In the intro, mention the recent controversy over the meeting between the principal secretary to the PM and election commissioners.
In the body mention provisions in Article 324(2) and provision in the laws under the article. In the issues mention executives appointing quasi-judicial authority, violation of article 14, excessive influence of executive etc. In the suggestions mention formation of the selection committee and mention Tarkunde Committee recommendations, and the Dinesh Goswami committee suggestion.
Conclude by mentioning the need to change the selection process to maintain the independence and separation of powers.
In the introduction briefly explain the context in the statement and provide the reason for a careful consideration of the shape cities would take in developing world.
Further delineate the strategies involving large and small cities as models of urbanisation.
Conclude by underlining the optimal combination required for future urban growth.
Smash Prelims Program is back after a thumping success in Prelims 2021. Out of 25 students Santosh sir has mentored, 15 have cleared prelims this time.Our students were kind enough to take time out of their hectic Mains preparation and let us know how Santosh sir’s mentorship benefitted them in the exams. We wish them all the very best for the upcoming Mains exam from 7th January onwards!
https://youtu.be/oTRUMSOQEY4
Why Your Focus for Next 5 Months Must be About Scoring Above Cut-Off Marks in UPSC-CSE Prelims? Isn’t the last 1 Month Enough for This?
Every year, the competition for UPSC-CSE is increasing while vacancies are decreasing drastically. This year there are only 712 vacancies as against 2019 which had 927 vacancies. However, atleast 10 lakh students will attempt the prelims exam. This is why right now, it’s important to start having an Olympic Athlete mindset. You need to daily focus on scoring above the cut-off marks in your test series.
Civilsdaily Student and 2019 UPSC-CSE AIR 8 Topper Abhishek Saraf had practiced nearly 6000+ MCQs under us to clear prelims!
What makes prelims tough? It’s because the paper is unpredictable. If this year, science questions are a breeze then the next year you will have to answer advanced concept-based questions. Unlike Mains, Prelims has negative markings.
Toppers like Pranav Vijayvergiya (AIR 65) andSwati Sharma(AIR 17) have found Prelims to be tougher than Mains. In fact, Pranav failed to clear Prelims thrice. But, in his fourth attempt he took Civilsdaily mentorship and cleared Prelims, Mains and Interview in one shot!
Are you feeling low that you are unable to get the required cut-off marks in your test series. Worry not, for about 65% of the UPSC toppers have said that they scored below cut-off marks till December. But by June, they were able to boost their marks to get through the prelims hurdle. It’s time to be like them now.
One has to be good at elimination methods to choose the right option amongst two similar ones. Our Smash Prelims Program started as a pilot project last year with an aim to introduce step-wise improvement in our chosen 25 aspirants. Over a period of 2 months, Santhosh sir inculcated confidence in aspirants who were either newbies or gave too many attempts. This year, we achieved a remarkable 60% success ratio. Next year, we have set our eyes on 100%. Yes, we are ambitious and aspirational just like any other UPSC aspirant.
Why is Mentorship Required for UPSC-CSE Prelims in Every Step – From Test Series, to Study Materials, Classes to Doubt Resolution?
If you are appearing for UPSC-CSE 2022 exams, you might have completed your entire prelims and mains syllabus right now. So what are your main priorities right now? To succeed in UPSC-CSE Prelims 2022, you have to check all these boxes in terms of preparation—
You need clear strategy for next 150 days.
You need to revise effectively to remember whole syllabus at the eve of exam.
You need to practice lots of tests to score accurately, to understand elimination techniques and reduce exam anxiety.
You need to revise current affair of 1.5 years that you have been studying daily.
You need a mentor to fill the critical gaps that have been ignoring till now as you had no one to address them for you.
Santhosh Sir’s Weekly Zoom Session
Do you want to have a mentor who conducts and evaluates medium to advanced test series regularly? A mentor explains to you the different kinds of elimination techniques after you have taken a test series. Before attending a test do you want the mentor to discuss with you the study materials required for the test and provide the right notes with integrated current affairs? While studying a subject, you might have umpteen number of questions. Having someone who responds quickly and explains the topics in simple terms saves your time. And, after a test do you want an experienced mentor to discuss the right answers and motivate you? Do you want the mentor to provide you classes on static+dynamic prelims topics? If yes, then this is the right program for you! The registrations are open for all UPSC 2022 aspirants
Self Preparation with Mentorship: What do Civilsdaily Students think of Santosh Sir’s Mentorship for UPSC-CSE Prelims?
Santhosh Sir, Core Civilsdaily Mentor. He has attended Interview Thrice & Cleared Prelims 6/6 times with above 145 marks.
We asked Santosh sir’s students about their opinion on mentorship — if it was something that saved their time or wasted their time in studies and this is what they had to say:
Kamini: “If I can say in one word, then Santosh sir’s mentorship is unique. Before I joined his program, I used to score 90 marks in Full Length Test Series. Santhosh sir had done in depth analysis of my test papers and suggested ways to reduce the negatives. Right now I am able to score 100+ in advanced test series of not only Civilsdaily but other institutes. He is always available to clear my doubts and solve my issues on call or phone. No issue is too big enough for Santosh sir. He has always told me after you finish a test series, read the same topics again and take another test series the same day to see if your marks improve. From Santosh sir’s polity and economic survey notes, we got questions in 2021 Prelims. I always feel its better to do self studies with mentorship than join coaching institutes and get spoon fed with information.”
Sweetie Raj: “I am a banking professional, living with a joint family. Attending coaching classes is out of question because I won’t have time to read the books myself. Santosh sir helps me self-study by providing me mentorship daily. I study daily from 9PM to 3AM. Santosh sir has been available for 1 hour strategy calls even during this time. No other teacher would have wanted me to succeed as much as he wants me to. I can understand concepts by myself and don’t need help in that. I want someone who pushes me to complete the target modules, checks if I did my mains answer writing for the day and analyses the previous year question papers with me. Because of Santosh sir, I understood that its just not enough reading one book but at the same time I dont have to waste time reading many books. He tells me the topic-wise sources to refer. Also he has designed a study plan for me that I can follow every week. Once, I told Santhosh sir I was missing test series discussion classes as it was conducted at 7PM. Immediately, he provided me recorded videos and kept the session at 8.30PM.”
Specific Features of Smash Prelims 2022 by Santosh Sir
Sincere aspirants who are scoring in the range of 80-90 marks must not attend last minute crash courses right now. They should instead focus on self revision, test series practice and guided mentorship to qualify for UPSC Prelims 2022. Here are the features of Prelims Focused Program by Civilsdaily —
Pillar-1
PRELIMS TESTS:
40 Full Length Tests(12 Basic + 6 Advanced + 10 CA tests + 8 Full tests + 4 CSAT).
In addition to this, in the month of January, we will have 60 sectional tests for practice. This will have 50 questions each. Hence, totally 100 Test Papers (40 FLTs + 60 Sectional Test Papers)
FIRST TEST WILL START ON JANUARY 15TH. SO, REGISTER ASAP.
VALUE ADDITIONS NOTES AND CLASSES BY VETERAN CIVILSDAILY MENTORS like SUDHANSHU SIR, SAJAL SIR & SUKANYA MA’AM
Polity: Sudhanshu sirwill conduct two sessions covering all the Polity Fundamentals, a session analyzing past year papers, another session on important current affairs related to polity this year and will discuss your test solutions.
History: Santosh Gupta sir will conduct a session on Sectoral Developments in Modern History, a session analyzing past year papers, and test discussion.
Economy: Sajal sir will conduct sessions on economic survey, trend analysis, discussion of most important economic current affairs, past year paper analysis, and economy final test discussion.
Geography: Santosh sir will conduct sessions on the most difficult aspects like Geography Mapping, Economic Geography, and Indian Agriculture.
Environment:Sukanya Ma’amwill cover sessions on Environment innovatively. Key concepts like vegetation and biome, Indian wildlife, conventions and protocols, national parks and sanctuaries, agriculture and sustainable development, and environment current affairs will be covered.
Science & Technology: This year’s prelims paper questioned on the basic concepts of science. Keeping this in mind, Santosh Gupta sir will conduct 2 sessions on One basic concept and current affairs of science and technology.
2. Civilsdaily Current Affairs Magazines for 1 year
3. Civilsdaily compilations of Yojna, Kurukshetra, PRS and RS TV.
4. Civilsdaily Budget And Economic Survey Summary.
5. Handouts on key subject-wise static topics to remember the terms and definitions for Prelims 2022.
Pillar-3
Santosh Gupta sir’s mentorship program
1. Introductory mentor call to every aspirant immediately upon commencement of program.
2. Weekly zoom strategy session by Santosh sir for doubt clearance and continuous improvement.
3. 1-1 mentor calls after 3-4 tests by mentor. After every test series, zoom sessions will be conducted by Birendra sir with all members of the batch for test discussion.
4. Support from mentors on the Habitat Group.
5. Frequent sessions with toppers for support and guidance. will have these special features for aspirants.
6. Mentor will guide on the FCE Approach i.e the Factual and Conceptual Methods of Elimination.
7. Mentor call as per request and mandatory check up call by mentor once a month.
Toppers’ Speak: How Civilsdaily Mentorship Helped Me Clear UPSC?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSwO38weHAA
About Santosh Gupta Sir
Santosh sir has scored above 140 twice in UPSC prelims and 120 plus in all 6 attempts. He has written all 6 mains and has appeared for Interviews 3 times. He has qualified UPSC EPFO and BPSC 56-59th also. As the Prelims coordinator at Civilsdaily, he has helped 15 out of 25 students clear the prelims examination this year.
Without delegation of funds, functions and functionaries, local governments are unable to respond to pressure from citizens who demand greater efficiency.
Background of the Seventh Schedule
Article 246 of the Constitution mentions three lists in the Seventh Schedule — union, state and concurrent lists.
The present Seventh Schedule and union (at that time Federal) list, state (at that time Provincial) list and concurrent lists are inherited from that 1935 piece of legislation.
It states that “Notwithstanding anything in the two next succeeding subsections, the Federal Legislature has, and a Provincial Legislature has not, power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List I in the Seventh Schedule to this Act.”
Delivery of public goods
Ignoring that narrow and technical definition of public good, loosely, we understand “public good” as something that must be delivered by the government.
It cannot, or should not, be delivered by the private sector.
Notwithstanding the use of private security guards, most people will agree “law and order” is a public good.
Most public goods people will think of are efficiently delivered at the local government level, not Union or state level.
There is a Seventh Schedule issue that is thus linked to the insertion of a local body list.
Countervailing pressure by citizens increasingly demands efficient delivery of such public goods.
But without delegation of funds, functions and functionaries, presently left to the whims of state governments, local governments are unable to respond.
Need for the review of the Seventh Schedule Lists
No local body list: Most public goods people will think of are efficiently delivered at the local government level, not Union or state level.
There is a Seventh Schedule issue that is thus linked to the insertion of a local body list.
But without delegation of funds, functions and functionaries, presently left to the whims of state governments, local governments are unable to respond.
The Rajamannar Committee — formally known as Centre-State Relations Inquiry Committee suggested constitution of a High Power Commission to examine the entries of Lists I and III in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution and suggest redistribution of the entries,”.
Changes in the past led to greater centralisation: Items have moved from the state list to the concurrent list and from the concurrent list to the union list.
Such limited movements have reflected greater centralisation, such as in 1976.
N K Singh, Chairman of 15th Finance Commission has also often made this point, in addition to scrutiny of Article 282.
Conclusion
For the sake of better governance, it’s not an issue that should be ducked and the basic structure doctrine doesn’t stand in the way.
Peace with India and its immediate neighbors is set to be the central theme of Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy.
Why has this news made headlines?
Pakistan’s (official) policy now leaves the door open for trade with India even without the settlement of the Kashmir issue – provided there is headway in bilateral talks.
Earlier, Kashmir used to be at the centre-stage of all Pakistani outcry.
New Security Policy
The country’s new policy would act as an umbrella document, to be used as a guideline for Pakistan`s foreign, international and defence related policies.
The five-year-policy document, which will span 2022-26, is being touted by the Pakistan government as the country’s first-ever strategy paper of its kind.
Key highlights
Focus on trade: The 100-page policy document has also put out elaborate plans to open trade and business ties with India.
Silent on Kashmir: Kashmir issue with India has been identified as a ‘vital national policy’ issue for Pakistan.
No public discussion: Only a part of the national security policy will be made public.
Defying hostility with India: The document states that Pakistan is not seeking hostility with India for the next 100 years.
Curbing militancy: The new policy also deals with the issue of militant and dissident groups and advocates dialogue with ‘reconcilable elements.’
No re-conciliation with India: There are no prospects of rapprochement with India under the current government.
Others: On the internal front, the new policy identifies five key areas of population/migration, health, climate and water, food security and gender mainstreaming.
Significance of such policy
Pakistan and India have mostly been at loggerheads with each other throughout history.
During the first term of Narendra Modi in 2014, the relations took a positive turn when he announced his intentions to have cordial relations with Pakistan.
He had also visited Islamabad in 2015 unannounced to attend a marriage ceremony in Ex-PMs family.
However, the relations deteriorated following the horrific 2016 Uri attacks.
Way ahead
Pivotal equations between India and Pakistan will continue to be dominated by Kashmir, the ongoing proxy war and terrorism.
It is unlikely that this prevailing equilibrium is likely to be reset by this classified policy document. That too overnight.
The India-centric security obsession will remain the core of this policy.
The Supreme Court has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the police to respond to petitions that people accused of delivering hate speeches at a religious conference in Haridwar have not been arrested yet.
What is ‘Hate Speech’?
There is no specific legal definition of ‘hate speech’.
The Law Commission of India, in its 267th Report, says: “Hate speech generally is an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons defined in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief and the like …
Thus, hate speech is any word written or spoken, signs, visible representations within the hearing or sight of a person with the intention to cause fear or alarm, or incitement to violence.”
In general, hate speech is considered a limitation on free speech that seeks to prevent or bar speech that exposes a person or a group or section of society to hate, violence, ridicule or indignity.
How is it treated in Indian law?
Provisions in law criminalize speeches, writings, actions, signs and representations that foment violence and spread disharmony between communities and groups and these are understood to refer to ‘hate speech’.
Sections 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code are generally taken to be the main penal provisions that deal with inflammatory speeches and expressions that seek to punish ‘hate speech’.
[I] Section 153A:
Promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony’, is an offence punishable with three years’ imprisonment.
[II] Section 505:
505(1): Statements conducing to public mischief
The statement, publication, report or rumour that is penalized under Section 505(1) should be one that promotes mutiny by the armed forces, or causes such fear or alarm that people are induced to commit an offence against the state or public tranquility.
This attracts a jail term of up to three years.
505(2): It is an offence to make statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes.
505(3): Same offence will attract up to a five-year jail term if it takes place in a place of worship, or in any assembly engaged in religious worship or religious ceremonies.
What has the Law Commission proposed?
The Law Commission has proposed that separate offences be added to the IPC to criminalize hate speech quite specifically instead of being subsumed in the existing sections concerning inflammatory acts and speeches.
[A] Inserting two sections
It has proposed that two new sections, Section 153C and Section 505A, be added.
Section 153C
It is an offence if anyone-
Uses gravely threatening words, spoken or written or signs or visible representations, with the intention to cause fear or alarm OR
Advocates hatred that causes incitement to violence, on grounds of religion, race, caste or community, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, place of birth, residence, language, disability or tribe
Section 505A
It proposes to criminalize words, or display of writing or signs that are gravely threatening or derogatory, within the hearing or sight of a person, causing fear or alarm or, with intent to provoke the use of unlawful violence against that person or another”.
[B] Imprisonment
Section 153C: two-year jail term for this and/or a fine of ₹5,000 or both
Section 505A: prison term of up to one year and/or a fine up to ₹5,000
Other committees’ recommendations
Similar proposals to add sections to the IPC to punish acts and statements that promote racial discrimination or amount to hate speech have been made by the M.P. Bezbaruah Committee and the T.K. Viswanathan Committee.
At present, the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws, which is considering more comprehensive changes to criminal law, is examining the issue of having specific provisions to tackle hate speech.
Why regulate hate speech?
Creates social divide: Individuals believe in stereotypes that are ingrained in their minds and these stereotypes lead them to believe that a class or group of persons are inferior to them and as such cannot have the same rights as them.
Threat to peaceful co-existence: The stubbornness to stick to a particular ideology without caring for the right to co-exist peacefully adds further fuel to the fire of hate speech.
Issues in regulating hate speech
Powers to State: Almost every regulation of speech, no matter how well-intentioned, increases the power of the state.
Hate speeches are Political: The issue is fundamentally political and we should not pretend that fine legal distinctions will solve the issue.
Legal complications: An over-reliance on legal instruments to solve fundamentally social and political problems often backfires.
Way ahead
Subjects like hate speeches become a complex issue to deal with, in a country like India which is very diverse, as it was very difficult to differentiate between free and hate speech.
There are many factors that should be considered while restraining speeches like strong opinions, offensive comments towards certain communities, the effect on values like dignity, liberty and equality.
We all have to work together and communicate efficiently for our country to be a healthy place to live in.
Chinese Foreign Minister has visited Eritrea, Kenya, and Comoros in the first week of January as part of a five-nation tour.
Why in news?
Chinese FM was observing a 32-year-old Beijing ritual of visiting Africa at the beginning of every year.
In fact, China’s links with the continent go back farther than the last three decades.
China-Africa Ties: A backgrounder
In the Cold War years, as the US and Soviet Union jousted for influence over Africa, China maintained an ideological presence on the continent.
In 1966, after Kwame Nkrumah was ousted in a coup while he was in Beijing, the Chinese put up the Ghananian independence leader for a few days before he decided to leave for Guinea.
Since the 1990s, China has successfully used its old ties with several African countries to remodel the relationship, using the abundant natural resources of the continent to service its own massive growth.
[A] Strategic gestures
Diplomatic establishments: China has a special envoy to the Horn of Africa where Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya are located. It shows the strategic importance of this Indian Ocean region for China.
Military bases: Since 2017, Beijing has had a military base in Djibouti with 400 soldiers of the PLA, in close proximity to French and an American base.
Railway lines: A Chinese-built railway line connects Djibouti to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
[B] Infrastructure Projects
Tanzania: The first Chinese infrastructure project on the continent was the 1,860-km Tanzania-Zambia railway in the 1970s — the first transnational railway in Africa.
Zambia: In addition to carrying passengers, it transported ore from Zambian copper mines to the port city of Dar-es-Salam in Tanzania.
Kenya: China has undertaken major Belt and Road initiatives in Kenya. Recently, there was held completion ceremony of the Chinese-built oil terminal at the port city of Mombasa.
Comoros Islands: In the Comoros Islands, off Mozambique, China has made many development assistance.
[C] Loans and trade
For a dozen years, China has been Africa’s biggest trading partner. Undoubtedly, the balance of trade is heavily in favour of China.
Two-way trade in 2020 was $ 187 billion, according to the ‘China-Africa Annual Economic and Trade Relationship Report 2021’.
The top five African recipients of Chinese investments are South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Ethiopia, and Zambia.
While the main investments in countries across Africa are in infrastructure construction projects and mining, China is also investing in transport, scientific research, and the services sector.
[D] Others
China has huge demand for African ivory, abalone, rhinoceros tusk and materials from other endangered species.
This has taken a significant toll on conservation efforts.
Major Chinese accomplishments
The question of Taiwan has been a key political issue for China these days.
In 1971, the support of African nations was crucial in China’s joining the United Nations (UN), taking over the seat on Taiwan.
Many African countries, such as Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Zambia have stressed their support for a “one-China policy”.
Criticisms of Chinese Scramble in Africa: A neo-colonialism in making
There are a variety of critical perspectives scrutinizing the balance of power relationship between China and Africa, and China’s role concerning human rights in Africa.
Increasingly, concerns have been raised by Africans and outside observers that China’s relationship with Africa is neocolonialist in nature.
Union Home Minister is expected to seal the final agreement to end the dispute in six areas of the Assam-Meghalaya boundary ahead of Meghalaya’s 50th Statehood Day celebration on January 21.
Can you recall the chronology of reorganization of the entire North-East region?
Assam- Meghalaya Boundary Dispute
Assam has had a boundary dispute with Mizoram for decades and several rounds of talks have been held since 1994-95 to solve the issue.
Till 1972, Mizoram was a part of Assam and acquired full statehood in 1987.
The 164.6 km-long border between the States runs along with Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts in Assam and Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl districts in Mizoram.
There are several border areas where violence have been reported.
Roots of the dispute
In the Northeast’s complex boundary equations, showdowns between Assam and Mizoram residents are less frequent than they are.
The boundary between present-day Assam and Mizoram, 165 km long today, dates back to the colonial era when Mizoram was known as Lushai Hills, a district of Assam.
The dispute stems from a notification of 1875 that differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar, and another of 1933 that demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.
Mizoram believes the boundary should be demarcated on the basis of the 1875 notification, which is derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873.
Mizo leaders have argued in the past argued against the demarcation notified in 1933 because Mizo society was not consulted.
Other boundary disputes in North-East
The states of the Northeast were largely carved out of Assam, which has border disputes with several states.
During British rule, Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya besides Mizoram, which became separate state one by one. Today, Assam has boundary problems with each of them.
Nagaland shares a 500-km boundary with Assam.
In two major incidents of violence in 1979 and 1985, at least 100 persons were killed. The boundary dispute is now in the Supreme Court
On the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary (over 800 km), clashes were first reported in 1992, according to the same research paper.
Since then, there have been several accusations of illegal encroachment from both sides, and intermittent clashes. This boundary issue is being heard by the Supreme Court.
The 884-km Assam-Meghalaya boundary, too, witnesses flare-ups frequently. As per Meghalaya government statements, today there are 12 areas of dispute between the two states.
Ratings by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) for the news channels will resume, after the organisation revised its procedures and protocols.
The ratings were suspended after the Mumbai police busted a racket involving a private channel’s efforts to tamper the TRPs.
Try this question:
Q.What do you mean by “TRP Journalism”? Discuss the loopholes in the present system of self-regulation in Indian media.
What is TRP?
In simple terms, anyone who watches television for more than a minute is considered a viewer.
The TRP or Target Rating Point is the metric used by the marketing and advertising agencies to evaluate this viewership.
In India, the TRP is recorded by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) using Bar-O-Meters that are installed in televisions in selected households.
As on date, the BARC has installed these meters in 44,000 households across the country. Audio watermarks are embedded in video content prior to broadcast.
These watermarks are not audible to the human ear, but can easily be detected and decoded using dedicated hardware and software.
As viewing details are recorded by the Bar-O-Meters, so are the watermarks.
What is BARC?
It is an industry body jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies, and broadcasting companies, represented by The Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Agencies Association of India.
Though it was created in 2010, the I&B Ministry notified the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India on January 10, 2014, and registered BARC in July 2015 under these guidelines, to carry out television ratings in India.
How are the households selected?
Selection of households where Bar-O-Meters are installed is a two-stage process.
The first step is the Establishment Survey, a large-scale face-to-face survey of a sample of approximately 3 lakh households from the target population. This is done annually.
Out of these, the households which will have Bar-O-Meters or what the BARC calls the Recruitment Sample are randomly selected. The fieldwork to recruit households is not done directly by BARC.
The BARC on its website has said that the viewing behaviour of panel homes is reported to BARC India daily. Coincidental checks either physically or telephonically are done regularly.
Vigilance activities by BARC
Certain suspicious outliers are also checked directly by BARC India.
BARC India also involves a separate vigilance agency to check on outliers that it considers highly suspicious.
And as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, these households rotate every year.
This rotation is in such a manner that older panel homes are removed first while maintaining the representativeness of the panel.
The Ministry guidelines further say that the secrecy and privacy of the panel homes must be maintained, and asked the BARC to follow a voluntary code of conduct.
What are the loopholes in the process?
Several doubts have been raised on many previous occasions about the working of the TRP.
As per several reports, about 70% of the revenue for television channels comes from advertising and only 30% from subscriptions.
It is claimed that households were being paid to manipulate the TRP.
The President has greeted the people of India on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and Pongal festivals.
Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan or Maghi or simply Sankranti is considered as the transition day of Sun into the Capricorn.
Now the sun moves northwards in the Hindu calendar.
Dedicated to the deity Surya, many native festivals are organized all over India.
It mostly falls at the end of Kharif harvests.
Statewise festivals celebration
Pongal: In South India and particularly in Tamil Nadu, it’s the festival of Pongal which is being celebrated over 4 days at harvest time.
Lohri: It is celebrated in North India particularly in Punjab as a traditional winter folk festival or as a popular harvest festival of farmers.
Bhogi: In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated as a four day festival with a bonfire with logs of wood, other solid-fuels, and wooden furniture at home that are no longer useful.
Magha Bihu: In Assam and many parts of the North East, the festival of Magha Bihu is celebrated. It sees the first harvest of the season being offered to the gods along with prayers for peace and prosperity.
Uttarayan: Gujarat celebrates it in the form of the convivial kite festival of Uttarayan.
Saaji: In Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh, Makara Sankranti is known as Magha Saaji. Saaji is the Pahari word for Sankranti, start of the new month. Hence this day marks the start of the month of Magha.
Success in UPSC Civil Services Examination = 50% Knowledge + 50% Strategy. Both knowledge and strategy are important to clear this exam.
You might have finished reading your mandatory standard books, but still is your preparation complete? Do you remember all the important facts in your current affairs syllabus? Have you practised maps yet? Do you know all the important kingdoms in Ancient & Medieval History? Do you have a strong conceptual clarity on the foundational topics of Prelims? Are there any questions you have come across while practising your test series which you want to discuss in a live webinar? Then, register yourself for our next Ask me Anything Session with Prelims Toppers & UPSC Mentors Shubham & Anurag.
Open to All Free Live Q&A Webinar with Prelims Toppers & Civilsdaily Mentors Anurag & Shubham
How long has it been since you revised your GS subjects? First time reading of all books is always easy. In the second and third time readings, you will realise that your recollection of the topics is still sparse. All the topics might seem new, even when they are already read. In the second and third time readings, not only you are expected to write down notes but also start your subject-wise test series. So, how will you fit in revision study plan with your test series and current affairs schedule in the next five months?
Since, there are five months for Prelims exams to begin in 2022, do you think its too early to start CSAT preparation? CSAT, is only a qualifying paper but it definitely is not a piece of cake. In the past two years, questions testing the analytical, reasoning and aptitude skills of candidates have become tougher. Many toppers have had to write Prelims a second time as they had underestimated CSAT the first time. Case in point, is our Civilsdaily student and IPS Officer Shubham Nagargoje.
Most importantly, if you have not yet started UPSC preparation, but still want to give 2022 a decent attempt, then you might be unsure how you can do justice to Prelims preparation in the last five months. Anurag and Shubham sir will draw the correct roadmap for such learners.
Key-Takeaways of Free Live Ask Me Anything Session with Shubham & Anurag Sir
Both Shubham and Anurag sir have attended interview round of UPSC-CSE as aspirants two to three times respectively and cleared the prelims five to six times respectively with a score above 110 marks. In their Q&A webinar, they will be welcoming doubts from all aspirants in these areas —
1. What to target for prelims 2022? For those who have started their UPSC preparation only this month onwards.
2. How to revise GS for Prelims? How to form a test series and revision schedule that are in sync with each other?
3. Is CSAT a child’s play?
4. The different kinds of Mock Tests for Prelims. What are they and where will you find them?
5. Tricky topics of Prelims 2022. What are the topics where questions deviate from the standard sources?
6. Difference in preparation- Prelims vs Mains Preparation. What are the differences when it comes to books, current affairs sources and taking down notes on same topics?
7. Analysing test performance. How to change or increase your topic-wise sources in GS Prelims after taking a test?
Webinar Details
It’s time to level up and revise the same syllabus that took you one year to complete in the next 5 months! We hope this webinar will help all 2022 aspirants implement the suggestions of Shubham and Anurag sir
The attendance of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and his Election Commissioner (EC) colleagues at an “informal” meeting with the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister has brought renewed focus on the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Need for changes in the appointment process
The changes in the appointment process for ECs can strengthen ECI’s independence, neutrality and transparency.
The appointment of ECs falls within the purview of Article 324(2) of the Constitution, which establishes the institution.
Article 324(2) contains a ‘subject to’ clause which provides that both the number and tenure of the ECs shall be “subject to provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament, be made by the President.”
Apart from enacting a law in 1989 enlarging the number of ECs from one to three, Parliament has so far not enacted any changes to the appointment process.
In 1975 itself, the Justice Tarkunde Committee recommended that ECs be appointed on the advice of a Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader and the Chief Justice.
This was reiterated by the Dinesh Goswami Committee in 1990 and the Law Commission in 2015.
The 4th Report (2007) of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission additionally recommended that the Law Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha be included in such a Collegium.
Violation of Article 14 and 324: Three Writ Petitions, with one pending since 2015, are urging the Supreme Court to declare that the current practice of appointment of ECs by the Centre violates Article 14, Article 324(2), and Democracy as a basic feature of the Constitution.
Precedent does exist in the case of Rojer Mathew v South Indian Bank Ltd, to argue against the Executive being the sole appointer for a quasi-judicial body.
The Supreme Court had recognised that “Election Commission is not only responsible for conducting free and fair elections but it also renders a quasi-judicial function between the various political parties including the ruling government and other parties.”
In such circumstances, the executive cannot be a sole participant in the appointment of members of Election Commission as it gives unfettered discretion to the ruling party.
Way forward
Establishing a multi-institutional, bipartisan committee for fair and transparent selection of ECs can enhance the perceived and actual independence of ECI.
Such a procedure is already followed with regard to other Constitutional and Statutory Authorities such as the Chief Information Commissioner, Lokpal, Vigilance Commissioner, and the Director of the Central Bureau of Intelligence.
Consider the question “What is the procedure for the appointment of Election Commissioners? What are the issues with this procedure? Suggest the way forward.”
Conclusion
ECI’s constitutional responsibilities require a fair and transparent appointment process that is beyond reproach, which will reaffirm our faith in this vital pillar of our polity.
Countries like Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea have already shown us how demographic dividend can be reaped to achieve incredible economic growth by adopting forward-looking policies and programmes.
The window of demographic opportunity
With falling fertility (currently 2.0), rising median age (from 24 years in 2011, 29 years now and expected to be 36 years by 2036), a falling dependency ratio (expected to decrease from 65% to 54% in the coming decade taking 15-59 years as the working age population), India is in the middle of a demographic transition.
This provides a window of opportunity towards faster economic growth. India has already begun to get the dividend.
As fertility declines, the share of the young population falls and that of the older, dependent population rises.
If the fertility decline is rapid, the increase in the population of working ages is substantial yielding the ‘demographic dividend’.
The smaller share of children in the population enables higher investment per child.
Therefore, the future entrants in the labour force can have better productivity and thus boost income.
With the passage of time, the share of the older population rises and that of the working age population begins to fall and hence the dividend is available for a period of time, ‘the window of demographic opportunity’.
Need for forward-looking policies
Without proper policies, the increase in the working-age population may lead to rising unemployment, fueling economic and social risks.
This calls for forward-looking policies incorporating population dynamics, education and skills, healthcare, gender sensitivity, and providing rights and choices to the younger generation.
Lessons for India
Countries like Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea have already shown us how demographic dividend can be reaped.
There are important lessons from these countries for India.
1) NTA data: The first is to undertake an updated National Transfer Accounts (NTA) assessment.
Using NTA methodologies, we find that India’s per capita consumption pattern is way lower than that of other Asian countries.
A child in India consumes around 60% of the consumption by an adult aged between 20 and 64, while a child in China consumes about 85% of a prime-age adult’s consumption.
The NTA data for India needs to be updated to capture the progress made on such investments since 2011-12.
2) Invest more in children and adolescents: India ranks poorly in Asia in terms of private and public human capital spending.
It needs to invest more in children and adolescents, particularly in nutrition and learning during early childhood.
3) Make health investments: Health spending has not kept pace with India’s economic growth.
The public spending on health has remained flat at around 1% of GDP.
Evidence suggests that better health facilitates improved economic production.
Hence, it is important to draft policies to promote health during the demographic dividend.
4) Make reproductive healthcare services accessible on a rights-based approach: We need to provide universal access to high-quality primary education and basic healthcare.
The unmet need for family planning in India at 9.4% as per the latest National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) is high as compared to 3.3% in China and 6.6% in South Korea, which needs to be bridged.
5) Bridge gender differentials in education: The gender inequality of education is a concern.
In India, boys are more likely to be enrolled in secondary and tertiary school than girls. This needs to be reversed.
6) Increase female workforce participation: As of 2019, 20.3% of women were working or looking for work, down from 34.1% in 2003-04.
New skills and opportunities for women and girls befitting their participation in a $3 trillion economy is urgently needed.
It is predicted that if all women engaged in domestic duties in India who are willing to work had a job, female labour force participation would increase by about 20%.
7) Address the diversity between StatesWhile India is a young country, the status and pace of population ageing vary among States.
Southern States, which are advanced in demographic transition, already have a higher percentage of older people.
These differences in age structure reflect differences in economic development and health – and remind us of States’ very different starting points at the outset of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda.
But this also offers boundless opportunities for States to work together, especially on demographic transition, with the north-central region as the reservoir of India’s workforce.
8) Governance reform: A new federal approach to governance reforms for demographic dividend will need to be put in place for policy coordination between States on various emerging population issues such as migration, ageing, skiling, female workforce participation and urbanisation.
Conclusion
In India, the benefit to the GDP from demographic transition has been lower than its peers in Asia and is already tapering. Hence, there is an urgency to take appropriate policy measures.
The buzzword across the globe for the 21st century is Innovation which is considered to be the primary driver of progress.
Incentivising innovation and intellectual property creation is important for India’s future growth prospects.
Making all these considerations, the Ministry of Education’s innovation cell has recently released the third edition of Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021.
What is Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)?
ARIIA ranking classifies participating institutions into two major categories; technical and non-technical.
It is developed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Ministry’s Innovation Cell.
It aims to systematically rank all major higher educational institutions and universities in India.
Highlights of ARIIA 2021
In the technical ranking IIT Madras has been recognised as the Most Innovative Educational Institute in India.
This is the third time that IIT Madras has secured the first rank. IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi were placed at the second and third ranks respectively.
Out of total of 3551 HEIs registered, 1438 institutions including all IITs, NITs, IISc, etc. participated in this exercise.
Why discuss innovation?
Academic nature: For the longest of time in India, innovation was either tucked away in the R&D centres of government enterprises, academia and the MNEs.
Situational constraints: Quiet often it was around unorganised markets in the form of the cheap Jugaad.
Rise of Unicorns: With over 35 Unicorns (and counting), India has become the third-largest hub of Unicorns globally, something that is not even remotely replicable by others in similar class of economies.
Pitch for Indigenization: Introduced at the beginning of the 2020s, the ‘Vocal for Local’ credo is symbolic of a nation that is beginning to believe in its own self-worth.
Unleashed potential: From ISRO’s groundbreaking low-budget streaks to India being a frontrunner in the Covid vaccine development, India’s ability to innovate is beginning to make a lasting impact on the world.
Global acknowledgement: The Global Innovation Index indicates India has been consistently outperforming other economies. India’s ranking has gone up from 81 (2015) to 48 (2020).
For a better India
The once stereotypical attitude of ‘chalta hai’ is giving way to the newfound zeal around ‘how to make things work better.
This is the question that Indian entrepreneurs are applying to the products and services landscape of new India.
Why does India need innovation?
Heterogeneity of users: With the hard metrics of innovation ecosystem in place, what really acts as the magic ingredient is the vast and heterogenous user segments in India that are hungry for novel solutions.
Capable institutions: This combination of strong capabilities and categories ripe for disruption makes India a fertile ground for new innovations.
Youth: India is also a young country. While population growth is under control, it is still growing at two per cent per year in population.
Being later than never: Technology is clearly the biggest area of transformation in India. India has some advantages in this area from being a ‘late mover’, which has enabled it to leapfrog the competition in many cases.
Hurdles to Innovation in HEIs
Low gross enrolment ratio is a major challenge in India towards the introduction of innovation in education
Inadequate quality of education and infrastructure that is requisite to boost innovation
Lack of funds for state-run Universities
Faculty crunch and severe shortage of teaching staff and poor facilities
Stagnant academic syllabus in institutions other than IITs/NITs
Decline in research standards due to lack of infrastructure
Limited institutional support- While India has the scientific talent, we do not have the deep pockets and the enabling ecosystem that drives most of the innovation in the West.
Structural lacunae
Lack of incubation centres: In terms of world-class manufacturing, India still lags behind.
Limited policy successes: Even though the government has an initiative in place to encourage companies under Make In India/ Vocal for Local, it hasn’t had any major victories in terms of attracting big players.
Weaker IPR regime: The lack of funding support in the country forces innovators in India to park their IP rights outside the country.
Significance of Innovation in Higher Education
Competition: The ranking system of ARIIA facilitates a healthy competitive environment among institutions to expand the purview of innovation.
Formative years of students: This ecosystem would inspire young students to put forth their ideas in their formative years.
Quality enhancement: ARIIA will exert a large emphasis on the quality of innovation and will make an attempt to examine the influence of the innovations nationally and internationally.
Social applications: The innovation in education has a far-reaching impact on human development for productivity, research and improved value chain interaction across different spheres of the economy.
Way forward
In today’s knowledge-driven economy, innovation is the primary driver of progress. And, a large reservoir of entrepreneurial energy in India waiting to be tapped lies in these HEIs.
For innovation to flourish, ideas must be funded and taken to market. The HEIs are the right place to invest in for innovations.
It is by investing in breakthrough ideas and embracing entrepreneurship as an economic model of growth that India will be able to unleash the power of innovation to ensure a better life for its billion-plus citizens.
Conclusion
We must build the credibility of Indian innovation within our borders and convince people that the quality of research done in India is at par with the best in the world.
This can be done by promoting more innovations in HEIs.
Everything that has a value in life is a product of consistency — Health, Fitness, Wealth, Relationships and Your UPSC Aspiration as well. Choosing consistency is better than chasing perfection. Nobody can be perfect, but everyone can stay consistent.
Choosing to be a UPSC Aspirant means you have signed up for a roller-coaster of emotions for a period of 1-2 years. Not all days are going to be the same, that is for sure. Some days you’re extremely motivated and positive, and on other days, you might find yourself questioning EVERYTHING about your preparation! It is absolutely normal. This is something extremely inevitable. Even the best of the toppers can have the worst days during the preparation phase simply because it is an extremely long and often a lonely process.
It’s fine to be inconsistent for a short while. Maybe a day or two in the initial phase. But don’t make it a habit. Regular inconsistency won’t fetch you the desired result. But what exactly is inconsistency?
What did Aspirants say made them Inconsistent 1-on-1 Free Counselling Session?
Last month, we had counselled about 4000 aspirants and found out the major reasons why are in inconsistent in their UPSC preparation. Here are few of the responses we received (we have withheld names to respect their privacy) —
1. “I am inconsistent because my thoughts don’t line up with my actions. I like the idea of being an IAS officer, but I am unable to study for it.”
2. “There are days when I brood about the competition and think do I really stand a chance? That’s what keeps me studying for many days together.”, shared another
3. “I am a working professional and I am unable to find time to study for weeks together.”
4. “I am unable to make a timetable that can do justice to both my pace and the vast syllabus of UPSC”
5. “This is my third attempt. The thought of repeating the same cycle of studies and reading those dreary books once again keeps me from staying consistent.”
6. “I feel burnt out. There are days I put in so much effort studying for UPSC that I won’t feel like the next day.”
7. “Social Media. I get distracted often.”
8. “The preparation makes me feel lonely. Sometimes I wish I had a well-wisher who could pull me out of my inconsistent ways.”
What we could understand from this is that self-doubt kills enthusiasm to prepare for UPSC. And fear of failure stops you from staying consistent. It’s important to inculcate consistency as a UPSC aspirant as consistency leads to habits. Habits lead to action and action makes you successful.
Inconsistency is the frenemy of every UPSC aspirant — they look like your friend at first, but they are your enemy in disguise. It doesn’t even let you achieve 10% of your actual potential. You know that you are capable of so many things if you stopped being inconsistent.
Keeping this in mind, we have launched our mentorship program this week. The highlight of our free 1-on-1 sessions would be to suggest ways that can help you stay focused during your long preparation journey for UPSC.
How does 1-on-1 Mentorship fights inconsistency in UPSC Preparation?
Our philosophy behind MENTORSHIP is to get you out of this Snooze cycle. This ensures that you are the BEST VERSION of yourself in this journey. If you are under the impression that mentorship is weekly calls you attend, then you are mistaken, my friend. Trust us, your mentor will be your ‘FRIEND, PHILOSOPHER AND GUIDE’.
TO EACH THEIR OWN – Every aspirant is different. Their strengths and weaknesses are different. Their time availability is also different. Identifying this is important so you don’t end up making unrealistic targets and lose momentum. Your mentor will make sure you start slow but remain consistent to build your confidence. Making your schedule structured based on our experience of working with 2500+ students is our first priority.
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS – When you see yourself grow, it becomes easier to motivate yourself to push boundaries. Tracking your progress can happen in many ways like mentorship calls or chat sessions or by regular tests. The idea is to ensure that you don’t go off track in your preparation, and even if you do, we have your back.
EVOLUTION – A constant guidance is important to bring consistency to your UPSC preparation. Guidance is not about clearing your doubts or asking you to study when you don’t. It is also about the evolution of your preparation. This is where you and your mentor work as a team. A constant effort to PLAN AND BUILD UP YOUR ABILITY to learn in a faster and more efficient way.RECEIVE PERSONAL GUIDANCE FOR UPSC (REGISTER HERE)
TALK IT OUT – The biggest hurdle in achieving your highest level of consistency is the emotional part. Every now and then, you. surround yourself with negative thoughts, you feel scared and depressed. Instead of resolving these emotional issues, you avoid them as it seems like a waste of your precious time. You have to understand that ignoring emotional troubles does not solve them. What your doing is building an emotional time bomb that may burst a week before your mains or prelims! This is where your MENTOR AS A FRIEND comes in. All our mentors have been through this journey. We understand your fears and anxieties. So, TALK IT OUT.
Don’t let inconsistency keep you away from your dreams.
Fill up the SAMANVAYA form given below. Let us know your problems and we will find a solution to it, just like our students say ” TOGETHER WE CAN AND WE WILL”.
How has Civilsdaily Mentorship, helped Aspirants become Toppers?
The most difficult challenge faced by EVERY candidate is inconsistency. Be it inconsistency in studies, answer-writing practice, covering the syllabus, or revision, every candidate finds it difficult to cope with. Buthow do successful candidates manage to FIGHT Inconsistency so consistently?
In UPSC 2020, Civilsdaily helped 80+ students secure ranks in their exams. In the top 100, every 3rd ranker was a Civilsdaily student.
A very recent success story would be Vishwa Shah, student of Civilsdaily Mentor, Sukanya Ma’am. Vishwa has cleared the GPSC exam to become the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Gujarat. He has penned a thank-you note yesterday. Heartiest Congratulations to Vishwa!
One of our other Civilsdaily Student, Shubham Nagargojecleared the exams in 2020 to become an IPS Officer. Shubham was gracious enough to let us know how he felt about Civilsdaily Samanvaya Guidance under Parth sir.
To know how all of them cleared the exam with our mentorship, visit the UnherdPodcast.
Now that results are announced for UPSC 2021 Prelims, out of 15 out of 25 students of Santhosh Gupta sir have been recommended to Mains. One such student, Rahul expresses his gratitude and extends his appreciation.
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.
All of them dedicate their time weekly to give 1-on-1 mentorship to every student where they discuss last week’s performance and next week’s approach.
Be it Telegram, Whatsapp or Habitiat channels, they are always available and clear student’s doubts in a turnaround time of 24 Hours.
Why Civilsdaily Mentors are the GPS for Your UPSC-CSE Preparation
Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel and if you want to get out of the tunnel you have to follow the direction of the light! Our mentors’ give you direction which is divided into daily modules. All you have to do is study and complete them on time.
As every year passes by, we don’t get confident by the previous years’ performance and become laidback. Instead, we become more hungry to convert all our students into toppers.
How are Current Civilsdaily Students Gearing up for UPSC-CSE 2022?
Initially, our Civilsdaily student Smriti wasn’t confident about Prelims when she began her preparation. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE back in 2019. At that time, Smriti had enrolled in multiple institutes. Though, most of these institutes had promised a personal mentor, she was unable to get in touch with them on a daily basis. Also those mentors never scheduled test-series on a weekly basis. Hence, despite preparing for a year, Smriti had scored only 35 marks out of 200 in her first test series by Civilsdaily.
She then started writing 20-25 test series over the course of UAP 2021 and in her last test, her scores have drastically improved. She now scores in the range of 130-135 marks in prelims’ and 110+ in mains’ papers.
In Smriti’s own words she describes her Samanvaya Mentorship Experience to be —
“Our parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support for UPSC. There are days when I felt I won’t be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants. That’s when my mentor, Ravi sir reminded me of my improvement and encouraged me that I can crack it with the same consistency. We need someone, who tells us we are performing well especially when we cannot see that ourselves. The mentorship at Civilsdaily helped me become mentally stronger as a person. In other institutes, mentors are allotted only for doubt resolution. But at Civilsdaily, I am getting end-to-end mentorship via value added notes, classes, test series and detailed evaluation.”
Similarly our another Civilsdaily student, Ashishsums up his Samanvaya experience with Civilsdaily mentor,Pravin Sir, “Because of Pravin sir’s support, I am able to understand a topic in lesser time.”
This is how Pravin sir evaluates Ashish’s Mains Test Series every week. After every test series evaluation, Pravin sir schedules a 1 hour call to discuss how Ashish can improve his marks and the sources he can refer for key topics.
It’s Your Turn Get the Free 40 Min Counselling Session By a CD Mentor
Civilsdaily mentors are so dedicated, consistent and focused for your UPSC goal, that you will eventually become focused into turning your dreams to reality.
At the core of Civilsdaily UPSC mentorship, lies the fact that each one of you will have a unique journey while preparing for the exam. Some will get through on the first attempt without much effort while others will take both more time and more effort.
We want to understand you better to help you optimize your journey so you can focus on the right things and not waste time on the wrong ones. We are asking you to tap into the valuable experiences of mentors who underwent the same grind and realize the pitfalls and understand the shortcuts to make it.
In the first counselling session, we will understand your weaknesses. We then help you to stick to one plan or strategy throughout your preparation. We will then follow up with you on a daily basis to check if you are right on track. To get an idea of how your 1st 1-on-1 mentorship will look like, watch this sample video —
GS-1 Population and associated issues, poverty, and developmental issues
GS-2 Constitution of India—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure; Representation of People’s Act
GS-3 Indian Economy
GS-4 Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th October is uploaded on 11th October then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th October is uploaded on 13th October, then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
In the intro, mention the nearing end of the duration in which the Centre had agreed to pay compensation to the States for their revenue loss.
In the body, mention challenges such as misuse of input tax credit and fake invoices. Impact on certainty for the States about the tax revenue, complex nature of tax structure. In the suggestion mention the need to reduce the items in exempted list, bringing petroleum products, real estate, electricity in GST net, transition to single rate of GST, extending the period in which Centre provides the compensation to the states.
Conclude by mentioning the need to implement these changes to mitigate the problems.
In the intro, mention the recent incidents of hate speech where calls to violence were made.
In the body, mention the challenges such as lack of legal definition and difficulty in defining it as it can take many forms, challenges posed by social media etc. In the suggestions mention recommendations of the 267th report of the Law Commission of India, insertion of a separate and specific provision in the IT Act as recommended by the standing committee on Home affairs in 2015, bringing in specialised legislation to deal with hate speech propagated through internet etc.
Conclude by mentioning the need to adopt the best international standards while coming up with specific and durable legislative provisions that combat hate speech, especially that which is propagated online and through social media by amending the IPC and the Information Technology Act.
