[Insights Secure – 2019] Daily UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice: 10 DECEMBER 2018
Click on EACH question to post/upload you answers.
How to Follow Secure Initiative?
How to Self-evaluate your answer?
INSIGHTS NEW SECURE – 2019: YEARLONG TIMETABLE
Tomorrow’s Static Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
General Studies – 1
Topic: Urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
1) Discuss the development impacts of migration and urbanization?(250 words)
Why this question
The issues of migration and urbanisation are much debated in development literature, but often their negative consequences compared to positive impacts are highlighted. The conceptual and theoretical dimensions of the relationship between migration, urbanisation and development are important for mains.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to highlight the negative and the positive impact of migration and urbanization on development. Thereafter, we need to provide a fair and balanced opinion on the impact of migration.
Directive word
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Highlight that urbanization as a result of migration is a major factor in today’s society. Give example of some data to prove your point.
Body
- Discuss some of the reason why migration happens. This section should be brief.
- Discuss the positive impact of migration on development – remittances help in development of rural areas, infrastructure development etc
- Discuss the negative impact of migration on development – pressure on employment creation, poor living standards etc
- Discuss what must be done to improve migration related policies so that its impact on development is more channelized.
Conclusion – Give a fair and balanced view on the impact 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
Besides having constitutional provisions and having education upto 14 years of age a fundamental right, it is not uncommon to witness children on streets- begging, hawking, roaming aimlessly etc. It is a harsh reality of India which wr cannot deny. We therefore have to look into the reasons behind absence from schools, of children living on the streets.
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 all the social, economic and institutional factors which prevent children living on streets from access to education, despite the RTE act.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the RTE act and other constitutional provisions related to child education. Also mention the related international conventions and the obligations they cast.
Body
Discuss in points the reasons responsible for preventing children living on streets from accessing school education. E.g lack of financial resources to attend and continue education; lack of financial resources among parents forces the children to work at the young age; negative perception about education being the domain of rich people and useless in real life of the poor people; lack of attention and concern due to broken family or migration or due to lack of time an knowledge on part of the parents; lack of economic and job opportunities after attaining only low levels of education etc.
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
3) Can Ayushman Bharat make for a healthier India? Critically analyze.(250 words)
Why this question
Ayushman Bharat is one of the most important flagship schemes of the GoI. The scheme has been lauded for its progressive provisions and criticized at the same time for its deficiencies. Therefore it is important to learn more about the scheme and analyze its pros as well as cons/ limitations.
Directive word
Critically 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. based on our discussion we have to form a concluding opinion on the issue. .
Key demand of the question
The question wants us to delve deep into the objectives and strategies of Ayushman Bharat scheme and bring out its pros/ advantages and also the cons/ limitations. Based on our discussion we have to form a personal opinion on the issue.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the Ayushman Bharat scheme. E.g when it was introduced, persons covered and key objectives. Ayushman Bharat scheme is the world’s largest government-funded health programme called National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), covering 10 crore families or approximately 50 crore population, with Rs 5 lakh insurance cover per family per year. The scheme is for secondary and tertiary healthcare, mainly for hospital care.
Body-
- Discuss the pros of Ayushman Bharat scheme. E.g This flagship scheme is likely to benefit more than 37% of the population, meaning that nearly all the poor and vulnerable families will be covered; Ultimately, NHPS could help country move towards universal health coverage and equitable access to healthcare which is one of the UN SDGs; This mission enables increased access to in-patient health care for the poor and lower middle class. The access to health care is cashless and nationally portable; Ayushman Bharat will spur increased investment in health and generate lakhs of jobs, especially for women, and will be a driver of development and growth etc.
- Discuss the cons/ limitations. E.g However, given that states are expected to agree for 40 per cent share under the NHPS and that health being a state subject, state ownership and commitment will be critical for the success of the programme; However, given that states are expected to agree for 40 per cent share under the NHPS and that health being a state subject, state ownership and commitment will be critical for the success of the programme; The most critical issue remains the limited and uneven distribution of human resources at various levels of health services, with up to 40 per cent of health worker posts lying vacant in some states;
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
Topic – Part of static series under the heading – “Issues related to education”
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to discuss the challenges faced by the higher education sector in India and the steps taken to reform it. Next, we need to debate the impact of those steps and discuss what more needs to be done.
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 – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – You can begin by mentioning that Education is the foremost sector that shoulders the
biggest responsibility of shaping the future of nation. India, though renowned since ancient time for higher educational institutions like Nalanda, is presently facing multiple challenges in education.
Body
- Discuss the challenges
- Presently, education standards of higher education, research and innovative skills for novel ideas are not on par with international community in most of the universities of India.
- There is an increasing gap between education and employability. Many of industrial persons complained about the quality of students coming from colleges. Mostly, students are lacking in job skills.
- As per recent studies, around 50% of faculty are working in colleges based on contract. In long term,teaching with contract faculty has serious implications on quality and research.
- Many of private colleges started to receive funds from UGC and fee refunds from state governments. Specifically, in south India every year, there were many seats vacant in engineering. Permissions for new colleges and existing colleges require more scrutiny then present.
- Discuss some of the recent steps such as formation of HECI, granting autonomy to higher education institutions such as IIMs etc. Debate the impact of such steps
- Discuss what more needs to be done such as create enabling environment for research, integrated higher education master plan to provide an excellent education for all its residents etc
Conclusion – Emphasize on the importance of higher education for India and discuss way forward.
Topic– Part of static series under the heading – “Issues related to health”
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to bring out the reasons why public spending on health is low. Thereafter we have to discuss the impact of low spending on healthcare and ways through which the situation can be improved.
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 – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – Mention that NHP 2017 has set the target of 2.5% of GDP being spent on healthcare by 2025. We have consistently fallen short of targets.
Body
- Discuss the reasons behind low spending on health care. For instance you can mention Lack of funds with Govt – low tax base – only 4% ppl pay taxes, Lack of political will as impact of such spending will be reaped in the long run, centre – state fiscal coordination is low – regarding who should spend how much etc
- Discuss why health spending needs to be increased – poor health infrastructure, high level of Out of pocket expenditure on healthcare
- Highlight that the push currently has been on insurance model through public private coordination. Examine what more needs to be done to improve as spending on healthcare
Conclusion – Emphasize on the need for higher spending on healthcare and discuss way forward.
General Studies – 3
Topic -Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country
Why this question
India has recently succeeded in getting the FAO’s approval to observe 2023 as the international year of millets. In this context it is important to analyze the importance of millets and their benefits and schemes and programmes dedicated towards them.
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 bring out in detail the advantages of growing millets for India- what advantages it has. It also wants us to discuss in detail about the initiatives taken by the government to promote growing and consumption of millets.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about Millets. E.g type of grain, areas of production and trends in production etc.
Body-
- Discuss the advantages of growing and consuming millets. E.g millets can grow well in dry zones/rain-fed areas under marginal conditions of soil fertility and moisture; Due to their short growing season, these can develop from seeds to ready to harvest crops in about 65 days; millets are highly nutritious, non-glutinous, non-acid forming and easily digestible foods; Being gluten free, individuals suffering from celiac disease can easily incorporate various millets in their diets; Millet ingestion helps in a slower release of glucose over a longer period of time; thus, due to low glycaemic index (GI), their habitual intake reduces the risk of diabetes mellitus; Further, millets are rich sources of minerals like iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium; Their prolonged and easy storability under ordinary conditions has accorded them the status of “famine reserves” etc.
- Discuss the initiatives and programs dedicated by the government to promote growth and production of coarse grains with main emphasis on millets. E.g Under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), of the preliminary targets for enhancing food grain production by an additional 25 MT, the share allocated for millets is 2 MT (8% of the enhanced food grain production); Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion (INSIMP) – a part of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana” (RKVY) which is the only comprehensive initiative to support millet production; Rainfed Area Development Programme (RADP) – a component of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana” (RKVY); and Integrated Cereals Development Programmes in Coarse Cereals based Cropping Systems Areas (ICDP-CC) under Macro Management of Agriculture (MMA etc. .
Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
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 write in detail about all the ethical challenges faced by the healthcare sector in the present times. We have to discuss those challenges with a special emphasis on the conditions in India.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the healthcare sector and its relationship with ethics. E.g The issue of ethics and economic efficiency in the provisioning and delivery of services becomes complex in the Indian context where health indicators are poor.
Body-
Discuss in points the ethical challenges faced by healthcare sector today. Bring out the emphasis on India wherever required. E.g
- Inequality in access to healthcare.
- Unequal distribution of healthcare facilities.
- Privatisation and corporatisation of healthcare.
- Overpricing of medical interventions and unnecessary prescription of drugs and procedures to inflate the costs, by private hospitals and doctors.
- Lack of quality healthcare professionals in rural and backward areas.
- Issue of granting and extending patents; evergreening of patents etc.
- Issues related to disclosure of information to the patient and the caretakers.
- Ethical issues like Euthanasia; abortion etc
Conclusion- based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
NOTE:
