[Insights Secure – 2018] Daily UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice: 08 SEPTEMBER 2018
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LIST of TOPICS (Static)
General Studies – 2
Topic– Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Why this question
The recent SC judgement set aside section 377 which criminalised homosexuality. It is a watershed judgement in the history of India but there are several challenges which ought to arise on account of the judgement. It is necessary to analyze both the aspects of the historic judgement.
Directive word
Analyze-Here we have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts, and present them as a whole in a summary.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to delve deep into the issue and bring out the significance of the recent SC judgement on section 377. Then the question wants us to discuss about the issues which could arise on account of the judgement- what are the other challenges it will spark against inequality and discrimination.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the historic SC judgement which set aside section 377. E.g it decriminalises consensual sex between consenting adults etc.
Body
- Discuss the significance of the judgement. E.g The stirring message from the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment decriminalising gay sex is that social morality cannot trump constitutional morality. It is a reaffirmation of the right to love; the judgement has upheld homosexuals’ right to have intimate relations with people of their choice, their inherent right to privacy and dignity and the freedom to live without fear; The dilution of Section 377 marks a welcome departure from centuries of heteronormative thinking. This is a verdict that will help sexual minorities ‘confront the closet’ and realise their rights etc.
- Discuss the challenges to inequality and discrimination the judgement will spark. E.g Suppressed for a long time, the LGBTQI communities in India will demand their rightful share in all spheres of life. Not only in employment, but in education and services and all other spaces, both in the public and, especially, the private sector, for which there is no law at the moment. That journey will shape new lives for all citizens; the law on rape is inadequate to address non-consensual sex other than within the binary of man-woman sex. Such is also the case with sexual harassment. These apart, there will be the demand for a same sex marriage law etc.
Conclusion- Based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
Topic– Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
Why this question
There have been several allegations from various political parties about the tampering of EVMs. Confidence in the integrity of EVMs is important for voters to trust the outcomes of elections. The ECI cannot allow this confidence to be eroded. It is thus important to discuss in what technical and administrative ways it can be ensured that the EVMs are not tempered with.
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 technical as well as the administrative changes that can be brought in to ensure that the EVMs are not tampered with.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– mention the allegations of EVM tampering and also mention the need to uphold the credibility and integrity of the electoral exercise in front of the public etc.
Body–
- Discuss how EVMs can be tampered with. E.g Indian EVMs cannot be hacked because they are not connected to any network and their software is ‘burnt’ into the CPU and cannot be rewritten after manufacture. But someone with physical access to the EVMs and replace the EVM’s non-hackable CPU with a look-alike but hackable CPU that can be programmed to count votes dishonestly. All the features and safeguards relied on by the ECI can be easily negated by insider fraud for which there is scope at three stages: (1) at the EVMs manufacturing stage, (2) at the district level, during the long non-election period, when the EVMs are stored in archaic warehouses in multiple locations with inadequate security systems, and (3)at the stage of ‘first level checks’ prior to an election when the EVMs are serviced by authorised technicians from the EVM manufacturers.
- Discuss the steps that can be taken to ensure that EVMs are not tampered with. E.g Procurement and supply of “Authentication Units” to detect Counterfeit EVMs; Completely overhauling the present method of storing EVMs during the non-election period; Engaging the services of a credible electronic security firm; Random allotment of EVMs across states and districts; Candidate ordering etc.
Conclusion– sum up your discussion in a few lines and form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the above issue.
Topic– Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
Why this question
The article explains the 4 major pillars of India us defence partnership and presents a critical analysis of signing the COMCASA Agreement. India has recently signed the LEMOA agreement and COMCASA is next on the cards. This article is thus important from GS2 perspective.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to explain the major pillars of defence partnership between India and US, particularly COMCASA. Thereafter, we need to highlight the pros and cons of joining COMCASA and finally, give a fair and balanced opinion on what India’s future course of action might be and should be.
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 the major pillars of deepening defence cooperation between and USA. Explain that India has just signed LEMOA, and COMCASA is next in line.
Body
- Give a brief background of India USA relations , highlighting the history of cooperation and contradictions
- Give opinion in favour of signing the COMCASA. divide the answer into components such as strategic and political – mention that without COMCASA the defence imports received from USA have been stripped down versions of original, will enable India to become close partners of USA’s Free and open indo pacific strategy, logical conclusion to recent developments in India USA partnership after LEMOA, STA -1 status etc
- Give opinion against the signing of COMCASA – issues it would create in balancing relations with other major strategic partners like Russia etc, facilitate vertical and horizontal penetration by the US of India’s most sensitive government and military communications grids, including the nuclear Strategic Forces Command etc
Conclusion – Give a fair and balanced opinion on what India should do and discuss the way forward.
Topic– India and its bilateral relations
Why this question
The article explains BRI in detail and highlights the impact of BRI on India’s relations with China and USA. BRI has been a major foreign policy initiatives of China and India has taken a stand at odds with Chinese strategy. Other nations including the European ones have now started realizing the issues with BRI. In this context, it becomes important to discuss the impact of BRI on India’s major bilateral relations.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to explain what BRI is and its current status. Thereafter, we need to explain the impact of BRI on India’s relationship with USA and China and discuss what the way forward for India should be.
Directive word
Analyze – When asked to analyze, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Explain what BRI is and the current status.
Body
- Discuss India’s stand with respect to BRI
- Highlight India’s issues with BRI
- Discuss the impact of BRI on India and China’s relation in light of BRI becoming the major foreign policy priority of China. Highlight the geopolitical flux in Asia and the impact BRI will have on power equations in Asia. Discuss how BRI is now being seen as a part of China’s debt diplomacy, which India had highlighted in its objections to BRI
- Discuss how India and USA are cooperating to ensure that their interests are not compromised by BRI – highlight their partnership through synergy between India’s act East policy and USA’s FOIP strategy, support provided by USIDFC to countries in the region to counter China’s debt diplomacy etc.
Conclusion – Give your view on what India’s stand on BRI should be and how India should go about its relation with china and USA.
General Studies – 3
Topic– Different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage
Why this question
This article explains the finding of a recent study which highlights that new study has pointed out that increased irrigation efficiency does not translate into more water availability for other uses at the watershed level. One of the main pushing factors for usage of techniques like drip irrigation etc has been to conserve water. The study forces us to re-examine that view.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to explain the key driving factors behind focussing on irrigation efficiency. Next, we need to evaluate the claim that increased irrigation efficiency does not translate into more water availability for other uses at the watershed level. To answer the second part of the question, we need to discuss ways apart from subsidies for increasing irrigation efficiently to ensure that water use becomes more sustainable.
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.
Discuss – Your discussion should highlight ways in which increasing irrigation efficiency can translate into more sustainable water usage
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Discuss the findings of the journal in Science. Highlight the programs of the government focusing on enhancing irrigation efficiency such as PMKSY.
Body
- Highlight the key driving factor behind the government focussing on increasing irrigation efficiency – increase in crop yields, more sustainable water use, improvement in condition of farmers etc
- Examine whether the focus on increasing irrigation efficiency translates into more efficient water usage and sustainability. Bring out points like farmers adopting drip irrigation are generally commercial scale farmers who can afford the high costs and are also aware of increasing water demand from drip irrigation, water availability at watershed levels decreases because subsidies for irrigation efficiency lead to increases in irrigated areas and water withdrawals as well as driving a choice of more water-intensive crops etc
- Discuss the overall strategy required to ensure that increasing irrigation efficiency translates into more effective and sustainable water use such as explicit caps on extraction as well irrigated areas, more prudent crop selection etc
Conclusion – Discuss why focussing on this issue is important and highlight the way forward.
Topic – Part of static series under the heading – “ Ocean – Salinity”
6) Account for variation in ocean salinity and discuss its impacts?(250 words)
GC Leong Physical Geography Ch 12
Key demand of the question
Write about salinity in the ocean, its variation. Next, explain the factors affecting variation in oceans salinity. Write about variation in salinity both in terms of latitudinal change and change with depth. Discuss the impact of such variations in salinity
Directive word
Discuss – Here your discussion should bring out the impact of variations in ocean salinity on water cycle, ocean circulation and climate.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Explain what ocean salinity is and how it varies with latitudinal variations and depth.
Body
- Discuss the factors affecting changes in ocean salinity – precipitation and evaporation, enclosed or not etc
- Discuss the impact of such variations. Highlight the impact of increasing salinity on water cycle, on physiographic factors like density and how that impacts the movement of current, on climate such as in the case of el nino etc
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.
7) What do you understand by moral realism. Discuss.(250 words)
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 into detail about moral realism- what is the meaning of the term and then discuss in detail about the given philosophy.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about moral realism. E.g The major meta-ethical views are commonly divided into two camps: Moral Realism and Moral Anti-Realism.
Body-
Discuss in detail about the meaning and scope of moral realism. E.g Moral Realism (or Moral Objectivism) holds that there are objective moral values, so that evaluative statements are essentially factual claims, which are either true or false, and that their truth or falsity are independent of our beliefs, feelings or other attitudes towards the things being evaluated. It is a cognitivist view in that it holds that ethical sentences express valid propositions and are therefore truth-apt.
Discuss the concept of ethical naturalism and ethical non naturalism. Explain the terms and deliberate upon their scope briefly.
Conclusion– sum up your discussion in a few lines and form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the above issue.
NOTE:
