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General Studies – 1
Topic : Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Reference: Medieval Indian history class XI NCERT
Why the question:
The question is premised n the fact that India has excelled in terms of religious philosophy and they did not always dealt with spiritual affairs.
Key Demand of the question:
The question aims to evaluate the contribution of Buddhism to contemporary society.
Directive:
Evaluate – When you are asked to evaluate, you have to pass a sound judgement about the truth of the given statement in the question or the topic based on evidences. You have to appraise the worth of the statement in question. There is scope for forming a personal opinion here.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Explain shortly the context of the question.
Body:
India is the motherland of several religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and tolerant host of Islamism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity etc. These religious philosophies enriched the culture of India and contributed towards the socio- economic fabric of the nation.
Buddhism originated in the Sixth Century AD by Gautam Buddha. It advocated the middle path philosophy for attaining moksha or nirvana.
Discuss in detail the Contribution of Buddhism to contemporary society.
Conclusion:
Conclude with importance.
General Studies – 2
Topic : Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
2. What can France learn from the Indian Constitution’s approach to secularism? Explain. (250 words)
Reference: 2019 UPSC CSE GS-2
Why the question:
The question is with the idea to practice the concepts of Indian constitution and its approach to Secularism.
Key Demand of the question:
The question is about the learnings that France can have from the Indian Constitution’s approach to secularism.
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:
Briefly discuss the principle of secularism enshrined in the constitution and explain its evolution.
Body:
The fundamental difference between Indian and French secularism is that while Indian secularism is non-religious, French secularism is irreligious. The answer can start with the fact that India has a sizeable Muslim population and yet does not face issues related to ISIS or lone-wolf attacks. This is in contrast to France that faced Charlie Hebdo attacks, Nice rampage, etc. The difference is perhaps created by our Constitution’s approach to secularism.
Discuss the features that France can take as learnings from India – Liberty. The profession, practice and propagation of religion is a liberty that people must enjoy.
Protection of minority ‘identity’ and, thus, minority dignity. A community – particularly minority – that is not allowed to wear its symbols may start losing its culture and identity. Protection of minority rights so as to make sure that they are not subsumed by the majority culture. Special provisions for the minorities to flourish. A positive discrimination is necessary in order to allow the minority cultures to flourish. Culture of social reforms, while taking into account concerns of individual communities. This allows for more flexible approach to reforms and does not alienate anyone. Kaleidoscope of cultures. A vibrant and tolerant culture based upon mutual coexistence is created when everyone’s cultural and religious rights are protected. Such diverse communities have more to learn from each-other and higher chances to flourish etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude with importance of Secularism in general.
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The article explains in what way Community-level institutions can ensure that the burden of malnutrition is not aggravated during the pandemic.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss in detail the role of Community-level institutions in addressing the issues of Malnutrition.
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 highlighting key facts that show the dismal levels of burden of Malnutrition in the country.
Body:
As per, “The State of the World’s Children 2019, UNICEF”, before the COVID-19 outbreak, malnutrition was the cause of 69 per cent of the total deaths of children under five years. India was home to nearly half of the world’s “wasted” (low weight for height ratio) children. The report also highlighted that only 42 per cent of infants in the age group of six to 23 months were fed at adequate intervals, and only 21 per cent received an adequately diverse diet.
Explain why the dismal condition is, what has been the effect of pandemic on it.
Discuss what role the Community-level institutions can play, take hints from the article and explain.
Suggest upon the associated challenges.
Conclusion:
Conclude that if all stakeholders at the Centre and state-level work together at an accelerated pace, only then can India hope to steadily improve its nutrition indicators and eventually eradicate malnutrition.
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: tribuneindia.com
Why the question:
The question is based on the concept of Biological control and the different methods of pest control in organic farming.
Key Demand of the question:
One must critically analyse the suitability of Bio pesticides in pest management with respect to altering needs and changing climate.
Directive:
Critically 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. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgment.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by defining what you understand by Biological control.
Body:
Biological control can be defined as a method of controlling pests such as insects, mites, weeds and plant diseases using other organisms. It is the control of a pest by the introduction of a natural enemy or predator. It relies on parasitism, herbivore, predation or other natural mechanism with an active human management.
Then move on to explain the different methods of pest control in organic farming.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using biological control.
Conclusion:
Discuss the efforts of government in this direction, mention what needs to be done and what progress can be made in Indian agriculture with such concepts.
Topic : GS-2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora
GS-3: supply chain management.
Reference: The HIndu
Why the question:
In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns and trade tensions between China and the United States having caused bottlenecks in the global supply chains, Japan has mooted the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI). Thus the question.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain in detail what you understand by SCR and what the effects of SCRI of Japan on India are.
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:
Define what you understand by SCR – Supply chain resilience is an approach wherein a country instead of being dependent on just one or a few nations has diversified its supply risk across a range of supplying nations.
Body:
Briefly present the background in which the initiative has been mooted by Japan.
The Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) is proposed as a trilateral approach to trade, with India and Australia. It could also potentially involve other Asian and Pacific Rim nations in the later years.
Then move onto discuss the need for SCR.
Present the case of India’s inclusion; the long-standing and deepening trade relationship between India and Japan seems to have spurred Japan to include India as a partner for the SCRI. Japan is the fourth-largest investor in India with cumulative foreign direct investments accounting for 7.2% of inflows in the period between 2000-2020. There has been impressive growth in the bilateral trade between India and Japan.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
General Studies – 4
Topic : Quote based question
Reference: Quotation based Ethics question
Why the question:
The question is based on the meaning of the quotation given by Boethius.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss in detail the meaning and relevance of the quote in today’s world.
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 explaining the meaning of the quotation.
Body:
The thinker maintains that those who avoid punishment continue to be bad, rather than good and therefore move themselves yet further from blessedness and ultimate happiness.
Boethius says that virtuous men are always good and bad men always undesirable and hence steps should be taken to correct the bad men and transform them to good one.
The above thinking is very much relevant these days. State can only check crimes, corruption, etc. by ensuring that such people are identified and given exemplary punishment.
Give suitable examples to justify.
Conclusion:
Conclude with its relevance in today’s world.
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: faculty.uca.edu
Why the question:
The question is premised on the concept of cultural relativism.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain in detail how the cultural relativism defines “good” and which method does it follow for arriving at moral beliefs.
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:
Define what you understand by Cultural relativism.
Body:
Cultural Relativism is of the view that moral or ethical systems, which vary from culture to culture, are all equally valid and no one system is really “better” than any other. This is based on the idea that there is no ultimate standard of good or evil, so every judgment about right and wrong is a product of society. Therefore, any opinion on morality or ethics is subject to the cultural perspective of each person.
It defines “good” as what is socially approved. Ultimately, this means that no moral or ethical system can be considered the “best,” or “worst,” and no particular moral or ethical position can actually be considered “right” or “wrong.”
Conclusion:
Conclude by stressing on the importance of it.
