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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: Indian art and culture by Nitin Singhania.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the gradual evolution of Mughal architecture under various Mughal rulers by identifying major elements of change.
Directive:
Trace – find or describe the origin or development of policy/scheme/process. Follow or mark the course or position of something.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
In brief, write about the grandeur of Mughal architecture and emergence of a distinct style of their own.
Body:
In the body, trace the development of various styles of architecture, aesthetic awareness with example.
Babur and Humayun – Not much progress but cite a few examples of the constructed.
Akbar – A very distinct style emerged. The initial use of styles of Bengal and Gujarat in monuments at Agra. Then a distinctive style at monuments at Fathepur Sikri and Delhi.
Jahangir – mention the new features added and changes witnessed with examples.
Shahjahan – write about how Mughal architecture reached its Zenith under him. Distinct features with examples.
Aurangzeb – How his reign is marked with less patronage for arts but nevertheless a few buildings were constructed.
Conclusion:
Summarize the contributions of the Mughal rulers to Indian art and architecture.
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Reference: Indian art and culture by Nitin Singhania.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the causes for the rise Bhakti movement in India.
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 describing the Bhakti movement and its features in brief.
Body:
In detail write about the political, socio-economic and religious factors responsible for the emergence of Bhakti movement.
Political – Turkish conquests, growth of non-conformist movement, declining power of the Rajput-Brahman alliance etc.
Socio-economic – against caste system, gender discrimination, against feudal oppression, growing classes of urban artisans, growth of towns, urban crafts production and expansion of markets etc.
Religious – Brahmanical hegemony. Emphasis of rituals, prevalence of superstition and against orthodox practices etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing about the importance of Bhakti movement.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about balancing civil liberties of people and the security concerns of the state in the digital age.
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:
Begin by writing about the increasing resort of the government to internet shutdowns to uphold law and order.
Body:
Cite facts related to instances of internet shutdown and draw comparison to other countries.
Mention the reasons why the suspension of internet becomes a necessity – breakdown of law and order, threat to security, polarization, fake news, attempts to disrupt communal harmony etc.
Bring out the impact of frequent suspensions. Right to access the Internet being a fundamental right, breed deep-rooted societal difficulties, hamper pandemic related work, freeze economic activity, effect on emergency response and relief system etc.
Write about creating new institutions and making the existing systems more robust to handle the above mentioned threats rather than resorting to shutdowns.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward which emphasizes that shutdowns must be an exception.
Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The European Union is facing a crisis and wide range of multitude of issues which has brought to fore its internal discords. They all have wide range of ramifications.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the impact of the pandemic, Brexit and various internal strife on the European Union and its impact of EU-India relations.
Directive:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context of multitude of issues faced by the EU in the past couple of years.
Body:
In detail, delineate the impact of Covid-19, Brexit and internal dissensions within the EU.
Covid-19: A large number of cases, relatively high death rate, economic impact, the second wave further affecting a large number of people, vaccine nationalism etc.
Brexit: long negotiations, uncertain future for both EU as well as Britain and the rising Euroscepticism among member nations.
Others: Rise of populism, Re-calibration under Trump, security and defence, riots and resignations etc.
In brief, mention the relationship between EU-India and obstacles and disagreements in negotiating a trade deal so far. Write about how these pressing issues will further put the trade deal on a back burner and suggest step to engage with the E.U in the meanwhile.
Conclusion:
Conclude with ways India needs to work for having a long term trade deal with the EU.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Government Budgeting.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
Budget 2021 aimed at propelling growth in the next fiscal but also lay the foundation for the coming decade.
Key Demand of the question:
To analyse the various components of budget to improve investment as well economic growth and the need to address the drawback of potential rise in country’s fiscal deficit.
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:
Begin by mentioning the various changes in the composition of expenditure and steps to improve investment climate in India.
Body:
In detail, bring out the above. Cite statistics related to the changing composition of expenditure from this years’ budget. Bring out the impact of the same.
Next write about the opportunities created by the budget for improving investment in India. National Infrastructure Pipeline, Development Finance Institution, rise in capital expenditure etc.
Write about various limitations pertaining to the above especially the concern of increasing fiscal deficit. Debt sustainability, evolving profiles of debt, interest payments, and primary deficits relative to GDP. Paperwork and bureaucratic bottlenecks etc.
Suggest measures to overcome the same.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward where a balance can be achieved between overcoming the obstacles posed by the pandemic as well as keep fiscal deficit in the acceptable limits.
General Studies – 4
Topic: social influence and persuasion.
6. Examine the role of persuasive communication in attitude change. (150 words)
Reference: Ethics by Lexicon publications.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4.
Key Demand of the question:
A straightforward question where you need to write how Persuasive communication leads to the change in the attitude.
Directive:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin the answer by defining persuasion.
Body:
In detail, bring out the various components which are a part of the process to bring about the attitude change.
Source of the message (Person or institution): Credibility and Attractiveness.
Content of the message – Suggestion, Use of primacy and recency effect.
Receiver of the message – Influenceability, Selective attention and interpretation.
Substantiate with examples.
Write about the impediments to it and suggest steps to overcome them.
Conclusion:
Summarize the role of persuasion.
Topic: Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
Reference: Ethics by Lexicon publications.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about how Emotional intelligence can play part in reducing the stress and provide for healthy outcomes.
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:
Begin by giving context regarding the unhealthy lifestyle and increasing stress at the work place.
Body:
In the first part write about the impact of the above especially in the aftermath of the pandemic.
In detail, write in detail how EI can play in part in preventing the same. Efficient self-regulation towards health-related behaviours, Greater social support resources, use of proactive self-care, Positive emotions and related positive effects of the immune system etc.
Conclusion:
Write about the advantages it will produce.
