The Union Cabinet has approved the provisioning of mobile services in over 7,000 uncovered villages through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
What do you mean by Universal Service?
In the modern world, universal service refers to having a phone and affordable phone service in every home.
It means, providing telecommunication service with access to a defined minimum service of specified quality to all users everywhere at an affordable price.
In 1837, the concept was rolled on by Rowland Hill, a British educator and tax reformer, which included uniform rates across the UK and prepayment by sender via postage stamps.
What is USOF?
The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was formed by an Act of Parliament, was established in April 2002 under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2003.
It aims to provide financial support for the provision of telecom services in commercially unviable rural and remote areas of the country.
It is an attached office of the Department of Telecom, and is headed by the administrator, who is appointed by the central government.
Scope of the USOF
Initially, the USOF was established with the fundamental objective of providing access to ‘basic’ telecom services to people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices.
Subsequently, the scope was widened.
Now it aims to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telecom services, including mobile services, broadband connectivity and the creation of infrastructure in rural and remote areas.
Funding of the USOF
The resources for the implementation of USO are raised by way of collecting a Universal Service Levy (USL), which is 5 percent of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of Telecom Service Providers.
Nature of the fund
USOF is a non-lapsable Fund.
The Levy amount is credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
The fund is made available to USOF after due appropriation by the Parliament.
Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project, Nepal’s first hydropower from a glacial lake has become functional recently.
Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project
The Project was built three years after the 2015 earthquake-avalanche that devastated the valley, with help from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.
It has a weir and spillway at the moraine, and the water is taken through a fibre glass-insulated penstock pipe to a powerhouse that generates 100kW of electricity.
It seeks to provide 24 hours of electricity to 120 households and tourist lodges in Kyanjin and Langtang.
Uniqueness of the project
The project is the first-of-its-kind in Nepal to power a village and holds promise for other remote Himalayan valleys where the risk posed by expanding glacial lakes can be mitigated.
At the same time, it provides electricity to tourism-dependent families.
Let’s admit this— As much as we have heard our seniors, mentors and toppers advise us to answer fewer questions in Prelims exams due to negative marking, do we want to follow it? All of us wish to answer as many questions as possible correctly. However, post 2014 questions have started getting tougher so much that now –
“Prelims is no longer about selecting the right option. It’s searching for the correct option by eliminating the incorrect ones.”
Let’s take a sample question from Prelims 2021 Paper —
Constitutional government means
a representative government of a nation with federal structure
a government whose Head enjoys nominal powers
a government whose Head enjoys real powers
a government limited by the terms of the Constitution
An average aspirant gets confused between 2-3 options. Option a), b) and d) look equally correct but you have to select only one. The right answer is option d). How can you find out what was the missing criteria in option a) and b) which option d) fulfilled to emerge as the right answer?
Attend the free webinar by Santhosh sir to get the answer.
Key Takeaways of Santosh Gupta Sir’s Free Prelims Orientation Webinar
1. Complete Analysis of the 2021 Prelims Paper. How to change your preparation methods right now?
2. The 7 Steps of Tackling Prelims 2022. How to maximize revision and minimize study materials?
3. Significance of Current Affairs. Is it really declining in Prelims?
4. Important Topics to Cover for Prelims 2022 for every subject. What are the correct study materials for these topics?
5. Time-Tested Elimination Techniques. How to use these techniques in sample questions?
Webinar Details
Prelims question papers have become more or less like a game of Sudoko. Except, in Sudoko you can solve the puzzle at your leisure and over here you are limited by 2 hours. We hope this webinar will help all 2022 aspirants implement the suggestions of 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.
The RBI has repeatedly reiterated its strong views against cryptocurrencies since it gained popularity in India following a sudden boom in Bitcoin prices. The central bank’s argument is that cryptocurrencies pose serious threats to the macroeconomic and financial stability of the country.
The development of Bitcoin and thousands of other cryptocurrencies in a little over a decade has changed the definition of money — and spawned a parallel universe of alternative financial services, allowing crypto businesses to move into traditional banking territory.
In recent times, new services and platforms have been introduced to help people manage bitcoin and other such digital coins in day-to-day finances. Let us learn about the topic in detail.
Cryptocurrencies
(1) Rise of Cryptocurrencies: After the growth and response received to bitcoin, many newer coins have also been introduced and their cumulative market value touched $2.5 trillion by May 2021.
(2) Significance of Cryptocurrencies
Corruption Check: As blocks run on a peer-to-peer network, it helps keep corruption in check by tracking the flow of funds and transactions.
Time Effective: Cryptocurrencies can help save money and substantial time, as it is conducted entirely on the Internet, involves very less transaction fees and is almost instantaneous.
Cost Effective: Intermediaries such as banks, credit card and payment gateways draw almost 3% from the total global economic output of over $100 trillion, as fees for their services.
Integrating blockchain into these sectors could result in hundreds of billions of dollars in savings.
(3) Cryptocurrencies in India
RBI’s apprehension: In 2018, The RBI issued a circular preventing all banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies. This circular was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in May 2020.
Govt’s stand: Recently, the government has announced to introduce a bill; Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, to create a sovereign digital currency.
Boosting startups ecosystem: In India, the funds that have gone into the Indian blockchain start-ups account for less than 0.2% of the amount raised by the sector globally.
The current approach towards cryptocurrencies makes it near-impossible for blockchain entrepreneurs and investors to acquire much economic benefit.
What do crypto businesses offer?
Lending and borrowingservices: Generally, crypto businesses offer lending and borrowing services. One can earn interest on holdings of digital currencies, often a lot more than on cash deposits in a bank.
Collateral to bank: Borrow with crypto as collateral to back a loan. Crypto loans generally involve no credit checks as transactions are backed by digital assets.
Benefits
Fosters financial inclusion
Unusuallyhigh return on their holdings for consumers
Providefinancial stability for customers in countries with volatile government-issued currencies.
What is cryptocurrency banking?
The virtual currency is not held in physical form. Digital currency is decentralized by a ledger system called blockchain, which means that it is not controlled by a bank or central authority.
Cryptocurrency banking mostly just allows people to hold their funds in a digital wallet or spend it like they would spend traditional money.
People can manage their cryptocurrency balances on exchange platforms.
These banking services can include simply holding a balance, making payments with a crypto debit card and even earning interest involving one or more cryptocurrencies.
Why such high yields?
Similar to traditional banking: Crypto outfits pool deposits to offer loans and give interest to depositors, just as traditional banks.
No reserve requirements: But by law, banks are required to have minimum reserves as a safety backup. Unlike this, crypto banks do not have the reserve requirements; the institutions they lend to can take risky bets.
Other risks: Cyber attacks, extreme market conditions, or other operational or technical difficulties that could lead to a temporary or permanent halt on withdrawals or transfers.
What is a stablecoin?
Crypto is very volatile, making it less practical for transactions like payments or loans. That’s where stablecoins come in.
Pegged to stable assets: stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets, commonly the dollar.
They are meant to provide the steady value of government-issued money in digital form for blockchain transactions, but they are issued by private entities.
Popular dollar-tied tokens include Tether and USD Coin.
High global appeal: The number of stablecoins in circulation globally has jumped from $29 billion in January to $117 billion as of early September.
Keep the value of digital currency stable: It aims to do in digital form what government money does.
But issued by private entities: They provide the steady value of government-issued money in digital form for blockchain transactions, but they are issued by private entities.
Risks involved
Stablecoin issuers hold and monitor reserves, just as central bankers manage supply and demand.
But there is no guarantee they actually hold the one-to-one dollar backing they claim.
So, a sudden surge in withdrawals could lead to a collapse in one of those assets, putting clients and the broader economy at risk.
Also, a central bank digital currency would render stablecoins irrelevant.
What is a central bank’s digital currency?
Offer reliability: Central bankers are examining the potential for issuance of a government-issued cryptocurrency which would offer the convenience of crypto with the reliability of money controlled by a central bank.
Growing innovation is a challenge: But governments catching up to the innovations in the market for years will be a challenge.
Introducing India’s own cryptocurrency: The government is considering the possibility of introducing India’s own cryptocurrency, code-named “Lakshmi”.
What is the need?
Crypto-currency is a digital currency that allows transacting parties to remain anonymous while confirming the transaction is valid.
The provision of anonymity is widely misused especially in making cross-border transactions.
They are widely used as a means for money-laundering, terror funding and drug trafficking, and other illegal activities.
The increasing share and presence of bitcoins due to speculative trading for return on investments is getting to be a cause of concern.
How can legalizing help address this?
Status of fiat currency: India’s attempt to legalize and introduce its own cryptocurrency would give it the status of a fiat currency.
Good alternative: This formal government authorization could prove to be an alternative to popular non-fiat cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum.
Syncing with the technology: “Lakshmi” would adopt a variation of the blockchain technology employed by bitcoin.
Avoid dual transaction: The technology would help verify every trade and rule out the possibility of dual transactions employing the same coin.
Also, the new currency would be subject to the same capital account controls as the rupee, in terms of cross-border transactions.
No manipulation in money supply: The money supply at every instant is known and cannot be manipulated, unlike with normal fiat currencies.
Besides, users would have to submit to the usual know-your-customer norms.
What are the challenges?
The introduction of such a new cryptocurrency, would make it a legal tender alongside the rupee.
This requires legislative action of making amendments to the Currency Act.
Pegging it to rupee would have an impact on the rupee exchange rate along with the risk of fluctuations.
What is Decentralized finance (DeFi)?
Alternative finance ecosystem: DeFi, refers to an alternative finance ecosystem where consumers transfer, trade, borrow and lend cryptocurrency.
Financial products become available on a public decentralized blockchain network, independently of traditional financial institutions and the regulatory structures.
Eliminating middleman: DeFi aims to “disintermediate” finance, using computer code to eliminate the need for trust and middlemen from transactions.
It’s a computer-controlled market that automatically executes transactions.
User governed: DeFi platforms are structured to become independent from their developers and backers over time and to ultimately be governed by a community of users.
What are the benefits of Crypto Finance?
Financial Inclusion: Innovators argue that crypto fosters financial inclusion. Consumers can earn unusually high returns on their holdings, unlike at banks.
Quick and Cheap Transactions: Crypto finance gives people long excluded by traditional institutions the opportunity to engage in transactions quickly, cheaply and without judgment.
Low checks and hassles: As crypto backs their loans, the services generally require no credit checks, although some take customer identity information for tax reporting and anti-fraud purposes.
Privacy: On a DeFi protocol, users’ personal identities are generally not shared, since they are judged solely by the value of their crypto.
What are some risks associated with DeFi?
DeFi cuts out the third parties that financial regulators rely on to ensure market integrity.
Licensed operators like banks and brokers play a quasi-governmental role in traditional finance, collecting and reporting data to the authorities, including information on capital gains, to ensure taxes are paid.
By contrast, DeFi programs are unregulated apps created by coders interested in capital markets.
Users’ assets can and have been hacked, and not all of the operations are built in good faith. Possibility of developers abandoning programs after investors contribute significant assets cannot be refused.
Way Forward
Require new approach: New technology demands a new approach; novel risks can be addressed without necessarily restricting innovation.
E.g., Requirements like code audits and risk parameters, instead of mandating that DeFi protocols maintain the reserves of a bank and collect customer information.
Controlling financial frauds: Using artificial intelligence and data analysis to monitor suspicious activity and tracking identity to fight financial fraud.
Monitor suspicious activity: Using artificial intelligence and data analysis to monitor suspicious activity and working back to track identity.
Over the last few decades, urbanization has led to a dramatic increase in the population living in the Himalayan Mountain belt.
About the Himalayas
The Himalayas extend for about 2400 km from west to east with width varying between 200-400 km.
The two syntaxes of this mountain are drained by the rivers Indus (west) and the Brahmaputra (east).
The Ganga River system largely drains the central part of the Himalayas.
Recent flood events
2010, floods of Leh
2013, Kedarnath floods
2021, Rishiganga floods
The reports of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC-2019) indicate an overall increase in the frequency of high-intensity rainfall events in the Himalayas.
What makes Himalayas more prone to disasters?
Rise in atmospheric temperature further increases the available atmospheric energy and total precipitation.
This in combination with mountain fragility and the growing urban centers is a perfect condition for disasters
Himalayas & Flood
The Himalayan Mountain belt, tectonically, is divisible into from north and south in the following zones
Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) of Ladakh
Tethyan Himalaya
Higher Himalayan Crystalline zone
Lesser Himalaya
Outer Siwalik
(1) Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) of Ladakh
The ISZ lies in the rain shadow zone of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), where the scanty rainfall occurs mostly under the influence of westerlies.
The area is devoid of vegetation and due to extreme temperatures, physical weathering of rocks occurs that forms a thick debris mantle on hill slopes.
This debris mantle during excessive snow melting and rainstorm events, fail and block small and large streams that breach subsequently to create floods.
(2) Tethyan Himalaya
This belt also behaves in a similar manner even though it lies at the northern fringe of ISM and receives a slightly higher amount of rainfall as compared to ISZ.
(3) Higher Himalayan Crystalline zone
The higher Himalayan Crystalline zone receives full spectrum of ISM rainfall.
This zone is characterized by steep hill slopes and deep gorges with high gradient drainage systems.
(4, 5) Lesser Himalaya and Outer Siwalik
The Lesser Himalaya and outer Siwalik Himalaya are gentler and also receive a high amount of ISM rainfall.
Differential rainfall patterns
The headwaters of the rivers like Indus, the Ganga, and the rivers draining the central Himalayan ranges lie in rain deficient arid zones.
Here extreme rainfall events can potentially create glacial/moraine-dammed lake outbursts, and massive snowmelt, leading to a flood.
However, the headwater of the Brahmaputra, due to different orography and elevation receives less rainfall and downstream catchment receives higher rainfall.
These constraining characteristics between the two systems create floods that have discharges of different magnitude.
Factors influencing
In general, the large floods in the Himalayas are caused by:
Climate change: Intense rainfall events, landslide dammed lake outbursts, glacial dammed Lake outbursts, cloud bursts
Topography: The magnitude of flood is a function of overall geology, orography, catchment-wide distribution of lakes, landslide zone, and rainfall
Example:
2013 Kedarnath incident in the Garhwal Himalayas: Widespread rainfall in combination of a breach of a moraine-dammed lake in the Chaurabari glacial region was responsible.
Breach of Gohna Tal of Birahi Ganga in 1970: Landslide activity that generally occurs during monsoon or an earthquake may potentially dam small channels for a longer duration. These dams may breach and cause floods in the downstream regions.
Causes of Floods in the Himalayas
In general, the large floods in the Himalayas are caused by
Intense rainfall events
Landslide dammed lake outbursts (LLOFs)
Glacial dammed Lake outbursts (GLOFs)
Cloud bursts
Flood Mapping
Mapping of floods has four elements:
Vertical rise in river level
Rate of rising of flood
Flow velocity
Lateral inundation of flood plains
Flood mapping is normally done at river gauging stations which are equipped with state-of-the-art Internet of Things (IoT) and radars.
Radars can help in tacking the locations of intense rainfalls and the temporal evolution of the storm.
The lateral extent of flood inundation can be mapped using satellite images and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data.
The flood velocities are generally measured using current meters, acoustic Doppler current profilers, tracers, and floaters.
Sediment load of floodwaters can be measured by sediment monitoring gauges or sensors equipped with Laser In-Situ Scattering or by physically sampling during the time of the flood.
Reducing Flood Vulnerability in the Himalayas
Proper understanding of the orography of the Himalayas, past flood events and the damage patterns can help in preparing the damage predictive models of the Himalayas.
The foremost way towards this is monitoring at various levels.
Landslide and glacial lake monitoring systems should be in place and be linked to flood management centres via IoT.
The combination of data on flood levels, flood hydrographs, and lateral inundation can be used to manage the floods and minimise the destruction.
The inundation maps combined with maps of social infrastructure, should be analysed on GIS platforms and AI using long time series of datasets.
It will provide predictive models of flood events and damage patterns.
The Central government’s decision to give a five-year tenure to heads of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has drawn a lot of flak.
Background
Apex court’s directive giving a mandatory two-year tenure to the Director of the CBI was a fallout of the Hawala scandal.
Prior to that, the government was arbitrary and capricious in choosing the Director.
It was not rare to see temporary appointments given to favour some individuals.
Seniority was often ignored in appointments and Directors were removed frequently.
Why tenure matters
Short tenure: A two-year tenure for a CBI head is too short for any officer to make an impact on the organisation.
Longer provides the much-needed continuity that a Director needs in an outfit charged with the task of conducting highly sensitive investigations, which sometimes impinge on the longevity and stability of a democratically elected government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation chief in the U.S. gets a 10-year term.
Suggestions
Need to avoid government interference: Any blatantly dishonest interference in the working of the organisation is bound to raise the hackles of those who believe in and carry out straightforward investigations.
The government will therefore have to show enormous restraint in its interactions with the head of the CBI.
Balancing accountability with autonomy: Of course, as a measure of accountability, the Director will have to keep the government informed of all major administrative decisions.
He or she should inform the executive but not take orders from it.
Need for CBI Act: Successive chiefs have suggested the drafting of a CBI Act to ensure that the organisation is not dependent on the State governments, many of which have withdrawn consent for the CBI to function in that State.
Eight States — West Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram — have withdrawn the general consent.
The CBI should be made to derive its authority for launching investigations from its own statute instead of depending on the Criminal Procedure Code, which makes the CBI a police organisation.
Issue with ordinance
The only problem with the latest ordinance is that, at the end of the mandatory two-year tenure, the government will have to issue orders granting one-year extensions at a time.
The rule about three annual extensions can be misused by a tendentious government.
It may be construed as a reward for ‘good behaviour’, which is a euphemism for an obliging Director.
Consider the question “What are the challenges facing Central Bureau of Investigation? Suggest the measures to make the organisation more effective.”
Conclusion
We will have to wait for a few years to gauge the impact of the change in tenure rules. It is preposterous to probe the intentions of this major move.
A “general consent” is normally given by states to help the CBI in seamless investigation of cases of corruption against central government employees in their states.
Almost all states have traditionally given such consent, in the absence of which the CBI would have to apply to the state government in every case, and before taking even small actions.
Section 6 of The DSPE Act (“Consent of State Government to exercise of powers and jurisdiction”) says: “Nothing contained in section 5 (“Extension of powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas”) shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a Union territory or railway area, without the consent of the Government of that State.”
In a rather unfriendly neighbourhood, New Delhi’s attempts at forming a regional consensus to stabilise Afghanistan, albeit wise and timely, will only achieve limited success thanks to the China-Pakistan coalition and its interests at play in and over Afghanistan.
Role played by China and Pakistan in Afghanistan and its implications for India
China’s long-term vision for Afghanistan revolves around the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of which Afghanistan has been a part since May 2016.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is also viewed as a key component within the larger Chinese BRI project and Afghanistan could eventually become part of CPEC if and when the Taliban regime stabilises itself in the country.
Role of Pakistan in keeping India away from Afghanistan: While Pakistan lobbies the international community to help prevent Afghanistan slide into further turmoil, it is determined to keep India as far away from Kabul as possible.
Pakistan has always been deeply suspicious of growing India-Afghanistan relations no matter who was/is in charge in Kabul.
Implications for India: It is likely that the more India gets close to the Taliban, the more the Pakistani side will increase the ‘attacks’ in Jammu and Kashmir.
By maintaining ties with the Taliban and convening the regional security meeting in New Delhi, India has indicated that this is an acceptable risk.
Regional Security Dialogue: The recently-held Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan was an important initiative to help Afghanistan stabilise, the reality is that the two countries that are key to stabilising Afghanistan — China and Pakistan — decided to stay away from it.
Scope for other powers: Russia or the Central Asian states have neither the ability nor the desire to pursue a role in Afghanistan autonomous from the larger Chinese or Pakistani designs there.
The dilemma facing the international community
Taliban and Pakistan refer to the U.S.-led coalition as ‘colonisers’ who just vacated the Afghan territory; and in the same breath, they seek assistance from those very ‘former colonisers’.
But perhaps what might bother the West the most is that if they stabilise the country, they would still be called former colonisers, and Pakistan and China will benefit out of it geopolitically, making it, in that sense, a thankless job for the West.
So the question before the western leaders is how to offer structured incentives to the Taliban, and when.
The dilemma facing India
To engage the Taliban or not: The first one was to decide whether to engage the Taliban or not.
The successive governments in Afghanistan, including the current Taliban regime, have sought relations with India which has upset Pakistan.
The Taliban want India to engage and help the country stabilise, but Pakistan resents that.
Catch-22 situation for India: If the Taliban regime is stabilised in Kabul without India’s assistance to the country, the more it is likely to do Pakistan’s bidding vis-à-vis India.
On the other hand, the more India helps the Taliban-led Afghanistan, the more Pakistan will up the ante in Kashmir.
This is a catch-22 situation that India finds itself in.
And yet, India has little choice but to engage the Taliban.
How Taliban victory led to change in Pakistan’s Kashmir policy
The earlier Pakistani willingness to be conciliatory towards India on Kashmir before and in the run-up to the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021 seems to have disappeared for now.
This is at least partly due to the Pakistani triumphalism about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Since then, violence data show that the backchannel understanding is withering away with violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) spiking along all three indicators albeit gradually.
Sentiments from across the border also indicate that the earlier Pakistani stand that it would accept the Indian decision to withdraw the special status to Kashmir in lieu of New Delhi restoring Statehood to Kashmir and allowing political activity in the State has now change.
It now demands that India fully reverts to the pre-August 5, 2019 position on Kashmir.
Way forward
No possibility of cooperation with China and Pak: Any possibility of India-Pakistan cooperation in Afghanistan would be very hard to achieve.
Beijing will play along; so will Iran and the Central Asian countries, for the most part.
Coordinate with other powers: For India, the options are to coordinate its Afghan policy with Moscow, Washington and the various western capitals while steadfastly engaging the Taliban.
Consider the question “Return of Taliban in Afghanistan and consequential geopolitical changes in the region are bound to have implications for India-Pakistan relation. Comment.”
Conclusion
India’s advances to court the Taliban and attempts to evolve a regional consensus on Afghanistan might deteriorate India-Pakistan relations and pose challenges for India in Kashmir.
Let’s admit this— As much as we have heard our seniors, mentors and toppers advise us to answer fewer questions in Prelims exams due to negative marking, do we want to follow it? All of us wish to answer as many questions as possible correctly. However, post 2014 questions have started getting tougher so much that now –
“Prelims is no longer about selecting the right option. It’s searching for the correct option by eliminating the incorrect ones.”
Let’s take a sample question from Prelims 2021 Paper —
Constitutional government means
a representative government of a nation with federal structure
a government whose Head enjoys nominal powers
a government whose Head enjoys real powers
a government limited by the terms of the Constitution
An average aspirant gets confused between 2-3 options. Option a), b) and d) look equally correct but you have to select only one. The right answer is option d). How can you find out what was the missing criteria in option a) and b) which option d) fulfilled to emerge as the right answer?
Attend the free webinar by Santhosh sir to get the answer.
Key Takeaways of Santosh Gupta Sir’s Free Prelims Orientation Webinar
1. Complete Analysis of the 2021 Prelims Paper. How to change your preparation methods right now?
2. The 7 Steps of Tackling Prelims 2022. How to maximize revision and minimize study materials?
3. Significance of Current Affairs. Is it really declining in Prelims?
4. Important Topics to Cover for Prelims 2022 for every subject. What are the correct study materials for these topics?
5. Time-Tested Elimination Techniques. How to use these techniques in sample questions?
Webinar Details
Prelims question papers have become more or less like a game of Sudoko. Except, in Sudoko you can solve the puzzle at your leisure and over here you are limited by 2 hours. We hope this webinar will help all 2022 aspirants implement the suggestions of 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.
The announcement of enhanced targets for climate action by India, particularly for achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, has highlighted the importance of long-term planning for decarbonising the economy.
Why do we need a decarbonizing strategy
The Government of India has responded to rapid reductions in the cost of renewable energy (RE) based power, with dramatic enhancements in the targets for RE.
With this approach, India has done well and is on a path to fulfilling its Paris Agreement commitments for 2030.
However, the road ahead will be challenging, and therefore, a coordinated strategy for decarbonising the economy efficiently and effectively will be required.
Strategy for decarbonising the economy
Factoring in the changes: By 2070, there will be many changes in technology, environmental conditions, and the economy.
The planning horizon of about 50 years will need to be broken up into shorter periods so that new knowledge about emerging technologies can be incorporated into plans.
Monitoring of the progress: Plans will need to be monitored so that the course can be corrected to respond to any unforeseen problems.
Five years, as the UK has used, seems like a reasonable “Goldilocks ideal.”
An autonomous and technically credible agency, like the Climate Change Committee (CCC) in the UK, should be set up.
Decarbonising the power sector
Biggest source of GHG: The power sector is the biggest source of GHG emissions and also the easiest one to decarbonise.
Reducing emission intensity is a good overarching objective; increased use of RE or non-fossil-fuel generation is a means to that end.
The four 2030 targets: Non-fossil fuel generating capacity to be 500 GW, RE capacity to be 50 per cent of all generation capacity, reduction in emission intensity by 45 per cent, and avoidance of GHG emissions by 1 billion tonnes — are inter-related.
Suggestions to decarbonise the power sector
Set emission intensity targets: Setting permissible emission intensity in terms of grammes of carbon dioxide equivalent per kWh of electricity sold, would be a good option for targets in the power sector.
Single emission-related objective: In order to decarbonise the power sector, it would be best to have a single emissions-related objective so that an optimal strategy can be developed to achieve the objective at the lowest cost.
Avoid separate targets: Currently there is a profusion of separate targets for almost every resource used to generate electricity.
For example, there are separate renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) for solar, non-solar RE, and hydropower.
Such an approach reduces the flexibility of distribution companies to select resources to meet their loads, resulting in a non-optimal resource mix, and a higher cost of electricity.
Reconsider RPO: RPOs are usually imposed to support nascent technologies, and because RE is now competitive on costs with conventional generation, the need for RPOs should be reconsidered.
The use of emission intensity targets is a better approach.
Consider the question “Why power sector holds the key to decarbonising the Indian economy? Suggest the strategy India should follow to decarbonise the power sector.”
Conclusion
The use of five-year interim targets for permissible emission intensity and the establishment of an autonomous and credible agency to advise the government on targets and policies and to monitor progress will greatly facilitate an effective, economic, and smooth transition to decarbonisation of the power sector first, and the Indian economy later by 2070.
They say, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. For UPSC aspirants, there is a small tweak. When your preparation gets tough we’ll be there for you.
How Successful has Civilsdaily been in Mentoring Aspirants?
In UPSC 2020, Civilsdaily helped 80+ students secure ranks in their exams. In the top 100, every 3rd ranker was a Civilsdaily student. To know how all of them cleared the exam with our mentorship, visit the UnherdPodcast.
Now that results are announced for UPSC 2021 Prelims, out of 15 out of 25 students of Santhosh Gupta sir have been recommended to Mains. One such student, Rahul expresses his gratitude and extends his appreciation —
Most of our Mentors like Sudhanshu sir, Sajal sir, Santhosh sir, Pravin sir, Parth Verma sir and Sukanya Ma’am were UPSC aspirants themselves and have attended UPSC Mains more than five times and UPSC Interview more than twice. Hence their mentorship is always a blend of the best test series, comprehensive notes and current affairs knowledge.
All of them dedicate their time weekly to give 1-on-1 mentorship to every student where they discuss last week’s performance and next week’s approach.
Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel and if you want to get out of the tunnel you have to follow the direction of the light! Our mentors’ give you direction which is divided into daily modules. All you have to do is study and complete them on time.
As every year passes by, we don’t get confident by the previous years’ performance and become laidback. Instead, we become more hungry to convert all our students into toppers.
Why Do You Require Mentorship?
Preparing for the UPSC exam is a race against time. You have to complete an answer within 8 minutes, complete Prelims mock test within 2 hours and most importantly complete the syllabus in a span of 8 months. The syllabus is so vast that most students feel overwhelmed within just a few weeks of starting their preparation.
We confirmed this last month, in our Samanvaya Mentorship program by counselling over 3500 students. The 2 biggest problems students said they face while preparing for this exam are:
Syllabus Management
Time Management
As an aspirant, you can either spend a lot of time and effort trying to figure out how to cope with your syllabus and manage time or you can simply speak with our mentors and get the right study plan and timetable custom-made for you!
Every aspirant needs a different strategy than the other. One might be struggling in prelims, other in mains. One might find history a piece of cake and geography a tough nut to crack and for the other it will be vice-versa. For an aspirant preparing full-time, they might get demotivated on a regular basis as they have no Plan B to fall back on. A working professional might be too exhausted to study by the end of the day. There is no one-size fits all solution.
That’s why you need to register for Samanvaya free 1-on-1 counselling session to understand what study plan and study materials work best for you! Samanvaya 1-on-1 Free mentorship will help you stick to one approach of studying rather than switching plans through trial and error.
Still you want a general idea how to manage time and your syllabus? Here’s what you can do!
Syllabus Management—
Go through the entire syllabus thoroughly.
Mark the topics you feel comfortable with and those you aren’t familiar with.
Break down the syllabus into small parts and prioritize them in order.
Gather the relevant study material for the syllabus and start studying them in order.
Figure out where you need guidance – Is it with the subject matter? Do you need help with organizing your syllabus? Or you just aren’t sure how to begin?
. Time Management—
Prioritize your study material
Complete the easier topics first.
Allocate at least one hour to answer-writing
Allocate at least one hour to MCQ practice
Make notes on Current Affairs while reading the newspaper
Allocate at least 2 hours for your optional.
A Popular Time Management Technique—
The Pomodoro Technique is followed by toppers like Srusti Jayant Deshmukh (UPSC 2019 AIR 5), Manoj Madhav S (UPSC 2019 AIR 105) and Namita Sharma (UPSC 2018, AIR 108)
Developed by consultant Francesco Cirillo, the Pomodoro Technique is a time management tool that breaks work into 25-minute sessions to help you stay focused and get more done.
Step 1
Choose a task
Step 2
Set a timer for 25 minutes
Step 3
Work on the task until the timer goes off
Step 4
Once the timer goes off. Check off the item on a piece of paper
Step 5
Take a short break
Step 6
Every four Pomodoros, take a longer break
How is Samanvaya 1-on-1 Guidance Program Structured?
Our guidance program is designed as solutions to your challenges. We speak with students personally and understand their concerns on a one-on-one basis. Our mentors spend time understanding the individual requirements of our students and teach students how to break down the syllabus and create a plan they can stick to. Our mentors don’t advise you with run of the mill stories, they help in scripting your story!
We will discuss the important ways in which you can crack this exam through the following methods:
Personalized study plan – Make a list of the tasks that you need to accomplish that day, and note in upcoming meetings or deadlines as you become aware of them. As you complete your list, make sure to tick off the tasks you have completed.
3. Tracking your progress – The key to time management success is to know your deadlines and set reminders. We suggest setting a reminder 15 minutes before a meeting or event so you can prepare and gather your things.
4. Investing in topics with good ROI – First and foremost, turn off your email notification. Set 30-minute blocks to check your email every couple hours instead of checking it every 15 minutes. Make sure you minimize non-work distractions such as your cell phone, social media, or your favorite online store.
5. Focusing on smart study – On your daily list of things to do, pen in how much time you think each task will take you. If you don’t finish, stop when the time you allotted ends, and come back to it later. Sometimes moving on to different responsibilities and then coming back gives your mind a fresh start and a new perspective.
So, get all your UPSC demands addressed by a seasoned mentor, get one point source study materials, have regular engagement via calls and WhatsApp, adapt to course-correction strategies and follow a syllabus completion-cum-revision plan every month.
