Recently, the Karnataka CM has informed the Centre that the state is opposed to the Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats.
What is the issue?
The Kasturirangan committee report proposes 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats, which is roughly 60,000 square kilometers, to be declared as eco-sensitive area (ESA).
Declaring this would adversely affect the livelihood of people in the region, asserted the Karnataka CM.
Kasturirangan Committee Report
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Commission after its chairman Madhav Gadgil, was an environmental research commission.
It was appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India. The commission submitted the report in 2011.
The WGEEP was succeeded by an eminent scientist K. Kasturirangan.
Key recommendations
(1) Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA)
The committee report proposes 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats, which is roughly 60,000 square km, to be declared as eco-sensitive area (ESA).
Out of this, 20,668 sq km of the area falls in Karnataka (46.50%) covering 1,576 villages.
(2) Ban on various activities
The report recommended a blanket ban on mining, quarrying, setting up of red category industries and thermal power projects.
It also stated that the impact of infrastructural projects on the forest and wildlife should be studied before permission is given for these activities.
(3) Urging of UNESCO World Heritage tag
It has sought for UNESCO Heritage tag as an opportunity to build global and domestic recognition of the enormous natural wealth that exists in the Western Ghats.
The 39 sites are located across the Western Ghats and distributed across the states (Kerala 19), Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu (6) and Maharashtra (4).
Reasons behind rejection by Karnataka
Hitherto conservation measures: Karnataka has the distinction of being one of the states with extensive forest cover and the government has taken care to protect the biodiversity of Western Ghats.
Curb over development activities: The state believes that implementation of the report will halt the developmental activities in the region.
Issues over satellite observations: The Kasturirangan report has been prepared based on the satellite images, but the ground reality is different.
Adaptation by People: People of the region have adopted agriculture and horticultural activities in an eco-friendly manner.
Significance of the recommendations
There have been massive encroachments across the state forest areas and these have been done at the behest of political leaders.
We are in the throes of extreme climate events, which are impacting nature and people.
Hence it is prudent to conserve the fragile ecosystems as it costs less compared to the situation prone to calamities (with changes in the climate).
As per the ‘World Inequality Report 2022’, India is among the most unequal countries in the world, with rising poverty and an ‘affluent elite.’
World Inequality Report
This report is published by Mr. Lucas Chancel, the co-director of the World Inequality Lab of the Paris School of Economics.
It was coordinated by famed French economist Thomas Piketty.
Key highlights of the report
(1) Income divide
The report highlights that the top 10% and top 1% in India hold 57% and 22% of the total national income respectively while the bottom 50% share has gone down to 13%.
The average national income of the Indian adult population is Rs 2,04,200.
The bottom 50% earns 20 times more than the top 10%.
(2) Decline in public wealth
The report notes that the share of public wealth across countries has been on a decline for decades now.
Public assets typically include public buildings housing administrations, schools, universities, hospitals, and other public services.
(3) Inequality during Colonial India
Going back in time, the report shows that the income inequality in India under the British colonial rule (1858-1947) was very high, with a top 10% income share around 50%.
After independence, due to socialist-inspired five-year plans, this share was reduced to 35-40%.
Owing to poor post-Independence economic conditions, India embarked upon deregulation and loosening controls in the form of liberalization policies.
(4) Wealth inequality
The average household wealth in India is around Rs 9,83,010.
The bottom 50% of the nation can be seen to own almost nothing, with an average wealth of Rs 66,280 or 6% of the total pie.
The middle class is relatively poor with an average wealth of Rs 7,23,930 or 29.5% of the total.
The top 10% owns 65% of the total wealth, averaging Rs 63,54,070 and the top 1% owns 33%, averaging Rs 3,24,49,360.
(5) Gender Inequality
Gender inequality in India is also considered on the higher end of the spectrum.
The share of female labor income share in India is equal to 18% which is significantly lower than the average in Asia (21%, excluding China) & is among the lowest in the world.
Although, the number is slightly higher than the average share in the Middle East (15%).
However, a significant increase has been observed since 1990 (+8 p.p.) but it has been insufficient to lift women’s labor income share to the regional average.
(6) Poor States, wealthy population
Countries across the world have become richer over the past 40 years, but their governments have become significantly poorer.
The report shows that the share of wealth held by public actors is close to zero or negative in rich countries, meaning that the totality of wealth is in private hands.
Following the pandemic, governments borrowed the equivalent of 10-20% of GDP, essentially from the private sector.
(7) Issue over data availability
The report goes on to say that over the past three years, the quality of inequality data released by the government has seriously deteriorated.
This has made it particularly difficult to assess recent inequality changes.
Conclusions from the report
(1) Wealth is mostly inherited and has a snowball effect
People accumulate wealth across generations through inheritance.
It has a snowball effect, wherein successive generations will gain more, but in their concentrated section.
More capital incentivizes banks to lend. This is why the rich section’s wealth grows faster.
(2) Wealth management is necessary
Public wealth has been declining for two reasons:
First, governments have been privatizing assets and natural resources at low costs.
Second, governments contract debt to the private sector, making it richer.
Without assets, governments have low resources to invest and to mitigate climate change impacts, particularly in the energy sector.
Currently, governments have more debts than assets. This calls for strategic management of the economy.
President Ram Nath Kovind is commencing his visit to Maharashtra by visiting the Raigad Fort where he will pay tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Where is Raigad fort located?
Raigad is a hill fort situated about 25 km from Mahad in the Raigad district and stands 2,851 feet above sea level.
The British Gazette states the fort was known to early Europeans as the Gibraltar of the East.
Its decisive feature is a mile and a half flat top which has adequate room for buildings.
In its prime, the fort had 300 stone houses and a garrison of 2,000 men.
When was it built?
The fort, which was earlier called Rairi, was the seat of the Maratha clan Shirke in the 12th century.
The fort changed hands a number of times from the dynasty of Bahaminis to the Nizamshahis and then the Adilshahis.
In 1656, Chhatrapati Shivaji captured it from the More’s of Javli who were under the suzerainty of the Adilshahi Sultanate.
The fort not only helped Shivaji challenge the supremacy of the Adilshahi dynasty but also opened up the routes towards Konkan for the extension of his power.
Significance of the fort in Shivaji’s life
In 1662, Shivaji formally changed the fort’s name to Raigad and added a number of structures to it.
By 1664, the fort had emerged as the seat of Shivaji’s government.
As the Marathas under the leadership of Shivaji gained strength in their struggle against the Mughals, the announcement of a sovereign, independent state was made.
On June 6, 1674, Shivaji was coronated at Raigad by Gagabhatt where he took on the title of Chhatrapati.
Six years later, Shivaji passed away in Raigad in 1680 and has been cremated at the fort.
Importance of Raigad Fort in Maharashtra’s polity
Chhatrapati Shivaji is the tallest and the most revered icon in Maharashtra and there is a constant attempt by political parties of all hues to appropriate his legacy.
Due to the significance of Raigad in his life, many political leaders make it a point to visit the fort.
Maharashtra has already announced a mid-sea memorial in the Arabian Sea for the Maratha warrior king.
NASA has launched its new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) — the agency’s first-ever laser communications system.
What is LCRD?
LCRD involves laser communications – also called optical communications which uses infrared light to send information.
LCRD is launched in a geosynchronous orbit, over 35,000km above Earth.
LCRD has two optical terminals – one to receive data from a user spacecraft, and the other to transmit data to ground stations.
The modems will translate the digital data into laser signals. This will then be transmitted via encoded beams of light.
Benefits offered by LCRD
Currently, most NASA spacecraft use radio frequency communications to send data.
Optical communications will help increase the bandwidth 10 to 100 times more than radio frequency systems.
The LCRD will help the agency test optical communication in space.
Laser vs Radio
Laser communications and radio waves use different wavelengths of light. It uses infrared light and has a shorter wavelength than radio waves.
This will help the transmission of more data in a short time.
Using infrared lasers, LCRD will send data to Earth at 1.2 gigabits-per-second (Gbps).
It would take roughly nine weeks to transmit a completed map of Mars back to Earth with current radio frequency systems. With lasers, we can accelerate that to about nine days, says NASA.
Other advantages
Optical communications systems are smaller in size, weight, and require less power compared with radio instruments.
A smaller size means more room for science instruments.
Less weight means a less expensive launch.
Less power means less drain on the spacecraft’s batteries.
Smriti Chetna is a student of Civilsdaily mentor Ravi sir. She joined the Ultimate Assessment Program (UAP) on 18 August 2020. As she is happy with Civilsdaily, she has now upgraded to UAP 2022.
You can also get your first free counselling session (30-40 minutes) from Civilsdaily by filling the formnow. An expert mentor will reach out to you in the next 24 hours.
Initially, Smriti wasn’t confident about Prelims when she began her preparation but found Mains to be manageable. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE in 2019. At that time, Smriti had enrolled in multiple institutes. Though, most of these institutes had promised a personal mentor, she was unable to get in touch with them on a daily basis. Also those mentors never scheduled test-series on a weekly basis. Hence, despite preparing for a year, Smriti had scored only 70 marks out of 250 in her first test series by Civilsdaily.
She then started writing 20-25 test series over the course of UAP 2021 and in her last test, her scores have drastically improved. She now scores in the range of 130-135 marks in prelims’ and 110+ in mains’ papers.
Smriti Chetna: “Believe in yourself, Believe in your dream and Surround yourself with those who Believe you can achieve your dream“.
We had a chance to catch up with Civilsdaily student and aspiring civil servant, Smriti. In between her college studies and UPSC CSE preparation, we were able to have a quick 15 minute chat with her.
Smriti, what has motivated you to prepare for UPSC as a college student?
My father is a government officer and we have discussions (sometimes, even debates) over dinner on how we can improve systemic changes that impede the growth of our country. From this, I have realized that as a country we do have the laws, money, resources and manpower for high growth. What’s lacking is the right execution. Only government and civil servants can do this. Though my dad is not an IAS officer, I have seen him bring changes in whatever capacity he is allowed. When I was in school, our chief guests on annual days were IAS or IPS officers. Their inspiring speeches and my dad’s work has what interested me to prepare for UPSC.
Why do you think mentorship is very important for your UPSC-CSE preparation?
I think its important for every aspirant to be in the right company when they are preparing for this unpredictable and tedious exam. They need to believe in your preparation as much as you do. Our parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support. There are days when I felt I won’t be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants, that’s when Ravi sir reminded me of my improvement and encouraged me that I can crack it with the same consistency. We need someone, who tells us we are performing well especially when we cannot see that ourselves. The mentorship at Civilsdaily helped me become mentally stronger as a person. In other institutes, mentors are allotted only for doubt resolution. But at Civilsdaily, I am getting end-to-end support.
You found prelims to be difficult initially, why so? How has Ravi sir mentored you for prelims?
I was not good at remembering the exact factual data. I have done UPSC-CSE prelims paper analysis from 2018-2021. I must say, the Civilsdaily prelims test series are at the same level and some of them are even tougher than the actual UPSC-CSE paper. I have also personally checked if the subject-wise test series covers all the topics in the syllabus. There are 4-5 questions even from topics that aspirants consider to have lesser weightage. Under Ravi sir’s mentorship, I learnt to pay attention to stats and figures for prelims. He also helped me with the different elimination techniques I can use to get the right answer. Samachar Manthan is my favorite aspect of the Ultimate Assessment Program. The current affairs is neatly consolidated topic-wise from The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, RSTV, Yojana and Kurukshetra. It’s a good material to revise your current affairs 3-4 months before the exam. The more tests I take, the lesser fears and anxiety I have about the upcoming UPSC-CSE exam. I get value-added materials, coaching notes and online classes from Civilsdaily as well.
How was your preparation 1-2 weeks into UAP and how is it now?
When I started out, I used to take 2-3 months to complete a standard book. However, I would still not have my concepts clear. Right now in my third revision, I am able to complete the entire Laxmikanth book in one week. With respect to mains answer writing, I never used to answer all the keywords of the questions. Now, I am able to organise an answer in my mind as I answer it. After evaluating my answers, Ravi sir would give me a call where he would discuss where I could have included diagrams or flowcharts and the other sources I can refer for better answers on a topic.
I always feel as a beginner, you have to be easy on yourself. Don’t write off UPSC CSE, just because you did not understand the concepts on Day 01.
What’s more important for a UPSC Aspirant — Intelligence or Consistency?
Few of my friends who started at the same time as me, performed much better in tests and had more knowledge on a topic than I did. But now, they are not interested in preparing for the examination anymore. I would definitely rank consistency over intelligence.
I can give another example from my own preparation. As I am pursuing a BA degree in History, I find the UPSC history subject to be easy. However, Geography was a subject I grappled with in the initial few months. After a solid two years of preparation, I am scoring equal marks in Geography and History. This is only due to consistency.
Are group studies detrimental or useful for your UPSC preparation?
Group studies online, especially the way Civilsdaily has structured it, removes the cons generally associated with group studies. When we study with our friends, we generally do for an hour or so before hanging out at a joint and chit-chatting. That does not happen over here. We explain concepts that we are not clear about to each other, sometimes share links of important reading material. When you are able to make another person understand a concept, you feel more positive about yourself.
Any final advice you would like to give to beginners?
Always go through the videos oftoppers who have given multiple attempts before clearing the exams. Because, what has worked for others might not work for you, but what has not worked for others will also not work for you. I understood how important it was to study for your optional subject everyday after watching these videos.
What is Ravi sir’s mentorship all about which boosted Smriti’s confidence & marks nearly 2x times?Let’s hear him talk about it.
Smriti used to consult multiple mentors in other institutes but now she only prefers the mentorship of Civilsdaily. What’s unique about the mentorship of Civilsdaily?
After talking to other students, I learnt that the mentors in other institutes are egoistic and have a ‘know-it-all’ attitude. They often demotivate students for what they call as ‘silly mistakes’. They even go to the extent of predicting if a student is likely to clear UPSC or not. But in Civilsdaily, mentors believe in working like a GPS. We understand what direction the student is in right now and tell them the closest route they can take to complete the syllabus and score marks in their tests. We are nobody to judge a learner. That’s why aspirants like Smriti prefer Civilsdaily mentorship.
Smriti is a very passionate and hardworking student, but I noticed that she would take study breaks that lasted more than a month or two. This didn’t deter me from putting across reminders to her. I believe that a mentor shouldn’t stop encouraging an aspirant in the initial months even if they don’t show the inclination to prepare. The syllabus is vast and overwhelming and it’s understandable that a beginner can get demotivated.
Due to this, Smriti gradually opened up to me about her issues. I understood that she gets panic attacks and it would take her nearly 2-3 weeks to recover. I decided that as a mentor, I had to be empathetic and sensitive to her issues and not brush them aside. Smriti often felt guilty about her study breaks and I assured her that it was okay to take a break as she deserved one. I asked her to hang out with her friends and family more often and go on a walk in the park with them. Over a period of time, Smriti could recover from a panic attack in 2-3 days instead of 2-3 weeks.
I then started giving her weekly targets to achieve and congratulated her upon successful completion in the study group. I would assign her a topic to read and ask her to explain the same to me. I would let her teach me those topics. When she missed out points, I would immediately tell her why adding a certain point will help her in the exam. After this, I even asked her to conduct few sessions on Habitat for other learners. This made her confident to continue her preparation.
Let’s get into the specifics, what are other methods you used to mentor Smriti on a day-to-day basis?
All of my test-series, whether prelims or mains are conducted on Zoom with the camera on so that I can monitor the students. This will discourage a student from taking unnecessary breaks and they will only utilize the three hours to answer questions.
When she had taken the Mains test series of other institutes, Smriti would take 5-6 hours to complete all questions. Over here, she finishes a test-series within the stipulated time of 3 hours.
Besides this, when a student starts studying I will ask them to say ‘Hi’ . When they are taking a break they need to say ‘Bye’ and when they resume their studies they need to say ‘Hi’ once again. At the end of the day, I would calculate the number of hours they spent studying and let them know the same. I never used to judge them for studying less. It’s like how a fitness tracker works. Whoever is interested in completing 1000 steps in a day will compensate for the next day if they are unable to achieve today’s target. This pushed Smriti to study for long hours.
While initially, she could not study for more than two hours everyday, now she studies for 8 hours without a break (12 hours with breaks). This is something she does by her own interest without me insisting her to follow it.
We have heard about the virtual library in your mentorship. What is that?
Virtual library is a practice wherein the student gets their study materials, logs in to a zoom session with other aspirants. All of them study silently. On the go, I share any extra reports or current affairs articles they have to read along with their standard books. While studying, if any student has a doubt they can ask in the session and it will be resolved.
Sometimes, our virtual library will be divided into small study group of 3-4 members who will all study the same topic together and discuss the aspects of the topic to each other. This is to prevent the aspirant from feeling lonely in their long preparation journey. Many students have reacted positively to this initiative as well, they get a sense of companionship and competitiveness when they are studying as a group.
What are few of the topics which students find difficult?
Economy is a subject where most of the students grapple with. I get a lot of doubts on topics like RBI, security market and bonds.
We have asked Smriti as well, but we want your take on this. What do you think of Smriti’s performance in the past 10 months?
She is a consistent performer. Though, initially she had scored only 30 out of 250 marks in GS Essay, now she is scoring above 100+ in all the mains test series. I am confident if she maintains the same consistency she can clear the exam in 2022.
That being said, I feel she can score better in mains. While evaluating her papers, I understood she is not including relevant factual data to back up her answers. I will be providing her committee reports and recommendations and mentor her in this direction from now on.
Get your first free counselling session (30-40 minutes) from Civilsdaily by filling the form below —
GS-1 Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent)
GS-2 Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
GS-3 Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
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Smriti Chetna is a student of Civilsdaily mentor Ravi sir. She joined the Ultimate Assessment Program (UAP) on 18 August 2020. As she is happy with Civilsdaily, she has now upgraded to UAP 2022.
You can also get your first free counselling session (30-40 minutes) from Civilsdaily by filling the formnow. An expert mentor will reach out to you in the next 24 hours.
Initially, Smriti wasn’t confident about Prelims when she began her preparation but found Mains to be manageable. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE in 2019. At that time, Smriti had enrolled in multiple institutes. Though, most of these institutes had promised a personal mentor, she was unable to get in touch with them on a daily basis. Also those mentors never scheduled test-series on a weekly basis. Hence, despite preparing for a year, Smriti had scored only 70 marks out of 250 in her first test series by Civilsdaily.
She then started writing 20-25 test series over the course of UAP 2021 and in her last test, her scores have drastically improved. She now scores in the range of 130-135 marks in prelims’ and 110+ in mains’ papers.
Smriti Chetna: “Believe in yourself, Believe in your dream and Surround yourself with those who Believe you can achieve your dream“.
We had a chance to catch up with Civilsdaily student and aspiring civil servant, Smriti. In between her college studies and UPSC CSE preparation, we were able to have a quick 15 minute chat with her.
Smriti, what has motivated you to prepare for UPSC as a college student?
My father is a government officer and we have discussions (sometimes, even debates) over dinner on how we can improve systemic changes that impede the growth of our country. From this, I have realized that as a country we do have the laws, money, resources and manpower for high growth. What’s lacking is the right execution. Only government and civil servants can do this. Though my dad is not an IAS officer, I have seen him bring changes in whatever capacity he is allowed. When I was in school, our chief guests on annual days were IAS or IPS officers. Their inspiring speeches and my dad’s work has what interested me to prepare for UPSC.
Why do you think mentorship is very important for your UPSC-CSE preparation?
I think its important for every aspirant to be in the right company when they are preparing for this unpredictable and tedious exam. They need to believe in your preparation as much as you do. Our parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support. There are days when I felt I won’t be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants, that’s when Ravi sir reminded me of my improvement and encouraged me that I can crack it with the same consistency. We need someone, who tells us we are performing well especially when we cannot see that ourselves. The mentorship at Civilsdaily helped me become mentally stronger as a person. In other institutes, mentors are allotted only for doubt resolution. But at Civilsdaily, I am getting end-to-end support.
You found prelims to be difficult initially, why so? How has Ravi sir mentored you for prelims?
I was not good at remembering the exact factual data. I have done UPSC-CSE prelims paper analysis from 2018-2021. I must say, the Civilsdaily prelims test series are at the same level and some of them are even tougher than the actual UPSC-CSE paper. I have also personally checked if the subject-wise test series covers all the topics in the syllabus. There are 4-5 questions even from topics that aspirants consider to have lesser weightage. Under Ravi sir’s mentorship, I learnt to pay attention to stats and figures for prelims. He also helped me with the different elimination techniques I can use to get the right answer. Samachar Manthan is my favorite aspect of the Ultimate Assessment Program. The current affairs is neatly consolidated topic-wise from The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, RSTV, Yojana and Kurukshetra. It’s a good material to revise your current affairs 3-4 months before the exam. The more tests I take, the lesser fears and anxiety I have about the upcoming UPSC-CSE exam. I get value-added materials, coaching notes and online classes from Civilsdaily as well.
How was your preparation 1-2 weeks into UAP and how is it now?
When I started out, I used to take 2-3 months to complete a standard book. However, I would still not have my concepts clear. Right now in my third revision, I am able to complete the entire Laxmikanth book in one week. With respect to mains answer writing, I never used to answer all the keywords of the questions. Now, I am able to organise an answer in my mind as I answer it. After evaluating my answers, Ravi sir would give me a call where he would discuss where I could have included diagrams or flowcharts and the other sources I can refer for better answers on a topic.
I always feel as a beginner, you have to be easy on yourself. Don’t write off UPSC CSE, just because you did not understand the concepts on Day 01.
What’s more important for a UPSC Aspirant — Intelligence or Consistency?
Few of my friends who started at the same time as me, performed much better in tests and had more knowledge on a topic than I did. But now, they are not interested in preparing for the examination anymore. I would definitely rank consistency over intelligence.
I can give another example from my own preparation. As I am pursuing a BA degree in History, I find the UPSC history subject to be easy. However, Geography was a subject I grappled with in the initial few months. After a solid two years of preparation, I am scoring equal marks in Geography and History. This is only due to consistency.
Are group studies detrimental or useful for your UPSC preparation?
Group studies online, especially the way Civilsdaily has structured it, removes the cons generally associated with group studies. When we study with our friends, we generally do for an hour or so before hanging out at a joint and chit-chatting. That does not happen over here. We explain concepts that we are not clear about to each other, sometimes share links of important reading material. When you are able to make another person understand a concept, you feel more positive about yourself.
Any final advice you would like to give to beginners?
Always go through the videos oftoppers who have given multiple attempts before clearing the exams. Because, what has worked for others might not work for you, but what has not worked for others will also not work for you. I understood how important it was to study for your optional subject everyday after watching these videos.
What is Ravi sir’s mentorship all about which boosted Smriti’s confidence & marks nearly 2x times?Let’s hear him talk about it.
Smriti used to consult multiple mentors in other institutes but now she only prefers the mentorship of Civilsdaily. What’s unique about the mentorship of Civilsdaily?
After talking to other students, I learnt that the mentors in other institutes are egoistic and have a ‘know-it-all’ attitude. They often demotivate students for what they call as ‘silly mistakes’. They even go to the extent of predicting if a student is likely to clear UPSC or not. But in Civilsdaily, mentors believe in working like a GPS. We understand what direction the student is in right now and tell them the closest route they can take to complete the syllabus and score marks in their tests. We are nobody to judge a learner. That’s why aspirants like Smriti prefer Civilsdaily mentorship.
Smriti is a very passionate and hardworking student, but I noticed that she would take study breaks that lasted more than a month or two. This didn’t deter me from putting across reminders to her. I believe that a mentor shouldn’t stop encouraging an aspirant in the initial months even if they don’t show the inclination to prepare. The syllabus is vast and overwhelming and it’s understandable that a beginner can get demotivated.
Due to this, Smriti gradually opened up to me about her issues. I understood that she gets panic attacks and it would take her nearly 2-3 weeks to recover. I decided that as a mentor, I had to be empathetic and sensitive to her issues and not brush them aside. Smriti often felt guilty about her study breaks and I assured her that it was okay to take a break as she deserved one. I asked her to hang out with her friends and family more often and go on a walk in the park with them. Over a period of time, Smriti could recover from a panic attack in 2-3 days instead of 2-3 weeks.
I then started giving her weekly targets to achieve and congratulated her upon successful completion in the study group. I would assign her a topic to read and ask her to explain the same to me. I would let her teach me those topics. When she missed out points, I would immediately tell her why adding a certain point will help her in the exam. After this, I even asked her to conduct few sessions on Habitat for other learners. This made her confident to continue her preparation.
Let’s get into the specifics, what are other methods you used to mentor Smriti on a day-to-day basis?
All of my test-series, whether prelims or mains are conducted on Zoom with the camera on so that I can monitor the students. This will discourage a student from taking unnecessary breaks and they will only utilize the three hours to answer questions.
When she had taken the Mains test series of other institutes, Smriti would take 5-6 hours to complete all questions. Over here, she finishes a test-series within the stipulated time of 3 hours.
Besides this, when a student starts studying I will ask them to say ‘Hi’ . When they are taking a break they need to say ‘Bye’ and when they resume their studies they need to say ‘Hi’ once again. At the end of the day, I would calculate the number of hours they spent studying and let them know the same. I never used to judge them for studying less. It’s like how a fitness tracker works. Whoever is interested in completing 1000 steps in a day will compensate for the next day if they are unable to achieve today’s target. This pushed Smriti to study for long hours.
While initially, she could not study for more than two hours everyday, now she studies for 8 hours without a break (12 hours with breaks). This is something she does by her own interest without me insisting her to follow it.
We have heard about the virtual library in your mentorship. What is that?
Virtual library is a practice wherein the student gets their study materials, logs in to a zoom session with other aspirants. All of them study silently. On the go, I share any extra reports or current affairs articles they have to read along with their standard books. While studying, if any student has a doubt they can ask in the session and it will be resolved.
Sometimes, our virtual library will be divided into small study group of 3-4 members who will all study the same topic together and discuss the aspects of the topic to each other. This is to prevent the aspirant from feeling lonely in their long preparation journey. Many students have reacted positively to this initiative as well, they get a sense of companionship and competitiveness when they are studying as a group.
What are few of the topics which students find difficult?
Economy is a subject where most of the students grapple with. I get a lot of doubts on topics like RBI, security market and bonds.
We have asked Smriti as well, but we want your take on this. What do you think of Smriti’s performance in the past 10 months?
She is a consistent performer. Though, initially she had scored only 30 out of 250 marks in GS Essay, now she is scoring above 100+ in all the mains test series. I am confident if she maintains the same consistency she can clear the exam in 2022.
That being said, I feel she can score better in mains. While evaluating her papers, I understood she is not including relevant factual data to back up her answers. I will be providing her committee reports and recommendations and mentor her in this direction from now on.
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On December 9 and 10, US President Joe Biden will host a virtual “summit for democracy”, which will bring together leaders of 100 countries, civil society and private sector representatives.
Challenges to India’s democratic image
India categorised as partly free: The US-based Freedom House’s “Freedoms of the World” index categorises India as only “partly free”; the Swedish V-Dem calls India an “electoral autocracy”.
Others lump India with Hungary, Turkey and the Philippines, where authoritarian leaders rule the roost.
Factors affecting India’s image: Rights violations in Kashmir, suspension of internet services in Kashmir, the conflation of political dissent with the colonial-era crime of sedition, the use of anti-terrorism laws to silence critics, the failure of the state to ensure freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, the anti-Muslim amendments to citizenship laws have all but shredded India’s democratic image.
Agenda of the summit
The agenda of the summit holds contemporary resonance in India.
Three broad themes: According to the State Department, the summit will convene around three broad themes — defending democracy against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights.
Leaders will be “encouraged” to announce “specific actions and commitments” to meaningful domestic reforms and international initiatives that advance the summit’s goals.
Why India’s contribution to the agenda will be scrutinized closely
Cultural relativisms: One theme that emerges from these observations is that of cultural relativism — the “Indianness of India’s democracy”— “as India becomes ever more democratic, democracy will become ever more Indian in its sensibilities and texture”.
Role of civil society: A second theme is the role of civil society.
It has been accused of “defaming” or bringing harm to India, as espoused most recently in statements by the National Security Adviser, who also called them “the new frontier of a fourth-generation war”.
Ensuring democratic rights: Another noticeable theme is around the responsibility for ensuring democratic rights.
Challenges for India
India has to reconcile the paradox inherent in submitting to international gaze at a global assembly where it is apparently required to make commitments adhering to “western” standards of democracy while claiming there is an Indian model.
In March this year, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar dismissed global standards and international metrics of democracy as rubbish.
For perspective, this is what China says too.
When President Biden brought up Beijing’s human rights record, President Xi Jinping told him there was no “uniform model” of democracy, and that dismissing other “forms of democracy different from one’s own is itself undemocratic.
The summit may intensify these differences, particularly because the host has no shining credentials either.
If democracy-building was never the US goal in Afghanistan, as Biden declared, why make the unfreezing of Afghan assets overseas conditional to the Taliban turning democratic and inclusive overnight?
Conclusion
India’s expected participation in the summit will come against a rather bleak backdrop of relativism, misinformation, confusion, obfuscation and polarisation on issues of democracy, civil society and rights.
The fact that crypto exchanges successfully managed to signal legitimacy for their services and offer these tokens to a mostly-uninformed public for over a year provides lessons on how the government and sectoral regulators may need to act before the game gets out of hand.
Regulating the technology innovation
Technology innovation typically remains a step ahead of regulatory frameworks, which are designed with current practices in mind.
Problems occur when these innovations push the envelope beyond accepted codes of social and ethical behaviour.
Digital lending apps: The joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on a proposed data privacy law that recently released its controversial report has pointed to dubious “digital” lending apps proliferating on the Android platform.
Blockchain technology, of which cryptos are a part, is an innovation that can facilitate transactions across assorted functions.
Issues with unregulated cryptocurrencies in India
Some estimates show that over 15 million Indians have invested in cryptos, many of whom live in Tier-II or Tier-III towns.
But crypto exchanges in India have pushed the boundaries of this invention.
Important disclaimer not communicated properly: They have been advertising aggressively across media platforms often announcing important disclaimers at warp speed.
These provisos were supposed to communicate that cryptos are neither currencies nor strictly “assets”, and that these trading platforms are not truly “exchanges”, that crypto values are not determined by the usual dynamics governing other income-yielding assets, and that investing in cryptos was an exceedingly risky proposition.
In the meantime, with advertising overload stimulating viewer interest, many scam crypto issuers and exchanges have sprung up in attempts to separate the gullible from their savings.
Regulation challenges and how government is tackling it
The government has now stepped in, seized with the political perils of speculative investments turning sour.
Unfortunately, sectoral regulators, such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi), were unable to step in and act earlier because they are governed by specific Acts which do not mention cryptos as a category that needs regulation.
Need for enabling clauses: This episode provides a valuable lesson on how these Acts should perhaps include some enabling clauses that allow financial sector regulators to intervene whenever any intermediary tries to sell a financial service or any new innovative financial service poses the risk of disrupting financial stability.
Two important documents have recently been released which discuss entry norms into formal banking, both further strengthening RBI’s hands.
Think-tank Niti Aayog’s paper on licensing digital banks recommends an evolutionary path for digital banks that’s RBI-regulated at all stages: first a restricted licence, then a regulatory sandbox offering some relaxations, and finally a “full-stack” digital banking licence.
Simultaneously, RBI has accepted some of the suggestions of its internal working group and modified a few to make entry norms stricter, but has maintained silence on the entry of private sector corporate houses into banking.
The JPC’s concerns over unregulated digital lending have also focused attention on an RBI-appointed committee’s report on digital lending, given that multiple fintech-based online lenders have mushroomed during the pandemic.
Conclusion
This highlights the need for principle-based regulations, rather than rule-based regulations, to allow for flexibility and adaptability in a fast-changing technology environment.
