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: population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The Column from the Indian express explains what India needs for population stabilization.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss the key areas that India needs to focus to achieve population stabilization of the country.
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 with the context of the question.
Body:
The answer body must have the following aspects covered:
- First explain the concerns related to population stabilization in the country.
- Talk about the National Population Policy 2000 and its objectives.
- Bring about the spatial dimension of the population pressure – difference between the progressive South and the slowpoke Central- North and how it is becoming disproportionately skewed.
- Suggest solutions like – The state needs to do three things: incentivize later marriages and child births, make contraception easy for women and promote women’s labour force participation.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
India is projected to become the most populous country in the world by 2027 (currently at 1.37 billion). In 2050, India’s population is projected to be 1.69 billion, which will be higher than that of China. Undoubtedly, India has a population problem, but any strategy to change fertility rates should be carefully thought out. India’s population concern is largely restricted to Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and MP.
Body:
Current status of population stabilization:
- The National Population Policy 2000 affirmed a commitment to achieve replacement levels of fertility (total fertility rate of 2.1) by 2010.
- Ten states — Karnataka, Punjab, Gujarat, Assam, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala — and Jammu and Kashmir, have achieved this goal, albeit much delayed.
- Kerala and Tamil Nadu had accomplished it decades earlier. This fertility decline over half of India has cut across all sections of society — the privileged and the poor, those educated or not, and the high and low caste.
- The National Family Health Survey-4 has shown how TFR has reduced even among illiterate women from all religions in the southern states — even in Kerala and Telangana which have a high proportion of Muslims.
The problems faced due to burgeoning growth of population:
- It is indeed a fact that population of India is growing and will continue to grow for the next couple of decades.
- This is because, as compared to the past, there are a higher proportion of people in the marriageable age group who will produce children, and people are now living longer.
- In India, the global demand for water in 2050 is projected to be more than 50 per cent of what it was in 2000.
- The demand for food will double in the year 2050 and even if India manages to feed its expanding population, its growth may not be ecologically sustainable.
- Women empowerment as people will not favour for sons because of cap of 2 child policy
- Though China’s one-child policy has been criticized as against human dignity and rights, it has improved and controlled the nation’s population by a possible 400 million people as per the report of East India Forum.
- If Population control won’t happen, there will be no resources left, and the growing population’s demand will increase to the next level, resulting in increasing death rates increasing in the country.
Thus, due to the burgeoning growth of Population it can lead to failure of realization of our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely the zero hunger, eradicating poverty etc. and economic aspirations.
Measures needed for population stabilization:
- Increasing the basket of contraceptive choices, with greater focus on spacing methods and helping women make informed choices about delaying pregnancy and spacing between children.
- Addressing social determinants of health such as age at marriage and sex-selective practices.
- Strengthening quality of care, including counselling services, managing side effects and family planning support.
- Increasing budgetary allocations for family planning, to align with the unmet needs of India’s young people who constitute nearly 30 per cent of our population.
- Addressing existing socio-cultural barriers towards contraception by investing extensively in innovative behaviour-change communication strategies.
- Treating population stabilisation and family planning as a national priority, fostering inter-departmental convergence and ensuring multi-sectoral participation and integration.
Conclusion:
Thus, three important things are needed for population stabilization: Incentivise later marriages and child births; make contraception easy for women and promote women’s labour force participation. This should be substantiated with better education and awareness rather than an iron hand policy to control the population. Government should improve the implementation of poverty alleviation measures which can also help control population.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
In a recent judgment Supreme Court has boosted independence of SECs in holding local body elections. Thus the question.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss in detail effects of such a judgment and its utility and associated challenges in the conduct of local body elections.
Directive:
Deliberate – Weigh up to what extent something is true. Persuade the reader of your argument by citing relevant research but also remember to point out any flaws and counter- arguments as well. Conclude by stating clearly how far you agree with the original proposition.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with the highlights of the SC Judgment.
Body:
The answer body must analyse the challenges faced by the local governments and the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in reference to the State Election Commissioner.
Discuss the Issues related to local bodies in India.
Present the constitutional position of the local body elections.
Talk about the Supreme Court observation on giving the Law Secretary an additional charge as SEC.
Point at the grey area – In practice, most States appoint retired bureaucrats as SECs. Whether the apex court’s decision would have a bearing on those who are no more serving State governments remains to be seen.
However, it is clear that these governments will now have to find a way to appoint to the office only those who are truly independent and not beholden to it in any manner.
Conclusion:
Conclude that Political parties should accept the new reality, respect the views of the Supreme Court and should avoid controlling the local body elections like in the past.
Introduction:
The Supreme Court said State Election Commissioners (SECs) across the country should be independent, and not persons holding office with the central government or a state government. The observation came in a case relating to the municipal elections in Goa.
Body:
Issues with local body elections:
- Even though more than a quarter century has elapsed since the Constitution was amended to make urban and rural local bodies a self-contained third tier of governance, it is often agreed by experts that there is inadequate devolution of powers to them.
- This may somewhat explain their relative lack of autonomy. However, an entirely different facet of the way these local bodies function is that the manner in which their representatives are elected is often beset by controversies.
- Local polls are often marred by violence, and charges of arbitrary delimitation and reservation of wards.
- A key factor in any local body polls being conducted in a free and fair manner is the extent to which the State Election Commissioner, the authority that supervises the elections, is independent and autonomous.
- Unfortunately, most regimes in the States appoint senior bureaucrats from among their favourites to this office.
- In practice, SECs frequently face charges of being partisan. Routine exercises such as delimiting wards, rotating the wards reserved for women and Scheduled Castes and fixing dates for the elections become mired in controversy as a result, as the Opposition tends to believe that the exercise is being done with the ruling party’s interest in mind.
Implications of recent judgement by Supreme court
- It is in this backdrop that the Supreme Court’s judgment declaring that a State Election Commissioner should be someone completely independent of the State government acquires salience.
- It has described the Goa government’s action in asking its Law Secretary to hold additional charge as SEC as a “mockery of the Constitutional mandate”.
- By invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Court has asked all SECs who are under the direct control of the respective State governments to step down from their posts.
- In practice, most States appoint retired bureaucrats as SECs. Whether the apex court’s decision would have a bearing on those who are no more serving State governments remains to be seen.
- However, it is clear that these governments will now have to find a way to appoint to the office only those who are truly independent and not beholden to it in any manner. The verdict will help secure the independence of SECs in the future.
- More significantly, the Court has boosted the power of the election watchdog by holding that it is open to the SECs to countermand any infractions of the law made by the State government in the course of preparing for local body polls.
Conclusion:
Regimes in the States would have to wake up to the reality that they cannot always control the local body polls as in the past. It is a welcome move by Supreme court boosting State Election Commission’s powers, to conduct free and fair elections even at the last tier of governance.
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
A single bench of the Madras High Court recently allowed a petition seeking to quash a case of kidnap, aggravated penetrative sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault of a minor.
Key Demand of the question:
Critically examine the recent Judgment in relevance to POCSO.
Directive:
Critically examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we have to 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. 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 with
Body:
The answer body must present the arguments for amending POCSO such as – It ignores the natural sexual tendencies of adolescents: Any sex with the minor is considered as rape since the consent of a person under the age of 18 is irrelevant. Thus, POCSO can become a tool for the persecution of young people in consenting sexual relations.
The court reasoned that adolescence and young adulthood form a continuum because of the physical, biological, neurological, and social changes that occur during this time.
Susceptibility to abuse,imited Intent of the law,The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child etc.
Issues with absolute age bar: (Absolutist approach)
The Parliamentary Committee (Rajya Sabha) in 2011 had criticised the clause providing for the possibility of consent in cases of sexual intercourse with minors between the ages of 16 and 18.Puts Law over Justice. Continuing institutional insensitivity: The absolute age line of POCSO has not prevented insensitive assessment of minors’ consent.
Conclusion:
Suggest solutions to address the concerns.
Introduction:
A single bench of the Madras High Court recently allowed a petition seeking to quash a case of kidnap, aggravated penetrative sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault of a minor. This calls for rethinking of the existing approach towards adolescent sexuality.
Body:
Background:
- Aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is the equivalent provision for aggravated rape.
- A person can be charged with this offence in certain aggravating circumstances, such as if the rape occurs within a relationship of trust or authority, or if it leads to pregnancy, among others.
- Under POCSO, the consent of a person under the age of 18 is irrelevant, regardless of the nature and circumstance of the sexual interaction, or the particulars of the person with whom it takes place. This means that any sex with a minor is rape.
Issue with POSCO and adolescent sexuality
- The five State studies on the functioning of Special Courts under the POCSO Act, conducted by the Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, have demonstrated that these de facto consensual cases are complicated.
- While adolescents can and do choose to have intercourse, it is a fact that they are still children, and their nascent sexual autonomy is susceptible to abuse. This contradiction created by the very nature of adolescence has led to inconsistent and unprincipled adjudication.
- The absolute age line of POCSO has not prevented the insensitive assessment of minors’ consent.
- At the same time, it has forced courts to choose between applying the law and doing justice, especially in cases where the minor victim has willingly eloped with or married the accused or is carrying his child, for imprisoning him would only do her harm.
Need to consider POCSO’s absolutist approach
- The judgment echoes the arguments that child rights activists have been making for years: by ignoring the natural sexual tendencies of adolescents, POCSO can and does become a tool for the persecution of young people in consenting sexual relations.
- The court reasoned that adolescence and young adulthood form a continuum because of the physical, biological, neurological, and social changes that occur during this time.
- The implication is that people within this age group may be clubbed together notwithstanding the legal line drawn at 18.
- This informed the court’s view of the relationship of the minor ‘victim’ with the accused respondent as being a loving, rather than an abusive, one.
- Therefore, the judgment was intuitively just, even though it was not in line with precedent.
Conclusion:
It highlighted the urgent need for a reconsideration of the absolutist approach of POCSO when it comes to the sexual interactions of adolescents with other young people. Courts need to be able to strike a balance between the limited but developing capacity of adolescents to consent to sexual interaction and their vulnerability to being groomed, abused, and exploited. For this to be possible, the legislature must provide clarity on the core wrongs that POCSO is meant to address, so that valid conclusions may be drawn about what is the intent of the law, and what is clearly outside its purpose.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Government Budgeting.
Reference: tribuneindia.com
Why the question:
The article in Tribune explains – Women-centric budgets a job half-done.
Key Demand of the question:
The question seeks to emphasize on the need to recognise political participation as a key element for the empowerment of women.
Directive:
Elucidate – 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:
Start with the background of the question premise.
Body:
First discuss Women’s empowerment; can be defined as promoting their sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change. Without political representation being assured for them, schemes championing women’s empowerment appear to be a vote-catching strategy more than anything else.
Present the recent examples of Women-centric budgets.
Explain the Major reason for governments to adopt Women-centric budgets.
Discuss the concerns related to women empowerment.
Conclusion:
Conclude that enhanced political representation of women will rectify the gaps in government measures for women empowerment.
Introduction:
Women-centric budgets or Gender budgeting (GB) is a practice that accounts budgetary measures to support gender commitments. It is not just an accounting exercise but an ongoing process of keeping a gender perspective in policy/ programme formulation, its implementation and review. GB entails dissection of the Government budgets to establish its gender differential impacts and to ensure that gender commitments are translated in to budgetary commitments. Since 2005-06, the Expenditure Division of the Ministry of Finance has been issuing a note on Gender Budgeting as a part of the Budget Circular every year.
Body:
Significance of Gender Budget in the Indian context:
- Global Gender Gap report 2018 ranked India 108 in terms of inequality in economy, education, health and political representation.
- The rationale for gender budgeting arises from recognition of the fact that national budgets impact men and women differently through the pattern of resource allocation.
- Women, constitute 48% of India’s population, but they lag behind men on many social indicators like health, education, economic opportunities, etc.
- All measures across the globe taken towards development, poverty alleviation and improvement of social indicators like health, education and gender equality are worthless unless policies are implemented specifically for women and girls.
- Women face disparities in access to and control over services and resources.
- Bulk of the public expenditure and policy concerns are in ‘‘gender neutral sectors”.
Present situation of women’s political representation in India:
- India is at the 149th spot on a list of 193 countries ranked according to percentage of women legislators elected to the national Parliament.
- The Economic Survey 2018 said there are developing countries like Rwanda which has more than 60 per cent women representatives in Parliament in 2017.
- India’s neighbouring countries fare relatively better, with Bangladesh at the 97th spot and Pakistan at No. 101.
- In India, between 2010 and 2017 women’s share rose 1 percentage point in its Lower House (Lok Sabha).
- As on October 2016, out of the total 4,118 MLAs across the country, only 9 per cent were women.
- The highest percentage of women legislators come from Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan (14%), followed by Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal (13%) and Punjab (12%).
- The factors such as domestic responsibilities, prevailing cultural attitudes regarding roles of women in society and lack of support from family were among main reasons that prevented them from entering politics.
- Lack of confidence and finance were the other major deterring factors that prevented women from entering politics.
- Ahead of any election campaign in the country, sexist and derogatory remarks start doing the rounds against women contestants, in some cases forcing them to withdraw their nomination.
- The introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill in 1996 that would reserve 33 percent of seats in Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for women on a rotational basis, lapsed in 2014 with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
- The constitution allocates total seats to states by population, the resultant women’s representation at 12% is far below the actual population of women. So, on grounds of fairness, this is an anomaly.
Enhancing women’s political participation in would ensure the upliftment of status of women:
- In 1994, India ratified the 73rd and the 74th amendments to the Indian Constitution, granting women 1/3 reservation in rural and urban democratic bodies.
- There are 13.72 lakh elected women representatives (EWRs) in PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions) which constitute 44.2 per cent of total elected representatives (ERs) as on December, 2017.
- Women sarpanchs accounted for 43 per cent of total gram panchayats (GPs) across the country, exhibiting active leadership of women in local government.
- There is documented evidence both at the international level and at the gram panchayat (village) level to suggest that a greater representation of women in elected office balances the process and prioritizations that elected bodies focus on.
- In terms of policy styles, for instance, the inclusion of women adds behind the scenes discussion rather than direct confrontation on the floor of the House.
- In terms of agenda (as measured in Rwanda), a wider range of family issues get tackled.
- Esther Duflo and Raghabendra Chattopadhyay (NBER Working Paper 8615) showed that in a randomised trial in West Bengal, women pradhans (heads of village panchayats) focus on infrastructure that is relevant to the needs of rural women, suggesting that at least at the local level outcomes can be different.
- The role model effect also erases the gender disparity in educational attainment of young girls.
- A study by IndiaSpend reported women panchayat leaders in Tamil Nadu invested 48 percent more money than their male counterparts in building roads and improving access.
- Another study by the United Nations found that women-led panchayats delivered 62 percent higher drinking water projects than those led by men.
Way forward:
- There is also a critical need for capacity building across government, corporates, public sector undertakings, NGOs and all involved agencies.
- While steps have been taken to mainstream the gender budgeting process at central and state government level, there is a definite need to deepen this process.
- A national-level reporting platform should be created under the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, which will collect the disaggregated data by sex for understanding the impact and outcome of the gender budgeting initiative.
- The Central Statistics Office should also be engaged for better data collection and analysis techniques.
- Shared responsibility between the central and state governments would accelerate this process.
- There needs to be shift from mere “reporting” of gender allocations to “purposive planning” with wider participation of women.
- The adoption of the GB should be accompanied by multifaceted and interrelated improvements to budgets in general and the gender sensitivity of budgets.
Conclusion:
Gender Budgeting is a powerful tool for achieving gender mainstreaming so as to ensure that benefits of development reach women as much as men. The way Government budgets allocate resources, has the potential to transform these gender inequalities.
Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Reference: Down to Earth
Why the question:
Bihar government bans sand mining near river bridges. Thus the context of the question.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss the effects of illegal sand mining on the river ecosystem. Also highlight the measures taken by the government to combat the menace while suggesting solutions.
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 with the definition of sand mining or some basic facts/data related to it.
Body:
The answer body must have the following aspects covered:
What are the effects of sand mining? – Excessive sand mining can alter the river bed, force the river to change course, erode banks and lead to flooding. It also destroys the habitat of aquatic animals and micro-organisms besides affecting groundwater recharge.
What effect does mining sand have on the river? – The volume being extracted is having a major impact on rivers, deltas and coastal and marine ecosystems, sand mining results in loss of land through river or coastal erosion, lowering of the water table and decreases in the amount of sediment supply.
Highlight the measures taken by the government.
Conclusion:
Conclude with solutions.
Introduction:
Sand mining is the extraction of sand through an open pit but sometimes mined from inland dunes from oceans, riverbeds and beaches. A per the union ministry of mines, sand is the fourth most important minor mineral in terms of production after road metals, building stone and brick earth. Sand is an important economic resource and also a source of silica for making sodium silicate, a chemical compound used for manufacture of both common and optical glasses.
Body:
Sand mining is legal in India and is regulated under Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. The regulatory and administrative jurisdiction of minor minerals falls under the purview of State governments. These include the powers to frame rules, prescribe rates of royalty, contribution to District Mineral Foundation, the procedure for grant of mineral concessions, regulation of their mining, control of illegal mining etc.
But, in India sand mining problem is so prevalent that it has developed into black market, that continues to exploit millions of tons of commodity annually, in the open loot of the riverbeds, canals and beaches sand is being drained by illegal means.
General Impacts of sand mining:
- Depletion of sand in the streambed and along coastal areas causes the deepening of rivers and the enlargement of river mouths and coastal in let
- It causes the destruction of aquatic and riparian habitat through large changes in the channel morphology and it also includes bed degradation and bed coarsening
- It causes major habitat disruptions that favoured some species over others and caused overall declines in biological diversity and productivity
- Sand mining transforms the riverbeds in large and deep pits as a result the groundwater table drops leaving the drinking water wells on the embankments of these dry rivers
- Mangrove forests had been destroyed due to illegal construction of storage docks, roads and other infrastructure to facilitate easy removal and transferring of sand from the river. This has made Mumbai and other regions very vulnerable for floods.
Effects of Sand mining on river ecosystem:
- Sand is vital for sustenance of rivers. River supports an extraordinary array of species, many of which are under threat due to habitat destruction. During the past 3-4 decades, river systems of the world have been altered significantly due to indiscriminate sand mining. Sand mining has many deleterious direct and indirect effects on the physical, chemical and biological environments of river systems.
- Excessive sand mining can alter the river bed, force the river to change course, erode banks and lead to flooding. It also destroys the habitat of aquatic animals and micro-organisms besides affecting groundwater recharge.
- Depletion of sand in the streambed and along coastal areas causes the deepening of rivers and estuaries, and the enlargement of river mouths and coastal inlets. It may also lead to saline-water intrusion from the nearby sea. The effect of mining is compounded by the effect of sea level rise. Any volume of sand exported from streambeds and coastal areas is a loss to the river ecosystem.
- Sand mining disturbs the equilibrium of a river channel because it intercepts material load moving within a dynamic system and triggers an initial morphological response to regain the balance between supply and transport. Channel widening causes shallowing of the streambed, producing braided flow or subsurface inter-gravel flow in riffle areas, hindering movement of fish between pools.
- It is now widely realized that, in spite of the short term benefits, the indiscriminate sand mining from the rivers is detrimental to these life sustaining systems, in the long run. Moreover, the effects of instream sand mining may not be visible immediately because it requires continuous monitoring and takes a decade or more to surface and propagate the effects along the river channel in measurable units.
- Mining which leads to the removal of channel substrate, resuspension of streambed sediment, clearance of vegetation, and stockpiling on the streambed, will have ecological impacts. These impacts may have an effect on the direct loss of stream reserve habitat, disturbances of species attached to streambed deposits, reduced light penetration, reduced primary production, and reduced feeding opportunities.
- Sand-and-gravel mining in stream channels can damage public and private property. Channel incision caused by gravel mining can undermine bridge piers and expose buried pipelines and other infrastructure.
- Apart from threatening bridges, sand mining transforms the riverbeds into large and deep pits; as a result, the groundwater table drops leaving the drinking water wells on the embankments of these rivers dry. Bed degradation from instream mining lowers the elevation of streamflow and the floodplain water table which in turn can eliminate water table-dependent woody vegetation in riparian areas, and decrease wet periods in riparian wetlands.
- The problem is serious in the case of the rivers in the southwest coast of India, especially in Kerala, where the rivers are small with limited river bed resources. At the same time, the mining of sand is on the rise to meet its ever increasing demand in the construction sector.
Steps take to deal with illegal sand mining:
- The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 has empowered state governments to make rules to prevent illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals.
- For minerals specified in the First Schedule to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957approval of the Central Government is necessary.
- It contains minerals such as coal and lignite, minerals of the “rare earths” group containing Uranium and Thorium.
- In 2012, the supreme court of India ruled that approval under the 2006 environment impact assessment (EIA) notification is needed for all the sand miners collection activity, even if the area being is less than 5 hectares.
- madras high court has disposed of public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to the state government to ban sand carrying in the state and to mandate use of M-sand (manufactured sand) as an alternative to river sand in mainly construction activities
- the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in 2020 released guidelines to monitor and check illegal sand mining in the country.
Way forward:
- Enhanced use of satellite imagery to track illegal mining activities
- App based complaint system so that there is minimum interference of human
- Establishing complaint cell in every district to allow people to complaint against illegal sand mining occurring in that district
- Mandating the use of manufactured Sand for the construction purpose throughout the country.
- Empowering local bodies to take control over approval for mining activities in their areas
- generating awareness
- guidelines to administrator for raid in areas of illegal mining
- strict penalties to violet environmental impact assessment notification 2006
Conclusion:
Sand is an important source for various construction activities but it can’t be extracted at the cost of our ecosystem and biodiversity proper action must be taken against mining Mafia who violate the rule sustainable sand mining along with approval under a 2006 is best possible solution.
Topic: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Reference: Live Mint
Why the question:
The Article brings to us Fukushima’s lessons and in what way it brings up the need for effective nuclear regulation.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain how and why electricity generated by nuclear reactors should remain an important part of India’s energy mix for a low-carbon future.
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:
Start with brief background of the context of the question.
Body:
The criticism of the use of nuclear power has often been based on the narrative of failure in Fukushima. However, certain facts shows that the issue is not with the technology – No adverse health effects due to radiation. Sixty kilometres away, three reactors at Onagawa were undamaged and shut down safely, despite being closer to the epicentre and suffering a more powerful tsunami.
Then move onto analyse the failure of public policy in the nuclear sector.
Suggest solutions; structurally separate the policymaker, regulator, research and development, and commercial operators.
Conclusion:
Restructure India’s nuclear governance architecture (similar to the space sector)
Introduction:
The Internet has turned our existence in a major way. It has revolutionized communications, to the extent that it is now our preferred medium of everyday communication. In almost everything we do we use the Internet. With this expansion of internet in our daily lives, there is a friction between the new set of values accrued vis-a-vis the traditional way of life.
Body:
Internet has become ubiquitous and life as we know it, has changed dramatically because of internet. On one hand it is beneficial and is a sign of progress. The internet helps us to inform or get informed, communicate with the person we have never met before, residing in the furthest part, be entertained whilst we can choose and be at ease, socially interact directly with someone whom we like, and spend time doing something which never lets us feel time-wasting. This kind of freedom of choice drives a person to enjoy moving on, out and away from conventional and traditional settings which offer limited scope for communication, entertainment, and social interaction.
But sometimes, this can also come in conflict with the traditional values. The internet is often to blame for promoting dissemination of false and unreliable information; radical ideologies; uncontrolled digital assaults; disrespectful, hurtful and provocative discourse; unsolicitedly putting us in touch with others; harmful effects on identity formation and psychological development; and cultural fragmentation. These are the antitheses of traditional values.
For instance, before the Internet, if you wanted to keep up with the news, you had to walk down to the newsstand when it opened in the morning and buy a local edition reporting what had happened the previous day. But today a click or two is enough to read your local paper and any news source from anywhere in the world, updated up to the minute. Even community ties have changed as internet reduces the interaction with public to minimal. Be it buying groceries to attending ceremonies, all of it can be made online.
Take for instance, the use of slang and jargon (both pre-existing and newly developed for today’s instant communication tools), phonics, abbreviations and colloquial syntax as the evolving standards for electronic discourse. A report noted that, the quality of writing among younger generations of workers declines in the past decade or so, corresponding with the rise in instant messaging, texting and Twitter.
More serious problems are that of internet and social media acting as echo chambers and narrowing the world view. The people-to-people relationship has changed drastically as well. Our capacity to interact with people meaningfully has been altered.
Conclusion:
Despite all these, Technology is another artefact in human existence that shifts us, but it does not replace thinking, it does not replace figuring out. It does not do that job for people; it can only enhance it. Because human beings can do what technology will never be able to do — and that’s form judgments. Ultimately morality and ethics should guide us in navigating life.
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: Times of India
Why the question:
The article explains that the current internet expansion has instilled a different set of cultural values.
Key Demand of the question:
Analyse in what way present-day internet expansion has implanted a different set of cultural values which are often in conflict with traditional values.
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 with facts that explain Internet expansion in the current times.
Body:
The internet helps us to inform or get informed, communicate with the person we have never met before, residing in the furthest part, be entertained whilst we can choose and be at ease, socially interact directly with someone whom we like, and spend time doing something which never lets us feel time-wasting. This kind of freedom of choice drives a person to enjoy moving on, out and away from conventional and traditional settings which offer limited scope for communication, entertainment, and social interaction.
The internet is often to blame for promoting dissemination of false and unreliable information; radical ideologies; uncontrolled digital assaults; disrespectful, hurtful and provocative discourse; unsolicited putting us in touch with others; harmful effects on identity formation and psychological development; and cultural fragmentation. These are the antitheses of traditional values.
Conclusion:
Conclude with fair and balanced opinion.
Introduction:
Internet is a powerful tool that used to connect people with education, communication, and entertainment. The influence of social media and internet affects every family in many ways.
Body:
Internet has definitely benefitted families who stay far apart with easy communication, getting to know about the events in family members lives well through WhatsApp groups, chats etc, ensure safety of the family under crisis immediately etc.
However, values have largely been affected in an adverse way:
- Children’s absorption in internet, from texting to playing video games, does by their very nature limit their availability to communicate with their parents. One study found that when the working parent arrived home after work, his or her children were so immersed in internet that the parent was greeted only 30 percent of the time and was totally ignored 50 percent of the time.
- Parents can struggle to gain proficiency and comfort with the new technology that their digital-native children have already mastered. This divergence in competence in such an important area of children’s lives makes it more difficult for parents to assume the role of teacher and guide in their children’s use of internet.
- Earlier parents had the opportunity to monitor and act as gatekeepers for their children’s social lives. Internet has provided children with independence in their communications with friends and others.
- Parents are often wrapped up in their own internet, for example, talking on their mobile phones, checking email, or watching TV, when they could be talking to, playing with, or generally connecting with their children.
- There is also less sharing which means that parents know less about what is going on in their children’s lives and, consequently, have less ability to exert influence over them.
- Internet has led to isolation and alienation leading to depression and ultimately rise in suicides. For instance, children falling victim to Blue whale challenge.
Impact on ethics:
- Privacy is one of the biggest issues when it comes to internet and people are actively revealing their personal information on social media thus threatening themselves to be victims of cyber bullying and other cyber-crimes.
- Direct communication is hardly visible and people are losing the ability to find the authenticity of news.
- Internet has given rise to more materialism leading to loss of empathy, compassion etc.
Conclusion:
Internet is a double edged sword. So it needs to be dealt with carefully for the needs that are absolutely necessary but not as a means to avoid family time. As long as there is technological progress, technology ethics is not going to go away; in fact, questions surrounding technology and ethics will only grow in importance. As we travel this path into the future together, we will choose the kind of future we create. Given our growing technological power, we need to put more and more attention towards ethics if we want to live in a better future and not a worse one.
