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Hi Can you provide me the link where all the papers of GS has been divided sub-topically?
Help would be appreciated..

Thanks & Regards,

Context: MGNREGA scheme just turned 10 years old.

Q. What are some of the salient features of this scheme which made it different from other government schemes?

1. It’s a ground up, not a top down scheme. Even the law was passed on demand of people.
2. This is a demand driven scheme not supply driven i.e. if people demand work, govt can not deny them work.
3. Self selecting, no apl/bpl funda. Rich would not be willing to do hard manual labour.
4. Inbuilt provision of social audit

Q. How successful the scheme has been?

1. It has made a fundamental difference in the lives of poeple, it could have made more with more govt support.
2. Generated employment in the countryside and prevented distress migration.
3. It has created assets in the villages, improving agriculture productivity.
4. Raised rural wages.

Fact is where it runs well, it has achieved great things, where it doesn’t run well, it has given people bargaining power, dignity, a sort of marketing mechanism.

Q. What are the concerns articulated by critics?

1. Money is being allotted for earth work (temporary work), not for creation of permanent assets. Dig the pits, fill the pits.
2. Work design is very poor. For instance, wells are dug on impermeable surface. Project completion rate is poor.
3. Huge corruption in implementation, fake job cards etc.

We need to link this scheme to skill development and focus on creation of permanent assets which increase productivity.

Q. What are the concerns raised by the proponents regarding implementation of scheme?

1. A demand driven scheme can not run without money. Govt is killing the scheme by benign neglect.
2. Lag in issuance of work is dissuading people from seeking work. Demand is being artificially suppressed.
3. Linking of adhar to bank accounts will be a disaster. Biometric do not work in Indian conditions for manual labourers.
4. Person-day employment has come down.

Q. What’s the way forward?

1. Let us identify the problems that exist, let us overcome them.
2. There should be more participation. People should own the project. Empower the people.
3. Use social audit mechanism to weed out corruption.
4. There should be more frequent evaluation along with social impact assessment of the projects undertaken.
5. Prepare a proper plan according to which the work would be done. Work has to be prioritized.

 

Why the news card from editorials from hindu and indian express have stopped coming??
They were really good and their links were a good way to get the article directly.
please restart it.

Hello,

Since the beginning of time or so, everyone wanted a sitemap to civilsdaily, right? We finally let go our procrastination spiral and did a video to make you comfortable with the web offering.

Please bear with minor digressions. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGu0Glgpcsw

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Did we miss out on something? Drop in with your comments  below.

Hello hello,

Since the beginning of time or so, everyone wanted a sitemap to civilsdaily, right? We finally let go our procrastination spiral and did a video to make you comfortable with the web offerings.

Please bear with minor digressions. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGu0Glgpcsw&feature=youtu.be

If you have any further queries, do drop in.

So I read somewhere that increase in FDI increased the FOREX reserves and also that a strengthening rupee increases the reserves. Can anyone explain me the basic ideology or principle behind this

Context: Government just released the list of 1st batch of 20 cities selected for the smart city project.

Q. What is a smart city?

1. Smart city is one that “enables a decent life to the citizens, and green and sustainable environment, besides enabling adoption of smart solutions”.

2. Smart cities would create virtually new business districts in several cities, marking a departure from the disaggregated urban development witnessed in the past.

Q. How was selection of these 20 cities done?

1. Selection was based on city challenge competition.

2. Selection process has been very transparent and competitive.

3.  It was a very rigorous process with detailed criteria and marking on 41 questions on template.

Q. Now that cities have been chosen, what are the issues on which further clarity is needed?

Smart cities will be developed by by a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Clarity is needed on –

1. How will SPVs function?

2. How much of freedom of action will they get?

3. Where will they get funds from?

4. Interaction b/w civil services and elected municipal representatives?

5. Role of SPV and role of elected representatives need some clarity.

Q. What’s the concern with regard to role of SPV?

1. We seem to be handing over entire governance responsibility to SPV against the whole democratic framework.

2. Smart cities have to be led by mayors not bureaucrats and consultants. There is a democratic deficit.

3. There’s a provision that an officer from the central govt. will be appointed as executive in SPV who can only be removed from the permission of centre. In such circumstances what would elected representatives do.

Q. Then why is such model chosen and how does govt intend to hold SPVs accountable?

1. Municipalities don’t have the type of capacity to implement such projects.

2. Project selection itself will be in the domain of elected bodies. They will make the policies while SPVs which have the capacity will execute it.

3. SPVs are created precisely for the purpose that generation of resources is possible, there is accountability, results are delivered rather than process lingering on.

4. Will have to build a working system, SPV will have to be accountable to municipalities.

5. SPVs will be held accountable for generating resources, executing projects, deliver smart solutions.

Q. Where will funding come from?

1. For every city 500cr by centre, equal amount by state and roughly 1500cr by outside sources.

2. It is here that functioning of SPVs would be imp. Do they freedom to go out and generate resources?

3. But there are concerns that only way funding is gonna come from is real estate and prime land will be given to builders.

Q. There’s is also concern that already better off cities are selected which would result in even more regional disparity?

Yes. It’s true.

1. There’s too much focus on limited no. of cities, earlier programmes were open to all.

2. Northern belt and eastern belt is virtually empty.

3. Selection criteria itself favour better off cities.

State is supposed to help cities which are not up to the mark, have the potential are gonna grow but whole philosophy is reversed here.

Moreover they are planning to develop only a part of city in effect creating gated colonies. There will be only 1 pan city programme.

Counter argument is that whole city could not be turned smart overnight and one had to start from somewhere.

Q. What about consultation? Were citizens consulted in choosing area to be developed or amenities they would want in smart city?

Yes, consultation with citizens was imp. Citizens were involved in every process.

Counterargument- Consultation was a sham. Citizen were asked to give their opinions on FB, twitter and via email. In a country like India, this is no consultation.

 

In the previous chapter (written light years ago), we read about how the imperialist “Marquess of Wellesley” extended the british dominion in India but putting an end to Mysore and doing more nasty things like extending the subsidiary alliance to most of the indian kingdoms (like a boss).

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Now the plan was to continue presenting the indian struggle for independence from the side of firangis, but some of you wanted to know more about the anglo mysore wars and so, here is an attempt to make things easy for you.

Admittedly, these 4 wars, fought from 1767 to 1799 (32 years!) span a really long time in history. The timelines criss-cross with 3 empires which were humbled in course of time by the firangis (Marathas, Mysore & Nizam of Hyd).

Here’s a really quick timeline of what all happened – 

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4 wars – 4 legions – 3 treaties and the great mysore rocket

I hope you know about the mysore rockets right? No? Let’s tackle this bit of trivia first. The Mysorean rockets used by Hyder Ali during the Battle of Pollilur (2nd anglo-mysore war) were much more advanced than any the British East India Company had previously seen!

So, after they slay Tipu in the fourth and final battle, they (the firangis) took their indigenous rocket development to the next level to use in the Napoleonic wars. 

#1. First Anglo-Mysore War

1. Hyder Ali had just made peace with Marathas so that they don’t team up against him when he goes on to attack the Brits at Madras
2. Brits had support from Nizam but that guy just balked out in the last moment! He gets bullied again by the brits (at a later date)
3. So, Brits were from two places – Bombay Brits & Madras Brits. But somehow the daring Hyder that he was, he kept on with the fight that led the Brits to conclude a peace treaty with him

As per the Treaty of Madras:

1. Both the Parties returned the areas won by each other
2. The District of Arcot was given to Nawab of Arcot
3. British & Hyder Ali promised that they would support each other if there is any foreign invasion

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#2. Second Anglo-Mysore War

Now, what happens when you (allegedly) have a strong ally with you? More ambitions, more audacity, neh? That’s what Hyder thought after signing that treaty of madras. He started demanding tributes from the smaller states on the border of Maratha and Mysore. The Marathas responded this in 1770 with a force of over 30 thousand. This is the point when Hyder rings up the Brits to come for the rescue! Of course they did not. Hyder lost the battle – had to pay a huge tribute to the marathas and this episode left him high and dry.

Hyder did not like this one bit and he swears revenge from the Brits FOREVER.

The second anglo-mysore war begins now. It was one of the most bloodiest battle in the history of India (exaggeration helps). If you consider the 2nd anglo-mysore war as a T-20 world cup, then there many minor-major battles held in this 4 year period. Also, please note that Hyder Ali died during this prolonged battle period. So, Tipu Sultan rose to the occasion and marched ahead.

• The siege of Arcot – Hyder won
• The battle of Porto Novo – won by Sir Eyre Coote
• The battle at Pollilur – won by Hyder (remember the rockets!)

So, anyway – you win some – you lose continued and eventually the war ended with the last British-Indian treaty with an Indian ruler on equal footing, the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore. 

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#3. Third Anglo-Mysore War

Mangalore Treaty of 1784, which was signed on the end of the Second Anglo Maratha war had an article regarding transfer of the Prisoners. Now it is said that Tipu Sultan did not honour this part of the deal – strike 1. 

It so happened that Tipu developed a beef with the local raja of Travancore about a disputed land. Travancore was a British ally, so when Tipu moved against him, Brits got a chance to home in on Tipu.

Where were the Marathas and the Nizams or the world? All credit goes to the diplomacy of Lord Cornwallis who kept Tipu aloof from the Marathas , Coorg and Nizams.

Result? Tipu lost. The peace was restored by the Treaty of Srirangapatnam which was signed in 1792.

This treaty was a big blow to Tipu Sultan. Half of his territories were snatched away and divided into Marathas, British and Nizam. Many would have thought it wise to retreat now but Tipu was seething with fear.

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#4. The Final Battle

Marquess of Wellesley was a shrewd imperialist. He had got a wiff of a possible french-mysore collaboration and he did not want to give Tipu another chance. This battle was just a formality now. Tipu’s troops were outnumbered 4:1 in this war. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas launched an invasion from the north. Phew!

He lost. He died fighting. The Wodeyar dynasty was restored its place in Mysore and rest of the territory was divided by the Brits, Marathas and Nizam.

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If you just joined us into reading the firangis, give the previous ones a quick read. Part 1 is here.

 

hello sir. Is there any link that I would get a complete information on ozone depletion ? If
I could that would be so helpful sir. thank you 🙂

In the Civil Services Examination (CSE), the marks of the interview (Personality Test) make a lot of difference. You can get 100 marks (or less) and you can even get 200+ marks in interview. When the competition is so tough and each mark counts, the marks in the interview can make or mar your chances of getting into CSE and getting the service of your choice.

There is no hard and fast rule for getting good marks. However, if you prepare well, you can surely improve the chances of high score. I can’t suggest you any trick which can guarantee you great marks in interview but I can suggest some methods, which can perhaps help you scoring better in the interview.

#1. Why do you wish to join Civil Services?

This question is as old as civil services itself and the right answer of this question is very critical. You must be clear in your mind (and so the interviewers after listening your reply) as to why you wish to join IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS etc. It is better to know the functioning of the top services and be ready to justify joining these services.

If you are a professional like Engineer, Doctor, CA, MBA, etc. you should be doubly prepared for it. If you are from premium institutes like IIT, IIM, AIIMS etc, be ready to be grilled even more as if you are committing a crime by joining these services. If you are leaving a job in private or government sector to join civil services, be ready to justify it.

#2. Increase the width of your knowledge

A civil servant must be sensitive to every important development in the country and even around the world. You may not be able to remember everything, but at least don’t miss out the important ones. It is not enough to know the facts, you must also have a view on every issue.

For example, you must know about GST, Land Bill, FDI/ Retails reforms which are very important for country. You must read newspapers and magazines extensively to know the positives and negatives of everything. A civil servant is not expected to have a hardened view about anything.

He must be persuasive and should have a reasoned view of everything which must also be flexible. You are also expected to know your subject well. If the interviewer happen to be from your field, you can expect tough questions.

#3. Understand the mind of Interviewers

There are typically 4/5 members of the interview board headed by the UPSC Member or Chairman. It is always better to know in depth about all the members of the UPSC because you can’t know who is going to take your interview.

Their names are available on the UPSC website. You must do extensive research about their earlier professions and know their likes and dislikes, from their articles or books.

You can’t know the other members of the board in advance, you have to make instant judgment about them during interview. You must also meet the candidates who have already faced interview to know the types of questions asked by the different boards and be accordingly prepared for it.

#4. Think Before Speaking

It is important to listen the questions carefully and think about the best answer before you start speaking. Avoid instant reactions to questions, particularly on the provocative questions. It is always advisable to admit, if you don’t know the answer. You must put yourself in the shoes of the officer before answering the question. Don’t answer the question from a student or a common citizen’s perspective but from the perspective of an officer, because most members of the boards are usually retired or senior serving officers. They don’t expect that you know everything under the sun. But they expect honesty, fairness and decency from you.

#5. Practice for the Interview

It is better to practice for the interview by the help of your friends or those who have already faced the interview. There are many mock-interviews coaching centers, who become active after the declaration of the results of the Mains. You can join one or more of them and they will train you for interview. You must debate all issues with your friends to get wider perspectives of the issue. It is better to avoid controversial statement during interview. If forced to speak on a controversial issue, it is better to be diplomatic and noncommittal. You must learn the art to handle complex and controversial issues. You must train yourself for such questions appropriately. The more you practice, the more confident you will become.

#6. Dress Appropriately

It may be advisable to dress appropriately and formally for the occasion. Your dress should be comfortable and decent. You should never look casual. You must also avoid being tense during the interview. Don’t wear tight cloths that are uncomfortable to you and you have difficulty in sitting or walking. Needless to say that your cloths should be clean and shoes must be polished. A light color shirt and dark trousers may be advised for males and saris or salwar-suits of decent design for females.

#7. Be Idealist, Be Law Abiding

A civil servant is expected to have high ideals because he is to given immense power to administer the country and influencing the lives of millions at very young age. You must have high ideals for national service and upholding the Constitution of India.

You should never justify following illegal means to achieve noble ends. You are a law enforcer. If you break the law yourself, who is going to follow them. You should never justify police encounter for reducing crime and eliminating criminals.

And lastly,

#8. Be Positive

There are so many uncontrollable variables responsible for a getting good or bad marks in the interview. You can’t control them all. Often the interviewer may be biased for or against certain community, religion, region, gender, language, background. However, these are random factors which often balance each other. You can’t control them and hence you must think positive and presume that all these factors are going to help you. You must have faith in yourself and God to decide your destiny.

Try your best and leave the rest to God.

Source: Awdhesh Singh, A Senior IRS officer @Quora