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  • UPSC mock interview at CivilsDaily starting from 11th April – Book your slot now

    UPSC mock interview at CivilsDaily starting from 11th April – Book your slot now

    Schedule your mock interview with civilsdaily

    Schedule of Special Habitat sessions planned for interviews.

    UPSC Interviews 2020 schedule is out and it’s going to start from 26th April. Transcend 2020’s mock interviews will start from 11th April.

    A one-to-one session on DAF analysis with VP sir is also planned for 10th April. You will get an opportunity to discuss your DAF and get an idea on how to improve upon the weak areas. Click here to book your slot.

    About Transcend 2020: IGP mock interviews

    Mock Interviews at Civilsdaily form a crucial part of UPSC interview preparation. The quality and diversity of the panel help prepare an aspirant for the actual interview at UPSC. 

    Aspirants have benefited greatly from the mock interview and the feedback they get from the panel members after their mock interview. At the same time, we work with the aspirants to improve upon the areas highlighted by the panel.

    Aspirants will also get a personalized DAF-based questionnaire based on extensive research and linkages with the issues of national and international importance. 

    Upcoming Mock interview and session

    1-1 session with VP sir: 10th April

    • First mock interview- 11th April (Book your slot)   
    • Time: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.  
    • Mode: Online 

    Interview slots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.  

    Schedule your mock interview with Civilsdaily

    Panelists for Mock Interviews: 

    1. Shri Shankar Aggarwal, IAS (retd.)
    2. Dr. Noor Mohammad, IAS (retd.)
    3. Shri T. N. Thakur, IAAS (retd.)
    4. Shri V. P. Singh, IRPS
    5. Mrs.Aditi Gupta, Corporate Leadership Specialist 
    6. Prof. U.M. Amin, Jamia Milia University
    7. Mr. Himanshu Arora, Economist, JNU, PMEAC 

    Tentative: Shri Harsh V. Pant (Observer Research Foundation), Shri SN Tripathi, IAS (Director IIPA), Shri Yogesh Narain (Retd. Defence Secretary), Shri Dipankar Gupta (Indian Sociologist), and others.   

     You all are supposed to submit your DAFs and selfie videos answering four questions provided to you. These will form the basis for mock interviews, DAF analysis, and personalized DAF-based questionnaire.  

     Note- For any query/sending DAFs and videos reach out to ajay@civilsdaily.com 

    Special Habitat session for UPSC interviews 2020

    Click here for habitat club for UPSC interviews

    Interview Club on Habitat brings together senior bureaucrats, serving officers, UPSC mentors, toppers and peers under one roof for a collaborative and cohort based learning and preparation for the UPSC interviews.

    From today onwards our we are starting a special session on Habitat’s Transcend: Interview Guidance Club to take up activities directed towards specific dimensions of the Personality Test.

    This week’s schedule for these sessions is as follows:

    • Thursday 08/04/2021: Hobby discussion
    • Friday: Home state discussion
    • Saturday: Prizes, Sports, leadership position
    • Monday: Roleplaying & Situation Reaction Test (SRT)

    Timings: 6-7:30 pm

    Click here for habitat club for UPSC interviews

  • Maoist Attack in Sukma

    The article deals with the counterinsurgency strategies to deal with the issues of left wing extremism in India

    Threat of left-wing extremism

    • The killing of 22 security personnel by Maoists serves as a grim reminder that left-wing insurgency continues to be one of the biggest internal security threats for the country.
    • In the past few years, Maoist violence seemed to have been on a downward spiral.
    • The figures associated with the key indicators of violence like the number of incidents also support the contention that “insurgency is on the downward spiral”.
    • But the attack should thus serve as a wake-up call to those who had begun to get complacent about the Maoist threat.

    Approach in counterinsurgency strategy

    • One school believes that given the Maoist insurgency posturing itself as a “people’s war”, the mandate is for a people-centric approach of “winning hearts and minds”.
    • Others argues that an enemy-centric approach predicated on kinetic operations is best suited for the Maoist insurgency, where the fear of the population seceding from India is remote.
    • The success of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh in curbing the Maoist problem is often attributed to this enemy-centric approach.
    • However, there is robust scholarly work available that shows that the Andhra government based its counterintelligence strategy on a judicious mix of the enemy-centric and population-centric approaches.
    •  Andhra Pradesh had successfully implemented short-gestation-period developmental works in the Maoist-affected rural areas.
    • Moreover, the erstwhile state is also the first state to have a comprehensive surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy.
    • After the 2014 guidelines of the central government were brought out, many states have crafted attractive surrender and rehabilitation policies.
    • Another important question is whether the government should keep the option of talking to Maoists open.
    • The willingness to talk to rebel groups seems to incentivise insurgents and may demonstrate that violence pays.
    • But bringing an end to civil war invariably involves negotiating with the enemy.

    Way forward

    • Indian counterinsurgency has to work with a dual objective of defeating the insurgents militarily and fully quell the insurgent impulses.
    • This will need institutional overhauls.
    • In the last decade or so, insurgency-affected states have started to raise special forces on the lines of Greyhounds.
    • These forces are being given rigorous training in “counter-guerrilla” tactics and jungle warfare.
    •  Besides, the jungles around the interstate borders have always been the preferred hiding spaces for the Maoists.
    •  States must do more to synergise their efforts by launching coordinated operations, thereby denying Maoists any space for manoeuvrability.
    • These efforts need to be supplemented by well-crafted development schemes.
    • It is also important to segregate the population from the insurgents both operationally and ideologically.
    • The conflict over the distribution of resources can be mended with economic development.
    • But the bigger challenge would be to create a system where the tribal population feels that the government is representative, not repressive.
    • Opening negotiation channels and policies like surrender and rehabilitation can give such a representative sense to the rebels.

    Consider the question “Discuss the causes of left wing extremism in India. Suggest the way forward to deal with the issue.”

    Conclusion

    The government needs to follow these policies to end the challenge of left wing extremism from India.

  • What is Durbar Move?

    A tradition of a century and a half is set to be broken in Jammu and Kashmir, with only “sensitive records” being taken from Jammu to Srinagar this summer during the “Durbar Move”.

    Discuss the feasibility, benefits and constraints caused by multiple administrative capitals in Indian states with special context to Jammu and Kashmir and the state of Andhra Pradesh. (250W)

    Durbar Move

    • Durbar Move is a bi-annual shifting of the Civil Secretariat and other offices of the state government from Jammu to Srinagar in summer, and vice versa in winter.
    • This is done as Jammu & Kashmir has two capitals: Kashmir during summer and Jammu during winter.
    • In Jammu, offices shut on the last Friday and Saturday of April and reopen in Srinagar on the first Monday after a gap of a week.
    • In Kashmir, offices shut on the last Friday and Saturday of October, to reopen in Jammu on the first Monday after a week’s gap, in November.

    The reasons why

    • Durbar Move is a tradition started 149 years ago started by the erstwhile Dogra rulers who hailed from Jammu but had expanded their boundaries to Kashmir including what is now Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and Ladakh.
    • Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are very different from one another geographically, linguistically and culturally, and in those days were poorly connected by road.
    • It is generally understood that the Durbar Move was started to take the administration to the doorstep of the people of Kashmir which is closer to Ladakh.
    • During summer, ruling from Kashmir also helped in ensuring adequate supplies to Ladakh, which is closer to Kashmir than Jammu, before the winter snowfall would cut off Ladakh.
    • The practice also enabled greater interaction and bonding among the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

    The effort

    • Until 2019, the administration used to engage hundreds of trucks and buses for carrying office records and officials from one capital city to another.
    • For safe transportation, the Jammu & Kashmir police and paramilitary forces would dominate the entire Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
    • Apart from the expenses incurred on hiring trucks and buses, the moving staff also used to be paid TA and DA, besides arrangements for their accommodation.

    The criticism

    • Voices of protest started during the late 1980s, over the amount of money and time spent on the exercise.
    • However, the practice also enjoyed public support.
    • In recent years, many criticised the government for spending nearly Rs 200 crore on this exercise every year when it did not have enough funds even to pay salary to its employees.
    • Last year, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court observed that there was no legal justification or constitutional basis for the Darbar Move tradition.
    • The court recommended that in case the practice was rationalized, the resources and time saved could be utilized towards the welfare and development of the UT.
    • The money saved could also be used to address Covid-related issues like food shortage, unemployment and healthcare.

    What next?

    • The UT government has decided to switch to e-governance, will all office records converted into digital format.
    • As a result, while the Secretariat employees and some offices will move from Jammu to Srinagar, as usual, this year, only sensitive records will be shifted from one place to another.

  • Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

    The CVC has modified the guidelines pertaining to the transfer and posting of officials in the vigilance units of government organisations, restricting their tenure to three years at one place.

    Revise all statutory and constitutional bodies from your Polity Book at least 2-3 times before the prelims.

    Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

    • CVC is an apex governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption.
    • In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC.
    • It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India.
    • It advises various authorities in central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.

    Its establishment

    • It was set up by the Government Resolution on 11 February 1964, on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam.
    • N Srinivasa Rau was selected as the first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India.

    Composition

    • The Commission shall consist of:
    1. A Central Vigilance Commissioner – Chairperson;
    2. Not more than two Vigilance Commissioners – Members.
    • The CVC and other VCs shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of the PM (Chairperson), the Minister of Home Affairs (Member) and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People (Lok Sabha).

  • Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency (SUPACE)

    The Supreme Court has unveiled its Artificial Intelligence (AI) portal SUPACE, designed to make research easier for judges, thereby easing their workload.

    SUPACE

    • A pet project of the former Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, the SUPACE is a tool that collects relevant facts and laws and makes them available to a judge.
    • The Supreme Court’s system is not designed to take decisions, but only to process facts and to make them available to judges looking for input for a decision.
    • The CJI had then said that AI is to the intellect, what muscle memory is to the mind.

    Its’ utility

    • SUPACE will produce results customized to the need of the case and the way the judge thinks.
    • This will be time-saving. It will help the judiciary and the court in reducing delays and pendency of cases.
    • AI will present a more streamlined, cost-effective and time-bound means to the fundamental right of access to justice.
    • It will make the service delivery mechanism transparent and cost-efficient.

  • Muon G–2 Experiment

    The results from the Muon g-2 experiment show that fundamental particles called muons behave in a way that is not predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.

    After genetics, AI and the blockchain, Particle Physics is making several headlines these days. This is something intuitive.

    What is Muon?

    • Fermilab, the American particle accelerator, has released first results from its “muon g-2” experiment.
    • These results spotlight the anomalous behaviour of the elementary particle called the muon.
    • The muon is a heavier cousin of the electron and is expected to have a value of 2 for its magnetic moment, labelled “g”.
    • Now, the muon is not alone in the universe.
    • It is embedded in a sea where particles are popping out and vanishing every instant due to quantum effects.
    • So, its g value is altered by its interactions with these short-lived excitations.

    Main characteristic: Anomalous magnetic moment

    • The Standard Model of particle physics calculates this correction, called the anomalous magnetic moment, very accurately.
    • The muon g-2 experiment measured the extent of the anomaly and announced that “g” deviated from the amount predicted by the Standard Model.
    • That is, while the calculated value in the Standard Model is 2.00233183620 approximately, the experimental results show a value of 2.00233184122.
    • They have measured “g” to an accuracy of about 4.2 sigma when the results are combined with those from a 20-year-old experiment.
    • This makes physicists sit up and take note, but it is not yet significant enough to constitute a discovery – for which they need a significance of 5 sigma.

    The g factor

    • The muon is also known as the fat electron.
    • It is produced copiously in the Fermilab experiments and occurs naturally in cosmic ray showers.
    • Like the electron, the muon has a magnetic moment because of which, when placed in a magnetic field, it spins and processes, or wobbles, slightly, like the axis of a spinning top.
    • Its internal magnetic moment, the g factor, determines the extent of this wobble.
    • As the muon spins, it also interacts with the surrounding environment, which consists of short-lived particles popping in and out of a vacuum.

  • Lok Adalats

    The article highlights the important role played by the Lok Adalats in dispute resolution and raises concerns over underminig of justice for the sake of speedy disposal.

    Background of Lok Adalat

    • The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, inserted Article 39A to ensure “equal justice and free legal aid”.
    • To this end, the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, was enacted by Parliament and it came into force in 1995.
    • The Act seeks “to provide free and competent legal services to weaker sections of the society” and to “organise Lok Adalats to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity”.
    • As an alternative dispute resolution tool, Lok Adalats are regularly organised to help parties reach a compromise.
    • Motor-accident claims, disputes related to public-utility services, cases related to dishonour of cheques, and land, labour and matrimonial disputes (except divorce) are usually taken up by Lok Adalats.

    Significance of Lok Adalats

    • As per the National Judicial Data Grid, 16.9% of all cases in district and taluka courts are three to five years old.
    • For High Courts, 20.4% of all cases are five to 10 years old, and over 17% are 10-20 years old.
    • Furthermore, over 66,000 cases are pending before the Supreme Court, over 57 lakh cases before various HCs, and over 3 crore cases are pending before various district and subordinate courts.
    • Moreover, Lok Adalats are economically affordable, as there are no court fees for placing matters before the Lok Adalat; finality of awards, as no further appeal is allowed.
    • As a result, litigants are forced to approach Lok Adalats mainly because it is a party-driven process, allowing them to reach an amicable settlement.

    Why Lok Adalats are fast

    • When compared to litigation, and even other dispute resolution devices, such as arbitration and mediation, Lok Adalats offer parties speed of settlement.
    • Cases are disposed of in a single day.
    • The speed is due to procedural flexibility, as there is no strict application of procedural laws such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
    • More importantly, the award issued by a Lok Adalat, after the filing of a joint compromise petition, has the status of a civil court decree.

    Some figures about cases disposed

    • In 2015 and 2016, ten National Lok Adalats (NLAs) were held each year that disposed of 1,83,09,401 and 1,04,98,453 cases respectively.
    • In 2017 and 2018, the number of NLAs dropped to five, with 54,05,867 and 58,79,691 cases settled respectively.
    • In 2019, four NLAs were organised, and they disposed of 52,93,273 cases.
    • In 2015, the average number of cases settled per NLA was 18,30,940, which came down to 10,81,174 in 2017, but rose to 11,75,939 in 2018, and 13,23,319 cases in 2019.
    • This throws up questions about the efficiency of NLAs.
    • The data show that the average number of cases disposed of per NLA since 2017 has gone up even when the number of NLAs organised each year has reduced.
    • This proves that on average, the system is certainly efficient.

    Concerns

    • The Supreme Court, in State of Punjab vs Jalour Singh (2008), held that a Lok Adalat is purely conciliatory and it has no adjudicatory or judicial function.
    • As compromise is its central idea, there is a concern that in the endeavour for speedy disposal of cases, it undermines the idea of justice.
    •  In a majority of cases, litigants are pitted against entities with deep pockets, such as insurance companies, banks, electricity boards, among others.
    •  In many cases, compromises are imposed on the poor who often have no choice but to accept them.
    • Similarly, poor women under the so-called ‘harmony ideology’ of the state are virtually dictated by family courts to compromise matrimonial disputes under a romanticised view of marriage.
    •  Even a disaster like the Bhopal gas tragedy was coercively settled for a paltry sum, with real justice still eluding thousands of victims.

    Consider the question “Examine the significance of Lok Adalats as an alternative dispute resolution tool. What are the concerns with speedy disposal of cases by Lok Adalats?”

    Conclusion

    A just outcome of a legal process is far more important than expeditious disposal, so what we need is concrete and innovative steps in improving the quality of justice rendered by National Lok Adalats.

  • 9th April 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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    Talk to senior mentors from Civilsdaily: Fill Samanvaya form for IAS 2021 and IAS 2022. We’ll call you within 24 hours for a detailed in-depth discussion.

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  • Revealed 2.0 (second batch) by Zeeshan Hashmi | Separate club for working aspirants | Attend free session on Habitat @9 pm

    Revealed 2.0 (second batch) by Zeeshan Hashmi | Separate club for working aspirants | Attend free session on Habitat @9 pm

    Zeeshan sir is back with Revealed 2.0 and this time we have two separate clubs for working and non-working aspirants. Clubs starting from 14th April. Timetable below.

    Attend free Revealed session here at 9 pm
    revealed 2.0 (batch 2) by Zeeshan Hashmi
    revealed 2.0 for working aspirants by Zeeshan Hashmi

    UPSC IAS Prelims paper is becoming trickier day by day. Merely covering the syllabus is not enough. You must know how to attempt the paper.

    Many times you face confusing options or feel the topic asked in question is relatable but the question, unsolvable. So, how to solve such prelims question with limited or almost zero knowledge about the topics.

    What is Revealed 2.0 by Zeeshan sir?

    It is the second batch of the Revealed program. It is an intensive 10 days workshop on Habitat. Zeeshan sir will be teaching logical prelims paper solving skills and intelligent elimination techniques to help you solve MCQs in IAS Prelims exam.

    A practical approach will be followed and you will be daily practicing these techniques with the master of this art.

    Another separate club for working aspirants will be launched.

    Program inclusion:

    • Membership to the Revealed club by Zeeshan sir
    • 10 days intensive workshop on Habitat
    • Twice a day sessions with Zeeshan sir
    • Special timing for working aspirants (separate club)

    Course fees: Rs 1000 + GST = Rs 1180

    revealed 2.0 (batch 2) by Zeeshan Hashmi
    revealed 2.0 for working aspirants by Zeeshan Hashmi

    Why you should join the club?

    There are several reasons but broadly these will help you to:

    1. Focus on the application part of the knowledge for IAS prelims.
    2. Tackle MCQ questions with limited or almost no knowledge of the topic asked in the question.
    3. Eliminate effectively and intelligently with a high accuracy of almost 95%
    4. Separate club for working professional.
    5. Will make you confident to tackle any question in the exam hall for IAS prelims.

    You won’t be bothering about the cut-offs ever again.

    How sessions are going to take place?

    Habitat is a chat-based learning platform and here Zeeshan sir will be handholding and guiding you all through the course.

    Daily two sessions are planned in the manner as explained below.

    Session 1

    Here Zeeshan sir will be teaching you the logical techniques and intelligent elimination methods to tackle and solve an MCQ.

    A practical hands-on approach will be followed in this session. Around 25 MCQs will be shared with you and different techniques will be used to solve them.

    Session 2

    In this session, you will be having an enriching discussion and practice session among the peers. The whole process will be administered by Zeeshan sir.

    How to attend Revealed sessions and join the Revealed club?

    Click on the link below. It will take you to the Habitat course page. Click on enroll.

    revealed 2.0 (batch 2) by Zeeshan Hashmi
    revealed 2.0 for working aspirants by Zeeshan Hashmi

    Join the club and tag Zeeshan sir using @ before zeeshan.h and introduce yourself.

    Zeeshan sir will take over from there.

    Schedule and timetable

    Attend free Revealed session here at 9 pm
    revealed 2.0 (batch 2) by Zeeshan Hashmi
    revealed 2.0 for working aspirants by Zeeshan Hashmi

  • Deconstructing declarations of carbon-neutrality

    Against the global clamour for the declaration of carbon neutrality, India must consider several factors and their implications. The article highlights these factors.

    Countries declaring carbon-neutral
    targets

    • At the latest count by the non-profit Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), at the beginning of April, 32 countries had declared, in some documented form.
    • The impetus for such declarations arises from Article 4.1 of the Paris Agreement.
    • It is evident that the balance of emissions and removal of greenhouse gases is not sought on a country-wise basis but for the world as a whole.
    • Both developed country governments and civil society outfits commonly state this as an individual commitment by all countries.
    • The text of the Paris Agreement clearly indicates, based on considerations of equity and differentiation, that this is a global goal.

    2 critical and related issues

    • The first is the compatibility of the intent of Article 4.1 and Article 2.
    • 1) Is the achievement of carbon neutrality compatible with achieving the 1.5°C or 2°C goals?
    • And whether the mid-century carbon neutrality goals of developed countries are compatible with Article 2.2 of the Paris Agreement which focuses on equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

    The current pledges fall short of achieving the targets

    • Three-way compatibility between temperature goals, carbon neutrality, and equity is not only not guaranteed, but cannot be achieved for the 1.5°C temperature goal at all.
    • Even for the 2°C goal, the current pledges are highly inadequate.
    • This conclusion is based on the global carbon budget.
    • According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report to restrict temperature rise less than 1.5° with 50% world can emit total 480 Giga-tonnes (billion tonnes) of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2eq) from 2018 onwards.
    • At the current rate of emissions of about 42 GtCO2eq per year, this budget would be consumed in 12 years.
    • To keep within the 480 Gt budget, at a steady linear rate of decline, global carbon neutrality must be reached by 2039.
    • For a 50% probability of restricting temperature rise to below 2°C, the world can emit 1,400 GtCO2eq, that provides considerably greater room for manoeuvre.

    Emission of the U.S. and Europe

    • Emissions in the U.S. peaked in 2005 and have declined at an average rate of 1.1% from then till 2017.
    • Even if it did reach net-zero by 2050 at a steady linear rate of reduction, which is unprecedented, its cumulative emissions between 2018 and 2050 would be 106 GtCO2, which is 22% of the total remaining carbon budget for the whole world. [480 GtCO2 total]
    • This is so high that unless others reduced emissions at even faster rates, the world would most certainly cross 1.5°C warming.
    • Similarly, the European Union, to keep to its fair share of the remaining carbon budget would have to reach net-zero by 2033, with a constant annual reduction in emissions.
    • If the EU reaches net-zero only by 2050 it would consume at least 71 GtCO2, well above its fair share.
    • Regrettably, a section of the climate policy modelling literature has promoted the illusion that this three-way compatibility is feasible through speculative “negative emissions”
    • They have also been promoting the other illusion that not resorting to any serious emissions increase at all is the means to guarantee the successful development of the Third World.

    Why India should avoid net neutrality target

    • For one, India has to stay focused on development — both as its immediate need as well as its aspirational goal.
    • While sustainability is desirable, the question of how low India’s future low-carbon development can be is highly uncertain.
    • India’s current low carbon footprint is a consequence of the utter poverty and deprivation of a majority of its population, and not by virtue of sustainability.
    • Second, India does not owe a carbon debt to the world for excessive use in the past.
    • India’s emissions (not considering land use and land use change and forest-related emissions) are no more than 3.5% of global cumulative emissions prior to 1990 and about 5% since till 2018.
    • Any self-sacrificial declaration of carbon neutrality today in the current international scenario would be a wasted gesture reducing the burden of the developed world and transferring it to the backs of the Indian people.

    Consider the question “What are the factor India needs to consider about joining the global chorus on carbon neutrality targets.”

    Conclusion

    India’s approach to eventual net-zero emissions is contingent on deep first world emissions reductions and an adequate and unambiguous global carbon budget. Meanwhile, India must reject any attempt to restrict its options and be led into a low-development trap, based on pseudo-scientific narratives.

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