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  • Revealing the secrets Arctic holds

    This article is about Polarstern, is an icebreaker, which traversed the Arctic Ocean to study the aspects related to ice there. Here, we will look at some of these aspects. These aspects are-monitoring of the ice, difficulty in measuring the thickness, rate of melting of ice and relations with cloud formation.

    Arctic: A recorder and driver of climate change

    How is it a recorder of climate change?

    • It is a recorder because of two co-related factors, these are-
    • 1) The visible difference between ice and water.
    • 2) The obvious relationship between global temperatures and the amount of ice around.
    • Two factors together shows in an easily graspable way how things are changing.
    • The extent of the Arctic sea ice in summer has declined by 30% in the past 30 years, and that loss is accelerating (see chart).

    How is it a driver of climate change?

    • The Arctic is also a driver of climate change, because the whiteness of ice means it reflects sunlight back into space, thus cooling Earth.
    • Whereas the darkness of open water means it absorbs that light.
    • The less of the reflection of sunlight and the more absorption of light will result in a faster rise in global temperatures.

    Monitoring the Arctic’s ice

    • At the moment this is monitored mainly by satellite.
    • Measuring the extent of the Arctic’s ice from space is easy.
    • Measuring its thickness is trickier.
    • From orbit, this is done by a mixture of radar and laser beam.
    • Icesat 2, an American craft, provides laser-altimeter data that record the height above sea level of the top of the snow that overlies the ice.
    •  Cryosat 2, a European one, uses radar to penetrate the snow and measure the height of the top of the ice itself.
    • The thickness of the ice in a particular place can then be calculated by applying Archimedes’ principle of floating bodies to the mixture of ice and snow, and subtracting the thickness of the snow.
    • But there is a view that the data collected by these two satellites may be inaccurate, leading to an overestimation of the ice’s thickness.

    Let’s understand why the data about thickness could be inaccurate

    • When all is working perfectly, the return signal for Cryosat 2 comes exactly from the boundary between the ice and any overlying snow.
    • But, that this is not always what happens.
    • Variables such as layering within the snow, along with its temperature and salinity, might affect the returning radar signal by changing the snow’s structure and density.
    • This could cause the signal to be reflected from inside the snow layer, rather than from the boundary where it meets the ice.
    • If that were happening, it would create the illusion that the ice beneath the snow is thicker than is actually the case.

    How topography of Arctic ice matters

    • Though sea ice is solid, it is not rigid.
    • It forms but a thin skin on the ocean—varying in depth from around 30cm in summer to a couple of metres in winter—so is readily moved by wind and current.
    • As the ice moves it stretches and cracks in some places.
    • Large cracks formed in this way are called leads, because they are wide enough to “lead” a ship.
    • In other places, by contrast, movement makes the ice thicker.
    • As individual panes of ice butt up against each other, they create ridges that can be metres high.
    •  But even from the ship’s deck one can watch leads opening and ridges forming around the vessel.
    • Observations suggest that winter the ice has been particularly mobile—and has thus become particularly rough, with a surprising number of ridges.

    So, how these ridges affect the rate at which ice melts?

    • These ridges may affect the rate at which the ice melts—but to complicate matters, this could happen in two opposing ways.
    • Ridges make ice thicker, and thicker ice melts more slowly.
    • On the other hand, a ridge projects down into the sea as well as up into the air (Archimedes, again), so it may stir up water from below the surface.
    • Deep water is warmer than the surface layer, so this stirring would serve to increase melt rates.
    • Moreover, to add to the confusion, ridges are prone to having pieces of ice fall off them into the sea, to form small blocks known as brash.
    • This brash, having more surface area per unit volume than unbroken ice, melts faster.

    How cloud formation is affected by cracks in Arctic ice

    • On most parts of Earth clouds form as droplets of water condense around “seeds” of dust or organic molecules.
    • In the Arctic, there is little dust.
    • Biological activity, too, is in short supply compared with elsewhere—and is, moreover, conducted mainly below the barrier of the sea ice.
    • It might, therefore, be expected that there would be few seeds present for clouds to form around.
    • And yet, clouds are present.
    • Cloud seeds there tended to be compounds containing sulphur, nitrogen, chlorine, bromine or iodine.
    • Presence of these molecules suggests their link with cracks in the ice sheets.
    • This means that more cracks in the ice sheet could lead to more clouds in the Arctic.
    • What overall effect that might have on the climate is unclear.
    • Summer clouds would reflect sunlight back into space, cooling the planet.
    • Those formed in winter, when the sun is below the horizon, would serve as insulation, warming it.
    •  Two opposite outcomes are possible—or perhaps the net effect will be that they cancel each other out.

    Conclusion

    Properly disentangling the interactions between Arctic ice, atmosphere and ocean life will require data collected across a full year—for the contrast between winter and summer at the poles is greater than anywhere else on the planet.

  • (*IMP) UPSC 2019 (pending) Interview schedule out | Transcend: Mock interviews (Resumed) | 80+ mocks already conducted | Register now!

    Click here to register for the (Online) Mock Interview 

    Dear student, 

    The COVID-19 shutdown caused a brief interruption in the UPSC interviews. The good news is that UPSC has released the schedule for the Personality Test of Civil Services Examination, 2019 (Click here).

    UPSC CSE 2019 Interviews are set to start from 20th July 2020 to 30th July 2020. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you restart your interview preparation as soon as possible. 

    Civilsdaily is always at the forefront when it comes to ensuring that your prep is rapid, focused, and effective. Thus, we have resumed our highly praised ‘Interview Guidance Program (IGP) – Transcend 2019-20’. Over 80 interviews have already been conducted. Register yourself now.

    Click here to register for the (Online) Mock Interview 

    (Submit your DAF 1 and DAF 2 at hello@civilsdaily.com)

    Civilsdaily’s IGP TRANSCEND 2019-20 students can vouch for the most comprehensive and holistic interview preparation. Click here to know what students have to say about Transcend 2019-20 

    We help make you understand how the panel at UPSC thinks, what they would expect from you (as per your DAF), and how to gear your preparation towards the 200+ marks target. 

    Our trailblazing questioning techniques (like rapid-fire round, word formation, sentence formation, extempore, etc.) reveal every minute, but significant, aspects of your personality. 

    Without plugging the gaps in these aspects, your selection can get compromised. The mock ends with very comprehensive and workable feedback with ample time given to the student to discuss all her doubts. This is disruptive innovation at its finest!

    You need to go beyond the regular to attain your full potential. You need to choose TRANSCEND to transcend yourself. 

    See you there.

    Click here to register for the (Online) Mock Interview 

     

    For any query email at hello@civilsdaily.com or call us at +91 89299 87787

  • We must aspire for nurturing economy

    The sight of thousands of migrant workers walking thousands of kms back home after lockdown has been the watershed moment for the collective conscience of our country. This made us think about the present economic model and policies we have been adopting. So, the answer to the problems created by the present model lies in building “nurturing economy”. What is nurturing economy? Read to know…

    Broadly, we can summarise the impact of pandemic as-

    • Unemployment is shooting up.
    • Supply chains of food and essentials have been disrupted.
    • Dark clouds of economic recession are on the horizon.

    Invisible cost of pandemic

    • The visible cost of the pandemic in terms of the lives lost are being counted by the day.
    • But the invisible cost of hunger and impoverishment of the most vulnerable sections is yet to be effectively addressed.
    • Vulnerable section- our workers, the poor and the migrants, particularly women, are at receiving end of these invisible cost.

    Health of economy before pandemic

    • The pandemic came at one of the worst possible times.
    • India’s economy has been in deep trouble since 2016.
    • In 2019-20, even before the pandemic happened, our GDP growth had dropped to 4.2 per cent, lowest growth seen in the last 11 years.
    • Even the oil prices dropped at their historic low.
    • Non-food bank credit is a good indicator of overall economic robustness.
    • By December 2019, the growth of non-food bank credit had dropped to below 7 per cent. ( lowest in the last 50 years.)

    What happened to economy after the pandemic?

    • After the pandemic arrived, matters, of course, got worse.
    • In March, $16 billion of foreign capital exited the country, which is an all-time record for India.
    • India’s unemployment rate shot up to a record high of 23.8 per cent in April.
    • In the same month, Indian exports dropped by 60 per cent.
    • This was one of the biggest drops seen in any emerging market economy in the world.
    • There is a genuine risk that this year our growth will drop to an all-time low, beating the record plunge of 1979-80.

    So, the pandemic has forced us to think about the building a nurturing economy, one in which Gandhiji’s Talisman is followed in word and spirit, one in which John Rawls ideas are implemented.

    So, What building a nurturing economy involves?

    • Our economic and political policies must not be ends in themselves.
    • Instead, these policies should involve instruments for building a society that is secular, inclusive and nurturing.
    • It should be a society where people of all religions, caste, race and gender feel wanted and at home.
    • Environment sustainability and focus on green economy is also part of nurturing economy.
    • We should strive to create a society that respects knowledge, science and technology, and culture.

    Threefold crisis emerging out of our exploitative behaviours

    • The outcome of our exploitative behaviour is a threefold crisis which describes India’s current predicament.
    • 1) Rising poverty and unemployment despite abundance.
    • 2) Rising intolerance and violence.
    • 3) Environmental catastrophe.

    Consider the question “Pandemic and the predicament of migrant labours has highlighted the lack of inclusive growth in our economy. And we must look for the solution to such shortcomings in our approach. In light of this, suggest the changes that our economy must embrace to ensure inclusive growth.”

    Conclusion

    Our ambition should not be to make India the richest nation in the world. India should be an example of an equitable society, where people are not abandoned without income and work, where no one feels the insecurity of being a minority, and of being discriminated against.

  • Why Ladakh matters to India and China?

    This article from IE discusses this cold, dry, high altitude territory with its extremely scarce vegetation that makes it a point of disagreement between India and China.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. India’s boundary disputes with its neighbourhood are the legacy of its colonial past. Analyse.

    Ladakh: The Cold Desert of India

    • Ladakh is the highest plateau in India with much of it being over 3,000 m.
    • It extends from the Himalayan to the Kunlun Ranges and includes the upper Indus River valley.
    • The importance of Ladakh is rooted in complicated historical processes that led to the territory becoming part of the state of J&K, and China’s interest in it post the occupation of Tibet in 1950.

    Beginning of the Chinese claim

    • In July 1958, an official monthly magazine in China published a map of the country that would in the next few months become a bone of contention between India and its East Asian neighbour.
    • The map in question showed large parts of the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and the Himalayan territory of Ladakh as part of China.
    • Soon after ‘China pictorial’ came out with the new Chinese map, the leaders of both countries began writing to each other frequently regarding Ladakh.
    • The exchange of letters between Jawaharlal Nehru and his Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai was followed by the Sino-Indian war of 1962.
    • The war also led to the formation of the loosely demarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC) running through Ladakh.

    The Integration of Ladakh into India

    • Historically and culturally the state was intrinsically linked to neighbouring Tibet.
    • Language and religion linked Ladakh and Tibet; politically too, they shared a common history.
    • Ladakh was part of the Tibetan empire which broke up after the assassination of King Langdarma in 742 CE.
    • Up until the Dogra invasion of 1834, Ladakh was an independent Himalayan state, much the same way as Bhutan and Sikkim.
    • As the Sikhs acquired Kashmir in 1819, Emperor Ranjit Singh turned his ambition towards Ladakh.
    • But it was Gulab Singh, the Dogra feudatory of the Sikhs in Jammu, who went ahead with the task of integrating Ladakh into Jammu and Kashmir.

    British interests in Ladakh

    • The British East India Company, which was by now steadily establishing itself in India, had lacked interest in Ladakh initially.
    • However, it did show enthusiasm for the Dogra invasion of the area, with the hope that as a consequence, a large portion of Tibetan trade would be diverted to its holdings.
    • The state of J&K was essentially a British creation, formed as a buffer zone where they could meet the Russians.

    The Sino-Sikh War

    • In May 1841, Tibet under the Qing dynasty of China invaded Ladakh with the hope of adding it to the imperial Chinese dominions, leading to the Sino-Sikh war.
    • However, the Sino-Tibetan army was defeated, and the Treaty of Chushul was signed that agreed on no further transgressions or interference in the other country’s frontiers.
    • After the first Anglo-Sikh war of 1845-46, the state of J&K, including Ladakh, was taken out of the Sikh empire and brought under British suzerainty.

    Chinese interest in Ladakh after the occupation of Tibet in 1950

    • The annexation of Tibet by China in 1950 sparked a newfound interest in Ladakh, and particularly so after the 1959 Tibetan uprising that erupted in Lhasa with Dalai Lama’s political asylum in India.
    • In attempting to crush the Tibetan revolt while at the same time denying its existence, the Chinese have used methods which have brought China and India into sharp conflict.
    • To begin with, the road that the Chinese built across Ladakh in 1956-57 was important for the maintenance of their control over Tibet.
    • The building of the road through Ladakh upset Nehru’s government. The diplomatic negotiations failed, and the war of 1962 followed.

    Why conflict has flared up again?

    • There are two layers to this. First, up to 2013, India’s infrastructural development in that area was minimal.
    • From 2013, India started pushing for infrastructure projects there and by 2015; it became a major defence priority.
    • The second layer is the August 5, 2019 decision (to remove the special status of J&K and downgrade the state into two Union Territories).
    • From the Chinese point of view, they would have assumed that if India makes Ladakh a Union Territory, they would be reasserting its control over the entire state.
    • Moreover, it is also important to note that over time, Xinjiang which is part of Aksai Chin, has become very important to China for their internal reasons.

    The dispute

    • The British legacy of the map of the territory continued to remain the ground upon which India laid its claim on the area.
    • India insisted that the border was, for the most part, recognised and assured by treaty and tradition; the Chinese argued it had never really been delimited.
    • The claims of both governments rested in part on the legacy of imperialism; British imperialism (for India), and Chinese imperialism (over Tibet) for China.

  • India gets re-elected as Non-permanent Member of UNSC

    India gets re-elected as Non-permanent Members of UNSC with 184 out of the 192 valid votes polled in its favour.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. United Nations is in need of structural reforms suiting to the needs of present times. Discuss.

    What are ‘non-permanent seats’ at the UNSC?

    • The UNSC is composed of 15 members: five permanent members — China, France, Russian Federation, the US, and the UK — and 10 non-permanent members who are elected by the General Assembly.
    • The non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms — so every year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members out of the total 10.
    • Even if a country is a “clean slate” candidate and has been endorsed by its group, it still needs to secure the votes of two-thirds of the members present and voting at the General Assembly session — which is a minimum of 129 votes, if all 193 member states participate.

    Sharing of seats

    • These 10 seats are distributed among the regions of the world: five seats for African and Asian countries; one for Eastern European countries; two for Latin American and Caribbean countries; and two for Western European and Other Countries.
    • Of the five seats for Africa and Asia, three are for Africa and two for Asia.
    • Also, there is an informal understanding between the two groups to reserve one seat for an Arab country.
    • The Africa and Asia Pacific group takes turns every two years to put up an Arab candidate.
    • Elections for terms beginning in even-numbered years select two African members, and one each within Eastern Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
    • Terms beginning in odd-numbered years consist of two West European and Other members, and one each from the Asia Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

    Current members as on today

    • The current non-permanent members of the Security Council are Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia, and South Africa, all of whose terms end this year; and Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, and Vietnam, whose terms end in 2021.
    • India begins its term at the beginning of 2021 and will hold the position until the end of 2022.

    Has India been in the UNSC earlier?

    • India’s term on the 15-member Council will be it’s eighth.
    • India has earlier been a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12.
    • For the 2011-12 terms, India won 187 of 190 votes after Kazakhstan stood down from its candidacy.
    • Unlike Africa, which has formalized a system of rotation of its three seats, the Asia Pacific grouping has often seen contests for seats. In 2018, there was a contest between the Maldives and Indonesia.
    • On the occasions when there is a contest, the elections for non-permanent seats can go on for several rounds.
    • Back in 1975, there was a contest between India and Pakistan, which went into eight rounds, with Pakistan finally winning the seat. And in 1996, India lost a contest to Japan.

    Significance

    • Terming India’s winning of a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council one of its best performances” ever, the Union government said.
    • The strong support by almost the entire U.N. membership demonstrates the goodwill that India enjoys in the U.N. and the confidence that the international community has reposed in India.
    • India’s EAM gave India’s overall objective during its forthcoming UNSC tenure as an acronym ‘NORMS’ — New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System.
    • NORMS includes the push for expanding the UNSC permanent membership.

    Back2Basics: United Nations Security Council

    • The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
    • Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
    • It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
    • The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United States—serve as the body’s five permanent members.
    • These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
    • The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.

  • What is Civil Services Board?

    Punjab government notifying Civil Services Board providing for a fixed tenure of IAS officers has left its leaders in the state upset.

    Practice questions for mains:

    Q. Discuss how fixed tenure for Civil Servants helps provide better administration.

    What is the Civil Services Board (CSB)?

    • Civil Services Board is responsible for the entry-level recruitment and subsequent job promotions below the rank of Joint Secretary.
    • As per a state government notification dated June 2, CSB will be headed by Chief Secretary, with Personnel Secretary, and either Financial Commissioner (Revenue) or Home Secretary (who so ever is senior in the pecking order) as its members.
    • The board provides for the state to follow the Centre’s guidelines on giving a fixed tenure of at least two years for cadre officers.
    • They cannot be transferred before that and if anyone recommends their transfer then the board will examine and affect it.
    • The final authority is the Chief Minister.

    Why had the previous government in the state declined to follow the Centre’s guidelines?

    • The previous government had refused to follow the guidelines on the argument that appointment and transfer of IAS officers are a prerogative of the state.
    • If their term is fixed, it had argued, it will not only create functional and administrative problems but also overstep the authority and jurisdiction of the state government.

    Why are the leaders upset?

    • The political leadership of the ruling party in the state has usually always had a say in postings and transfers of district officials in the state.
    • The opposition has been known to lend supremacy to its leadership over bureaucrats in the state.
    • But ever since the ruling government has taken over, the grouse of its leaders has been that they do not get due respect in their own regime.
    • This has led to several confrontations in the past.
    • With the fixed tenure rule and Chief Secretary’s board having all power to examine a recommendation for a transfer, the leaders feel their influence has been reduced to nought and all power handed to the CS.

    How do they see the board to be lending officer’s supremacy over them?

    • If any officer is to be transferred before completing his minimum tenure, the board will record the reasons for the transfer.
    • It will seek views from the concerned officer and then give a judgement on whether the tenure of the officer is to be ended mid-way.
    • The final authority will be the CM.

    What is the government’s argument in its favour?

    • It says if the officials have a fixed tenure they will be able to provide better administration.
    • They will also feel safe and try to stick to the rules instead of pleasing political bosses.
    • It says every official requires 3-6 months to get into the groove at his new place of posting.
    • If he stays there for two years, it would mean better delivery and stable tenure to people.

    What do the officials say?

    • They feel the rules will not be followed in letter and spirit unless a few officers go to the courts and ensure that the guidelines are followed.
    • They say that neighbouring Haryana had the board in place but the guidelines were not followed.

  • Rule of Law Index and India

    The Supreme Court has asked the government to treat a writ petition for setting up expert panels to boost India’s prospects in the Rule of Law Index.

    Note the various factors/sub-indices on which the index is measured. There can be a direct question on these in line with:

    Q. Which one of the following is not a sub-index of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’? CSP 2019

    (a) Maintenance of law and order

    (b) Paying taxes

    (c) Registering property

    (d) Dealing with construction permits

    Why in news again?

    • The cause of action for the petition accrued when the World Justice Project ranked India in the 69th position in its Rule of Law Index.
    • India has never been ranked even among top 50 in the Index, but successive governments did nothing to improve the international ranking of India, said the petition.
    • Poor rule of law has a devastating effect on the right to life, liberty, economic justice, fraternity, individual dignity and national integration.

    What is the Rule of Law Index?

    • The Rule of Law Index is a quantitative assessment tool by the World Justice Project (WJP) designed to offer a detailed and comprehensive picture of the extent to which countries adhere to the rule of law in practice.
    • It measures countries’ rule of law performance across eight factors:

    (1) Constraints on Government Powers, (2) Absence of Corruption, (3) Open Government, (4) Fundamental Rights, (5) Order and Security, (6) Regulatory Enforcement, (7) Civil Justice, and (8) Criminal Justice

    WJP definition of Rule of Law

    The World Justice Project defines the rule of law system as one in which the following four universal principles are upheld:

    • The government and its officials and agents are accountable under the law.
    • The laws are clear, publicized, stable and fair, and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property.
    • The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, efficient, and fair.
    • Justice is delivered by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.

  • Kodumanal Megalithic Burial Site

    The Kodumanal excavation in Erode Dist. of Tamil Nadu has threw light on burial rituals and the concept of afterlife in megalithic culture.

    Must read:

    Chapter 1 | Stone Age – Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic

    About these sites

    • The researchers have identified 250 cairn-circles at the village in Erode district.
    • Earlier excavations revealed that the site served as a trade-cum-industrial centre from 5th century BCE to 1st century BCE.
    • The rectangular chambered cists, each two metres long and six metres wide, are made of stone slabs, and the entire grave is surrounded by boulders that form a circle.
    • The grave could be of a village head or the head of the community as the size of two boulders, each facing east and west, are bigger than other boulders.
    • Believing that the deceased person will get a new life after death, pots and bowls filled with grains were placed outside the chambers.

    What are Megaliths?

    • Megaliths are the earliest surviving man-made monuments we know of—derived from the Latin mega (large) and lith (stone).
    • Megaliths were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral) memorials.
    • The former are sites with actual burial remains, such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala).
    • The urn or the sarcophagus containing the mortal remains was usually made of terracotta.
    • Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs. (The line separating the two is a bit blurry, since remains have been discovered underneath otherwise non-sepulchral sites, and vice versa.)
    • In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.

    Megaliths in India

    • Megaliths are spread across the Indian subcontinent, though the bulk of them are found in peninsular India, concentrated in the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
    • According to archaeologists around 2,200 megalithic sites can be found in peninsular India itself, most of them unexcavated.
    • Even today, a living megalithic culture endures among some tribes such as the Gonds of central India and the Khasis of Meghalaya.

    Literary sources

    • Megalithic culture finds several references in ancient Tamil Sangam literature. For instance, menhirs are referred to as nadukal.
    • Ancient Sangam texts lay out, in detail, a step-by-step procedure for laying a memorial stone or nadukal in honour of a fallen hero.
    • Manimekalai (5th century AD), the famous Sangam epic, refers to the various kinds of burials namely cremation (cuṭuvōr), post excarnation burial (iṭuvōr), burying the deceased in a pit (toṭukuḻip paṭuvōr), rock chamber or cist burial (tāḻvāyiṉ aṭaippōr), urn burial encapped with lid (tāḻiyiṟ kavippōr).
    • Even in the Sangam age (when kingship and a well-ordained society had emerged) the above modes of burials survived.

  • 19th June 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Important Announcement:  Topics to be covered on 22nd June-

    GS-1  Political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism, etc.- their forms and effect on the society.

    GS-4 Case studies

    Question 1)

    Who were Marakkars? Discuss their role in the fight against Portuguese.10 marks

     

    Question 2)

    Covid pandemic has highlighted a lot of structural issues in governance. Highlight them and suggest some solutions which can be adopted at various levels of governance.10 marks

    Question 3)

    There has been a growing demand for pooling of patents of the cure for Covid-19 at the global level. What could be the advantages of such a move? Also explain why such a move has been opposed by some.10 marks

    Question 4)  

    Discuss transparency and accountability as critical aspects in managing public health and pandemics. 10 marks

     

    Reviews will be provided in a week. (In the order of submission- First come first serve basis). In case the answer is submitted late the review period may get extended to two weeks.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed in a week, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. If Parth Sir’s tag is available then tag him.

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment, check  here: Click2Join

  • Plato and Machiavelli were arguing and Kautilya jumped in.. | Join PSIR Optional group on Habitat

    Plato and Machiavelli were arguing and Kautilya jumped in.. | Join PSIR Optional group on Habitat

    Join the (FREE) PSIR Optional – Habitat group (Click here)

    (Instructions at the bottom of this page)

    DISCUSSION, ANSWER WRITING, STRATEGY AND REFERENCE MATERIAL

    The title doesn’t confirm any actual historical event, as all the three great thinkers belong to different times & spaces altogether. But it did happen in the Civilsdaily’s Habitat universe. Interlinking of different topics/ideas/thinkers is the demand for any optional paper, and more so for PSIR. 

    We are here with yet another innovation. Not boasting okay! but we have actually re-invented learning in general and re-structured UPSC preparation in particular.

    Preparing in the old, outdated manner you can’t be ready for the curveball in the mains exam. Modern problems require ‘postmodern’ solutions.

    Are you ready for the curveball questions in the PSIR Mains exam?

    It gets chaotic in the Mains when you are sitting there scratching your head thinking about what surprises the next question might hold for you. For that, you have to get chaotic now,  turn it into constructive chaos, and channelize it.

    What is our philosophy?

    We have diminished, if not removed the barrier between teacher and student. Co-learning and co-creating knowledge is the need of the hour. The discourses, the vaad-vivaad on every topic, every theory and every issue pushes the boundaries of your thoughts. (It is required.)

    Our approach to optionals and PSIR, in particular, is decentralized. Ideas flow from every direction. So you might encounter Jon Snow and Amit Shah having their ‘chai pe charcha’ while discussing Plato and Chanakya. Learning is about conversations, it is about stories that change you and your perception of reality – enter the matrix without the red pill if you may!

    Join the PSIR Habitat group (Click here)

    (Instructions at the bottom of this page)

    Exclusive group on Civilsdaily’s Habitat

    Headed by our experienced faculty this group has revolutionized PSIR optional preparation. You are going to ask doubts; learn and unlearn, and relearn; think and discuss like you never did before.

    Every discussion is going to get neatly organized in separate threads. You are going to learn with a highly focussed community of diverse-minded aspirants.

    A look at PSIR Optional group on Habitat.

    Planned progression

    Discussion and syllabus coverage is going to be planned not only for the day but also for a week, with dedicated days for revision, review, and restrategizing. It is going to ensure discipline and consistency.

    A Schedule is shared every week.

    Join the PSIR Optional – Habitat group (Click here)

    (Instructions at the bottom of the page)

    Personalized and targetted approach

    Not all of you are at the same stage of preparation. Some are just beginning and some have covered the syllabus more than once. Your preparation and approach will also differ.

    Modern solutions, they offer one size fits all solutions. We are way past that. Our approach is postmodern! It’s personalized and customized to your individual learning competencies, situation, attitude, and aptitude.

    You are going to learn as per your learning competencies, we are just going to make it efficient.

    Personalized questions
    Personalized targets

    Answer writing and discussion

    This is one of the most important offerings this group has to offer. Daily questions are shared, from previous year questions to topic-based questions. Answers to them are reviewed and discussed thoroughly. You don’t want to miss this session.

    Answer writing and discussion

    Notes and references 

    There are so many sources for PSIR. Wisdom lies in not only selecting the most appropriate sources but also in knowing what you can and should avoid. All the important readings, references, and materials are suggested and shared on a regular basis. Based on the reference material shared, important topics are pointed out and discussed.

    Notes and references are suggested and shared

    Join the PSIR Optional – Habitat group (Click here)

    (Instructions at the bottom of the page)

    At times it will become a philosophical circus (literally), but by the end of a session, you will feel your brain juices flowing like the cool mountain spring in a meadow.

    You will be joining a focussed community of learners.

    Instructions for joining Habitat

    Join the PSIR Habitat group (Click here)

    • Click on ‘Register a new account’ and enter your details.
    • Choose a username.
    • That is it. Welcome to Habitat.

    For access through the Mobile app:

    1. Install the Mobile application (click here) from your Appstore.
    2. Use the same email id and password as you used above.

    Should you encounter any issue in this process or you have a query, reach out to us at +91 89299 87787 or hello@civilsdaily.com

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