In this Unherd Interview, We are joined by AIR 56 Jayant Nahata.
A graduate from IIT Delhi, Jayant looked beyond the tech industry and wanted to be part of the social development of society.
“Do you want the pain of hard work or do you want the regret of failure?” is the mantra that kept him going through the UPSC preparation.
Maintaining consistency and managing time is one of the most difficult issues faced by many aspirants. Take this opportunity to learn the techniques of time management and planning from Jayant.
Civilsdaily is proud to present AIR 56 Jayant Nahata and congratulate him on his future endeavors.
Let’s hear more from the winner himself in the video.
Hello Aspirants, are you committing the same mistakes again and again, which could cost your Prelims? Santosh Sir discusses 10 most common mistakes which you must avoid to clear prelims. Watch the above video to understand how to utilize the remaining days and how to remain confident.
About Santosh Gupta sir:- Santosh Gupta sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and always 130 plus in all 6 attempts. He wrote all 6 mains and appeared for Interviews 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also.
He has been teaching and mentoring UPSC aspirants for the last 5 years with tremendous interest in environment and ecology and Polity.
A mentor-guided assessment program to keep you on track at all times and bring in strategic interventions when and where required.
How are we going to approach UPSC IAS 2022?
Broadly, six factors determine your success in cracking this prestigious IAS exam.
The most important being understandingthe expectations of UPSC. According to that planning and strategizing. Then Learning – Knowledge and information. Then Analyzing – making linkages, connections, etc. After that, Executing and utilizing information, and Constant course correction – because mistakes are inevitable, need to rectify them asap.
Through our mentorship-driven and personalized approach, we’re hell-bent on simplifying things for you. Hence, we have come up with a plan that you will instantly connect with you and give you a vibe that yes you can do it!
Preparation for Prelims and Mains is harmonized. You study a subject, attempt prelims tests, and then attempt mains tests for the same. This leads to solid preparation.
Many institutes out there will not able to present an integrated approach. They offer separate timetables for prelims and mains confusing the students further. That’s not the case with us!
We are starting with the most important subjects from the exam perspective first. These are very predictable + have a very high return on investment. They need to be mastered if one has to have a shot at the exam. Polity, Modern History, and Economics. The lower priority ones follow afterward.
3. Logical Division of Topics
Subjects have been divided into topics that logically fit together. Eg. for Polity we ask you to prepare in 2 parts – first, till Central Government and second, from State Government and beyond. This division is not ad-hoc and does not break the flow of your studies.
4. Base and Advanced Sources
We have divided the sources into 2 parts, Base Sources, and Advanced Sources. Base sources are those which you have to master. You should come to advanced sources only when you are thorough with the Base Sources.
All this is under the guidance of a dedicated mentor who will oversee your progress, help you strategize your preparation, plan it and make it measurable, help you analyze and evaluate your preparation; and introduce strategic interventions wherever and whenever required.
Much recently, the Prime Minister had launched the Digital Health ID project (DHID), generating debate on issues related to the use of technology in a broken health system.
The key objective of DHID is to improve the quality, access and affordability of health services by making the service delivery “quicker, less expensive and more robust”.
The ambition is undoubtedly high. Given that health systems are highly complex, the DHID would hardly be able to address some of the issues plaguing it.
Why need DHID?
(a) Record maintenance
The use of technology for record maintenance is not just inevitable but necessary. Its time has certainly come.
A decade ago, the process to shift towards electronic medical records was initiated in the private sector.
It met with limited success, despite the strong positives.
With DHID, the burden of storing and carrying health records for every visit to the doctor is minimised.
(b) Better tracking of medical history
The doctor has instant access to the patient’s case history –the treatment undertaken, where and with what outcomes — enabling more accurate diagnosis and treatment.
As the DHID enables portability across geography and healthcare providers, it also helps reduce re-testing or repeating problems every time a patient consults a new doctor.
That’s a huge gain, impacting the quality of care and enhancing patient satisfaction and confidence.
(c) Better Diagnosis
DHID can have a transformative impact in promoting ecosystems that function as paperless facilities.
Paperless hospitals can promote early diagnosis before the patient reaches the doctor after spending long hours in queue.
The doctor can already go through the patient’s record and the pharmacist can make the drugs available by the time the patient reached its counter.
(d) Promoting medical research
Digitisation of medical records is another important positive, given the problems related to space and retrieving huge databases.
Well organised repositories that enable easy access to records can stimulate much-needed research on medical devices and drugs.
This storehouse of patient data can be valuable for clinical and operational research.
Given our population, would this be an idealistic expectation?
We need to conduct pilot studies to assess the use of technology for streamlining patient flows and medical records and thereby increase efficiencies across different typologies of hospitals and facilities.
While technology helps smoothen processes and enhance patient experience, there is a cost attached.
Investments have to be made upfront and results should not be expected overnight.
Issues with DHID
(a) A costly affair
In the immediate short run, DHID will increase administrative costs by about 20 per cent, due to the capital investment in data infrastructure.
Over the long run, the additional cost to healthcare is expected to be about 2 per cent.
Any scaling up of this reform would require extensive fiscal subsidies and more importantly providing techno-logistical support to both government and private hospitals.
(b) Privacy concerns
Most important is the issue of privacy, the high possibility of hacking and breach of confidentiality.
The possibility of privacy being violated increases with the centralisation of all information.
Though it is said that the patient is the owner of the information, how many of us deny access, as a matter of routine, when we download apps or programmes that seek access to all our records?
How far is this “consent” practical for an illiterate, vulnerable patient desperate to get well?
So, taking refuge behind a technical statement that access is contingent on patient consent is unconvincing.
Ground situation in India
Inherently unaffordable healthcare: The costs in the Indian context can be high and that should lead to a careful assessment of the project.
Digital divide: Such a scenario is not inconceivable and in the case of health, may cause immense hardship to the most marginalised sections of our population.
Infrastructure gap: A large majority of facilities do not have the required physical infrastructure — electricity, accommodation, trained personnel.
Usual nature of technical glitches: Cards getting corrupted, servers being down, computers crashing or hanging, and power outages are common in India.
Conformity over data synchronization: The inability to synchronise biometric data with ID cards has resulted in large-scale exclusions of the poor from welfare projects.
Accuracy of records: Besides, the efficacy of the DHID hinges on the assumption that every visit and every drug consumed by the patient is faithfully and accurately recorded.
Increased workload on Medical Professionals: Moreover, while electronic mapping of providers may enable patients to spot a less busy doctor near their location, it is simplistic to assume that the patient will go there.
Plugging the existing gaps
Patient preference for a doctor is dependent upon perception and trust. Likewise, teleconsultations need a huge backend infrastructure and organisation.
Teleconsulting has certainly helped patients access medical advice for managing minor ailments, getting prescriptions on the phone and even getting drugs delivered home.
But in handling chronic diseases that necessitate continuity of care, teleconsultations have been problematic and cannot be substituted for actual physical examination.
Continuity of care is central to good outcomes in inpatient management of chronic diseases.
The one serious shortcoming of using teleconsultation for such management is the high attrition rate of doctors within the context of an overall shortage of doctors.
Technology can be of little use in the absence of doctors and basic infrastructure.
Way forward
What is needed is building very robust firewalls and trust.
Seeing the frequency with which Aadhaar cards have been breached, it is not unreasonable to be concerned with this issue and the implications it has at the family and societal levels.
For this reason, instead of a big bang approach, it is better to go slow and steady.
That’s the only way to ensure that a good policy does not die along the way due to poor implementation.
Three scientists received the Nobel Prize in Physics for work that is essential to understanding how the Earth’s climate is changing, pinpointing the effect of human behaviour on those changes and ultimately predicting the impact of global warming.
Who are the laureates?
The winners were Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann of Germany, and Giorgio Parisi from Italy.
In 2015, at a UK-based climate-focused online publication sought to identify the three most influential climate change research papers ever published.
The paper that received the most votes was one by Syukuro Manabe and Richard Wetherald way back in 1967.
These reports for the first time, had described the impact of carbon dioxide and water vapour on global warming.
Citation for their Climate Model
Manabe is a senior meteorologist and climatologist at Princeton University.
In the 1960s, he led ground-breaking research into how increased levels of carbon dioxide lead to higher temperatures on the surface of the Earth.
This laid the foundation for the development of current climate models.
Hasselmann is a German physicist and oceanographer who greatly advanced public understanding of climate change through the creation of a model that links climate and chaotic weather systems.
Parisi has focused on quantum field theory and complex systems.
Why it is significant feat?
This is the first-time climate scientists have been awarded the Physics Nobel.
The IPCC had won the Peace Nobel in 2007, an acknowledgement of its efforts in creating awareness for the fight against climate change.
A Chemistry Nobel was also awarded to Paul Crutzen in 1995, for his work on the ozone layer, is considered the only other time someone from atmospheric sciences has won this honour.
The recognition of Manabe and Hasselmann, therefore, is being seen as an acknowledgement of the importance that climate science holds in today’s world.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has notified the constitution of the National Road Safety Board.
National Road Safety Board
The NRSB will be constituted of a panel of seven members and a chairman, with the members having experience in the fields related to road safety, traffic regulation, urban planning, civil engineering and police enforcement and investigation.
Additionally, the board will also comprise of technical committees to look into a variety of aspects of road safety from civil engineering to vehicle construction and safety equipment.
Why need such board?
Along with the rapid expansion and up-gradation on the road network and the enforcement of higher safety standards for vehicles, the Government is now actively looking into the safety of roads too.
Terms of reference
The Head Office of the Board shall be in the National Capital Region and the Board may establish offices at other places in India.
The Board shall be responsible for promoting road safety, innovation and adoption of new technology and for regulating traffic and motor vehicles.
For this purposes, inter alia, the Board shall formulate
specific standards for road safety, traffic management and road construction for hilly regions
guidelines for capacity building and development of skills for traffic police, hospital authorities, highway authorities, educational and research organizations and other organizations
guidelines for establishing and operating trauma facilities and para-medical facilities, for consideration by the Central Government
provide technical advice and assistance to the Central Government, State Governments and local authorities on road safety and traffic management
Key provision: Protection of Samaritans
The board aims to promote Good Samaritans and good practices in road safety and traffic management
Good Samaritans who rescue victims of serious road accidents and rush them to a hospital within the golden hour will now be rewarded with ₹5,000.
They will also be eligible for a cash prize of ₹1 lakh which will be given to 10 such Samaritans in a year.
It has been felt that there is a need to motivate the general public through cash awards and certificates to help the road accident victims in emergency situation and to boost their morale.
The categories of accidents that will make one eligible for the award will include those that result in a major surgery or minimum three days of hospitalisation or brain and spinal cord injuries.
Do you know?
The ‘golden hour’ has been defined as ‘the time period lasting one hour following a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has released the Industrial Park Ratings System Report.
Industrial Park Ratings System (IPRS)
The IPRS pilot exercise was launched in 2018 with an objective of enhancing industrial infrastructure competitiveness and supporting policy development for enabling industrialization across the country.
The IPRS report is an extension of the India Industrial Land Bank which features more than 4,400 industrial parks in a GIS-enabled database.
It seeks to help investors identify their preferred location for investment.
With this report, the investors can even remotely refer to this report to identify the suitable investable land area, as per the various parameters of infrastructure, connectivity, business support services and environment and safety standards.
Highlights of the report
41 Industrial Parks have been assessed as “Leaders” in the Industrial Park Ratings System Report released by DPIIT.
90 Industrial Parks have been rated as under the Challenger category while 185 have been rated as under “Aspirers”.
These ratings are assigned on the basis of key existing parameters and infrastructure facilities etc.
The first consignment of GI-tagged sweet dish Mihidana sourced from Bardhaman, West Bengal has been exported to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
About Mihidana
Mihidana, described as the micro cousin of the traditional Boondi, is derived from two words, Mihi meaning fine, and Dana, meaning grain.
The dessert is made from powdered Kaminibhog, Gobindobhog and basmati rice, mixed with a small amount of gram flour and saffron for a golden colour.
It is then blended with water by hand till its colour lightens.
This mix is then poured through a brass ladle with tiny holes into a pot of ghee and deep-fried.
The fine fried small rice-like grains are dipped in sugar syrup and drained once soaked.
Back2Basics: Geographical Indication
A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
GI is granted for a term of 10 years in India. As of today, more than 300 GI tags has been allocated so far in India (*Wikipedia).
The tag stands valid for 10 years.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status?
Banaras Brocades and Sarees
Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma
Tirupathi Laddu
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
UPSC Prelims paper is designed to test your accuracy and your eye for detail. As an aspirant, your target is not to answer all the questions but accurately answer as many questions as possible. The analysis of the last 5 years of cutoffs reveals that answering 55-60 questions correctly is sufficient to qualify, so the primary objective of any aspirant should be to reach this number while minimizing the number of incorrect answers.
Keep in mind that UPSC Prelims Paper 1 provides an ample amount of time for students to answer the questions. Accuracy, more than time management, is the skill required to crack this paper. And here is the simple 4-step process you can follow to clear Prelims 2021:
Step 1 – In the first step, go through the paper and answer all those questions whose answers you know with 100% certainty. These are the questions where you don’t even have to think twice for the correct answer. Most of these questions are direct in nature and take less than a minute to solve.
Step 2 – In this step, spot the questions which you can solve with a little bit of thought. These are often statement-based questions that you’ll have to analyze for a few extra seconds and then arrive at the solution. Keep in mind that you are absolutely sure of the answers to these questions before marking the answer. Step1 and Step 2, therefore, require you to answer questions where you don’t doubt your answers.
Before moving to step 3, count the number of questions you have attempted. Keep in mind that even with complete confidence in your answers, a few of them may be wrong. Suppose you have marked 55 answers that you are sure of, factor in at least 4-5 questions you may have gotten wrong. Move to step 3 with this calculation in mind.
Step 3 – In this step, you will need to take some time. Dig into your memory. Try elimination techniques to reduce the number of options. Then you’ll need to take an educated guess for the correct answer.
Using the first three methods, most serious aspirants can solve 75-80 questions in a period of 90 minutes. More often than not, this is sufficient for you to score above the cutoff. But, if you feel low on confidence and believe that you may still need a few more questions, then move to the next step. Don’t worry, you’ll still have around 30 minutes remaining.
Step 4 – In this step, pick the questions where you can eliminate at least 1-2 options. You will have 2 remaining options but no certainty. This is a risky step and you’ll have to make sure that you do not attempt a lot of questions in this round.
While this is the process of approaching the paper, there are a few additional elements that you’ll need to keep in mind:
Analyse the paper on-spot – Do not go to the examination hall with a predefined cutoff in your mind. After the first round of reading, you’ll have a fair idea of how difficult or easy the paper is in relation to the last few years. Target a cut-off based on this analysis. A target of 115-120, however, is the best to achieve.
Avoid silly mistakes – Read the questions correctly. UPSC often stumps students with tricky language. Make sure you understand the question perfectly before answering. Also, keep marking the answers in your question paper and the OMR sheet simultaneously. If you wait for the end of the exam to mark the OMR sheet, you may make mistakes due to the time rush and lose valuable marks.
Brush up on answering techniques – There are multiple answering techniques like elimination, extremity test, etc. that can be extremely helpful. For example, if an option presents you with an extreme point of view for a topic, that option is incorrect more often than not. A quick revision of these techniques with examples can help you make better educated guesses.
Rest – The most important thing of all is to rest before the exam. A couple of days before the exam won’t make a difference to your studies. Take this time to rest your mind and body. Relax yourself, eat well, sleep well, and go for the exam in a calm state of mind. You have done the hard work already, don’t let negative thoughts cloud your judgement now.
Remember – You can do it and you will do it, trust yourself!
