NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.
General Studies – 1
Topic : GS-1: Social empowerment
GS-2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Reference: Hindustan Times
Why the question:
The article presents to us the idea of Mandatory menstrual leaves and associated pros and cons.
Key Demand of the question:
One has to elaborate in detail on the concept of Mandatory menstrual leaves and associated pros and cons and comment upon the new framework that should be designed for it.
Directive:
Comment– here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Starts by explaining what Menstrual leaves/period leaves are.
Body:
Start by briefing that the recent announcement of paid period leave for female employees by an Indian unicorn has once again thrust the issue of mandatory menstrual leave into the spotlight. Many activists feel that menstrual leave should be a paid leave granted by law, like maternity leave.
Explain nitty-gritties associated with it, present arguments both in favor and against the idea.
Highlight the importance of such an idea applied to Indian context.
Conclusion:
Conclude with its relevance to women empowerment in the country.
Introduction:
Menstrual leave is a type of leave where a woman may have the option to take paid or unpaid leave from her employment if she is menstruating and is unable to go to work because of this. According to a study, out of the 40% of women who are part of the labour force 20% experience a condition called dysmenorrhea that causes pain during menstruation.
Online restaurant guide and food ordering platform Zomato recently said it is introducing up to ten days of ‘period leaves’ for all women employees to build a more inclusive work culture in the organisation.
Body:
Rationale for the mandatory menstrual leaves:
- The support for period leave rests on a sound rights-based argument — that workplaces need to accommodate for biological differences between co-workers.
- Period leave allows women to rightfully rest during their menstrual cycle.
- It is well-documented that women experience a wide range of health complications during their monthly cycle — cramps, back and muscle pains, bloating, headaches, nausea, among others.
- These symptoms can assume greater severity for women suffering from chronic conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis.
- While the experience of a period is different for different women, and certainly differs month-to-month for the same woman.
- Period leave is thought to be a means to legitimise the physical toll of a painful monthly cycle, to be taken if required, a means to create equity at the workplace.
- It is also cited as a way of normalising conversations around menstruation.
Challenges in granting the mandatory menstrual leaves:
- To achieve the stated objectives, we cannot ignore the economics of a period leave. We need to be clear where the funding for menstrual leaves comes from.
- If menstrual leave is structured like maternity leave, it threatens to increase the cost of hiring women. This has implications in the long-run.
- Teamlease Services found that 1.1-1.8 million women lost their jobs in 2018-19 across 10 major sectors owing to the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2016 which doubled paid maternity leave from three to six months.
- Similarly, there are other costs associated with hiring women that lead to unsaid but rampant discrimination.
- It is well-known that many employers in India are hesitant to hire women for jobs that require frequent travel as they need to make special arrangements for their safety.
- Essentially, society’s failure to keep women reasonably safe leads to a public cost internalised by employers as a private cost. Paid period leave can further exacerbate this situation.
- Even if this by itself does not keep women out of jobs, it can lead to discrimination in hiring and promotion and raise the barriers for women to enter and climb the corporate ladder.
- It also creates grounds for companies to offer lower in-hand salaries to women, justifying it on the basis that the cost to company for women and men should be equal.
- About 55% of urban working women were in regular, salaried employment in 2018-19. Of these, 71% had no written job contract, 51% were not eligible for paid leave, and 53% were not eligible for any social security benefit.
- Period leave will not touch the lives of millions of casual women workers in the informal economy in both urban and rural areas.
- By increasing the costs of hiring women, we, in fact, risk keeping them out of the workforce.
Way forward:
- A good solution might be to increase the number of paid sick leaves by law for both men and women, but keeping it equal.
- While it increases the overall cost of doing business in India, it treats men and women at par.
- Paid sick leaves can be viewed as a form of social security.
- In industries where remote working has proven to be effective, employers can be encouraged to institute work-from-home policies that allow employees to work remotely for a fixed number of days in a month.
- This flexibility will ensure that women can work from the comfort of their home, in case they find it inconvenient to travel or work from office during their period.
- Menstruation Benefits Bill was tabled as a private member bill in the Parliament in 2018. It is imperative to look at the significance of the provisions, for a gender sensitive labour policy.
- Menstrual leave policies must be introduced alongside measures to increase workforce participation of women.
- Efforts at making workplaces more inclusive and gender sensitive is essential. Separate toilets for men and women with facilities for disposal of sanitary napkins should be ensured.
Conclusion:
To improve working conditions of the 10% women who are in the formal workforce, we must not forget about the remaining 90% women workers who are in the informal sector for whom such policies threaten to become the gatekeepers. Given all these apprehensions, we need to find a balance between creating space for women to seek period leave when required and ensuring that it doesn’t become another ground for employers to favour men over women.
General Studies – 2
Topic : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The author presents to us a detailed analysis of the marginalisation of justice in public discourse.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain in what way India is falling short of standards on social and distributive justice. Also discuss the need to recognise the importance of public discourse.
Directive:
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:
Start by defining what you understand by social and distributive justice.
Body:
In India it’s a known fact that while self-interest and national glory dominate, concern for distributive justice is rare.
Then explain what is distributive justice and why is it important. The idea of distributive justice requires not only a social condition marked by an absence of love or familiarity, but also the circumstances of justice.
Discuss the associate concepts of Need-based principle and the concept of desert.
Conclusion:
Conclude that the most reasonable egalitarian conceptions of justice try to find a balance between need and desert.
Introduction:
Distributive justice is concerned with the distribution and allocation of common goods and common burdens. These benefits and burdens span all dimensions of social life and assume all forms, including income, economic wealth, political power, taxation, work obligations, education, shelter, health care, military service, community involvement and religious activities.
Body:
India is falling short of standards of social and distributive justice:
- Indian society is afflicted by deep material, cultural and knowledge-related inequalities.
- Innumerable examples can be cited in Indian history, where aspects of this hierarchical notion had been temporarily opposed — in the early teachings of the Buddha, passages in Indian epics, Bhakti poetry, and protest movements such as Veerashaivism.
- In present times, however, this challenge has become robust, explicit and sustained. This is so because of the prevalence of the idea that each person, regardless of caste, class, colour, creed or gender, has equal moral worth.
- While dealing with resource or burden sharing, prominence given to hierarchical notions of Justice rather than egalitarian Justice
- In hierarchical notions, the justice that is due to a person is established by one’s place within a hierarchical system.
- The caste system of India where the rank or hierarchy of an individual is determined at birth is an example for the same.
- In societies which are still infested with live hierarchies, people must first struggle for recognition as equals, for what might be called basic social justice.
- Then, they must decide how to share all social benefits and burdens among equal persons — the essence of egalitarian distributive justice.
Measures needed to put justice back in public discourse are:
- The need-based principle, which talks about what is due to a person is what one really needs. In other words, whatever is necessary for general human well-being.
- Since our basic needs are identical, justice requires their fulfilment in every single person. Beyond this basic threshold, our needs usually vary, and therefore justice further requires the fulfilment of different needs.
- The principle of desert, which talks about what is due to a person is what he or she deserves determined by her own qualities and hard work.
- This underpins the idea of equal opportunity to all, albeit with justified inequalities of outcome.
- Most reasonable egalitarian conceptions of justice try to find a balance between need and desert.
- They try to ensure a distribution of goods and abilities (benefits) that satisfies everyone’s needs, and a fair distribution of social burdens or sacrifices required for fulfilling them.
- After this, rewards are permissible to those who by virtue of natural gift, social learning and personal effort, deserve more.
- It is therefore imperative to ask where we stand in relation to different forms of egalitarian justice mentioned in our Preamble.
Conclusion:
Articles 142, 144 and the Fundamental Rights enshrined in Part III of the Constitution provide for a just and fair society and ensure distributive justice as has been seen even before the enactment of the Constitution. Many judgements originating from the Public Interest Litigation also strengthened the idea of distributive justice.
The principles of equity, equality, and social need are most relevant in the context of distributive justice, but might play a role in a variety of social justice issues. These principles all appeal to the notion that fair treatment is a matter of giving people what they deserve. It is not as though there is some single determined outcome reflecting them.
Topic : GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
GS-3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Reference: Hindustan Times
Why the question:
The article explains in what way the proposed reforms reflect the Centre’s intent to create a robust power sector for fuelling post-pandemic economic recovery.
Key Demand of the question:
One must analyse the recently proposed reforms of the centre that intend to create a robust power sector for fuelling post-pandemic economic recovery.
Directive:
Analyze – When asked to analyse, 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:
Start by stating some key facts related to Indian power sector; India is currently the world’s third-largest producer of electricity with an installed capacity of 371 GW.
Body:
Start by listing the efforts of the government in the recent past in order to fuel the power sector.
Going ahead, rapid growth and urbanisation will drive up the demand for electricity manifold, necessitating a healthy, efficient and consumer-centric power sector. It is in this light that an overhaul of The Electricity Act 2003 has been proposed. Many provisions of the 2003 Act are now archaic, given the sector’s rapid evolution, and this has resulted in several inefficiencies and challenges creeping in, hampering further growth.
Discuss – Discom reforms, draft Electricity Amendment Bill (2020), efforts for transition from fossil fuels to cleaner source such as renewables, atma nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude on a positive note and suggest way ahead.
Introduction:
Electricity is an essential commodity, along with water and air, unlike cars or microwaves. Universal and round-the-clock access to affordable electricity is a prerequisite for India’s sustained economic growth. The nationwide lockdown has resulted in peak electricity demand coming down, with commercial and industrial power demand taking a hit after many factories shut down. The Ministry of Power has proposed bold steps in the amendments to the Electricity Act 2003 that in itself was path breaking when it came out in 2003.
Body:
Proposed reforms:
- Economic package:
- Part of the package announced by Finance Minister was a Rs 90,000-crore liquidity injection into power distribution companies (or DISCOMS).
- The move is aimed at helping the DISCOMS clear their dues with GENCOS (or electricity generation companies), who in turn can clear their outstanding dues with suppliers, such as coal miners, easing some of the working capital woes of Coal India Ltd and contract miners.
- This is subject to the condition that the Centre will act as guarantor for loans given by the state-owned power finance companies such as PFC and REC Ltd to the DISCOMS.
- Draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill 2020:
- The proposal comes after the new governments in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra refused to honour power purchase agreements, leaving investors jittery.
- It seeks privatisation of discoms by way of sub-licensing & franchisees.
- According to the draft, state commissions will determine tariff for retail sale of electricity without any subsidy under Section 65 of the Act and the tariff should reflect the cost of supply of electricity and cross-subsidies to be reduced.
- It proposes greater concessions to renewable power developers.
- State regulators will henceforth be appointed by a central selection committee.
- The establishment of a centralised Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority whose members and chairman will again be selected by the same selection committee referred to above.
- Distribution reforms:
- Since electricity supply has to reach the consumer through the supply chain of generation, transmission and distribution, any inefficiency in any of these supply chain areas will affect the consumer.
- One of the steps in the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, under the distribution reforms, is the replacement of cross-subsidy with a direct subsidy to the consumer, without interfering with the tariff, which would therefore be cost reflective.
- This is the single most important reform in the power sector, that will bring about a radical change and catapult the country to progress.
- India’s average aggregate technical and commercial loss are currently at 21.4%.
- Prepaid smart meters will be made mandatory across the power distribution chain, including 250 million households.
Key positive tenets of the Bill include the following:
- It aims to help liquidity-starved discoms by mandating determination of tariffs purely on costs basis, without taking into account subsidies, which would be directly paid to consumers.
- This could solve discoms’ chronic cash-flow woes, enabling them to invest in improving infrastructure and clear outstanding dues.
- This will also boost transparency, as discoms will no longer be able to mask their inefficiencies.
- The rationalisation of tariff will ease the burden on industries making them competitive and support the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
- This should also ensure financial discipline across the value chain of the power sector.
- The strengthening of the regulatory ecosystem for dispute resolution is also a welcome step. The proposal to bolster the strength of the appellate tribunal will help in speedy resolution of cases.
- A 60-day window for adopting tariffs post bidding is also a positive step to check unnecessary delays that bother investors.
- The Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority (ECEA) with civil court powers will help uphold contract sanctity, and should inspire confidence among private investors hamstrung by delayed payments, unilateral tariff and renegotiations on power purchase agreements, and random curtailments in offtake.
- Enhancing private sector participation in the distribution sector by allowing sub-licensees will help attract capital, boost efficiency and improve service delivery. We have already seen public-private partnership models running successfully in Delhi and Mumbai.
- The National Renewable Energy Policy will provide impetus to clean energy transition by creating a conducive investment climate and enabling market mechanisms.
- This will usher in a uniform, unambiguous regulatory ecosystem across the nation for promoting renewables at the state-level that is fully aligned to the Centre’s vision.
- High penalties for dishonouring Renewable Purchase Obligations should improve compliance and accelerate renewables’ adoption.
Challenges:
- There is resistance on the part of state governments regarding some of the proposed distribution reforms due to the perception that it would result in abdication of their power to the Central Government.
- Some states have expressed concerns about the centralisation of powers, increasing privatisation and questioning the efficacy of the direct benefit transfer model for subsidising consumers.
- There is lack of clarity on structure, responsibilities and compensation mechanisms for the private participation in the proposed bill.
- Lack of adequate grievance redressal avenues to handle friction arising from possible rent-seeking behaviour.
Conclusion:
The proposed reforms can infuse much-needed momentum into the power sector if properly implemented and this needs the Centre and states to work in unison. This is an opportunity for the central and state governments to bury political motives and cooperate in the larger national interest for a vibrant power sector. The center must take all stakeholders into confidence to find a just way for much needed power sector reforms in the spirit of cooperative federalism.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The author in the article discusses the significance of crop rotation and diversity in detail.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain in detail the importance of crop rotation and diversity to Indian agricultural systems.
Directive:
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:
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant pest and weeds. Also define what crop diversity implies.
Body:
Present the current status of agriculture system in terms of demand for cereals.
Discuss why is it bad to grow the same crop continuously on a particular land, discuss its impact on sol fertility, ground water levels etc.
Explain what role would crop rotation and crop diversification would play in replenishing the fertility of soil and other aspects of the agriculture.
Present a case study to emphasize on the importance.
Conclusion:
Conclude with importance.
Introduction:
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. Crop rotation is a key principle of conservation agriculture because it improves the soil structure and fertility, helps control weeds, pests and diseases.
Crop diversification refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to agricultural production on a particular farm taking into account the different returns from value-added crops with complementary marketing opportunities. Crop diversification and inclusion of the new varieties can be one of the important technologies in increasing the farmers’ income to a certain extent, if not double.
Body:
Current agri-crop situation in India:
- India is the world’s second largest producer of both rice and wheat.
- Cultivated on 45 million hectares in kharif and rabi seasons, rice production has consistently risen over the years from 104.4 million tonnes (mt) in 2015-16 to 117.9 mt in 2019-20.
- Wheat, a rabi crop, is planted on around 30 million hectares and its harvest stood at 107.2 mt in 2019-20, up from 92.3 mt five years ago.
- Annual hikes in the minimum support price combined with the system of open-ended procurement through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have contributed not only to increase in harvest size but also burgeoning public stocks of the two fine cereals.
- Grain mono-cropping — cultivation of rice and wheat in an unbroken chain season after season — in major growing States such as Punjab and Haryana over the last 20-30 years is inflicting enormous invisible costs.
- In the absence of scientific crop rotation, soil health has deteriorated.
- Encouraged by free power supply, reckless drawing of groundwater for irrigation has resulted in the water table going down to alarmingly low levels.
Benefits of crop rotation and diversification vis-à-vis mono-cropping:
- Better control of weeds.
- Crop rotation is intended to break the life cycle and suppress the growth of weeds.
- The sequential planting of different crops may check the development of any weed species and reduce weed growth especially if cover crops or green manures and tall-growing row crops are used as component rotation crops.
- Better control of pests and diseases.
- Some pests and causal organisms of plant diseases are host specific.
- They attack certain crop species or those belonging to the same family but not others.
- For example, the problem with rice stem borer will continue if rice is not rotated with other crops of a different family. This is because food will be always available to the pest.
- However, if legume is planted as the next crop, then corn, beans and bulbs, the build-up of the pest will be disrupted because they will be deprived of food.
- Improved Soil health and structure.
- Greater crop diversity above ground will also result in a more varied microbe food source and diverse microbial community below ground.
- Crops rotated with different root architectures, will impact soil structure in a variety of ways.
- The planting of soybean, other grain legumes, sweet potato and vegetables will return sufficient quantities of plant residues to the soil as their leaves drop on the ground or body parts are left on the field after harvest, instead of being burned as is commonly practiced with sugarcane.
- Green manures will add significant amounts of organic matter.
- Improved soil fertility.
- The continuous growing of a single crop will result to the depletion of certain soil nutrients.
- With crop rotation, soil fertility will be promoted through alternate planting of crops having different nutrient needs.
- This will prevent the depletion of any one essential element present in the soil.
- Legumes in rotations fix atmospheric nitrogen through their symbiotic relationship with rhizobium bacteria and reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer in the rotation.
- Part of the legume nitrogen can be counted as a credit towards the next, non-leguminous crop.
- Machinery is used more efficiently.
- In simple rotations or monocultures, equipment is used only a few months in the year.
- With a diversity of crops that are planted and harvested at different times of the year, the combine, planter, and drill can be used more months of the year.
- It is also possible to use smaller, more affordable equipment.
- Fewer labour peaks.
- Labour needs are spread out over the year. Therefore, more diverse crop rotations also increase employment opportunities in rural areas.
Way forward to promote crop rotation in India:
- In regions of grain mono-cropping, crop rotation must be mandated. If not, procurement of rice and wheat in such regions should be limited to the minimum.
- A carrot-and-stick policy alone will work. Growers who practice crop rotation should be incentivised with assured purchase by the government.
- MSP hikes for rice and wheat can be moderated.
- In its recommendation to the government, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices should take into account the environmental cost associated with grain mono-cropping.
Topic : GS-2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
GS-3: Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The article explains the UN counterterrorism chief’s statement to the Security Council on the continuing presence of Islamic State (IS) terrorists in West Asia, Africa and elsewhere is a serious warning to the countries in these regions.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain in detail the political instability in the West Asia and North Africa that are in a way fostering the operations of Islamic State Terrorists in the region.
Directive:
Elaborate – Give a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Discuss first the current context of the question.
Body:
Start by explaining the background of the question. Present the associated concerns in detail.
Explain in detail the Political instability in West Asia and North Africa: Ever since they lost territories, IS fighters withdrew from the front lines and started operating in cells in the deserts, mountains and hinterlands of conflict-ridden countries. Political instability in parts of West Asia and North Africa is allowing the IS space to operate.
Discuss what should be the way forward.
Conclusion:
Conclude that though the IS no longer controls any big city, its rise from a breakaway faction of al-Qaeda in Iraq to one of the world’s most potent terrorist groups should be a lesson for all stakeholders. The IS has its roots in the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It started growing by exploiting the civil war in Syria. The regional governments, as well as their international backers (and rivals), should be mindful of this fact. If they fail to address the regional fault-lines and continue to fight each other, the jihadists could emerge winners once again.
Introduction:
The continuing presence of Islamic State (IS) terrorists in West Asia, Africa and elsewhere should be seen as a serious warning by the countries in these regions. More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters are estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria two years after the militant group’s defeat, and their attacks have significantly increased this year, according to reports of the U.N. counter-terrorism chief. The Islamic State extremist group — also known as IS, ISIL and ISIS — has regrouped and its activity has increased not only in conflict zones like Iraq and Syria but also in some regional affiliates.
Body:
Political instability in West Asia and North Africa:
- West Asia:
- Iraq and Syria are particularly vulnerable to the IS’s resurgence as these countries are yet to be fully stabilised after the wars.
- In Syria, the Bashar al-Assad government has practically won the civil war.
- But Syria is now a divided country. While the government controls most of the territories, a coalition of jihadists and rebels is running the Idlib province.
- In the northeast, the Kurdish rebels have declared autonomy.
- On the Syrian-Turkish border, Turkey, backed by pro-Turkish rebels, has carved out a buffer and has been in permanent conflict with the Kurds.
- Though there is an uneasy quiet in Syria, the situation is inflammable. Iraq, after months of protests and instability, has finally got a government.
- But Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is torn between the U.S. and Iran.
- Pro-Iran Shia militias continue to target U.S. troops inside Iraq, which could turn the country into a battlefield between Washington and Tehran.
- The story is not very different in Africa.
- Libya has two governments, which were fighting each other till last week’s ceasefire.
- The Libyan conflict has spilled over into Mali and Burkina Faso, where jihadists have established a solid presence.
- Chaos breeds militancy, and as the main group here is the IS, it would remain active as long as these countries remain unstable.
West Asia and North Africa: A fertile ground for breeding of ISIS terrorists
- In West Africa Province
- It remains a major focus of IS global propaganda, and its total membership of approximately 3,500 makes it one of the largest of the remote `provinces.’
- It continues to reinforce links with the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, which remains the most dangerous group in the tri-border area of Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Niger.
- While IS only has a few hundred fighters in Libya, they have been exploiting ethnic tensions and represent a potent threat capable of broader regional impact.
- There are worrying attacks by the Islamic State Central Africa Province in Congo and Mozambique, including complex attacks and brief takeovers of villages.
- In Europe:
- The main threat comes from Internet-driven, home-grown terrorist radicalization, citing three IS-inspired attacks in France and two in the United Kingdom.
- Acute concerns about radicalization and failed rehabilitation in prisons, and the imminent release of dangerous inmates with a terrorism background or connections.
- In Afghanistan:
- IS’s affiliate has conducted high-profile attacks in various parts of the country, including Kabul, and seeks to use Afghan territory to spread its influence across the region and to attract fighters who oppose the recent peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban.
- In Asia:
- IS claimed its first attack in the Maldives in April, he said, and attacks on security forces in southeast Asia occur regularly though government counter-terrorism operations have kept up pressure on the extremists.
Way forward:
- Repatriation, prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration and the protection of the vulnerable have become ever more urgent.
- N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for all countries to implement international law and bring home all their stranded women, men and children should be implemented.
- A well-operated online intelligence network in India will not only have a domestic benefit, but will give gains to the neighbourhood as well with intelligence sharing, joint online operations and database convergence to keep a check on ISIS’s influence on the internet.
- The main challenge now is to make sure that no environment is allowed to sustain for an ISIS 2.0 to emerge.
- The global community must aid the fight to defeat ISIS the way it aided the SDF.
- Any lasting solution will eventually have to come from within the states, people, leaders, tribes and ecosystems of the region itself.
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. Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of Family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Reference: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude by G Subba Rao and P N Chowdhary
Why the question:
The question is based on the concept of social sin and how one can abstain from committing them.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss the concept of social sin, its consequences and what one should do to abstain from committing social sins.
Directive:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by defining what a social sin is.
Body:
The social sin applies to every action against justice in interpersonal relationship, committed either by the individual against the community or by the community against the individual.
There is no effective and standard definition of social sin till date which explicitly interprets the wider meaning of the term, however, as per its nature it can be defined as “those actions which are the results of thousands or even millions of different selfish choices by as many different people and thus is collective, an aspect of our society which doesn’t resemble the kingdom of God”.
For abstaining from the social sin, awareness about the sin and its consequences on oneself and society is must. This will help an individual in choosing the right path in life. One can present a case study/example here to substantiate better.
Conclusion:
Conclude that hence people should abstain from involving in social sins.
Introduction:
Social Sin, in simple terms, could be expressed as a personal sin which has an effect on others around you. It applies to every action against justice in interpersonal relationship, committed either by the individual against the community or by the community against the individual. There is no effective and standard definition of social sin till date which explicitly interprets the wider meaning of the term. A social sin usually involves other people and impacts on self and others. Bullying, promoting/causing violence, pollution of environment, Drug abuse, homophobia, stealing, racism are few examples of social sins.
Body:
Mahatma Gandhi also gave the Seven Social Sins which were first published in his newspaper Young India in 1925. It refers to behaviours that go against the ethical code and thereby weaken society. When values are not strongly held, people respond weakly to crisis and difficulty.
Impacts of social sin:
- Social sin results in structures, laws and policies that perpetuate widespread poverty, inequality, discrimination, violence, and other injustices.
- damages a person’s self-worth, self-esteem and their confidence
- can lead to depression and anxiety
- ruins a person’s positive attitude and spirit
- physical effects could lead to wounds, bruises or scars
For abstaining from the social sin, awareness about the sin and its consequences on oneself and society is must. This will help an individual in choosing the right path in life. The social sins should guide and help us to strive to achieve a balance and correctness leading to sustainable development of an individual, society and an economy.
Conclusion:
The social sins revolve around the principles of integrity, self-restraint, sacrifice, Humanism and mutual cooperation. The sins are of great importance in today’s situation mired with a lot of pains and conflicts. The key to a healthy society is to get the social will, the value system, aligned with correct principles.
