Countries across all income levels remain dangerously unprepared to meet future epidemic and pandemic threats, according to the new 2021 Global Health Security (GHS) Index.
About GHS Index
The GHS Index is the first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across the 195 countries that make up the States Parties to the International Health Regulations.
It is a project of the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and was first launched in October 2019.
It assesses countries across 6 categories, 37 indicators, and 171 questions using publicly available information.
It benchmarks health security in the context of other factors critical to fighting outbreaks, such as political and security risks, the broader strength of the health system, and country adherence to global norms.
Parameters assessed
The report is based on a questionnaire of 140 questions, organized across 6 categories, 34 indicators, and 85 sub-indicators. The six categories are:
Prevention: Prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens
Detection and Reporting: Early detection and reporting for epidemics of potential international concern
Rapid Response: Rapid response to and mitigation of the spread of an epidemic
Health System: Sufficient and robust health system to treat the sick and protect health workers
Compliance with International Norms: Commitments to improving national capacity, financing plans to address gaps, and adhering to global norms
Risk Environment: Overall risk environment and country vulnerability to biological threats
Global performance
In 2021, no country scored in the top tier of rankings and no country scored above 75.9, the report showed.
The world’s overall performance on the GHS Index score slipped to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021, from a score of 40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019.
This, even as infectious diseases are expected to have the greatest impact on the global economy in the next decade.
Some 101 countries high-, middle- and low-income countries, including India, have slipped in performance since 2019.
Indian scenario
India, with a score of 42.8 (out of 100) too, has slipped by 0.8 points since 2019.
Three neighboring countries — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives — have improved their score by 1-1.2 points.
Conclusion
Health emergencies demand a robust public health infrastructure with effective governance.
The trust in government, which has been a key factor associated with success in countries’ responses to COVID-19, is low and decreasing, the index noted.
Program starting from the second week of December.
UPSC CSE Mains 2021 will be conducted on January 2022 and is hardly a month away. It’s time to practice a lot of test series and revise the topics.
We, at Civilsdaily rose to the occasion and have prepared consolidated notes of the 250 most important topics of Mains 2021. Each topic will have 2-3 pages of notes of material from the standard books and current affairs. They will also have relevant factual data and statistics highlighted in bold for every topic that will help you provide a solid introduction and conclusion.
And the best news is…. all of this is absolutely free for all Mains selected candidates! Just fill the form right now to request the QEP material and we will get in touch with you with ASAP.
How Quality Assessment Program be useful right now?
You might be wondering, with just a month away is it wise to register for any program right now, even for free? You don’t have to worry. The Quality Assessment Program is not new information. It’s consolidated revision notes from the standard books and current affairs of UPSC-CSE Mains.
Our initiative last year of compiling issues and topics that had a high probability of being asked in Mains 2020was a thumping success– our toppers said they greatly benefitted from it. One such topper, Lakshay Chowdhary was gracious enough to give us a video testimonial.
Questions in 2020 Mains came from topics we covered like Pala period, Circum-Pacific zone, Online Education in India, Criminalization in Politics, 16 years of RTI, Microfinance etc.
Coverage of topics in QEP will have one and only one purpose – to enable you to write great answers for any question from a particular topic. To be able to write a convincing 250 words answer for a topic, you need to know atleast 1-2 pages of content for it.
At this point in time studying everything is not desirable neither is it feasible. You don’t have time to read everything, segregate what is important and what’s not, make notes, cover different dimensions, and then find a way to utilize that. What you need at this point in time is efficient and organized coverage of the most relevant topics for the IAS mains exam. With QEP we aim to help you achieve all this.
QEP or Quality Enrichment Program is an intensive and holistic program for IAS Mains 2021 GS papers. We aim to cover 250+ most relevant issues with a 360-degree view, covering all dimensions of each and every topic. Not only you’ll learn and analyze these issues but will also understand how to utilize them via Daily Answer Writing and Mains Test Series.
Topic-Wise Current Affairs From An Issue Perspective
Current affairs in the IAS mains exam must be covered from an ‘issue perspective’ and almost all of them have multiple dimensions to it, various stakeholders involved, have interconnectedness, and can be solved with a multipronged approach only. This should reflect in your answers.
QEP will help you enrich your pre-existing coverage and will add quality to it. With tests and mentorship, you will get an evaluation and necessary course correction. And we will provide daily answer writing to help you sharpen your answer writing skills and knowledge with our daily initiatives on Habitat.
Excluding your optional subject, we will be providing topic-wise notes from all the other GS papers for free. This includes Ethics case studies as well!
What are some of the topics that will be covered in Quality Assessment Program?
Unlike Prelims, Mains examinations are lesser dynamic. That’s why we have QEP for Mains and not Prelims. We are not like other dubious institutes who claimed to have figured out the exact paper pattern of Mains 2021. But if you put 2 &2 together, you will know that every paper has nearly 40 topics and we are covering 35 of the most important topics from every paper for Free! (Optional Subjects and Language papers are not included)
Here are 10 of the most important topics we will be covering
1. Scrapping of ease of doing Business ranking
2. Retrospective taxation in India :Issues and Challenges
The Summit between India and Russia marks the 21st Annual Summit between the two countries after the 2+2 dialogue.
This will be the first in-person meeting of the Russian President and PM Modi after 2019.
It is in continuation of the tradition of Annual Summits alternately in India and Russia.
The 2+2 Dialogue
It is a strategic conversation between the defense and the foreign ministries of two countries having diplomatic relations.
India now has a 2+2 format dialogue mechanism on strategic and security issues with four of its key strategic partners, Russia being the latest.
The three others — Australia, the US and Japan — are also ‘Quad’ partners.
2+2 Dialogue with Russia
Russia is one of those countries with which a 2+2 format talk “fits perfectly” in India’s foreign policy.
To be sure, the India-Russia 2+2 do have a particularly strong signaling component when seen against the backdrop of the S400 controversy.
It can be read as a reminder to Washington that the S400 deal and broader India-Russia defense cooperation will continue, regardless of US concerns.
Expected outcomes of this Summit
There is a propensity towards the signing of agreements between India and Russia in areas of Defence, Trade, Energy and also Space Technology.
The Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics (RELOS) Agreement is expected to be signed between the two countries.
Both nations have agreed for the manufacture of over six lakh AK-203 assault rifles by a Joint Venture, Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd, at Korwa, Amethi, in UP.
Both countries will take an attempt to deepen their collaboration with a primary focus on regional security concerns with the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
India-Russia Relations: A backgrounder
The relations between Russia and India are an important and privileged strategic partnership.
The relationship began with a visit by Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru to the Soviet Union in June 1955.
During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union (USSR) had a strong strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relationship.
After the collapse of the USSR, Russia inherited its close relationship with India resulted in the special relationship.
The Partnership
Traditionally, the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been built on five major components: politics, defense, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism cooperation and space.
(1) Strategic Relations
India is the second-largest market for the Russian defence industry.
In 2017, approximately 68% of the Indian Military’s hardware import came from Russia, making Russia the chief supplier of defence equipment.
It has rose above a buyer-seller relationship with the joint ventures projects.
(2) Economic Relations
Bilateral trade between both countries is concentrated in key value-chain sectors.
These sectors include highly diversified segments such as machinery, electronics, aerospace, automobile, commercial shipping, chemicals, pharmaceuticals etc.
Both countries set a target of reaching US$30 billion in bilateral trade by 2025.
Energy sector is another important area in Indo-Russian bilateral relations.
Recent trends in bilateral ties
Despite the best efforts, divergences grew in the bilateral relationships as the underlying structural changes in the international environment are pulling the two nations apart.
(1) Bilateral divergence
While the top leadership of the two nations have continued to engage with each other, divergences have been cropping up with disturbing regularity.
For India, what should be concerning is Russia’s increasing tilt towards Pakistan as it seeks to curry favour with China.
Moscow had historically supported India at the UNSC by repeatedly vetoing resolutions on the Kashmir issue.
(2) Military-Defence Complexes
Strains are becoming apparent as India moves further along the path of military indigenization and import diversification.
India’s procurement from the US and France has also been seen as a heated divergence between the two.
This was a result of the unreliability of Russian supplies, as manifested in late arrivals, defective parts, and perennial conflicts overpricing and warranties.
(3) Cultural Vacuum
On an everyday level, while India films and yoga are popular in Russia, no parallel exposure to any aspect of Russian popular culture exists among Indians.
This is the most woefully neglected aspect of their relationship, suffering on both sides from lack of funding and, no less important, a shortage of political will.
Another aspect of ties is tourism which could be much more vigorous between the two countries than present India’s US affinity
(4) India-US ties
India’s engagement with the US addresses its core concerns regarding regional security.
The signing of the long-awaited Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) is set to elevate the bilateral defence partnership and give India access to advance US defence systems.
A closer engagement with the US is a challenge for India, as this relationship is not likely to be a partnership of equals, for the foreseeable future.
Significance of ties
(1) Russia needs India as
Ukraine conquest: A market for its goods to bypass Western sanctions imposed after its power push in Ukraine.
Countering China: Despite its renewed friendship with China, Russia will soon find itself in competition with it as Beijing regards itself as the new G2 along with the US.
Against US hegemony: India can help provide the multi-polarity that Russia fiercely seeks.
(2) India needs Russia because
Energy security: An area of special interest for India is the exploration of hydrocarbon reserves along the coast of Russia’s Far East where India has decided to extend a $1 billion Line of Credit.
Space collaboration: Despite expanding its purchases from the US, Israel and Europe, India still needs to collaborate with Russia to master future technology including for space.
Defence purchases: It improves India’s bargaining power when it negotiates arms sales with the West.
Indian exports: Russia can be a major market for Indian industry such as pharmaceuticals, manufactured goods, dairy products, bovine meat and frozen seafood.
Geopolitical importance: Russia continues to be a balancing force against any designs China and Pakistan may have in our region.
UNSC ambitions: New Delhi needs Moscow’s support in the former’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Way forward
The recent comprehensive U.S.-India Strategic 2+2 Dialogue is a model to follow.
There should be more meetings at the highest state level, regular annual reports on the progress of the working groups, and reinvigorated interactions.
India’s cores strength is that it follows an independent foreign policy.
On its long way to become a global power, it will likely have to follow a zigzag course, balancing between American demands, long-term friendship with Russia and its own strategic necessities.
The killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland in a security operation has sparked debate over the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Case for repeal of AFSPA
The repeal of AFSPA is necessary not just for restoring constitutional sanity, but also as a way of acknowledging dark history of our conduct in Nagaland.
If the moral case for repealing AFSPA is strong, the political case points in the same direction as well.
Need for ensuring individual dignity: The political incorporation of Nagaland (and all other areas where this law applies) will be set back if the guarantees of individual dignity of the Indian Constitution are not extended.
Not state of exception: We often describe AFSPA in terms of a “state of exception”.
But this theoretical term is misleading. How can a law that has been in virtually continuous existence since 1958 be described as an “exception”.
Why AFSPA is counterproductive to Army
Distortion of choice: First, giving wide immunity to the forces can distort the choice of strategy in counter insurgency operations.
Reduce professionalism: Second, wider immunity can often reduce rather than increase the professionalism of the forces.
Against federalism: Third, we are constantly in the vicious circle that leads to central dominance in a way that undermines both Indian federalism and operational efficiency.
Powers and limits under AFSPA
The Act grants extraordinarily sweeping powers to the armed forces of search, seizure, arrest, the right to shoot to kill.
No blanket immunity: It is true that AFSPA does not grant blanket immunity.
The SC guidelines: The Supreme Court laid down guidelines for the use of AFSPA in 1997; and in principle, unprofessional conduct, crimes and atrocities can still be prosecuted.
But this will run into two difficulties.
Lack of accountability mechanism: As the Jeevan Reddy Committee that advocated the repeal of AFSPA pointed out, the accountability mechanisms internal to AFSPA have not worked.
In 2017, the Supreme Court ordered a probe into 1,528 extra-judicial killings in Manipur.
At the least, this order seemed to suggest the problems with AFSPA were systemic.
But there have apparently been no hearings in this case for three years.
Lack of human empathy: At the heart of AFSPA is a profound mutilation of human empathy.
Our discourse is a rather abstract one, balancing concepts of human rights and national security.
Conclusion
It is high time that all parties come together to repeal AFSPA. It will also be in the fitness of things if all parties got together to acknowledge the trauma in Nagaland and elsewhere. This will strengthen, not weaken, the comatose Indian constitutional project.
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain status quo on policy rates, with one member continuing to dissent on the “accommodative” stance of policy.
What is accommodative stance of policy?
Accommodative monetary policy is when central banks expand the money supply to boost the economy. Monetary policies that are considered accommodative include lowering the Federal funds rate. These measures are meant to make money less expensive to borrow and encourage more spending.
Overview of RBI policy measures during Covid-related lockdown
Cut in policy rates and injection of liquidity: The RBI had moved proactively to cut the repo and reverse repo rate and inject unprecedented amounts of funds into banks and other intermediaries.
The short-term interest rate at reverse repo level: a combination of the lower reverse repo rate and the large liquidity injection had resulted in a drop in various short-term rates down to (and occasionally below) the reverse repo rate, making it the effective operating rate of monetary policy.
Gap between repo and reverse repo increased to 65 bps: In addition, both the repo and reverse repo rates had been cut to 4.0 and 3.35 per cent, respectively, with the gap – the “corridor” – between the rates widening from the usual 25 basis points to 65 bps.
Central bank’s role in modern monetary policy
Determining basic overnight interest rate: A central bank’s main role in modern monetary policy operating procedures is to determine the basic overnight interest rate, deemed to be consistent with prevailing macroeconomic conditions and their economic policy objectives, in balancing the ecosystem for sustained growth together with moderate inflation.
This is achieved through buying and selling very short-term (predominantly overnight) funds (mainly) from banks to keep a specified operating rate (the weighted average call rate in our case) very close to the policy rate.
Liquidity management: Key pillar of monetary policy normalisation
Liquidity management: Liquidity management in the extended banking and financial system (which includes non-banking intermediaries like NBFCs, mutual funds and others) will now be the key pillar of normalisation.
This process is the domain of RBI and not MPC.
These operations will be conducted within RBI’s liquidity management framework.
There are two sources of liquidity additions:
(i) Exogenous: which are largely due to inflows of foreign currency funds and outflows of currency in circulation (cash) from the banking sector.
(ii) Voluntary or endogenous: which is the result of the creation of base money by RBI through buying and selling of bonds, thereby injecting or extracting rupee funds.
How RBI is managing liquidity surplus?
Stopped GSAP and OMOs: Post the October review, RBI had stopped buying bonds under the Govt Securities Asset Purchase (GSAP) and done negligible Open Market Operations (OMOs), thereby stopping addition of voluntary liquidity injection into the system, our own version of “tapering”.
Union government balances with RBI, arising from cash flow mismatches between receipts and expenditures, has hybrid characteristics and also impacts liquidity.
Use of reverse repo window: RBI has used the reverse repo window to absorb almost all this liquidity surplus from banks.
Allowed repaying TLRTOs: It has again allowed banks the option to prepay the outstanding borrowings from the Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTROs), thereby potentially extracting another Rs 70,000 crores.
How RBI is managing interest rate in the policy normalisation process
Increased rates and closed the gap between repo and reverse repo: RBI – post the October review – has gradually guided short-term rates up with a sure hand from near the reverse repo rate to close to the repo rate.
It has shifted its liquidity absorption operations from the predominant use of fixed rate reverse repos (FRRR) into (largely) 14-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions to guide a rise in interest rates.
Since early October, these rates had steadily moved up in a smooth and orderly fashion up to 3.75-3.9 per cent.
The VRRR rates moving up have also resulted in various short-term funding interest rates like 90-day Treasury Bills, Commercial Papers (CP) and banks’ Certificates of Deposits (CD) moving up from the reverse repo rate or below in September to 3.5 per cent and higher since December.
The OMO and GSAP operations have also helped in managing medium- and longer-term interest rates in the yield curve.
Way forward
There is a likelihood of further additions to exogenous system liquidity.
Other instruments to absorb surpluses: There might consequently be a need for other instruments to absorb these surpluses apart from VRRR auctions.
Liquidity surplus of non-banking intermediaries: Managing liquidity surpluses of the non-banking intermediaries, especially mutual funds, will be another challenge since they do not have direct access to VRRR operations.
Consider the question “Since the onset of the Covid-related lockdowns, RBI had moved proactively to cut the repo and reverse repo rate and inject unprecedented amounts of funds into banks and other intermediaries. In this context, what are the challenges in monetary policy normalisation as RBI plans to absorb the excess liquidity and increase the interest rates ?”
Conclusion
The shift to the tightening phase, with hikes in the repo rate, is likely towards the late months of FY23, with shifts “if warranted by changes in the economic outlook”.
The Corridor in monetary policy of the RBI refers to the area between the reverse repo rate and the MSF rate.
Reverse repo rate will be the lowest of the policy rates whereas Marginal Standing Facility is something like an upper ceiling with a higher rate than the repo rate.
The MSF rate and reverse repo rate determine the corridor for the daily movement in the weighted average call money rate.
Program starting from the second week of December.
UPSC CSE Mains 2021 will be conducted on January 2022 and is hardly a month away. It’s time to practice a lot of test series and revise the topics.
We, at Civilsdaily rose to the occasion and have prepared consolidated notes of the 250 most important topics of Mains 2021. Each topic will have 2-3 pages of notes of material from the standard books and current affairs. They will also have relevant factual data and statistics highlighted in bold for every topic that will help you provide a solid introduction and conclusion.
And the best news is…. all of this is absolutely free for all Mains selected candidates! Just fill the form right now to request the QEP material and we will get in touch with you with ASAP.
How Quality Assessment Program be useful right now?
You might be wondering, with just a month away is it wise to register for any program right now, even for free? You don’t have to worry. The Quality Assessment Program is not new information. It’s consolidated revision notes from the standard books and current affairs of UPSC-CSE Mains.
Our initiative last year of compiling issues and topics that had a high probability of being asked in Mains 2020was a thumping success– our toppers said they greatly benefitted from it. One such topper, Lakshay Chowdhary was gracious enough to give us a video testimonial.
Questions in 2020 Mains came from topics we covered like Pala period, Circum-Pacific zone, Online Education in India, Criminalization in Politics, 16 years of RTI, Microfinance etc.
Coverage of topics in QEP will have one and only one purpose – to enable you to write great answers for any question from a particular topic. To be able to write a convincing 250 words answer for a topic, you need to know atleast 1-2 pages of content for it.
At this point in time studying everything is not desirable neither is it feasible. You don’t have time to read everything, segregate what is important and what’s not, make notes, cover different dimensions, and then find a way to utilize that. What you need at this point in time is efficient and organized coverage of the most relevant topics for the IAS mains exam. With QEP we aim to help you achieve all this.
QEP or Quality Enrichment Program is an intensive and holistic program for IAS Mains 2021 GS papers. We aim to cover 250+ most relevant issues with a 360-degree view, covering all dimensions of each and every topic. Not only you’ll learn and analyze these issues but will also understand how to utilize them via Daily Answer Writing and Mains Test Series.
Topic-Wise Current Affairs From An Issue Perspective
Current affairs in the IAS mains exam must be covered from an ‘issue perspective’ and almost all of them have multiple dimensions to it, various stakeholders involved, have interconnectedness, and can be solved with a multipronged approach only. This should reflect in your answers.
QEP will help you enrich your pre-existing coverage and will add quality to it. With tests and mentorship, you will get an evaluation and necessary course correction. And we will provide daily answer writing to help you sharpen your answer writing skills and knowledge with our daily initiatives on Habitat.
Excluding your optional subject, we will be providing topic-wise notes from all the other GS papers for free. This includes Ethics case studies as well!
What are some of the topics that will be covered in Quality Assessment Program?
Unlike Prelims, Mains examinations are lesser dynamic. That’s why we have QEP for Mains and not Prelims. We are not like other dubious institutes who claimed to have figured out the exact paper pattern of Mains 2021. But if you put 2 &2 together, you will know that every paper has nearly 40 topics and we are covering 35 of the most important topics from every paper for Free! (Optional Subjects and Language papers are not included)
Here are 10 of the most important topics we will be covering
1. Scrapping of ease of doing Business ranking
2. Retrospective taxation in India :Issues and Challenges
Smriti Chetna is a student of Civilsdaily mentor Ravi sir. She joined the Ultimate Assessment Program (UAP) on 18 August 2020. As she is happy with Civilsdaily, she has now upgraded to UAP 2022.
You can also get your first free counselling session (30-40 minutes) from Civilsdaily by filling the formnow. An expert mentor will reach out to you in the next 24 hours.
Initially, Smriti wasn’t confident about Prelims when she began her preparation but found Mains to be manageable. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE 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 70 marks out of 250 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.
Smriti Chetna: “Believe in yourself, Believe in your dream and Surround yourself with those who Believe you can achieve your dream“.
We had a chance to catch up with Civilsdaily student and aspiring civil servant, Smriti. In between her college studies and UPSC CSE preparation, we were able to have a quick 15 minute chat with her.
Smriti, what has motivated you to prepare for UPSC as a college student?
My father is a government officer and we have discussions (sometimes, even debates) over dinner on how we can improve systemic changes that impede the growth of our country. From this, I have realized that as a country we do have the laws, money, resources and manpower for high growth. What’s lacking is the right execution. Only government and civil servants can do this. Though my dad is not an IAS officer, I have seen him bring changes in whatever capacity he is allowed. When I was in school, our chief guests on annual days were IAS or IPS officers. Their inspiring speeches and my dad’s work has what interested me to prepare for UPSC.
Why do you think mentorship is very important for your UPSC-CSE preparation?
I think its important for every aspirant to be in the right company when they are preparing for this unpredictable and tedious exam. They need to believe in your preparation as much as you do. Our parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support. There are days when I felt I won’t be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants, that’s when 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 support.
You found prelims to be difficult initially, why so? How has Ravi sir mentored you for prelims?
I was not good at remembering the exact factual data. I have done UPSC-CSE prelims paper analysis from 2018-2021. I must say, the Civilsdaily prelims test series are at the same level and some of them are even tougher than the actual UPSC-CSE paper. I have also personally checked if the subject-wise test series covers all the topics in the syllabus. There are 4-5 questions even from topics that aspirants consider to have lesser weightage. Under Ravi sir’s mentorship, I learnt to pay attention to stats and figures for prelims. He also helped me with the different elimination techniques I can use to get the right answer. Samachar Manthan is my favorite aspect of the Ultimate Assessment Program. The current affairs is neatly consolidated topic-wise from The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, RSTV, Yojana and Kurukshetra. It’s a good material to revise your current affairs 3-4 months before the exam. The more tests I take, the lesser fears and anxiety I have about the upcoming UPSC-CSE exam. I get value-added materials, coaching notes and online classes from Civilsdaily as well.
How was your preparation 1-2 weeks into UAP and how is it now?
When I started out, I used to take 2-3 months to complete a standard book. However, I would still not have my concepts clear. Right now in my third revision, I am able to complete the entire Laxmikanth book in one week. With respect to mains answer writing, I never used to answer all the keywords of the questions. Now, I am able to organise an answer in my mind as I answer it. After evaluating my answers, Ravi sir would give me a call where he would discuss where I could have included diagrams or flowcharts and the other sources I can refer for better answers on a topic.
I always feel as a beginner, you have to be easy on yourself. Don’t write off UPSC CSE, just because you did not understand the concepts on Day 01.
What’s more important for a UPSC Aspirant — Intelligence or Consistency?
Few of my friends who started at the same time as me, performed much better in tests and had more knowledge on a topic than I did. But now, they are not interested in preparing for the examination anymore. I would definitely rank consistency over intelligence.
I can give another example from my own preparation. As I am pursuing a BA degree in History, I find the UPSC history subject to be easy. However, Geography was a subject I grappled with in the initial few months. After a solid two years of preparation, I am scoring equal marks in Geography and History. This is only due to consistency.
Are group studies detrimental or useful for your UPSC preparation?
Group studies online, especially the way Civilsdaily has structured it, removes the cons generally associated with group studies. When we study with our friends, we generally do for an hour or so before hanging out at a joint and chit-chatting. That does not happen over here. We explain concepts that we are not clear about to each other, sometimes share links of important reading material. When you are able to make another person understand a concept, you feel more positive about yourself.
Any final advice you would like to give to beginners?
Always go through the videos oftoppers who have given multiple attempts before clearing the exams. Because, what has worked for others might not work for you, but what has not worked for others will also not work for you. I understood how important it was to study for your optional subject everyday after watching these videos.
What is Ravi sir’s mentorship all about which boosted Smriti’s confidence & marks nearly 2x times?Let’s hear him talk about it.
Smriti used to consult multiple mentors in other institutes but now she only prefers the mentorship of Civilsdaily. What’s unique about the mentorship of Civilsdaily?
After talking to other students, I learnt that the mentors in other institutes are egoistic and have a ‘know-it-all’ attitude. They often demotivate students for what they call as ‘silly mistakes’. They even go to the extent of predicting if a student is likely to clear UPSC or not. But in Civilsdaily, mentors believe in working like a GPS. We understand what direction the student is in right now and tell them the closest route they can take to complete the syllabus and score marks in their tests. We are nobody to judge a learner. That’s why aspirants like Smriti prefer Civilsdaily mentorship.
Smriti is a very passionate and hardworking student, but I noticed that she would take study breaks that lasted more than a month or two. This didn’t deter me from putting across reminders to her. I believe that a mentor shouldn’t stop encouraging an aspirant in the initial months even if they don’t show the inclination to prepare. The syllabus is vast and overwhelming and it’s understandable that a beginner can get demotivated.
Due to this, Smriti gradually opened up to me about her issues. I understood that she gets panic attacks and it would take her nearly 2-3 weeks to recover. I decided that as a mentor, I had to be empathetic and sensitive to her issues and not brush them aside. Smriti often felt guilty about her study breaks and I assured her that it was okay to take a break as she deserved one. I asked her to hang out with her friends and family more often and go on a walk in the park with them. Over a period of time, Smriti could recover from a panic attack in 2-3 days instead of 2-3 weeks.
I then started giving her weekly targets to achieve and congratulated her upon successful completion in the study group. I would assign her a topic to read and ask her to explain the same to me. I would let her teach me those topics. When she missed out points, I would immediately tell her why adding a certain point will help her in the exam. After this, I even asked her to conduct few sessions on Habitat for other learners. This made her confident to continue her preparation.
Let’s get into the specifics, what are other methods you used to mentor Smriti on a day-to-day basis?
All of my test-series, whether prelims or mains are conducted on Zoom with the camera on so that I can monitor the students. This will discourage a student from taking unnecessary breaks and they will only utilize the three hours to answer questions.
When she had taken the Mains test series of other institutes, Smriti would take 5-6 hours to complete all questions. Over here, she finishes a test-series within the stipulated time of 3 hours.
Besides this, when a student starts studying I will ask them to say ‘Hi’ . When they are taking a break they need to say ‘Bye’ and when they resume their studies they need to say ‘Hi’ once again. At the end of the day, I would calculate the number of hours they spent studying and let them know the same. I never used to judge them for studying less. It’s like how a fitness tracker works. Whoever is interested in completing 1000 steps in a day will compensate for the next day if they are unable to achieve today’s target. This pushed Smriti to study for long hours.
While initially, she could not study for more than two hours everyday, now she studies for 8 hours without a break (12 hours with breaks). This is something she does by her own interest without me insisting her to follow it.
We have heard about the virtual library in your mentorship. What is that?
Virtual library is a practice wherein the student gets their study materials, logs in to a zoom session with other aspirants. All of them study silently. On the go, I share any extra reports or current affairs articles they have to read along with their standard books. While studying, if any student has a doubt they can ask in the session and it will be resolved.
Sometimes, our virtual library will be divided into small study group of 3-4 members who will all study the same topic together and discuss the aspects of the topic to each other. This is to prevent the aspirant from feeling lonely in their long preparation journey. Many students have reacted positively to this initiative as well, they get a sense of companionship and competitiveness when they are studying as a group.
What are few of the topics which students find difficult?
Economy is a subject where most of the students grapple with. I get a lot of doubts on topics like RBI, security market and bonds.
We have asked Smriti as well, but we want your take on this. What do you think of Smriti’s performance in the past 10 months?
She is a consistent performer. Though, initially she had scored only 30 out of 250 marks in GS Essay, now she is scoring above 100+ in all the mains test series. I am confident if she maintains the same consistency she can clear the exam in 2022.
That being said, I feel she can score better in mains. While evaluating her papers, I understood she is not including relevant factual data to back up her answers. I will be providing her committee reports and recommendations and mentor her in this direction from now on.
Get your first free counselling session (30-40 minutes) from Civilsdaily by filling the form below —
GS-1 Factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).
GS-2 Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
GS-3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
GS-4 Probity in Governance: Information sharing and_ transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption
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 issue of air quality faced by Delhi in winter.
In the body, mention the initiatives such as National Policy for Management of Crop Residue, Promotion of Agricultural Mechanisation for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue, banning of stubble burning by NGT, and legal provision etc.
In the way forward mention subsiding the operational costs and monitoring of the policy implementation.
Conclude by mentioning the need for a combination of measures to deal with the problem.
In the intro, mention the low public spending as a percentage of GDP in India.
In the body, mention the implications of the low public spending such as rich-poor, rural-urban, gender and caste-based divides in access to health care, poverty, and debt trap.
In the next part, mention issues with the reported increase such as the inclusion of the expenditure of the Defence Medical Services, the inclusion of capital expenditure in the NHA framework which makes an expenditure incomparable to other countries etc.
Conclude by mentioning the need to increase public spending on health.
The Union Cabinet has approved the funding and implementation of the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project at the 2020-21 price level.
Ken-Betwa Interlinking Project
The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for the interlinking of rivers.
Under this project, water from the Ken River will be transferred to the Betwa River. Both these rivers are tributaries of the river Yamuna.
The project is being managed by India’s National Water Development Agency (NWDA), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Implementation of the project
Phase-I: Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses
Phase-II: Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha Barrage
Utility of the Project
Irrigation: The project is slated to irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares annually, provide drinking water supply to 62 lakh people and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.
Water supply: The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region, spread across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Agricultural boost: The project is expected to boost socio-economic prosperity in the backward Bundelkhand region on account of increased agricultural activities and employment generation.
Addressing Rural Distress: It would also help in arresting distress migration from this region.
Many hurdles
Submergence of critical wildlife habitat: The project will partly submerge the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and affect the habitat of vultures and jackals.
Clearance: After years of protests, it was finally cleared by the apex wildlife regulator, the National Board for Wildlife, in 2016.
Water sharing disputes: Then UP and MP could not agree on how water would be shared, particularly in the non-monsoonal months.
Back2Basics: River Interlinking in India
History
The idea of interlinking of rivers in the Indian subcontinent is atleast 150 years old.
During the British Raj in India, Sir Arthur Cotton, a British general and irrigation engineer, first suggested linking the Ganga and the Cauvery for navigational purposes.
K.L. Rao’s Proposal (1972), which had 2640 km long Ganga – Cauvery link as its main component involved large scale pumping over a head of 550 m.
The Central Water Commission, which examined the proposal, found it to be grossly under estimated and economically prohibitive.
Capt. Dastur Proposal (1977)
It envisaged the construction of two canals:
4200 km Himalayan Canal at the foot of Himalayan slopes running from the Ravi in the West to the Brahmaputra and beyond in the east
9300 km Garland Canal covering the central and southern parts
Beginning of implementation
The Indian Rivers Inter-link aims to link India’s rivers by a network of reservoirs and canals and so reduce persistent floods in some parts and water shortages in other parts of India.
The idea to link rivers got a shot in the arm with the establishment of the National Water Development Agency in 1982 by then PM Indira Gandhi.
The Inter-link project was split into three parts:
Northern Himalayan rivers inter-link component
Southern Peninsular component
Intrastate rivers linking component
Objectives of inter-linking
Connect the Himalayan and peninsular rivers via a network of canals so that
Excess water from one channel can be diverted to another which has an inadequate flow
Flood moderation in the Ganga-Brahmaputra system
Hydropower generation through excess water
Prospects of River inter-linking
Engineering challenges: This is one of the most daring feats of engineering attempted in the history of mankind.
Ecosystem challenges: It is a reimagining of the entire aquatic ecosystem of a country as large and diverse as India.
Advantages offered by river inter-linking
Flood control and mitigation: Problems related to flood control, irrigation, limiting droughts and boosting farm output—can be sorted out by linking the country’s rivers.
Economic boost: Potential benefits to transport infrastructure through navigation, as well as to broadening income sources in rural areas through fish farming.
Issues with such projects
Migration: It will lead to massive displacement of people
Topography change: Since the Ganga basin topography is flat, building dams would not substantially add to river flows.
Inundation: The transfer of such enormous amounts of water will inundate forests and land for reservoirs.
Seismic hazards: The weight of billions of liters of water can have seismic implications in the Himalayan region.
Financial expense: River inter-linking is an expensive business from building the link canals to the monitoring and maintenance infrastructure.
Political will: Implementation of the project not only needs a huge financial capital but also political support both is scarce commodities as of now.
Consensus building for land acquisition: Another important issue is building consensus among states and Land acquisition.
Ecological feasibility: Once the project is implemented it would lead to large-scale displacement of people and animals.
Criticisms of such projects
Bad Science: Such projects are built on bad science and an outdated understanding of water systems and water management.
Human determinism: Such projects go in contravention with natural process thereby generating more scope for threat than any opportunity.
The Government has informed the Supreme Court that the appointment of Chairperson and Members of the 22nd Law Commission of India is under consideration.
Why in news?
The setting up of the 22nd Law Commission was constituted by the Government on February 21, 2020.
However, no progress has been made in the appointments till date.
The Government invoked the ‘doctrine of separation of power’, which says that one arm of governance should not encroach into that of another.
Issues over appointment
The last chairman of the law commission was retired Supreme Court judge, Justice B.S. Chauhan, who completed his tenure on 31 August 2018.
Subsequently, the Commission has not been reconstituted.
In February 2020, the Government of India announced its intention to reconstitute the Commission with no visible progress.
About Law Commission
Law Commission of India is a currently-defunct executive body established by an order of the Government of India.
The Commission’s function is to research and advise the GoI on legal reform, and is composed of legal experts, and headed by a retired judge.
The commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The last chairman of the Commission retired in August 2018, and since then, it has not been reconstituted.
Colonial Background
The first Law Commission was established during colonial rule in India, by the East India Company under the Charter Act of 1833.
It was then presided by Lord Macaulay.
After that, three more Commissions were established in pre-independent India.
Post-Independence functioning
The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term.
Since then, twenty-one more Commissions have been established.
Major reforms undertaken
The First Law Commission under Macaulay Itsuggested various enactments to the British Government, most of which were passed and enacted and are still in force in India.
These include the Indian Penal Code (first submitted in 1837 but enacted in 1860 and still in force), Criminal Procedure Code (enacted in 1898, repealed and succeeded by the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973), etc.
Thereafter three more Law Commissions were established which made a number of other recommendations the Indian Evidence Act (1872) and Indian Contract Act (1872), etc. being some of the significant ones.
Role in legal reforms
The Law Commission has been a key to law reform in India.
Its role has been both advisory and critical of the government’s policies
In a number of decisions, the Supreme Court has referred to the work done by the commission and followed its recommendations.
The Commission seeks to simplify procedures to curb delays and improve standards of justice.
It also strives to promote an accountable and citizen-friendly government that is transparent and ensures the people’s right to information.
This newscard is an excerpt of the original article published in TH.
Note: This article is of extreme theoretical nature. But it leaves scope for many vague questions for prelims as well as mains where most of us go clueless.
Two principles of Justice
The concept, so-called, of “two principles of justice”, is synonymous with the name of John Rawls, a highly influential American liberal political philosopher of the last century.
The concept of two principles forms an encapsulation of the core principles of:
Freedom and equality embodied in the constitutions of any contemporary liberal democratic society
As such, they have acquired pre-eminence in a wide range of academic disciplines and in the arena of public policymaking.
What are the two principles?
The first of Rawls’ two principles says that every citizen has the same claim to a scheme of equal basic liberties, which must also be compatible with those of every other citizen.
It enumerates an extensive list of basic civil and political rights, including a person’s freedom of conscience, expression and association; the right to a basic income; and the right to exercise the franchise.
Their resonance with the practical world of politics needs no emphasis; consider the chapter on fundamental rights in any constitution.
The second of Rawls’ two principles grapples with the underlying inequalities of social and economic institutions.
How can these be reasonably justified to free and equal citizens?
In order to be morally defensible, the institutions must satisfy two conditions.
First, they must guarantee fair equality of opportunities for competition to positions of public office and employment.
Second, social and economic inequalities must be arranged in a manner that they work to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society.
This latter postulate is Rawls’ famous “difference principle”.
Significance of this principle
The political significance of Rawls’ two principles of justice obtains equally in the relative weight and primacy he assigns to their different components.
Between them, the first principle is accorded absolute priority over the second.
That is to say, the primacy of the equal basic liberties of citizens is non-negotiable in a democratic society.
The entitlement of each to the various liberties is as critical as they are universal and non-discriminatory.
Within the second principle, the first part takes precedence over the second.
In other words, public institutions could not appear legitimate in the eyes of citizens unless everybody could reasonably expect to enjoy the fruits of fair equality of opportunities.
Try this question from CSP 2020:
Q. One common agreement between Gandhism and Marxism is
The Crime Branch in Pune and seized 550 grams of ambergris, also known as ‘floating gold’.
What is Ambergris?
Ambergris, which means gray amber in French, is a waxy substance that originates from the digestive system of the protected sperm whales.
It is incorrectly referred to as ‘whale vomit’.
It is produced in the gastrointestinal tract of some of the sperm whales for the passage of hard, sharp objects that are ingested when the whale eats large quantities of marine animals.
Why is it so expensive?
Investigating agencies from across India who have seized ambergris in the recent past estimate its value to be somewhere between Rs 1 to 2 crores per kilogram, depending on the purity and quality.
Being extremely rare contributes to its high demand and high price in the international market.
Its uses
Traditionally, ambergris is used to produce perfumes that have notes of musk.
While there are records of it being used to flavor food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco in some cultures in the past, it is rarely used for these purposes presently.
Legalities and recent cases of seizure in India
While there is a ban on possession and trade of ambergris in countries like the USA, Australia and India, in several other countries it is a tradable commodity.
In the Indian context, the sperm whales are a protected species under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and possession or trade of any of its by-products, including Ambergris is illegal.
It has been observed that the gangs smuggling the ambergris procure it from coastal areas and ship it to destination countries via some other countries with whom India has comparatively less stringent sea trade.
Program starting from the second week of December.
UPSC CSE Mains 2021 will be conducted on January 2022 and is hardly a month away. It’s time to practice a lot of test series and revise the topics.
We, at Civilsdaily rose to the occasion and have prepared consolidated notes of the 250 most important topics of Mains 2021. Each topic will have 2-3 pages of notes of material from the standard books and current affairs. They will also have relevant factual data and statistics highlighted in bold for every topic that will help you provide a solid introduction and conclusion.
And the best news is…. all of this is absolutely free for all Mains selected candidates! Just fill the form right now to request the QEP material and we will get in touch with you with ASAP.
How Quality Assessment Program be useful right now?
You might be wondering, with just a month away is it wise to register for any program right now, even for free? You don’t have to worry. The Quality Assessment Program is not new information. It’s consolidated revision notes from the standard books and current affairs of UPSC-CSE Mains.
Our initiative last year of compiling issues and topics that had a high probability of being asked in Mains 2020was a thumping success– our toppers said they greatly benefitted from it. One such topper, Lakshay Chowdhary was gracious enough to give us a video testimonial.
Questions in 2020 Mains came from topics we covered like Pala period, Circum-Pacific zone, Online Education in India, Criminalization in Politics, 16 years of RTI, Microfinance etc.
Coverage of topics in QEP will have one and only one purpose – to enable you to write great answers for any question from a particular topic. To be able to write a convincing 250 words answer for a topic, you need to know atleast 1-2 pages of content for it.
At this point in time studying everything is not desirable neither is it feasible. You don’t have time to read everything, segregate what is important and what’s not, make notes, cover different dimensions, and then find a way to utilize that. What you need at this point in time is efficient and organized coverage of the most relevant topics for the IAS mains exam. With QEP we aim to help you achieve all this.
QEP or Quality Enrichment Program is an intensive and holistic program for IAS Mains 2021 GS papers. We aim to cover 250+ most relevant issues with a 360-degree view, covering all dimensions of each and every topic. Not only you’ll learn and analyze these issues but will also understand how to utilize them via Daily Answer Writing and Mains Test Series.
Topic-Wise Current Affairs From An Issue Perspective
Current affairs in the IAS mains exam must be covered from an ‘issue perspective’ and almost all of them have multiple dimensions to it, various stakeholders involved, have interconnectedness, and can be solved with a multipronged approach only. This should reflect in your answers.
QEP will help you enrich your pre-existing coverage and will add quality to it. With tests and mentorship, you will get an evaluation and necessary course correction. And we will provide daily answer writing to help you sharpen your answer writing skills and knowledge with our daily initiatives on Habitat.
Excluding your optional subject, we will be providing topic-wise notes from all the other GS papers for free. This includes Ethics case studies as well!
What are some of the topics that will be covered in Quality Assessment Program?
Unlike Prelims, Mains examinations are lesser dynamic. That’s why we have QEP for Mains and not Prelims. We are not like other dubious institutes who claimed to have figured out the exact paper pattern of Mains 2021. But if you put 2 &2 together, you will know that every paper has nearly 40 topics and we are covering 35 of the most important topics from every paper for Free! (Optional Subjects and Language papers are not included)
Here are 10 of the most important topics we will be covering
1. Scrapping of ease of doing Business ranking
2. Retrospective taxation in India :Issues and Challenges
Lord Mayo’s Resolution of 1870 on financial decentralisation visualised the development of local self-government institutions.
Lord Ripon’s Resolution of 1882 has been hailed as the ‘Magna Carta’ of local self-government. He is called as the father of local-self government in India.
Establishment of Panchayats
DPSP: The Part IV of the Constitution of India contains Directive Principles of the State Policy in which Article 40 is provisioned for organisation of village panchayats.
73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992: It has inserted the Part IX in the Constitution, that enjoins the States to establish panchayats.
PESA Act: A separate legislation “Provisions for Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act” (PESA) was passed in 1996 to extend Part IX of the Constitution to the areas listed under the Fifth Schedule, subject to certain exceptions and modifications.
Why need PRIs?
India is predominantly a rural nation, wherein about 65 per cent of people and 70 per cent of the workforce lives in rural areas that contribute to about 46 per cent of the economy.
In view of the increasing rural population, the number of administrative units- PRIs has been increasing over time.
Expansion of rural residential areas, creation of new districts, Tehsils, blocks, etc., are other contributing factors.
Landmark feat: 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act
This Amendment paved the way for reform in local governance in the country.
It provided for setting up of three tiers of panchayats (only two tiers in case of States or Union Territories (UTs) having population less than 20 lakhs) ,
It contains provision for:
Devolution of powers and responsibilities to panchayats for both preparation of plans for economic development and social justice, utilising resources available with them (Article 243G)
Implementation of the schemes and programmes related to twenty-nine subjects listed in the ‘Eleventh Schedule’ of the Constitution
Women’s reservation
Establishment of a separate Ministry
Subsequently, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) was established on 27 May 2004.
The primary objective to overseethe implementation of Part IX of the Constitution and PESA Act 1996.
‘Panchayats’ being a State subject, their functioning is guided by respective State/U’T Panchayati Raj Acts.
Women empowerment and PRIs
Reservation for women in PRIs and subsequent increase in the quota by States has brought an unprecedented and huge number of women in the governance arena in India.
21 states have made provisions of 50% reservationin PRIs in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
E-Governance Mechanism in Panchayats
Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) serve around 65% of the country’s population.
Improving functions of PRIs for better delivery of services is essential for the well-being of rural people.
Now the applications for these services have been unified in a single and simplified portal called eGramSwaraj.
Bottom-up Planning
Provision of basic infrastructures: Emphasis on e-governance, capacity building of PRIs, focused information, education, and communication (lEC) campaign are some of the main activities.
These are prerequisites for effective planning by PRIs in consultation with local people organized by the Gram Sabhas.
Backward Regions Grant Funds (BRGF) Scheme: This was implemented (2006-2015) to bridge critical gaps in local infrastructure and other developmental requirements along with the capacity building of PRIs.
Preparation of the district plan: This was an important part of BRGF.
Capacity Building of PRIs
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA): It was launched for implementation to develop and strengthen the capacities of PRIs to become more responsive towards local development needs.
Training: It is conducted on various themes such as constitutional and statutory provisions on the functioning of PRIs, e-Governance, financial management, commitments on SDGs, and livelihood troubles, and so on.
Participatory plans: This helps PRIs in preparing participatory plans that leverage technology, efficient and optimum utilisation of available resources, for realising solutions to local problems linked to SDGs.
Incentivization: Further, panchayats are also being incentivized through awards and financial incentives in recognition of their good work for improving planning and delivery of services.
Devolution of Funds, Functions, and Functionaries (3Fs)
MoPR has been working to realize the aspirations of constitutional provisions on various aspects of devolution of 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
The progress made by the States is quite varied in terms of the devolution of subjects.
Various studies have highlighted that in some States the extent of devolution is robust; in others still, it is a work in progress.
Other works: Land records management through ‘SVAMITVA’
Ensuring the property rights of rural inhabitants is essential for and inclusive social and economic development of the country.
The Ministry has launched a scheme named ‘SVAMITVA’ to prepare property records of rural people of their houses using drone surveying technology.
The goal is to cover most of the more than six lakh villages in the next five years.
Outcomes: Structural change in rural economy
Employment opportunities are shifting from the agriculture sector to construction, manufacturing, and service sectors.
Also, there is a huge potential for Agro-processing industries and MSMEs in rural areas.
Panchayats need to appropriately include these in their planning and work with relevant agencies and stakeholders for their implementation.
An emphasis on skilling of rural population and promotion of rural entrepreneurship is needed in these sectors.
As per a report, there is huge untapped potential for the growth of financial services such as credit, insurance, and digital payment facilities in rural areas.
Way forward
Flagship progam of Central and State Governments should clearly lay out the role of panchayats in their guidelines.
A lot of Panchayats are now equipped with the basic infrastructure but gaps still remain across the States.
In order to fill the gaps, the saturation approach needs to be adopted as announced by the Prime Minister on 75th Independence Day.
Representation of women in PRIs has substantially increased but effective participation requires appropriate training and exposure visits of these elected representatives.
Conclusion
Panchayats have also strengthened and are now equipped to handle disasters/ natural calamities.
They have played an active role in mitigation and management of Covid-19, which is reflected in the dashboard created by the Ministry to monitor real-time activities in this direction.
Panchayats need to be empowered to levy and collect taxes, tolls, fees, user charges, etc., along with other activities to enhance their Own Source of Revenue.
Panchayat also need to consider climate action as an integral part of planning and harnessing renewable energy.
Smriti Chetna is a student of Civilsdaily mentor Ravi sir. She joined the Ultimate Assessment Program (UAP) on 18 August 2020. As she is happy with Civilsdaily, she has now upgraded to UAP 2022.
You can also get your first free counselling session (30-40 minutes) from Civilsdaily by filling the formnow. An expert mentor will reach out to you in the next 24 hours.
Initially, Smriti wasn’t confident about Prelims when she began her preparation but found Mains to be manageable. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE 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 70 marks out of 250 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.
Smriti Chetna: “Believe in yourself, Believe in your dream and Surround yourself with those who Believe you can achieve your dream“.
We had a chance to catch up with Civilsdaily student and aspiring civil servant, Smriti. In between her college studies and UPSC CSE preparation, we were able to have a quick 15 minute chat with her.
Smriti, what has motivated you to prepare for UPSC as a college student?
My father is a government officer and we have discussions (sometimes, even debates) over dinner on how we can improve systemic changes that impede the growth of our country. From this, I have realized that as a country we do have the laws, money, resources and manpower for high growth. What’s lacking is the right execution. Only government and civil servants can do this. Though my dad is not an IAS officer, I have seen him bring changes in whatever capacity he is allowed. When I was in school, our chief guests on annual days were IAS or IPS officers. Their inspiring speeches and my dad’s work has what interested me to prepare for UPSC.
Why do you think mentorship is very important for your UPSC-CSE preparation?
I think its important for every aspirant to be in the right company when they are preparing for this unpredictable and tedious exam. They need to believe in your preparation as much as you do. Our parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support. There are days when I felt I won’t be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants, that’s when 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 support.
You found prelims to be difficult initially, why so? How has Ravi sir mentored you for prelims?
I was not good at remembering the exact factual data. I have done UPSC-CSE prelims paper analysis from 2018-2021. I must say, the Civilsdaily prelims test series are at the same level and some of them are even tougher than the actual UPSC-CSE paper. I have also personally checked if the subject-wise test series covers all the topics in the syllabus. There are 4-5 questions even from topics that aspirants consider to have lesser weightage. Under Ravi sir’s mentorship, I learnt to pay attention to stats and figures for prelims. He also helped me with the different elimination techniques I can use to get the right answer. Samachar Manthan is my favorite aspect of the Ultimate Assessment Program. The current affairs is neatly consolidated topic-wise from The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, RSTV, Yojana and Kurukshetra. It’s a good material to revise your current affairs 3-4 months before the exam. The more tests I take, the lesser fears and anxiety I have about the upcoming UPSC-CSE exam. I get value-added materials, coaching notes and online classes from Civilsdaily as well.
How was your preparation 1-2 weeks into UAP and how is it now?
When I started out, I used to take 2-3 months to complete a standard book. However, I would still not have my concepts clear. Right now in my third revision, I am able to complete the entire Laxmikanth book in one week. With respect to mains answer writing, I never used to answer all the keywords of the questions. Now, I am able to organise an answer in my mind as I answer it. After evaluating my answers, Ravi sir would give me a call where he would discuss where I could have included diagrams or flowcharts and the other sources I can refer for better answers on a topic.
I always feel as a beginner, you have to be easy on yourself. Don’t write off UPSC CSE, just because you did not understand the concepts on Day 01.
What’s more important for a UPSC Aspirant — Intelligence or Consistency?
Few of my friends who started at the same time as me, performed much better in tests and had more knowledge on a topic than I did. But now, they are not interested in preparing for the examination anymore. I would definitely rank consistency over intelligence.
I can give another example from my own preparation. As I am pursuing a BA degree in History, I find the UPSC history subject to be easy. However, Geography was a subject I grappled with in the initial few months. After a solid two years of preparation, I am scoring equal marks in Geography and History. This is only due to consistency.
Are group studies detrimental or useful for your UPSC preparation?
Group studies online, especially the way Civilsdaily has structured it, removes the cons generally associated with group studies. When we study with our friends, we generally do for an hour or so before hanging out at a joint and chit-chatting. That does not happen over here. We explain concepts that we are not clear about to each other, sometimes share links of important reading material. When you are able to make another person understand a concept, you feel more positive about yourself.
Any final advice you would like to give to beginners?
Always go through the videos oftoppers who have given multiple attempts before clearing the exams. Because, what has worked for others might not work for you, but what has not worked for others will also not work for you. I understood how important it was to study for your optional subject everyday after watching these videos.
What is Ravi sir’s mentorship all about which boosted Smriti’s confidence & marks nearly 2x times?Let’s hear him talk about it.
Smriti used to consult multiple mentors in other institutes but now she only prefers the mentorship of Civilsdaily. What’s unique about the mentorship of Civilsdaily?
After talking to other students, I learnt that the mentors in other institutes are egoistic and have a ‘know-it-all’ attitude. They often demotivate students for what they call as ‘silly mistakes’. They even go to the extent of predicting if a student is likely to clear UPSC or not. But in Civilsdaily, mentors believe in working like a GPS. We understand what direction the student is in right now and tell them the closest route they can take to complete the syllabus and score marks in their tests. We are nobody to judge a learner. That’s why aspirants like Smriti prefer Civilsdaily mentorship.
Smriti is a very passionate and hardworking student, but I noticed that she would take study breaks that lasted more than a month or two. This didn’t deter me from putting across reminders to her. I believe that a mentor shouldn’t stop encouraging an aspirant in the initial months even if they don’t show the inclination to prepare. The syllabus is vast and overwhelming and it’s understandable that a beginner can get demotivated.
Due to this, Smriti gradually opened up to me about her issues. I understood that she gets panic attacks and it would take her nearly 2-3 weeks to recover. I decided that as a mentor, I had to be empathetic and sensitive to her issues and not brush them aside. Smriti often felt guilty about her study breaks and I assured her that it was okay to take a break as she deserved one. I asked her to hang out with her friends and family more often and go on a walk in the park with them. Over a period of time, Smriti could recover from a panic attack in 2-3 days instead of 2-3 weeks.
I then started giving her weekly targets to achieve and congratulated her upon successful completion in the study group. I would assign her a topic to read and ask her to explain the same to me. I would let her teach me those topics. When she missed out points, I would immediately tell her why adding a certain point will help her in the exam. After this, I even asked her to conduct few sessions on Habitat for other learners. This made her confident to continue her preparation.
Let’s get into the specifics, what are other methods you used to mentor Smriti on a day-to-day basis?
All of my test-series, whether prelims or mains are conducted on Zoom with the camera on so that I can monitor the students. This will discourage a student from taking unnecessary breaks and they will only utilize the three hours to answer questions.
When she had taken the Mains test series of other institutes, Smriti would take 5-6 hours to complete all questions. Over here, she finishes a test-series within the stipulated time of 3 hours.
Besides this, when a student starts studying I will ask them to say ‘Hi’ . When they are taking a break they need to say ‘Bye’ and when they resume their studies they need to say ‘Hi’ once again. At the end of the day, I would calculate the number of hours they spent studying and let them know the same. I never used to judge them for studying less. It’s like how a fitness tracker works. Whoever is interested in completing 1000 steps in a day will compensate for the next day if they are unable to achieve today’s target. This pushed Smriti to study for long hours.
While initially, she could not study for more than two hours everyday, now she studies for 8 hours without a break (12 hours with breaks). This is something she does by her own interest without me insisting her to follow it.
We have heard about the virtual library in your mentorship. What is that?
Virtual library is a practice wherein the student gets their study materials, logs in to a zoom session with other aspirants. All of them study silently. On the go, I share any extra reports or current affairs articles they have to read along with their standard books. While studying, if any student has a doubt they can ask in the session and it will be resolved.
Sometimes, our virtual library will be divided into small study group of 3-4 members who will all study the same topic together and discuss the aspects of the topic to each other. This is to prevent the aspirant from feeling lonely in their long preparation journey. Many students have reacted positively to this initiative as well, they get a sense of companionship and competitiveness when they are studying as a group.
What are few of the topics which students find difficult?
Economy is a subject where most of the students grapple with. I get a lot of doubts on topics like RBI, security market and bonds.
We have asked Smriti as well, but we want your take on this. What do you think of Smriti’s performance in the past 10 months?
She is a consistent performer. Though, initially she had scored only 30 out of 250 marks in GS Essay, now she is scoring above 100+ in all the mains test series. I am confident if she maintains the same consistency she can clear the exam in 2022.
That being said, I feel she can score better in mains. While evaluating her papers, I understood she is not including relevant factual data to back up her answers. I will be providing her committee reports and recommendations and mentor her in this direction from now on.
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