[Insights Secure – 2018] Daily UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice: 24 AUGUST 2018
Click on EACH question to post/upload you answers.
How to Follow Secure Initiative?
How to Self-evaluate your answer?
LIST of TOPICS (Static)
General Studies – 1
Topic – changes in critical geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes
Why this question
The article discusses the impact that human actions have had on environment, of the possibility of Earth becoming a hothouse with unprecedented consequences. The article discusses the reason why such a situation has come to pass, and the possible impacts. This issue is important for environment and geography sections.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to first explain what we mean by positive and negative feedback, why scientists have raised concern of irreversible changes, the reasons for this situation and the possible impacts. Finally, we need to discuss the steps we can and should take to better the situation.
Directive word
Examine – When you are asked to examine, you have to probe deeper into the topic, get into details, and find out the causes or implications if any.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Explain what it meant by positive and negative feedback and the concerns that the scientists have raised in their paper of Earth becoming a hothouse due to imbalance in the positive and negative feedbacks.
Body
- Explain the issue – When positive feedbacks become stronger than the negative ones, the system may change abruptly and get pushed out of equilibrium. The earth and its systems have shifted between alternative states through long-term processes over its geological history. Now, it appears we are approaching some critical thresholds.
- Examine the reasons for the same – how human actions have impacted the forests and our oceans, unmitigated release of CO2 in atmosphere etc
- Discuss the impacts of such a situation – environmental impacts should be explained first followed by associated impacts such as social, political, economic etc
- Discuss the steps taken so far such as the technological and political solutions that we have attempted. Discuss the need for
shifts required in our social and economic thinking.
Conclusion – Emphasize on the sensitivity of the issue and discuss way forward.
General Studies – 2
Topic– Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Why this question
Indoor pollution is a serious public health problem affecting more severely the health of the womenfolk and the children. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in this direction but despite financial assistance, many poor families have not switched to the LPG completely. It is important to examine the reasons behind the same.
Directive word
Examine- Here we have to probe deeper into the topic, get into details, and find out the causes or implications if any.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to delve deeper into the issue and find out as to what are the reasons/ causes behind several poor families not completely shifting to LPG, as a cooking fuel choice.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– Write a few lines about the PM Ujjwala Yojana and the problem of indoor pollution in India. E.g India is home to more than 24 Crore households out of which about 10 Crore households are still deprived of LPG as cooking fuel and have to rely on firewood, coal, dung – cakes etc. as primary source of cooking. The smoke from burning such fuels causes alarming household pollution and adversely affects the health of Women & children causing several respiratory diseases/ disorders. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aims to safeguard the health of women & children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel – LPG.
Body
Discuss in points the reasons behind incomplete adoption of LPG as a cooking fuel.
High cost of LPG which has to be paid upfront and the poor can’t bear as they don’t have the required amount of saved money; availability of alternate fuels which are much cheaper or free- cow dung, firewood etc; large family size which requires utilization of both LPG stoves as well as traditional chulhas; supply side issues with LPG etc.
Conclusion- sum up your discussion in a few lines and form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the above issue.
Topic– Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and
issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Why this question
In an urbanizing world, mobility is integral to city design, facilitating the evolution of physical space for liveability. Ranging from pedestrian and personal transport to public transit and freight movement, mobility is a crucial piece of the development puzzle and the key to unlocking the potential of India’s economy and people. It is therefore necessary to discuss the solutions for future mobility in India.
Directive word
Discuss- This is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. We also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to write in detail about the solutions forwarded by the recent NITI Aayog report which aims to make India’s passenger mobility shared, electric, and connected.
Structure of the answer
Introduction-mention that safe, energy-efficient and low-emission systems are necessary for India to meet its international commitments on climate change, ensure environmental sustainability as well as foster inclusive growth for all. Mention the growing importance of electric vehicles, shared transport and connected systems to achieve these goals.
Body-
Discuss in points the solutions provided by the given NITI Aayog report.E.g
- Governance- Establish a unified metropolitan planning authority that harnesses India’s IT and mobile application skills to deliver better modal integration through more cohesive planning. • Create metropolitan planning councils within city governments to combine transport, public-transit, and land-use agencies and accelerate mobility-oriented development (MOD) solutions through integrated planning. • Develop networked city-level innovation and incubation centres within city and/or state governments throughout India to identify, test, evaluate, and scale MOD solutions.
- Policy and incentives- Institute feebates to complement CAFE regulations and provide continuous, technology-agnostic incentives for vehicle efficiency improvements. • Introduce zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits • Structure policies that encourage Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to disincentivize privately owned internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electrify more passenger kilometres, and provide more accessible, higher-quality mobility services at lower cost. • Roll out enhanced fiscal incentives to make EVs more profitable • Design non-fiscal incentives , such as easier registration and preferred electricity tariffs, to support fiscal incentives and further speed EV adoption.
- Infrastructure- Design regulations that enable electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) deployment and vehicle-grid integration (VGI) , empowering a Forum of Regulators (FOR) to create regulatory frameworks that make EV charging ubiquitous, affordable, and a grid asset. • Develop integrated transport hubs around the country to enhance mode integration and first- and last-mile connectivity.
- Business models- Establish a manufacturer consortium for batteries, common components, and platforms to develop battery cell technologies. • Create standardized, smart, swappable batteries for 2- and 3-wheelers.
- Data Access- Establish a central data sharing institution incubated by NITI Aayog to create national data standards, formulate rules for data sharing, and build capacity within the government and private sector to handle data use, monitoring, and issue resolution.
Conclusion- sum up your discussion in a few lines and form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the above issue.
Topic – Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
Why this question
The article discusses the issue of criminalization of politics, SC’s directive to provide status report of functioning of fast trial courts responsible for hearing criminal cases against legislators. This bring attention on the issue of criminalization of politics and hence this question.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to discuss why the issue of criminalization of politics is so important. Thereafter, we need highlight the steps suggested and those implemented to deal with this challenge and analyze how far have their helped in mitigating this challenge. Finally we need to provide a way forward.
Directive word
Discuss – In your discussion you need to highlight the measures taken to check criminalization of politics and analyze how far those methods have helped in resolving the issue.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Give status quo of legislators with a chequered past to emphasize on the sensitivity of the issue. Discuss the impact on democracy as a result of this.
Body
- Highlight the judgements of SC in this regard such as
- Section 8 of the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1951 disqualifies a person conviced with a sentence of 2 or more years from contesting elections. But those under trial continued to be leigible to contest elections. Lily Thomas case (2013) ended this advantage to criminals.
- Introduction of NOTA in PUCL vs Union of India, 2014
- Candidates need to mention criminal records if any, while filing nomination for elections.
- The Supreme Court asked the Law Commission of India to submit a report on framing of false charges and submission of false affidavits, which were accepted by it partially in 2014. highlight the LCI recommendation
- Examine how far these directives have helped in curbing criminalization of politics. Highlight the observation of LCI – practice of disqualification of contestants has done nothing to decriminalise Indian politics as the rates of conviction are too low and trials themselves are subject to long delays.
- Discuss the steps that need to be taken further still such as the one discussed in the article, social awareness, ECI recommendations like – debarring candidates facing serious criminal charges etc
Conclusion – Emphasize that this issue needs to be tackled to maintain the health of our democracy and discuss how to do it.
Topic – Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
5) Critically examine whether India’s approach to RCEP negotiations is flawed?(250 words)
Why this question
The article provides a nice perspective on the trade positions taken by India in RCEP and examines at a macro level whether there needs to be a paradigm shift. RCEP being an important topic for mains, this perspective and its critical analysis becomes important.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to first explain in brief about RCEP, the issue that India is facing in finishing negotiations. We are expected to discuss the pros and cons of the stand India is taking and finally provide a fair and balanced view on India’s stand along with way forward.
Directive word
Critically examine – When you are asked to examine, you have to probe deeper into the topic, get into details, and find out the causes or implications if any . When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, all you need to do is look at the good and bad of something and give a fair judgement.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Explain what RCEP is and the current status of the agreement.
Body
- Explain India’s stand at a macro and micro level in RCEP negotiations.
- Greater access to Chinese goods may have impact on the Indian manufacturing sector so India proposed differential market access strategy for China.
There are demands by other RCEP countries for lowering customs duties on a number of products and greater access to the market than India has been willing to provide.
- developed countries such as Australia and Singapore are unwilling to accommodate India’s demands to liberalise their services regime and allow freer mobility of Indian workers.
- Examine whether the stand taken by India makes sense from an economic, IR, social, political perspective. Examine whether India is needlessly being protections and opening trade is the need of the hour or whether India is doing right in trying to protect its interests.
Conclusion – Give a fair and balanced view to the question asked and discuss the way forward ie what could be an agreeable middle ground.
General Studies – 3
Topic– Part of static series under the heading – “Precipitation”
6) Explain why does Western Ghats receive more rainfall than Eastern Ghats?(250 words)
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to first explain the comparison of rainfall received by western and eastern ghats. Thereafter, we need to explain the different reasons why this is so
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Mention that Topography and wind play an important role in the distribution of precipitation. Explain in brief the comparison of geographical features of western and eastern ghats. Give the comparison of rainfall patterns.
Body – Explain the various reasons behind western ghats receiving more rainfall than Eastern ghats
- Describe the geographical area in which more rainfall is received. Mention the fact about windward and leeward side
- WG block rain bearing winds whereas SW monsoon moves parallel to eastern ghats
- WG have gentler slope as compared to Eastern Ghats. etc
Diagrammatic representation will fetch you more marks.
General Studies – 4
Topic – Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and public relationships
Directive word
Discuss- This is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. We also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to simply write in detail about the four principle of healthcare ethics forwarded by Beauchamp and Childress.
Structure of the answer
Introduction- mention that a doctor or a healthcare administrator faces many medical procedures and treatments which have both merits and downsides, and patients have their own input and circumstances to consider. The four principles of health care ethics developed by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress in the 1985 Principles of Biomedical Ethics provide guidelines to make decisions when they inevitably face complicated situations involving patients.
Body-
- Discuss in points and in detail the four principles. E.g
- Principle of autonomy.
- Principle of beneficence.
- Principle of nonmaleficence.
- Principle of justice.
. b. Give the required example. E.g illustrate through an example a situation which involves conflict between autonomy and beneficence or justice.
NOTE:
