Exercise Milan as well as the Fleet Review by President is scheduled to be held this month for which 46 countries have been invited.
Exercise Milan
Milan began in 1995 and is held biennially and brings together Navies of all the countries in the region.
It has so far been held at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar but is now being shifted to Visakhapatnam which offers more infrastructure as well as sea space for the exercise.
It has several themes such as anti-submarine warfare among others along with deliberations, including by subject matter experts.
What is Fleet Review?
A Fleet Review is usually conducted once during the tenure of the President.
The first PFR was held in 1953 for the first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Since Independence 11 PFRs have been conducted by the Navy, of which two have been International Fleet Reviews in 2011 and 2016.
In terms of significance, the Navy’s Presidential review is second only to the Republic Day Parade.
Once found in abundance, Australia’s much-loved koalas have now been officially classified as ‘endangered’ after widespread bushfires, drought and land clearing destroyed much of their eucalyptus-rich habitat.
Koalas
IUCN Status: Vulnerable
According to fossil records, Koala species have inhabited parts of Australia for at least 25 million years, a WWF report states.
But today, only one species remains — the Phascolarctos cinereus.
They are found in the wild in the southeast and eastern sides of Australia — in coastal Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
Threats to Koalas
Since Europeans first settled in the region, the Koala population has faced widespread habitat loss, particularly due to agriculture and the construction of urban settlements.
They survive on a strict diet of up to a kilogram of eucalyptus leaves every day.
Due to the low nutritional value of these leaves, koalas tend to sleep for extended periods, often up to 18 hours a day, to conserve energy.
Mental health is a major concern that affects UPSC-CSE aspirants by large but is also ignored by them in the same measure. We like to discuss about strategy, timetables, books etc. but not resolve the no. 1 factor that motivates us to implement them … Mental Health. There are aspirants who know what to do but they are unable to do it as they feel discouraged and anxious while preparing for UPSC-CSE.
IPS Officer Rajiv Kumar explains how Civilsdaily Free Mentorship Helped Him Prepare For UPSC without any Stress
An exam with uncertainity needs certaininity and confidence in your abilities to clear it. And that’s why we urge you to fill Samanvaya form to discuss and resolve your UPSC IAS preparation issues, doubts, and insecurities with us.
Finding success in the UPSC journey requires every aspirant to identify their “weak” areas and rectify them.
I think my number of revisions of the syllabus is still less.
Why are my marks stagnant in the mock test? Do I need a new book?
Should I change the optional subject?
Sometimes, it’s your study technique that needs to be tweaked. However, without someone telling you this you might assume that your entire preparation is not right or you are not capable of clearing UPSC-CSE. Preparing with this nagging thought honestly does more harm than good.
Why should the stress and anxiety of UPSC-CSE preparation not get the adequate platform to be discussed? We value your privacy and the personalised 1-on-1 call will turn you into a new leaf. For once, the session will not be just about what others are doing that you can do but are not aware of the same.
Getting feedback on how to improve by a CD Mentor who has cleared UPSC-CSE Interview is much better than getting criticisms from the wrong people who keep doubting your abilities. Topper Divyansh explains how
Honestly, sometimes you need more than a motivational quote. In our interaction with some 1000+ students, even the smallest act of acknowledging an aspirant’s anxiety and stress can go a long way in maintaining the right frame of mind during preparation.
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.
GAIN THE RIGHT CONFIDENCE TO HANDLE BOTH SUCCESS AND FAILURE
Emotional Stability is crucial to enjoy the whole process of UPSC-CSE preparation. The first step towards a balanced approach is to identify that as a human having lows and highs is pretty much normal. If you are not able to finish the decided target, then it is alright to feel bad and push yourself a little extra for the next day. What you need to avoid is “unhealthy behaviour”.For example, putting yourself under so much pressure that your performance starts to deteriorate or belittling yourself that it starts to affect your confidence.
We are not here to diagnose any clinical conditions. But as former aspirants and gaining years of experience through mentorship, we are a big advocate of people’s interaction for healthy minds.
Sometimes, in this preparation, all you need is a person to hear you out and understand you. And unfortunately, some of us are not able to find that one person in our family or friends. There is no shame in asking for emotional help. It helps if you have a person who can listen to your worries and reduce some of your pressure. Talking to your mentor can make you feel supported in the toughest times. The worst part of silo preparation is that aspirants tend to create the idea that all these emotional upheavals are exclusive to them. Trust us this is not true!
Why Mentorship helps you double your efforts in half the time?
A holistic UPSC preparation includes the right technique to complete your syllabus, revisions and mock test and a healthy mindset.
Reach out to us if you feel like nothing is going right in your preparation. Talk to our mentors about your emotional worries, and remove the burden of anxieties from your preparation.
Lack of direction in your UPSC IAS preparation, an absence of a well-defined strategy and inability to make required necessary changes either due to lack of guidance or awareness are the biggest killers of your LBSNAA dream.
Therefore, it is essential for you to get your approach rectified and tuned as per the demands of UPSC. If you feel lost in UPSC preparation and have been gripped by negativity, self-doubt, and demotivation, this is for you.
Fill the Samanvaya form for a free on-call mentorship session. We’ll call you within 24 hours.
Abhishek has benefited from Civilsdaily’s approach, so did 70+ candidates who cleared UPSC IAS 2019
The Perfect exam cracking pattern
Integrate them in your preparation. We’ll tell you how to do itIt’s about how ‘you’ should be doing it instead of how someone else did it. That is the ‘elephant in the room’.
1. First step starts with this Samanvaya call: Once you fill in the form, our senior mentors will have a 1-to-1 detailed discussion (on-callbased on which we create a step by step plan for next week, next month and so on.
2. You are given access to our invite-only chat platform, Habitat where you can connect with mentors, ask your daily doubts, discuss your test-prep questions and have real-time live sessions on news and op-eds, and find your optional groups.
Daily target monitoring.
3. The third and the most personalized tier is the dedicated 1 on 1 mentor allotment who stays with you through the course of your UPSC preparation – always-on chat and on scheduled calls to help you assess, evaluate, and chart the next milestone of your IAS 2022/2023 journey.
Daily target monitoring on Habitat
Who are you?
Working Junta? If you are preparing for IAS 2022-23 and working simultaneously, we can help you strategize and decipher the IAS exam and design a timetable that fits right in your hectic schedule.
First-time prep? If you are in the last year of college or thinking of dropping a year and preparing for IAS 2022-23 full time, we’ll help you pick the right books and craft a practical & personalstrategy.
Have appeared before? and weren’t successful. We’ll help you identify your mistakes, rectify them for the necessary course correction. Let this be your final and successful attempt.
You just have to take 5 minutes out and fill this form: Samanvaya For IAS 2022-23
Fill up the following details in Samanvaya form given below to schedule a free one-on-one mentorship session with senior mentors from Civilsdaily. We’ll call you within 24 hours.
In the backdrop of the 2070 carbon neutrality target set by India at the CoP26 in Glasgow, the Union Budget for 2022-23 has listed “climate action” and “energy transition” as one of the four priorities for the Amrit Kaal.
Agriculture contributes 73 percent of the country’s methane emissions. India has kept away from the recent EU-US pledge to slash methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030, despite the country being the world’s third-largest emitter of methane.
India’s status with respect to emissions
World Air Quality Report 2020: 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world are in India and Delhi is the world’s most polluted capital.
Global Carbon Atlas: India ranks third in total greenhouse gas emissions by emitting annually around 2.6 billion tonnes (Bt) CO2eq.
India’s per capita emission is just 1.8 tonnes, significantly lower than the world average of 4.4 tonnes per capita.
India ranked seventhon the list of countries most affected due to extreme weather events, incurring losses of $69 billion (in PPP) in 2019 (Germanwatch, 2021).
In India,energy sectorcontributes highest emission (44 %), followed by manufacturing and construction sector (18 %), agriculture, forestry and land use sectors (14 %), with remaining being shared by transport, industrial processes and waste sectors.
Share of agriculture in total emissions has gradually declined from 28% (1994) to 14% (2016).
But in absolute terms, emissions from agriculture have increased to about 650 Mt CO2 in 2018, which is similar to China’s emissions from agriculture.
Agricultural emissions in Indiaare primarily from livestock sector(54.6 %), use of nitrogenous fertilizers (19 %), rice cultivation (17.5 %), livestock management (6.9 %) and burning of crop residues (2.1 %).
Agriculture and Greenhouse gases
Farming in particular releases significant amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, two powerful greenhouse gases.
Methane is produced by livestock during digestion due to enteric fermentation and is released via belches.
It can also escape from stored manure and organic waste in landfills. Livestock is alone responsible for 44% of methane emissions.
53% of Nitrous oxide emissions are an indirect product of organic and mineral nitrogen fertilizers. Fertilizers rich in nitrogen pollute water and threaten the aquatic ecosystem.
Monoculture
Monocultures along with pesticides and herbicides lead to the loss of biodiversity. Monoculture cropping systems leave soil bare for much of the year, rely on synthetic fertilizer, and plow fields regularly.
These practices leave soils low in organic matter and prevent formation of deep, complex root systems leading to reduced water holding capacity.
Clearing uncultivated land for farming can lead to the destruction of natural ecosystems, which may have a devastating effect on the local wildlife and biodiversity and the micro-climate.
Many agricultural sectors need large amounts of water, which may cause water scarcity and drought.
Reasons for agricultural emissions to be so high
Subsidies: The damage is largely a result of the various kinds of subsidies — on urea, canal irrigation and power for irrigation.
TheMinimum Support Prices (MSP) and procurement policies concentrated on a few states and largely on two crops, rice, and wheat has led to their overproduction.
Unplanned wheat and rice production: As of 1 January 2022, the stocks of wheat and rice in the country’s central pool were four times higher than the buffer stocking requirement.
Despite the record distribution of rice in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and exports in 2020-21, the rice stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are seven times the buffer norms for rice.
This data not only reflects inefficient use of scarce capital, but also the large amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) embedded in these stocks.
Changing Climate Affecting Agriculture
Extreme heat: Crops need suitable soil, water, sunlight, and heat to grow. However, extreme heat events and reductions in precipitation and water availability have hampered the crop productivity.
Changing Rainfall Patterns: Rainfall patterns have already begun shifting across the country, and such changes are expected to intensify over the coming years.
This is likely to mean more intense periods of heavy rain and longer dry periods, even within the same regions.
Floods: Flooding in many agricultural regions of the country have been witnessed and these floods have devastated crops and livestock, accelerated soil erosion and have polluted water.
What is climate-smart agriculture?
Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach to help the people who manage agricultural systems respond effectively to climate change.
The CSA approach pursues the triple objectives of:
Increased Productivity: Produce more and better food to improve nutrition security and boost incomes, especially of 75% of the world’s poor who live in rural areas and mainly rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.
Enhanced Resilience: Reduce vulnerability to drought, pests, diseases and other climate-related risks and shocks, and improve capacity to adapt and grow in the face of longer-term stresses like shortened seasons and erratic weather patterns.
Reduced Emissions: Pursue lower emissions for each calorie or kilo of food produced, avoid deforestation from agriculture and identify ways to absorb carbon out of the atmosphere.
Different elements of climate-smart agricultural systems include:
Management of farms, crops, livestock, aquaculture and capture fisheries to balance near-term food security and livelihoods needs with priorities for adaptation and mitigation.
Ecosystem and landscape management to conserve ecosystem services that are important for food security, agricultural development, adaptation and mitigation.
Services for farmers and land managers to enable better management of climate risks/impacts and mitigation actions.
Changes in the wider food system including demand-side measures and value chain interventions that enhance the benefits of CSA.
What are the issues raised in global negotiation on climate change?
Nations are still quibbling about historical global emitters and who should take the blame and fix it.
Global negotiations on climate change often talk about emissions on a per capita basis and the emission intensity of GDP.
Per capita emission: Of the top five absolute emitters, the US has the highest per capita emissions (15.24 tonnes), followed by Russia (11.12 tonnes).
India’s per capita emissions is just 1.8 tonnes, significantly lower than the world average of 4.4 tonnes per capita.
If one takes emissions per unit of GDP, of the top five absolute emitters, China ranks first with 0.486 kg per 2017 PPP $ of GDP, which is very close to Russia at 0.411 kg per 2017 PPP $ of GDP.
India is slightly above the world average of 0.26 (kg per 2017 PPP $ of GDP)at 0.27 kg, while the USA is at 0.25, and Japan at 0.21.
In our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted in 2016, India committed to “reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.”
Way Forward
Reward farmers through carbon credit: A carbon policy for agriculture must aim not only to reduce its emissions but also reward farmers through carbon credits which should be globally tradable.
Focus on livestock: With the world’s largest livestock population (537 million), India needs better feeding practices with smaller numbers of cattle by raising their productivity.
Efficient fertiliser use: Agricultural soils are the largest single source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in the national inventory.
An alternative for better and efficient fertiliser use would be to promote fertigation and subsidise soluble fertilisers.
Incentives and subsidies: The government should incentivise and give subsidies on drips for fertigation, switching away from rice to corn or less water-intensive crops, and promoting soluble fertilisers at the same rate of subsidy as granular urea.
Revisiting Policies: The Economic Survey 2021-22 points out that the country is over-exploiting its ground water resource, particularly in the northwest and some parts of south India which is primarily due to paddy cultivation on 44 million hectares.
This calls for revisiting policies to subsidise power and fertilisers, MSP and procurement and reorient them towards minimising GHG emissions.
Three-Pronged Approach for GHG Emissions: India has the potential to cut 18% of its annual greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture and livestock sector. 50% of this reduction could be achieved by implementing these three measures:
Efficient use of fertiliser
Adoption of zero-tillage
Management of water used to irrigate paddy
Carbon Pricing: According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world needs a carbon tax of $75 per tonne by 2030 to reduce emissions to a level consistent with a 2℃ warming target.
Many countries have begun to implement carbon pricing; Sweden leads the pack with a carbon price as high as $137 per tonne of CO2 equivalent while EU is at $50/tonne of CO2 equivalent.
It is high time for India to announce indicative carbon pricing and create a vibrant carbon market to incentivise green growth in Amrit Kaal.
Increasing Farmer Awareness: The right approach is to give the rice-producing-farmers the right advice and incentives at the right time so that they add only as much water or fertilisers as the rice plant needs.
Rice farming shall be made more sustainable, without having a negative impact on farmers livelihood.
Sustainable Dairy Practices: There is a need to proactively ramp up sustainable dairy practices, which may include:
Realising the existing potentials for GHG emission reduction through technological and farm best practices interventions and solutions.
Reducing its demand for resources by better integrating livestock into the circular bio-economy.
This can be achieved by recycling and recovering nutrients and energy from animal waste.
Closer integration of livestock with crops and agro-industries at various scales to make use of low value and low-emission biomass.
The recently released India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 shows the total forest and tree cover in India is 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62 per cent of the geographical area of the country.
Definition of forest in India
India’s definition of forest cover is in sync with that of the Kyoto Protocol.
A “forest” has a minimum area of 0.05 to 1 ha (India has 1.0 ha minimum), with the tree crown cover percentage being more than 10 to 30 per cent (India has 10 per cent) and with trees having the potential to reach a minimum height of 2 to 5 m at maturity in situ (in India, it’s 2 m).
The definition thus arrived at by India assesses forests as all lands, more than 1 hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10 per cent irrespective of ownership and legal status.
Such lands may not necessarily be a recorded forest area.
It also includes orchards, bamboo, palm etc.
Assessment of forest cover
The assessment of forest cover is done based on the interpretation of satellite data, which basically identifies umbrella-shaped canopies from the sky.
The forest cover is also estimated from field inventory data, which corroborates the figures of forest cover obtained from the satellite-based interpretation.
The environment ministry is even considering providing forest cover maps through the Web Map Service to make the analyses of researchers and agencies easier.
Importance of plantations: The importance of plantations needs to be understood.
For example, cashew plantations, which mainly grow along the coast, serve as the first line of defence against cyclones, which are hitting with greater frequency and ferocity.
Mixed plantations, especially of native species, meet all the ecological functions of natural forests.
A lot of wildlife inhabits these plantations.
While we do not advocate equating natural forests with plantations, let us recognise their ecological functions.
Afforestation efforts
India is on track to achieve its national commitment to land degradation neutrality.
India is working towards restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Our afforestation efforts are also aligned with our wildlife conservation efforts.
Project Tiger was launched in 1973.
From nine tiger reserves initially, we now have 51 tiger reserves.
These are the cornerstones of wildlife conservation and preserve natural ecosystems which support ecological processes responsible for providing various goods and services that are vital for human well-being.
Way forward
Notwithstanding these gains, the goal of 33 per cent area under forest and tree cover as per the National Forest Policy, 1988, remains to be achieved.
Focus on TOF: The balance of 9 per cent can be achieved through taking up plantation/afforestation outside the forests and restocking/plantation in degraded and scrub forests.
According to the ISFR 2021, the Trees outside forest (TOF) extent comprises 36.18 per cent of the total forest and tree cover of the country.
Given this fact, the draft NFP 2021 has focused on the promotion of TOF by including it among its objectives.
NFP 2021: Given this fact, the draft NFP 2021 has focused on the promotion of TOF by including it among its objectives.
The provisions in draft NFP 2021 include substantially increasing the tree cover outside forests by incentivising and promoting agro-forestry and farm forestry; managing and expanding green spaces in urban and peri-urban areas to enhance citizens’ well-being; plantation of trees outside forests in partnership with local communities, land-owning agencies, and private enterprises; creation, sustainable management and promotion of urban forests; afforestation/reforestation in public-private partnership (PPP) mode; promotion of urban forests.
Conclusion
It is with this holistic approach that India is moving towards restoring the ecological balance of the planet and ensuring sustainable development.
Phase A of Nikaalo Prelims just concluded, and we are happy that it has had a positive impact on many students. Those who joined our free telegram channel experienced a community of like-minded UPSC aspirants who were mentored by Varsha Ma’am. Varsha Ma’am was able to get regularity lacking in their preparation with her morning and evening sessions.
As a result of which, students felt their scores improving, found a renewed interest to follow the timetable and study, took inspiration from their peers on the group and also got access to sources that simplified concepts for them.
Join Nikaalo Prelims and get prelims spotlight notes, follow daily timetable, solve subject-wise mcqs & clarify your doubts with mentors.
Here are the Testimonials of Students Who Benefitted from Nikaalo Prelims: Phase A
What have we covered in Nikaalo Prelims Phase A So Far
1. In the last 15-16 days we have covered World Geography, Indian Geography, Indian Polity through daily 15-20 MCQs.
2. We have also covered previous year questions of the respective subjects.
3. In CSAT we have covered Number System, Average, Percentage, Profit & Loss, and Some portion of Reasoning
.4. We conducted strategy sessions on CSAT, Prelims GS-1.
What will be covered in Nikaalo Prelims Phase B?
1. Detailed daily time table
2. Daily sessions on specific topics
3. Daily mcqs
4. Notes
5. All India open test
6. Morning and Evening Sessions (12PM and 7PM) conducted by Varsha Ma’am who will explain the logic behind the test answers.
What is new in Nikaalo Prelims 4.0?
1. This time the program is divided into 3 parts.
2. Part-A: It will continue till February 28, 2022. Under part A, we will cover the Syllabus along with conceptual understanding and better subject wise clarity. There will be daily MCQ based sessions along with Doubt Clearing Sessions.
3. Part-B: It will start from March 1, 2022. Part B includes- daily sessions, daily Prelims Intensive spotlights notes, daily MCQs based quiz, All India test, Doubt Sessions.
4. CSAT: There will be one session dedicated to CSAT.
Since its inception, UPSC-CSE has had toppers from various academic and socio-economic backgrounds who have cracked the exam with flying colours. It’s clear that one doesn’t have to go to Delhi or a coaching centre to crack UPSC-CSE.
If education, geographical and economic background doesn’t matter, then what does? Attitude, or precisely consistency. If you are persistent and adamant to clear UPSC- CSE and have given more than two attempts till now, then you must replace that with consistency. Because, being persistent might lead you to the door, but it’s consistency that unlocks it.
In last month’s Samanvaya 1-on-1 counselling sessions, our expert Civilsdaily mentors reached out to aspirants to address their concerns regarding UPSC-CSE preparation. These are the responses they often heard from them —
How do I start preparing after a gap of 3-4 months?
It’s easy for me to maintain consistency in GS Preparation but not Revision
I study daily, but can only remain focused for 2-3 hours. How do I improve?
My long working hours don’t allow me to study daily.
Why am I losing interest in completing a subject? It’ s easier to read a new subject everyday.
Open to All, Free Live Webinar by IPS Officer Rishabh Sharma sir
This prompted us to reach out to one of our students who is currently an IPS officer, Rishabh Sharma. He cleared the exam in 2020 with AIR 454. After his first attempt, Rishabh had enrolled in Smash Mains program underSajal sir and also attended our free interview program. Cracking the mighty UPSC-CSE the second time, Rishabh explains what consistency means to him —
UPSC doesn’t just test your intellect. It tests your patience, mental strength, your emotions, the very character of yours . As far as the journey of CSE is concerned you might know when to start, but you never know when the journey will come to an end. So be consistent and enjoy the journey.
Every topper follows a plan, a method or strategy that makes it easier for them to study on a daily basis and complete the traget modules of the day. In this free live webinar, Rishab Sharma IPS will be explaining the many ways he ensured that he never faltered on his preparation.
What you will be learning from Rishab Sharma IPS in this webinar?
1. The difference between a consistent study pattern v/s an inconsistent one. How did UPSC-CSE become easier for Rishab Sharma IPS due to consistency?
2. Social media distraction. How did Rishabh Sharma IPS avoid spending long hours on social media?
3. Number of ideal breaks everyday. Why is it necessary to reward yourself with a short break from time to time?
4. Did Rishabh Sharma IPS plan his timetable in advance? Why daily timetable should not be rigid but yearly timetable should be well defined?
5. How to remain consistent when you are not opting for coaching? Rishabh Sharma answers.
6. What are the practical methods to maintain regularity in studies. Tips to sustain the fire and passion for studies by Rishab Sharma IPS
7. Why using Public Libraries is a way to remain consistent in UPSC-CSE preparation? How helpful is it according to Rishabh Sharma?
8. What are the 4 factors that determine if you can remain consistent for a year? If not, then why should you work on them first before starting UPSC-CSE preparation?
It’s understandable we are humans and not programmable robots who can maintain the same level of interest everyday. However, maintaining an overall consistency throughout our preparation is neccessary to clear this competitive and vast exam.
We hope this webinar by Rishabh Sharma IPS will give you a fresh and clear start to prepare for UPSC-CSE 2022-23
The MSP must look especially into the requirements of farmers and the landless.
Background of price stabilisation for food grain
The Essential Commodities Act in 1955 sought to counter price rise due to speculative private trading and then MSP in the 1960s.
A buffer stock policy was developed over time to involve different kinds of mechanisms such as:
a) setting cost-based minimum procurement price, paying the difference between procurement price and market price.
b) storing the procured surplus for sale through the Public Distribution System (PDS) at issue price, and market intervention to stabilise price when deemed necessary.
This task required interlinking procurement, storage and distribution with more centralised investment and control of each of these tasks.
3 Purposes MSP could serve
MSP could serve, in principle, three purposes:
Price stabilisation in the food grains market.
Income support to farmers, and
As a mechanism for coping with the indebtedness of farmers.
Advantages of wide coverage
Fulfilling three objectives: In this way, the objectives of income support to farmers, price stabilization, food security, and inducing more climate-friendly cropping patterns can be combined to an extent.
Solution to debt problem: A real breakthrough in the recurring problem of agricultural debt can be made by the linking of selling of grains under MSP to the provision of bank credit particularly for small farmers.
The farmer can get a certificate selling grains at MSP which would be credit points proportional to the amount sold; this will entitle them to a bank loan as their right, and calibrate the fluctuations between good and bad harvest years by storing the certificates for later use.
Issues with MSP in current form
Low accessibility and awareness of the MSP regime: A survey highlighted that 81% of the cultivators were aware of MSP fixed by the Government for different crops and out of them only 10% knew about MSP before the sowing season.
Arrears in payments: More than 50% of the farmers receive their payments of MSP after one week.
Poor marketing arrangements: Almost 67% of the farmers sell their produce at MSP rate through their own arrangement and 21% through brokers.
Partial coverage resulting in skewed cropping pattern: This partial MSP coverage skewed the cropping pattern against several coarse grains and millets particularly in rain-fed areas.
Way forward
Flexible arrangement of MSP: Each crop within a band of maximum and a minimum price depending on harvest conditions i.e. higher price in a bad and lower price in a good harvest year in general will have its price set in the band.
High MSP for coarse grains: The price of some selected coarse grains can be fixed at the upper end of its band to encourage their production in rain-fed areas.
Conclusion
Greater coverage of all 23 crops under MSP is a way of improving both food security and income support to the poorest farmers in rain-fed regions.
Since its inception, UPSC-CSE has had toppers from various academic and socio-economic backgrounds who have cracked the exam with flying colours. It’s clear that one doesn’t have to go to Delhi or a coaching centre to crack UPSC-CSE.
If education, geographical and economic background doesn’t matter, then what does? Attitude, or precisely consistency. If you are persistent and adamant to clear UPSC- CSE and have given more than two attempts till now, then you must replace that with consistency. Because, being persistent might lead you to the door, but it’s consistency that unlocks it.
In last month’s Samanvaya 1-on-1 counselling sessions, our expert Civilsdaily mentors reached out to aspirants to address their concerns regarding UPSC-CSE preparation. These are the responses they often heard from them —
How do I start preparing after a gap of 3-4 months?
It’s easy for me to maintain consistency in GS Preparation but not Revision
I study daily, but can only remain focused for 2-3 hours. How do I improve?
My long working hours don’t allow me to study daily.
Why am I losing interest in completing a subject? It’ s easier to read a new subject everyday.
Open to All, Free Live Webinar by IPS Officer Rishabh Sharma sir
This prompted us to reach out to one of our students who is currently an IPS officer, Rishabh Sharma. He cleared the exam in 2020 with AIR 454. After his first attempt, Rishabh had enrolled in Smash Mains program underSajal sir and also attended our free interview program. Cracking the mighty UPSC-CSE the second time, Rishabh explains what consistency means to him —
UPSC doesn’t just test your intellect. It tests your patience, mental strength, your emotions, the very character of yours . As far as the journey of CSE is concerned you might know when to start, but you never know when the journey will come to an end. So be consistent and enjoy the journey.
Every topper follows a plan, a method or strategy that makes it easier for them to study on a daily basis and complete the traget modules of the day. In this free live webinar, Rishab Sharma IPS will be explaining the many ways he ensured that he never faltered on his preparation.
What you will be learning from Rishab Sharma IPS in this webinar?
1. The difference between a consistent study pattern v/s an inconsistent one. How did UPSC-CSE become easier for Rishab Sharma IPS due to consistency?
2. Social media distraction. How did Rishabh Sharma IPS avoid spending long hours on social media?
3. Number of ideal breaks everyday. Why is it necessary to reward yourself with a short break from time to time?
4. Did Rishabh Sharma IPS plan his timetable in advance? Why daily timetable should not be rigid but yearly timetable should be well defined?
5. How to remain consistent when you are not opting for coaching? Rishabh Sharma answers.
6. What are the practical methods to maintain regularity in studies. Tips to sustain the fire and passion for studies by Rishab Sharma IPS
7. Why using Public Libraries is a way to remain consistent in UPSC-CSE preparation? How helpful is it according to Rishabh Sharma?
8. What are the 4 factors that determine if you can remain consistent for a year? If not, then why should you work on them first before starting UPSC-CSE preparation?
It’s understandable we are humans and not programmable robots who can maintain the same level of interest everyday. However, maintaining an overall consistency throughout our preparation is neccessary to clear this competitive and vast exam.
We hope this webinar by Rishabh Sharma IPS will give you a fresh and clear start to prepare for UPSC-CSE 2022-23
