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  • Mention the global occurrence of volcanic eruptions in 2021 and their impact on regional environment. (150 words) 2021 में घटित ज्वालामुखी विस्फोटों की वैश्विक घटनाओं का उल्लेख करते हुए क्षेत्रीय पर्यावरण पर उनके द्वारा पड़े प्रभाव को बताइए। (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)

  • Examine the uniqueness of tribal knowledge system when compared with mainstream knowledge and cultural systems. (150 words)

    According to Census 2011, Tribals constitute 8.6% of India’s population. Their knowledge systems are rooted in local ecology, collective life, and cultural continuity.

    Features of Mainstream Knowledge and Cultural Systems

    Text-based and codified knowledge

    Anthropocentric- Nature is viewed as a “resource”

    Institutional and formal transmission (schools, universities, laboratories)

    Specialisation and compartmentalisation of disciplines

    Market-oriented and productivity-driven approach

    Intellectual property regimes

    Universalist- Aims for “one-size-fits-all” solutions

    Uniqueness of Tribal Knowledge Systems

    Ecology-Centred Knowledge – Eg- Baiga tribe (Madhya Pradesh) practising bewar (shifting cultivation) with long fallow cycles that allow forest regeneration.

    Sustainability and Conservation Ethic – Resource use governed by restraint and regeneration. Eg- Sacred groves.

    Oral Transmission of Knowledge through folklore, rituals, and practice. Eg- Santhal songs encoding agricultural seasons and crop cycles.

    Community Ownership of Knowledge rather than individual control. Eg- Seed sharing by Maliya Kondh tribe in Odisha during Burlang Yatra

    Holistic Worldview – No rigid separation between nature, religion, economy, and culture. Eg- Dongria Kondh (Odisha) worship Niyamgiri hills as a living deity.

    Indigenous Medical Systems – Plant-based, preventive, and locally adapted healthcare. Eg- Irula tribe (Tamil Nadu) using forest herbs for snakebite treatment.

    Climate and Weather Prediction Skills – Eg- Bhils predicting monsoon patterns through bird migration and flowering cycles.

    Low-Cost, Locally Available Technologies – Eg- Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya

    Cultural sanctions regulate exploitation of resources. Eg- Hunting restrictions during breeding seasons among Gonds.

    Cultural Continuity – Eg- Tribal festivals like Sarhul among Mundas reinforcing ecological and social values.

    Measures taken to preserve tribal knowledge systems in India

    Tribal Health Care Research Programme (THCRP) for collecting information on folk medicines / traditional practices

    Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) – to create digital knowledge repository

    PM Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PM-JVM) to promote “forest-based livelihoods.”

    UNDPs North-East India Biocultural Initiative (NEBI) for revitalizing traditional knowledge and promoting ecosystem-based solutions

    Adi Sanskriti – “world’s first digital university to preserve and promote the culture and knowledge of tribal communities.”

    In an era of climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainability crises, integrating tribal knowledge is essential for achieving inclusive and sustainable development.

  • Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats. (150 words) हिमालय क्षेत्र तथा पश्चिमी घाटों में भू-स्खलनों के विभिन्न कारणों का अंतर स्पष्ट कीजिए। (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)

  • What do you understand by term ‘good governance’? How far recent initiatives in terms of e-Governance steps taken by the State have helped the beneficiaries? Discuss with suitable examples.

    “In the happiness of his people lies the king’s happiness, in their welfare his welfare”. -Kautilya

    Good governance is an administrative approach defined by transparency, accountability, responsiveness, equity, and inclusiveness.

    Core Principles of Good Governance (UNDP)

    Participation: Direct/indirect citizen involvement in decision-making. Eg: Gram Sabhas.

    Rule of Law: Fair legal frameworks enforced impartially. Eg: Independent judiciary.

    Transparency: Free flow of accessible information. Eg: Mandatory disclosures under the RTI.

    Responsiveness: Institutions serving stakeholders within timeframes. Eg: Citizens’ Charters and CPGRAMS grievance portal.

    Consensus Orientation: Eg: Federal consensus in GST Council meetings.

    Equity/Inclusiveness: Ensuring all members feel valued. Eg: PM Jan Dhan Yojana’s universal financial inclusion.

    Effectiveness/Efficiency: Optimizing resources for societal needs. Eg: Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) reducing subsidy leakages.

    Accountability: Answerability of officials to the public. Eg: Mandatory CAG audits of government spending.

    Success of Recent E-Governance Initiatives

    Eliminating Welfare Leakages-

    Paperless Document Access- Eg- DigiLocker crossing 67.63 crore registered users, hosting over 950 crore verified digital documents.

    Telemedicine Reaching Remote Areas- Eg- The eSanjeevani platform providing digital medical services to over 45.42 crore remote patients.

    Real-Time Payment and Financial Inclusion- Eg- Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

    Democratization of Digital Commerce: Eg: The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) supporting over 1.16 lakh retail sellers across 630 cities.

    Unified Public Grievance Redressal: Eg: The UMANG App offering citizens smooth, singular access to over 1,700 diverse public utility services.

    Scientific Grassroots Nutrition Monitoring: Eg: The POSHAN Tracker continuously monitoring nutrition metrics for 8.9 crore children in 14.03 lakh Anganwadi centers.

    Major limitations

    Aadhaar-Linked Service Failures- Eg: Santoshi Kumari (11) starvation death in Simdega, Jharkhand (2017)

    The Persistence of Digital Divide: Only 38% of rural households have high-speed broadband vs. 85% in urban clusters.

    Digital Illiteracy: only 38% rural population digitally literate. Eg: Dependence on “CSC Middlemen” for simple tasks like PM-Kisan registration due to UI/UX complexity.

    Linguistic Barriers: Eg: Despite “Bhashini,” real-time voice-to-text accuracy in tribal dialects (like Santhali or Gondi) remains below 60%.

    Digital gender gap: Only 37% of Indian women have adopted mobile internet and only 26% use it regularly. (UNDP).

    Aadhaar exclusion: A 2017 starvation death in Jharkhand’s Simdega due to Aadhaar-linked ration card failure exposed authentication risks.

    Bureaucratic Resistance: Lower-level officials often view e-governance as a threat to their discretionary power.

    Manpower & Skill Gaps: Eg: Dependence on private consultants for maintaining critical state data centers (SDCs).

    Cybersecurity Threats: CERT-In reported 2.94 million cyber incidents in 2025, specifically targeting state-owned utility grids.

    Way Forward

    Enact a National e-Governance Act to make digital service delivery a mandatory right rather than an administrative choice.

    Accelerate BharatNet completion: Connect remaining 55,000 GPs and 3.8 lakh non-GP villages by 2026 under Amended BharatNet Programme

    Strengthen Common Service Centres as “Digital Post Offices.” Eg- Rajasthan’s e-Mitra model

    Adopt X-Road interoperability layer (Estonia): handles 2.7 billion data queries with “once-only” principle – citizen submits info only once. 99% services online.

    Implement 2nd ARC’s 11th Report fully:

    Adopt national “enterprise architecture” framework

    Mandatory Business Process Re-engineering before digitisation;

    Build SMART (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, Transparent) governance.

    The state must tackle the digital divide to ensure technology remains an inclusive tool for good governance.

  • Whistle blower, who reports corruption and illegal activities, wrongdoing and misconduct to the concerned authorities, runs the risk of being exposed to grave danger, physical harm and victimization by the vested interests, accused persons and his team. What policy measures would you suggest to strengthen protection mechanism to safeguard the whistle blower?

    A whistleblower is described as the “conscience of the organization.” They are individuals who, out of a sense of public duty, report corruption and misconduct within an organization to competent authorities.

    Risks faced by whistle blower

    Leak of identity – Eg- Satyendra Dubey’s identity was leaked despite his request for anonymity to the PMO.

    Violent Assault and Murder- S. Manjunath (2005), an IOCL officer, was shot dead.

    Unnatural Deaths- In the Vyapam Scam, nearly 40 people died under suspicious circumstances.

    Institutional Victimization- transferred to remote postings repeatedly to break their morale.

    False Disciplinary Inquiries on fabricated charges of insubordination or breach of conduct.

    Social Ostracization- labeled as “snitches” or “disloyal”.

    Economic Harassment- withholding promotions, denying increments etc.

    Legal Entrapment under the official secrets Act (1923)

    Policy Measures to Strengthen the Protection Mechanism

    Strict “Anonymity by Design”- Eg- encrypted digital portal for reporting

    Criminalizing the Leak of Identity

    Proactive Threat Assessment to provide immediate security or relocation.

    Financial Incentives (Bounty System)- Following the U.S. False Claims Act, whistleblowers should be entitled to a percentage of the money recovered from the exposed scam.

    Protection must extend to private sector employees and contractors, as corruption often involves public-private nexuses.

    Time-Bound Investigation to minimize the “exposure time” of the complainant.

    Whistleblower Defense Fund to provide legal aid and psychological counseling.

    Witness Protection Programs- “Relocation and Identity Change” services for whistleblowers and their families.

    Establishing “Integrity Awards” (potentially awarded anonymously or post-retirement) to change the social narrative from “snitching” to “patriotism.”

    Providing job security and protection against “Victimization” through independent ombudsman

    A whistleblower is a vital cog in the machinery of Good Governance. Their safety is essential to maintain probity in administration.

  • Briefly mention the alignment of major mountain ranges of the world and explain their impact on local weather conditions, with examples. (250 words) विश्व की प्रमुख पर्वत शृंख्लाओं के संरेखण का संक्षिप्त उल्लेख कीजिए तथा उनके स्थानीय मौसम पर पड़ें प्रभावों का सोदाहरण वर्णन कीजिए। (250 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)

  • Assess the main administrative issues and socio-cultural problems in the integration process of Indian Princely States. (150 words)

    The integration of 565 princely states into the Indian Union was one of the most complex administrative and socio-cultural challenges faced by independent India.

    Main Administrative Issues

    Proliferation of Small Principalities: Managing hundreds of fragmented, tiny states made coordinating a uniform consensus for accession exceptionally difficult.

    With British departure, paramountcy lapsed, giving princely states theoretical independence or choice to join India or Pakistan. Eg- Hyderabad, Junagadh, and Kashmir posed major challenges.

    Resistance of Rulers – Many rulers were reluctant to surrender sovereignty and merge with India

    Nizam of Hyderabad declared independence; required Operation Polo (1948) for integration.

    Nawab of Junagadh acceded to Pakistan despite Hindu-majority population, requiring Indian military intervention.

    Administrative Reorganisation

    Diverse administrative systems, revenue codes, and legal frameworks had to be unified.

    Some states were merged into provinces, others into unions (Eg- Rajasthan formed by merging 19 states).

    Privy Purse and Privileges created a long-term financial burden and was abolished only in 1971 by Indira Gandhi.

    Disbanding or absorbing irregular princely state armies into the unified Indian Armed Forces presented severe logistical and ranking issues.

    Socio-Cultural Problems

    Demographic and Religious Mismatches: Severe tensions emerged in regions where the ruler’s personal faith differed completely from the majority population. Eg- J&K

    Feudal social structures – entrenched landlordism, bonded labour, and caste hierarchies in princely territories.

    Low levels of education and modern administration in many princely states.

    Regional and linguistic identities complicated integration. Eg- Demand for linguistic reorganisation (SRC, 1956).

    Tribal and ethnic tensions in areas like Northeast India and Bastar.

    Deep-Rooted Feudal Allegiances: Decades of monarchical rule left local populations culturally more loyal to traditional princes than to a distant democratic federation.

    Communal Violence: The trauma of Partition ignited communal polarization in several states, making peaceful, secular integration harder to enforce.

    Sardar Patel‘s monumental efforts successfully overcame these multi-layered fractures, forging a unified, democratic, and geographically cohesive Indian nation.

  • What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also? (250 words)

    Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency designed to function as a medium of exchange. Unlike traditional money , it does not exist in physical form and is not issued by the central bank.

    Key Features of Cryptocurrency

    Decentralization- Operates on a peer-to-peer network, no need for intermediaries like banks.

    Blockchain Technology- A distributed ledger that records all transactions

    Cryptography- Uses advanced mathematical protocols to secure transactions.

    Immutability- Once a transaction is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted.

    Limited Supply- Most cryptos (like Bitcoin) have a mathematical cap on their total supply.

    Pseudonymity- Transactions are tied to digital “wallet addresses” rather than personal identities.

    Global Accessibility- Can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection

    Eg- Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and central-bank-linked digital assets (CBDCs as a response).

    Positive Impacts

    Financial Inclusion- Provides banking services to the “unbanked” in developing nations.

    Lower Remittance Costs- Enables migrants to send money home with negligible fees compared to traditional services like Western Union.

    Hedge Against Inflation- Citizens in economies with hyperinflation (e.g., Venezuela, Argentina) use stablecoins to preserve their wealth.

    Innovation in Digital Economy – Growth of DeFi, NFTs, and Web3.

    Portfolio diversification for investors. Eg- crypto trading apps like Binance

    Transparency and Traceability – Public blockchains enable transaction audits.

    Tech Innovation and Employment – Eg- Bengaluru has solidified its position as a global Web3 Hub

    Boost to Digital Literacy – Awareness of encryption, wallets, and cyber hygiene.

    Catalyst for Regulatory Innovation – Eg- Introduction of Reserve Bank of India’s Digital Rupee (CBDC).

    Institutional Efficiency- Major global banks (e.g., JP Morgan) now use blockchain for near-instant cross-border settlements.

    Negative Impacts

    Extreme Volatility- Sudden price crashes can lead to catastrophic financial losses for uninformed retail investors. Eg- 2022 Terra-Luna collapse

    Environmental Concerns- “Proof of Work” mining consumes massive electricity. Eg- Bitcoin mining consumes more energy than mid-sized countries like Norway.

    Illicit Activities- Used by cybercriminals for money laundering, terror funding, and ransomware payments.

    Lack of uniform global laws leads to “regulatory arbitrage.” Eg- FTX exchange collapse revealing massive gaps in jurisdictional oversight.

    Security Risks- Sophisticated hacking of exchanges has resulted in the theft of millions in user funds. Eg- 2024 WazirX breach

    Psychological Stress- The 24/7 nature of the market has led to “crypto-addiction” and increased anxiety among younger Gen-Z investors.

    Speculative Bubble Behaviour – Prices driven by hype rather than fundamentals. Eg- Sharp rises and falls in meme-based tokens.

    Digital Divide – Benefits skewed towards urban, tech-savvy populations.

    Widespread use of private crypto can weaken a central bank’s control over inflation.

    The way forward lies in balanced regulation, public awareness, and responsible integration, ensuring that innovation serves economic development and social welfare, not unchecked speculation.

  • Online methodology is being used for day-to-day meetings, institutional approvals in the administration and for teaching and learning in education sector to the extent telemedicine in the health sector is getting popular with the approvals of the competent authority. No doubt it has advantages and disadvantages for both the beneficiaries and system at large. Describe and discuss the ethical issues involved in the use of online method particularly to vulnerable section of society.

    “Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.” – Christian Lous Lange

    While online methodologies offer paperless, and boundary-less world, they simultaneously create a “digital wall” of exclusion.

    Advantages and disadvantages

    Ethical issues for vulnerable sections

    Digital exclusion – “digital apartheid” for rural students during COVID.

    Privacy risks – Eg- Aadhar data breach

    Children face mental health issues due to increased screentime, exposure to child pornography etc

    Informed consent erosion – Eg- Vulnerable users often click “Agree” without understanding data-sharing terms.

    Surveillance concerns -Constant AI monitoring can turn a “Welfare State” into a “Surveillance State”.

    Difficulty in ensuring accountability for mistakes.

    Loss of “Compassion” and “Conscience”- Eg- It cannot “bend the rules” for a starving widow whose paperwork is missing.

    Dependency exploitation – Eg- Middlemen charge to fill forms.

    Cyber fraud – Eg- rise of digital arrest cases

    Cultural barriers – Language issues in online platforms.

    Disability access – Apps not accessible to visually impaired.

    Psychological Distress- The “Digital Divide” causes a sense of “techno-inferiority” and alienation among the elderly and rural populations.

    Online methodologies should be a bridge, not a barrier. The way forward is not to reject technology, but to adopt a “Phygital” (Physical + Digital) approach.

  • Russia and Ukraine war has been going on for the last seven months. Different countries have taken independent stands and actions keeping in view their own national interests. We are all aware that war has its own impact on the different aspects of society, including human tragedy. What are those ethical issues that are crucial to be considered while launching the war and its continuation so far? Illustrate with justification the ethical issues involved in the given state of affair.

    “War does not determine who is right – only who is left.” – Bertrand Russell

    The Russia-Ukraine conflict serves as a grim case study for the tension between Realpolitik (national interest) and Global Ethics.

    Stance by Different Countries

    Impact of War on Different Aspects of Society

    Human Tragedy- Russian casualties approaching 1.4 million in 2025

    Displacement Crisis- Over 14 million Ukrainians

    Global Food Insecurity

    Energy Volatility- “energy poverty” for low-income households.

    Environmental “Ecocide”- Eg- destruction of the Kakhovka Dam

    “War Trauma” for an entire generation of children

    Erosion of “Rules-Based Order” (violation of the UN Charter)

    Ethical issues to be considered while launching and continuing war

    Adherence to principles of Just War Theory – Jus ad Bellum (the right to go to war) and Jus in Bello (right conduct within war).

    Impact on Human Rights

    Mass Casualties

    War inflation disproportionately impacting poor

    Refugee crisis

    Violation of principle Proportionality. Eg- mass bombing of cities like Kiev

    Utilitarian principle of ‘greatest happiness’ violated due to prolonged war.

    Principle of Last resort not followed as Russian invasion was preemptive.

    Responsibility to future generations violated. Eg- damage to infrastructure and ecology.

    Truth and transparency principles not followed. Eg- online propaganda and misinformation.

    Global injustice – Eg- Wheat shortages in Africa due to Black Sea blockade.

    Moral restraint in weapon use not followed. Eg- cluster bomb and vaccum bomb used by Russia.

    Reports of torture and summary executions of Prisoners of War violate the Geneva Conventions

    Failure in ensuring accountability for war crimes

    The war is a reflection of “rationality” becoming servant to “Will to Power.” A just resolution requires Jus post Bellum framework (Justice after War)

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