercrimes?
Section 66E of the IT Act prescribes punishment for violation of privacy.
IPC sections 354A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) and 354C (voyeurism) of the IPC were introduced along with sections 354B and 354D in 2013.
Threats posed by such apps
Foreign scams: These apps are run by scammers in Pakistan and China.
Money laundering: More than 40,000 crore hawala transactions took place in India through the distribution of instant loans.
Espionage: Mobile apps which are being operated by India’s hostile countries were also used for espionage.
Online betting: There are also gaming and betting apps that are currently being used extensively by mobile users in India.
Revenue bypass: PUBG (though a banned) gaming app reportedly raised a profit of 2500 crores functioning in India but did not pay any taxes in India.
Psycho-social impacts
These applications pose challenges such as addiction and induce violent behavior among children.
There are also examples of apps being used to promote hate crime and hate speeches as recently seen in the case of the Bulli Bai app.
Need for Regulations
No legal liability on intermediaries: The intermediaries are not liable for any third-party data or communication link hosted or stored on their platforms.
Inadequacy of cyber laws: Despite having provisions that address mobile applications, the entire aspect of regulating the affairs of mobile applications has not been defined or adequately dealt with under the Indian cyber laws.
Lack of holistic approach: The existing regulations hence do not cover the holistic challenges that are posed by the mobile applications and are to be updated and regulated to tackle the current challenges.
Way Forward
There is a need for a comprehensive umbrella IT Law that needs to be proactive and be reviewed from time to time to check the new challenges posed by the technology.
The available laws should be enforced in a stringent manner and strict actions should be taken against any violations.
Industry interventions should also be allowed in the implementation of the policies to make them dynamic and compliant with economic interests.
Every hour is speeding fast, as you try your best to complete the vast Prelims syllabus. You will be attempting an exam which will test your hardwork of a year in just two hours.
Now is not the time to slow down and get distracted, make each day count by measuring your outcomes. If one day, you don’t know about the east-flowing and west-flowing rivers of India, by next day you should have them on the tips of your fingers!
Toppers who have cleared UPSC, have always said that even if they at the outset prepared casually, they streamlined their timetable in the last six months. You need a different approach than what you have been following all these days — an approach that pushes your limits for a very uncertain exam with increasing competition and decreasing vacancies.
That’s why Civilsdaily has come up with a free new initiative — Nikaalo Prelims in it’s telegram channel.
What is Nikaalo Prelims
Nikaalo Prelims is a free initiative of Civilsdaily IAS to help aspirants to streamline their preparation during the peak months of prelims preparation. Our mentors work day and night to ensure that our aspirants get the best out of it.
What is covered in Nikaalo Prelims?
1. Detailed daily time table
2. Daily sessions on specific topics
3. Daily mcqs
4. Notes
5. All India open test
What is new in Nikaalo Prelims 4.0?
1. This time the program is divided into 3 parts.
2. Part-A: It will continue till February 28, 2022. Under part A, we will cover the Syllabus along with conceptual understanding and better subject wise clarity. There will be daily MCQ based sessions along with Doubt Clearing Sessions.
3. Part-B: It will start from March 1, 2022. Part B includes- daily sessions, daily Prelims Intensive spotlights notes, daily MCQs based quiz, All India test, Doubt Sessions.
4. CSAT: There will be one session dedicated to CSAT.
Many experts would like to say that the weightage of Current affairs in prelims has declined since 2018. The truth is far from true. Current Affairs has been revived and is now included in questions from static syllabus topics. This approach has given rise to questions with more analytical dimensions that are thought oriented.
You might be reading a question and trying to remember it from a book, when it’s actually from the newspaper! Certain Current affairs questions of the 2021 Prelims have surprised us as well. Let’s try to understand this better with an example:
Consider the following statements regarding Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.
The Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ or the Circum-Pacific Belt, is an area along the Pacific Ocean that is characterised by active volcanoes.
About 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes occur here.
It traces from New Zealand clockwise in an almost circular arc and extends upto western coast of North America.
This question is from the topic, ‘World Geography’. Also it was in the news this week.
Free Open to All Webinar to Tackle Current Affairs Questions From Static Topics
Here’s an exercise for all UPSC 2022 aspirants. Take a look at your syllabus, select a topic. Do you know atleast ten current affairs news related to this topic from the last one year?
If not, then it’s never too late. You still have 4.5 months left. So take the first big step by registering for this free live webinar by Prelims veteran Santosh sir.
Santosh sir has cleared prelims 6/6 times and scored 145+ in all of them. In his Smash Prelims 2020 program, 15 out of 25 students cleared the exam to write Mains 2021.
Key Takeaways of Free Live Webinar by Santosh Sir —
1. How to tackle static questions based on current affairs with accuracy? Using pre-existing knowledge to find the right option.
2. Learn 360 degree approach to current affairs. How can you read daily compilation, PIB, newspapers, Yojana and Kurushetra all in 1.5 hours?
3. Keywords approach to reading newspapers. How to make shorthand notes based on this?
4. Learn to interlink Static and Current affairs topics. Should reading for current affairs and a chapter in the static book happen at the same time?
5. How to handle the surprise questions from current affairs? The surprise questions from 2021 prelims exams.
6. Current affairs trend analysis. What are the topics where most of the current affairs questions come from?
Webinar Details
Current affairs is not merely about knowing, but it has become a game of linking and interlinking. Don’t miss the chance to get value addition inputs to score better in the examination! This webinar is absolutely free. All aspirants are welcome to attend.
Date – 24 January 2022 (Monday)
Time – 7:00 P.M.
Limited slots are available. Please registerimmediately.
Smash Prelims Program is back after a thumping success in Prelims 2021. Out of 25 students Santosh sir has mentored, 15 have cleared prelims this time.Our students were kind enough to take time out of their hectic Mains preparation and let us know how Santosh sir’s mentorship benefitted them in the exams. We wish them all the very best for the upcoming Mains exam from 7th January onwards!
https://youtu.be/oTRUMSOQEY4
Why Your Focus for Next 5 Months Must be About Scoring Above Cut-Off Marks in UPSC-CSE Prelims? Isn’t the last 1 Month Enough for This?
Every year, the competition for UPSC-CSE is increasing while vacancies are decreasing drastically. This year there are only 712 vacancies as against 2019 which had 927 vacancies. However, atleast 10 lakh students will attempt the prelims exam. This is why right now, it’s important to start having an Olympic Athlete mindset. You need to daily focus on scoring above the cut-off marks in your test series.
Civilsdaily Student and 2019 UPSC-CSE AIR 8 Topper Abhishek Saraf had practiced nearly 6000+ MCQs under us to clear prelims!
What makes prelims tough? It’s because the paper is unpredictable. If this year, science questions are a breeze then the next year you will have to answer advanced concept-based questions. Unlike Mains, Prelims has negative markings.
Toppers like Pranav Vijayvergiya (AIR 65) andSwati Sharma(AIR 17) have found Prelims to be tougher than Mains. In fact, Pranav failed to clear Prelims thrice. But, in his fourth attempt he took Civilsdaily mentorship and cleared Prelims, Mains and Interview in one shot!
Are you feeling low that you are unable to get the required cut-off marks in your test series. Worry not, for about 65% of the UPSC toppers have said that they scored below cut-off marks till December. But by June, they were able to boost their marks to get through the prelims hurdle. It’s time to be like them now.
One has to be good at elimination methods to choose the right option amongst two similar ones. Our Smash Prelims Program started as a pilot project last year with an aim to introduce step-wise improvement in our chosen 25 aspirants. Over a period of 2 months, Santhosh sir inculcated confidence in aspirants who were either newbies or gave too many attempts. This year, we achieved a remarkable 60% success ratio. Next year, we have set our eyes on 100%. Yes, we are ambitious and aspirational just like any other UPSC aspirant.
Why is Mentorship Required for UPSC-CSE Prelims in Every Step – From Test Series, to Study Materials, Classes to Doubt Resolution?
If you are appearing for UPSC-CSE 2022 exams, you might have completed your entire prelims and mains syllabus right now. So what are your main priorities right now? To succeed in UPSC-CSE Prelims 2022, you have to check all these boxes in terms of preparation—
You need clear strategy for next 150 days.
You need to revise effectively to remember whole syllabus at the eve of exam.
You need to practice lots of tests to score accurately, to understand elimination techniques and reduce exam anxiety.
You need to revise current affair of 1.5 years that you have been studying daily.
You need a mentor to fill the critical gaps that have been ignoring till now as you had no one to address them for you.
Santhosh Sir’s Weekly Zoom Session
Do you want to have a mentor who conducts and evaluates medium to advanced test series regularly? A mentor explains to you the different kinds of elimination techniques after you have taken a test series. Before attending a test do you want the mentor to discuss with you the study materials required for the test and provide the right notes with integrated current affairs? While studying a subject, you might have umpteen number of questions. Having someone who responds quickly and explains the topics in simple terms saves your time. And, after a test do you want an experienced mentor to discuss the right answers and motivate you? Do you want the mentor to provide you classes on static+dynamic prelims topics? If yes, then this is the right program for you! The registrations are open for all UPSC 2022 aspirants
Self Preparation with Mentorship: What do Civilsdaily Students think of Santosh Sir’s Mentorship for UPSC-CSE Prelims?
Santhosh Sir, Core Civilsdaily Mentor. He has attended Interview Thrice & Cleared Prelims 6/6 times with above 145 marks.
We asked Santosh sir’s students about their opinion on mentorship — if it was something that saved their time or wasted their time in studies and this is what they had to say:
Kamini: “If I can say in one word, then Santosh sir’s mentorship is unique. Before I joined his program, I used to score 90 marks in Full Length Test Series. Santhosh sir had done in depth analysis of my test papers and suggested ways to reduce the negatives. Right now I am able to score 100+ in advanced test series of not only Civilsdaily but other institutes. He is always available to clear my doubts and solve my issues on call or phone. No issue is too big enough for Santosh sir. He has always told me after you finish a test series, read the same topics again and take another test series the same day to see if your marks improve. From Santosh sir’s polity and economic survey notes, we got questions in 2021 Prelims. I always feel its better to do self studies with mentorship than join coaching institutes and get spoon fed with information.”
Sweetie Raj: “I am a banking professional, living with a joint family. Attending coaching classes is out of question because I won’t have time to read the books myself. Santosh sir helps me self-study by providing me mentorship daily. I study daily from 9PM to 3AM. Santosh sir has been available for 1 hour strategy calls even during this time. No other teacher would have wanted me to succeed as much as he wants me to. I can understand concepts by myself and don’t need help in that. I want someone who pushes me to complete the target modules, checks if I did my mains answer writing for the day and analyses the previous year question papers with me. Because of Santosh sir, I understood that its just not enough reading one book but at the same time I dont have to waste time reading many books. He tells me the topic-wise sources to refer. Also he has designed a study plan for me that I can follow every week. Once, I told Santhosh sir I was missing test series discussion classes as it was conducted at 7PM. Immediately, he provided me recorded videos and kept the session at 8.30PM.”
Specific Features of Smash Prelims 2022 by Santosh Sir
Sincere aspirants who are scoring in the range of 80-90 marks must not attend last minute crash courses right now. They should instead focus on self revision, test series practice and guided mentorship to qualify for UPSC Prelims 2022. Here are the features of Prelims Focused Program by Civilsdaily —
Pillar-1
PRELIMS TESTS:
40 Full Length Tests(12 Basic + 6 Advanced + 10 CA tests + 8 Full tests + 4 CSAT).
In addition to this, in the month of January, we will have 60 sectional tests for practice. This will have 50 questions each. Hence, totally 100 Test Papers (40 FLTs + 60 Sectional Test Papers)
FIRST TEST WILL START ON JANUARY 15TH. SO, REGISTER ASAP.
VALUE ADDITIONS NOTES AND CLASSES BY VETERAN CIVILSDAILY MENTORS like SUDHANSHU SIR, SAJAL SIR & SUKANYA MA’AM
Polity: Sudhanshu sirwill conduct two sessions covering all the Polity Fundamentals, a session analyzing past year papers, another session on important current affairs related to polity this year and will discuss your test solutions.
History: Santosh Gupta sir will conduct a session on Sectoral Developments in Modern History, a session analyzing past year papers, and test discussion.
Economy: Sajal sir will conduct sessions on economic survey, trend analysis, discussion of most important economic current affairs, past year paper analysis, and economy final test discussion.
Geography: Santosh sir will conduct sessions on the most difficult aspects like Geography Mapping, Economic Geography, and Indian Agriculture.
Environment:Sukanya Ma’amwill cover sessions on Environment innovatively. Key concepts like vegetation and biome, Indian wildlife, conventions and protocols, national parks and sanctuaries, agriculture and sustainable development, and environment current affairs will be covered.
Science & Technology: This year’s prelims paper questioned on the basic concepts of science. Keeping this in mind, Santosh Gupta sir will conduct 2 sessions on One basic concept and current affairs of science and technology.
2. Civilsdaily Current Affairs Magazines for 1 year
3. Civilsdaily compilations of Yojna, Kurukshetra, PRS and RS TV.
4. Civilsdaily Budget And Economic Survey Summary.
5. Handouts on key subject-wise static topics to remember the terms and definitions for Prelims 2022.
Pillar-3
Santosh Gupta sir’s mentorship program
1. Introductory mentor call to every aspirant immediately upon commencement of program.
2. Weekly zoom strategy session by Santosh sir for doubt clearance and continuous improvement.
3. 1-1 mentor calls after 3-4 tests by mentor. After every test series, zoom sessions will be conducted by Birendra sir with all members of the batch for test discussion.
4. Support from mentors on the Habitat Group.
5. Frequent sessions with toppers for support and guidance. will have these special features for aspirants.
6. Mentor will guide on the FCE Approach i.e the Factual and Conceptual Methods of Elimination.
7. Mentor call as per request and mandatory check up call by mentor once a month.
Toppers’ Speak: How Civilsdaily Mentorship Helped Me Clear UPSC?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSwO38weHAA
About Santosh Gupta Sir
Santosh sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He has written all 6 mains and has appeared for Interviews 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. As the Prelims coordinator at Civilsdaily, he has helped 15 out of 25 students clear the prelims examination this year.
As an aspirant if you have taken many test series, but are unable to score above 100 marks and want to improve your scores before Mains 2022, then this program is for you!
If coaches of sportspersons have themselves been players, then shouldn’t mentors of UPSC aspirants have cleared UPSC Mains themselves?
It’s about time you find a Rahul Dravid or a Pullela Gopichand to mentor your Upsc preparation. Just practising test series without knowing the ways to present an answer is not the way to clear Mains. An ideal test series program should have 1-on-1 mentorship and guidance by veterans who have themselves topped the exams!
Instead of getting demotivated and comparing yourself to other students, get mentorship support like Kunal Aggrawal IRS did when he could only score 75/250 marks in Mains mock tests.
Why UPSC toppers are convinced that Smash Mains helped them succeed?
A serving IPS officer, who had written the Mains exam again in 2021 to aim for IAS posting, gave us his feedback of our Smash Mains Test Series
How has Smash Mains helped 2021-2022 Aspirants in Preparing for UPSC?
What do aspirants need in their UPSC preparation journey? They need a senior who will give them moral support and the required logistics to prepare for the tough exam in a simplified manner.
You can clear the exam only with confidence and consistency. And to achieve both, you require a personalised mentor. Many aspirants feel just attending classes or tests is not beneficial for them. So we tweaked our program to include mentorship both in our tests series and classes. Aspirants feel they can reach out to us anytime with their concerns and we are available to sort them out.
Message from Sajal Sir
Dear Students,
For some of you prelims has never been a challenge for you. You have been missing the mains cut-off with a small margin (repeatedly). This means that there are some fundamental issueswith your approach. You might be aware or not about this. But just realization is not enough, you have to work on its execution as well. And bringing that to fruition will be possible through a guided process under a meticulously designed plan.
Smash mains is a highly personalized and intensive handholding program for the crème-de-la-crème (veterans) amongst UPSC aspirants (the intake is 50 students).
Note: The Entry is Restricted to those who have appeared in UPSC interview in the past 2 years or have missed the mains cut off by a whisker.
The focus is on identifying and highlighting the issues with your preparation (information / analysis / utilization). According to your strength and weaknesses, a tailor-made strategy is developed. Under Sajal sir’s strict monitoring, incremental improvements are aimed every day, after every session.
My marks in UPSC 2017 GS Mains paper were:
GS Paper 1 – 132
GS Paper 2 – 125
GS Paper 3 – 130
Key Takeways About Smash Mains 2022
Every 3rd Ranker in the Top 100 of UPSC 2020 is a Civilsdaily Student.
Your mentor, Sajal Sir is himself the 2017 topper of GS Mains. He has appeared for interview many times.
Over 400 students have emerged as toppers under Sajal Sir’s mentorship in the last 7 years.
Sajal Sir will daily motivate you on our chat-based platform, Habitat and have weekly 1-on-1 discussions with you after every test.
You don’t have to waste any more time finding the strategy (value added notes, test series or timetable ) for the next 3 months. You will get the guidance for it.
You will gain access to Civildaily’s Samachar Manthan – For holistic and comprehensive coverage of Current Affairs.
You will have exclusive membership to Smash Mains club in Habitat.
One of our other Civilsdaily Student cleared the exams in 2020 to become an IPS Officer. He wrote the 2021 exam again as he aims for an IAS posting. This is what he said about our program
If you are still not convinced then go through this video by UPSC 2020 AIR 425 topper Divyansh Singh who tells us how Sajal sir helped him develop 1-2 pages notes for every topic.
After completing the Mains Test series, you will have a one-to-one detailed and in-depth interaction with Sajal sir. Final refinements are done to every answer. Value addition material, as well as pointers, will be provided here. We will work with you to ensure you have enough material for value addition. Our focus will be on providing tips that add the missing X factor to your answers.
Why is Smash 2022 the best way to prepare for mains?
Individual attention and approachability are the USPs of this program. Listen to what our Smash Mains 2020 student and topper Pooja Gupta (AIR 42) says about the program.
Not putting Penguins among the Fowls – You already know how to write an average answer (you’re missing it by a few marks actually). You want to know how to increase your score from 90 to 110-115. The approach followed by other institutes in their Test series is the same for a veteran and a complete newbie and here lies the problem. Without personalizedone-to-one interaction with someone like Sajal sir (who has scored these awesome marks), it will be difficult for you to rectify these minute yet very important shortcomings.
Evaluation is a strength of this program and we put it on a high priority. Sajal sir himself is involved in the process, unlike other institutes where evaluation is outsourced to those who themselves might not have appeared for mains (It’s bizarre). It shouldn’t be based on ‘model answers’ as there are 3-4 ways of approaching an answer. Only a seasoned player will be able to go beyond these model answers and be able to appreciate your approach (If it’s innovative) even if it differs from the model answers provided.
Test copies get checked in a time-bound manner. The questions, answers and material provided are of the highest quality.
Emphasis on execution and utilization of knowledge – Mains is not only about knowledge but the way you express the relevant knowledge in the most optimum manner.
Sajal sir’s interventions are highly specific and not generalized. Sitting right in front of you he walks you through each and every question. Always there, he will not let you lose your focus.
AIR 148 UPSC 2020 topper and our Civilsdaily student, Ponmani explains why answer writing with mentorship is necessary for Mains.
Many experts would like to say that the weightage of Current affairs in prelims has declined since 2018. The truth is far from true. Current Affairs has been revived and is now included in questions from static syllabus topics. This approach has given rise to questions with more analytical dimensions that are thought oriented.
You might be reading a question and trying to remember it from a book, when it’s actually from the newspaper! Certain Current affairs questions of the 2021 Prelims have surprised us as well. Let’s try to understand this better with an example:
Consider the following statements regarding Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.
The Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ or the Circum-Pacific Belt, is an area along the Pacific Ocean that is characterised by active volcanoes.
About 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes occur here.
It traces from New Zealand clockwise in an almost circular arc and extends upto western coast of North America.
This question is from the topic, ‘World Geography’. Also it was in the news this week.
Free Open to All Webinar to Tackle Current Affairs Questions From Static Topics
Here’s an exercise for all UPSC 2022 aspirants. Take a look at your syllabus, select a topic. Do you know atleast ten current affairs news related to this topic from the last one year?
If not, then it’s never too late. You still have 4.5 months left. So take the first big step by registering for this free live webinar by Prelims veteran Santosh sir.
Santosh sir has cleared prelims 6/6 times and scored 145+ in all of them. In his Smash Prelims 2020 program, 15 out of 25 students cleared the exam to write Mains 2021.
Key Takeaways of Free Live Webinar by Santosh Sir —
1. How to tackle static questions based on current affairs with accuracy? Using pre-existing knowledge to find the right option.
2. Learn 360 degree approach to current affairs. How can you read daily compilation, PIB, newspapers, Yojana and Kurushetra all in 1.5 hours?
3. Keywords approach to reading newspapers. How to make shorthand notes based on this?
4. Learn to interlink Static and Current affairs topics. Should reading for current affairs and a chapter in the static book happen at the same time?
5. How to handle the surprise questions from current affairs? The surprise questions from 2021 prelims exams.
6. Current affairs trend analysis. What are the topics where most of the current affairs questions come from?
Webinar Details
Current affairs is not merely about knowing, but it has become a game of linking and interlinking. Don’t miss the chance to get value addition inputs to score better in the examination! This webinar is absolutely free. All aspirants are welcome to attend.
Date – 24 January 2022 (Monday)
Time – 7:00 P.M.
Limited slots are available. Please registerimmediately.
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