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: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
After the record-breaking summer heat, 2022 may be the worst drought year in Europe in 500 years. China, US too are facing drought
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the reasons for drought across some parts of the world and its impact.
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 evidence. You must appraise the worth of the statement in question. There is scope for forming an opinion here.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context.
Body:
First, write about the reasons behind the onset of the severe droughts across world – heat waves, erratic rainfall, climate change etc.
Next, write about the short-term impact of these great droughts.
Next, write about the long-term impact of these great droughts.
Next, write about the mitigating measures that are needed to offset the impact of these droughts.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Drought is a prolonged dry period in the natural climate cycle that can occur anywhere in the world. It is a slow-onset disaster characterized by the lack of precipitation, resulting in a water shortage. Drought can have a serious impact on health, agriculture, economies, energy and the environment.
Legendary rivers have been reduced to shallow streams, hitting power generation. After the record-breaking summer heat, 2022 may be the worst drought year in Europe in 500 years. China, US too are facing drought. According to the most recent assessment from the Global Drought Observatory, Europe’s soil has dried up across 47% of the continent. Another 17% of the vegetation is “on alert,” which means it “shows indications of stress.”
Body
Reasons for Great droughts
- Scientists are near-unanimous that the heat waves are a result of climate change caused by human activity.
- Global temperatures have already risen by more than 1°C , and studies in the U.K. had shown that a one degree rise in temperature raises the probability of the country witnessing 40°C by ten times.
- The rising global temperature, which this year led to deviations above the normal by as much as 15 degrees in Antarctica, and by more than 3 degrees in the North Pole, have also induced changes in old wind patterns.
- These changes turned Western Europe into what has been described as a heat dome, a low pressure area that began to attract hot air from northern Africa.
- In the case of the U.S., the record temperatures are being linked to changes in the jet stream, a narrow band of westerly air currents that circulate several kilometres above the earth’s surface.
- While a conventionally strong jet stream would bring cooler air from the northern Atlantic, in recent years the jet stream has weakened and split into two, leading to intense and more frequent heat waves over parts of the American continent.
- All the affected nations have issued heat alerts and health advisories to its citizens, who are not used to such temperatures.
Short term impact
- Long hot spells and heatwaves are having a negative impact on lives in more developed nations since wildfires have charred large areas of land and crop failure is expected.
- In France, a record amount of Fleur de Sel, which crystallises when water from salt marshes evaporates, will be produced by the salt farmers in the Gueranderegion of the country as a result of temperatures that have also hastened the process.
- Lack of rain in Germany has caused the Rhine, a major shipping route, to dip to such low levels that less freight can be transported, causing delays and greater expenses.
- In order to prevent running aground, vessels have only been loaded to 30–40% of their capacity.
- Economists estimate that the disruption might reduce the nation’s economic growth by as much as 0.5 percentage points.
- In the midst of an energy crisis, drought is also putting pressure on the power supply.
- Hydropower generation, which relies on water to produce electricity, has fallen by 44% in Spain, according to the BBC, and 20% overall.
- Water is also needed to cool nuclear power plants – and some nuclear plants in France have had to reduce output as the rivers have been too low and warm to cool the plants, according to the Guardian.
- As rivers and lakes dry up, the dropping water levels are exposing previously submerged artefacts, including an unexploded World War Two bomb on the bed of the River Po in Italy, near Mantua.
- Some 3,000 local residents were evacuated – and traffic on the river and nearby roads and railway was stopped – so the bomb could be removed and then destroyed in a controlled explosion.
- Wildfires caused by a combination of extreme heat and dry weather have destroyed 19,000 hectares of forest in south-western France, and thousands of people had to be evacuated to temporary shelters.
- Portugal reported more than 250 blazes over a period of two days, and 650 deaths due to heat-related illnesses in a span of one week.
Long term impact
- In Europe, the heat wave has renewed calls for determined action on climate mitigation measures.
- But in the U.S., the political leadership, especially in Republican states, many of which, like Texas, also happen to be extreme weather hot spots, are still reluctant to recognise climate change as the cause of the problem.
- With local politicians asking people to pray rather than acknowledge the role of a fossil-fuels in triggering extreme weather.
- In terms of adapting to the ongoing heat wave, the U.S. is marginally better placed, with a majority of the households fitted with air-conditioners.
- But only a tiny minority have ACs fitted in their homes in the U.K. and Western Europe.
- With the frequency and duration of heat waves rising this summer, Europe’s energy requirements have shot up at just the wrong time, in the midst of rising fuel costs caused by a ban on Russian gas that European politicians imposed in response to the Ukraine invasion.
- In Germany, despite widespread acknowledgement of the urgent need to curb carbon emissions, even Green Party politicians are speaking of replacing Russian gas with domestic coal.
- The greater frequency, intensity and duration of the heat waves have also been linked to the growing incidence of drought in different parts of Europe.
- With the winters ending sooner, vegetation starts to grow sooner before the snows of winter have replenished the water tables and the rivers.
- This has led to progressive depletion of water tables and increasingly drier soil and shallower rivers.
- While the reduction in soil moisture has made forest fires more probable, drying rivers, critical for both agriculture and hydro power, have affected harvests and energy security.
Conclusion
The economies of both Europe and the U.S. remain firmly bonded to fossil-fuel consumption. While Europe has been more vocal about cutting down emissions and has sought to invest heavily in renewables, this shift has been disrupted by the Ukraine war. World leaders face a clear choice, it is either collective action or collective suicide.
Topic: Social empowerment
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
To create the foundation for the next century, we need to invest in education and health in the next 25 years — not just for the elite, but for all.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the need of equitable access to high-quality education and healthcare for social empowerment and ways to do.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context.
Body:
First, write about the role of education in social empowerment and how it ensures breakdown of caste, religious and gender barriers. Cite statistics.
Next, write about the role of health in social empowerment and how it ensures breakdown of caste, religious and gender barriers. Cite statistics.
Next, write about the barriers which prevent access to high-quality education and healthcare.
Next, write about the steps that are needed to overcome such barriers.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Education and health are foundational to every society. Ensuring top quality and a proper delivery of public goods like education and healthcare is one area where successive governments have underperformed in India. However, there are examples of India’s capabilities in these areas which are easy to find. Indian education produces global CEOs and Indian private healthcare systems have been providing services to medical tourists from many parts of the world.
Body
Challenges to ensure Equitable access to high-quality education and healthcare:
- Health:
- Healthcare provisions in India is grossly inadequate and access to healthcare is highly inequitable. Lack of efficient public healthcare and burden of out-of-pocket health expenditures reduces people’s capacity or disables them from investing in the human capital of their children.
- ineffective functioning (corruption and leakages) of the public distribution system (PDS), growing economic inequalities and lack of nutritional awareness pose challenges in combating malnutrition
- Education:
- Basic literacy (the ability to read and write) in the overall population has progressed modestly. However, there is persistent gender differentials, and major differentials by caste and religion.
- The state of functional literacy and professional skills is poor. Indian graduates have low employability and does not meet changing economic structure or support global competitiveness.
- Rising Inequality:
- In India, a large portion of the population is below the poverty line, therefore, they do not have easy access to primary health and education.
- There is growing inequality across social groups and income groups which translates itself into poor socio-economic mobility.
- Lack of socioeconomic mobility hinders human capital development and traps a large section of population to be in the vicious circle of poverty.
- Lack of Skilling:
- According to the National Sample Survey, out of the 470 million people of working age in India, only 10% receive any kind of training or access to skilled employment opportunities.
- There’s a huge mismatch between demand and supply when it comes to skilled workforce and employment opportunities, which could place a strain on the economy in the long run
- Inadequate use of knowledge bases from technology developments:
- There is a disconnect between India’s rate of technological growth and ability to distribute the gains from it by adequately focusing on skilling and health.
- The use of technical advancements has been concentrated in few sectors and benefits accrued by a few elitist sections of the society.
- Jobless growth:
- India’s high growth rate phase (2004-05 to 2010-11) has created significantly fewer jobs as compared to previous decades of economic growth.
- Around 47 % of India’s population is still dependent on agriculture which is notorious for underemployment and disguised unemployment.
- Majority of the workforce is employed by the unorganized sector where workers are underpaid and lack any kind of social security.
- Falling female labour force participation:
- According to data from International Labour Organization and World Bank, India’s female labour force participationrates have fallen from 34.8 % in 1990 to 27 % in 2013.
- Socio-cultural factors and rising family incomes have been identified as the main reasons for this decline.
- Another appalling concern is that a significant proportion of qualified women drop out of the workforce for reasons ranging from no suitable jobs in the locality—particularly in rural areas—to family responsibilities and marriage.
A differential planning approach is needed:
- To engineer an inclusive and sustainable growth for India, the social infrastructure like education, health and social protection are being given utmost priority by the Government
- The gaps in the expenditure on social infrastructure like health and education should be closed by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of the government initiatives. Protecting and investing in people’s health, education, and skilling is vital for reducing income inequality, and sustained inclusive economic growth.
- India needs to increase its spending on health and education. As recommended by the National Health Policy 2017 and the NEP 2020, India needs to increase its spending on health and education to at least 2.5 % in 6 % of GDP respectively from its current levels. Enhancing policies to maintain and even increase health and longevity will therefore be necessary.
- The current situation calls for more and better schools, especially in rural areas. It also calls for better transportation links between rural areas and regional urban hubs.
- India has to invest more in human capital formation at all levels, from primary education to higher education, cutting-edge research and development as well as on vocational training to increase the skill sets of its growing working-age population.
- The flagship schemes such as Skill India, Make in India, and Digital India have to be implemented to achieve convergence between skill training and employment generation.
- Bridging the gender gaps in education, skill development, employment, earnings and reducing social inequalities prevalent in the society have been the underlying goals of the development strategy to enhance human capabilities.
- Improved infrastructure, skill development, access to easy finance, reducing barriers to entrepreneurship and forums for mentorship of emerging entrepreneurs in partnership with corporates are some of measures.
- Decentralized models of development: Social policies for each state must be differentiated to accommodate different rates of population growth. The populations in south and west India are growing at a much slower pace than in the central and eastern states.
Conclusion:
A multi-pronged approach is imperative to ensure social empowerment. There is also a need to engage with the youth and create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship. The demographic dividend offers them a unique opportunity to boost living standards, but they must act now to manage their older populations in the near future by implementing policies that ensure a safe and efficient transition from the first demographic dividend to the second demographic dividend.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Insights on India , Insights on India
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 2 and mentioned as part of Mission-2023 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the nature and importance of DPSPs to the Indian constitution and the state.
Directive:
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Brief on Directive Principles of State Policy, Articles related and Schedule.
Body:
First, write about the purpose behind having DPSPs in the constitution. Mention the significance of DPSPs highlighting their characteristics.
Further, mention their utility and sanctions, as a part of Indian Constitution. Then, mention the criticism to address the demand of the question.
Conclusion:
Conclude by giving a balanced opinion on the nature of DPSPs.
Introduction
The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs) are enumerated in Part IV of the Constitution from Articles 36 to 51. Dr B R Ambedkar described these principles as ‘novel features’ of the Indian Constitution. The Directive Principles along with the Fundamental Rights contain the philosophy of the Constitution and is the soul of the Constitution.
Body
DPSPs are mere pious superfluities or political manifestoes devoid of any constitutional importance
- No legal force: They were described as ‘pious superfluities’ and was compared to a blank cheque, new year’s resolutions, manifestation of aims and aspirations.
- Without the force of enforcement like Article 32 in case of Fundamental rights,DPSP remained mere instructions whose implementation was elusive.
- Illogically arranged: DPSP have been criticized for being arranged in an illogical manner and without any consistent philosophy
- Conservative and orthodox: Some provisions are outdated and are not consistent with 21stcentury philosophies. Ex: Banning intoxicating drinks
- Might lead to confusion and conflicts
- Can cause conflicts between centre and states during implementation of DPSP
- Constitutional cases were high during the initial stages concerning the conflicts between FRs and DPSP
- Conflicts between President and the cabinet, centre and state could also occur. Ex: States could be dismissed in case of non-compliance, President might not give assent if laws made to give effect to DPSP are violative of FRs
Directive Principles have their importance
- The Constitution itself declares that they are fundamental to the governance of the country. According to L M Singhvi, an eminent jurist and diplomat, ‘the Directives are the life giving provisions of the Constitution.
- Dr B R Ambedkar had pointed out that the Directives have great value because they lay down that the goal of Indian polity is ‘economic democracy’ as distinguished from ‘political democracy’.
- They are like an ‘Instrument of Instructions’ or general recommendations addressed to all authorities in the Indian Union. They remind them of the basic principles of the new social and economic order, which the Constitution aims at building.
- They have served as useful beacon-lights to the courts. They have helped the courts in exercising their power of judicial review, that is, the power to determine the constitutional validity of a law.
- They form the dominating background to all State action, legislative or executive and also a guide to the courts in some respects.
- They amplify the Preamble, which solemnly resolves to secure to all citizens of India justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
- They are supplementary to the fundamental rights of the citizens. They are intended to fill in the vacuum in Part III by providing for social and economic rights.
Significance of DPSP’s as upheld by Supreme court
- The 25th Amendment Act inserted a new Article 31C which contained the following two provisions: 1. No law which seeks to implement the socialistic Directive Principles specified in Article 39 (b) and (c) shall be void on the ground of contravention of the Fundamental Rights conferred by Article 14 or Article 19.
- In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court declared the above first provision of Article 31C was held to be constitutional and valid.
- In the Minerva Mills case (1980), the Supreme Court also held that ‘the Indian Constitution is founded on the bedrock of the balance between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles.
- They together constitute the core of commitment to social revolution. They are like two wheels of a chariot, one no less than the other.
- To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution.
- This harmony and balance between the two is an essential feature of the basic structure of the Constitution. The goals set out by the Directive Principles have to be achieved without the abrogation of the means provided by the Fundamental Rights’.
Conclusion
Therefore, the present position is that the Fundamental Rights enjoy supremacy over the Directive Principles. Yet, this does not mean that the Directive Principles cannot be implemented. The Parliament can amend the Fundamental Rights for implementing the Directive Principles, so long as the amendment does not damage or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.
Topic: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Insights on India
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 2 and mentioned as part of Mission-2023 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about whether or not fundamental duties should be enforced.
Directive:
Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them 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 balanced judgment on the topic.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving brief about Article 51 and Part IV-A of the constitution.
Body:
In the first part, write about the rationale behind enactment of article 51, its aims and objectives that it strives to achieve.
Next, write about the advantages of enforcing certain fundamental duties – greater unity, spirit of fraternity etc
Next, wite about drawbacks of enforcing fundamental duties – lack of enforcing mechanism, additional burden on governance etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
In 1976, the Congress Party set up the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee to make recommendations about fundamental duties, the need and necessity of which was felt during the operation of the internal emergency (1975–1977). The committee recommended the inclusion of a separate chapter on fundamental duties in the Constitution.
Government enacted the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976. This amendment added a new part, namely, Part IVA to the Constitution. This new part consists of only one Article, that is, Article 51A which for the first time specified a code of ten fundamental duties of the citizens.
Body
Need for enforcing fundamental duties
- Fills legal vacuum making them obligatory: If the existing laws are inadequate to enforce the needed discipline and behavioural change among citizens, the legislative vacuum needs to be filled. This could call for strategies such as making fundamental duties enforceable.
- In M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, the Supreme Court introduced compulsory learning of lessons on protection and improvement of the natural environment in all the educational institutions of the country as a part of Fundamental duty under Article 51-A (g).
- Promote patriotism: The Fundamental Duties are defined as the moral obligations of all citizens to help promote a spirit of patriotism and to uphold the unity of India.
- For instance, to uphold and protect sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so and to disseminate a sense of nationalism and to promote the spirit of patriotism to uphold the unity of India.
- These fundamental duties assume significance after the emergence of China as a superpower.
- Legislative potentials like DPSP: At times, Directive Principles Of State Policy (DPSP) has taken precedence over Fundamental Rights and some of them have found their way into statute books
- Guide the elected representatives: The fundamental duties enjoined on citizens under Article 51-A should also guide the legislative and executive actions of elected or non-elected institutions and organisations of the citizens including the municipal bodies.
- Enables judiciary to examine legislative reasonableness: There have been certain situations, where the Courts have been called upon to examine the reasonableness of any legislative restriction on the exercise of a freedom, the fundamental duties are of relevant consideration.
Drawbacks of enforcing fundamental duties
- Provides opportunity to implant political propaganda: To attain vested interests under the garb of fundamental duty like protecting the culture, tampering with curriculum is facilitated.
- For example, omitting and tampering with school curriculum.
- Redundant when suitable legislative actions are available: For example fundamental duty to protect and improve the natural environment including forests and wildlife only repeat what the existing environment protection laws prescribe for.
- Futility of legal enforcement without will and aspirations of citizens: Out of the ten clauses in Article 51A, five are positive duties and the other five are negative duties.
- Clauses (b), (d), (f), (h) and (j) require the citizens to perform these Fundamental Duties actively. It is said that by their nature, it is not practicable to enforce the Fundamental Duties and they must be left to the will and aspiration of the citizens.
- Difficulty in determining scope: Fundamental duty such as ‘to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture’ leaves the scope of such duties open ended.
- Such ambiguity enables unscrupulous elements for moral policing.
- Example recent lyching by cow vigilantes.
- Voluntary obedience more suitable: Making fundamental duties may facilitate compulsory allegiance of citizenry obligations but that’s not democratic. Even Gandhiji always believed in moral persuasion rather than forceful adherence.
- Lack of adequate awareness: For the proper enforcement of duties, it is necessary that it should be known to all. This should be done by a systematic and intensive education of people that is by publicity or by making it a part of education.
Conclusion
The inclusion of fundamental duties has helped to strengthen democracy. The moral value of fundamental duties would be not to smother rights but to establish a democratic balance by making the people conscious of their duties equally as they are conscious of their rights’. The provisions for enforcement of fundamental duties should be made considering the multiculturalism and pluralism of India.
General Studies – 3
Topic: basics of cyber security
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India
Why the question:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that 5G deployment in India will commence sooner than expected. Reports suggest that the government will launch 5G at the inauguration of the India Mobile Congress on September 29. The long-awaited upgrade from 4G to 5G will allow ultra-fast Internet speeds and seamless connectivity across the country compared to 4G. The implications of the 5G roll-out could be significant, particularly for law enforcement in India.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the advantages associate with 5G and cybersecurity challenges associated with it and ways to overcome them.
Directive:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context the roll out of 5G tech in India.
Body:
First, write about the advantages offered by 5G tech to enhance efficiency, productivity, and security. Substantiate with facts and examples.
Next, write the potential cybersecurity challenges with the introduction of 5G- susceptible to cyber threats such as botnet attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) overloads. Besides, as 5G lacks end-to-end encryption, hackers can plot their attacks more precisely and perpetrate cybercrimes by hacking into systems or disseminating illegal content.
Next, write about the steps that are needed to overcome the above challenges.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that 5G deployment in India will commence sooner than expected. Reports suggest that the government will launch 5G at the inauguration of the India Mobile Congress on September 29. The long-awaited upgrade from 4G to 5G will allow ultra-fast Internet speeds and seamless connectivity across the country compared to 4G. The implications of the 5G roll-out could be significant, particularly for law enforcement in India.
Body
- 5G is the next generation of mobile broadbandthat will eventually replace, or at least augment 4G LTE connection.
- Department of Telecommunication (DoT) in 2017 setup a 5G steering committee headed by AJ Paulraj.
- The committee submitted the report and suggest important steps. In 2018, India planned to start 5G services but it has not yet materialized.
- Operate in the millimeter wave spectrum (30-300 GHz)which have the advantage of sending large amounts of data at very high speeds.
- Operate in 3 bands,namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum.
- Reduced latencywill support new applications that leverage the power of 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence.
- Increased capacityon 5G networks can minimize the impact of load spikes, like those that take place during sporting events and news events.
Issues with roll out of 5G
- Cybersecurity Issues: Deploying 5G when we have a shaky cyber security foundation is like erecting a structure on soft sand. As the previous networks were hardware-based, India could practise cyber hygiene. But 5G is a software-defined digital routing. This makes it susceptible to cyber threats such as botnet attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) overloads.
- 5G lacks end-to-end encryption: hackers can plot their attacks more precisely and perpetrate cybercrimes by hacking into systems or disseminating illegal content. The bandwidth expansion due to 5G will enable criminals to embezzle data bases easily. With time, as 5G connects with additional devices, the frequency of attacks could increase.
- Cyber-bullying: Criminal groups may be able to easily coordinate DDoS onslaughts because of the real-time communication capabilities between multiple criminal groups. They could also hack into Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and remotely commit crimes.
- Security issues: Terrorists, too, could benefit from 5G as the high speed would allow them to execute attacks more rapidly and precisely. With 5G, terrorists can plan attacks without having to travel physically or use telephones, which could leave a trail for law enforcement agencies to act on.
- Risks: Risks associated withincreased data transfers and the proliferation of poorly secured IoT devices that will appear alongside 5G.
- If the implementation and use of 5G lead to a greater number of connections and a larger amount of data being transferred, it follows that the attack surface area will increase alongside it.
- Greater use simply brings more opportunities for hackers to find a way in.
- Privacy: 5G proponents tout the wonder of having all household appliances and systems connected to the internet wirelessly in order to give people remote access via cellphone or computer.
- What is not considered is the power to eavesdrop on users without their knowledge when there is proliferation of electronic devices connected to internet and collecting data.
- Huge investment needed:The introduction of 5G will involve a heavy upfront investment and have a long payback period. Thus, the viability of 5G after the introduction is a major challenge.
Conclusion
The shift from 4G to 5G is not incremental, but transformational. Skipping of 5G is not a choice India can afford. The economic impact of 5G in India is expected to be over $1 trillion by 2035 according to the report of KPMG. The Sooner the deployment of 5G in India is the better for India. India has to work on Indigenous 5G technology. This will also help bring down the cost of 5G technology and benefit the end users especially addressing the security and privacy risks.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators;
6. What does this quote means to you? (150 words)
Difficulty level: Tough
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Quotes Wednesdays’ in Mission-2023 Secure.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by explaining the literal meaning of the quote.
Body:
Write about the need to be moral and being moral for a just cause. Write about the importance of not just being moral but taking a stand against injustices and standing up for a cause. Substantiate with facts and examples.
Conclusion:
Summarise by highlighting the importance of the quote in the present day.
Introduction
The above quote talks about how one needs to be aware of his ignorance. Real knowledge — according to the great Chinese philosopher, Confucius — is knowing the extent of your own ignorance. The more aware and accepting you are of that which you don’t know, the wiser you become.
Body
We all know a lot of different things, and many of us can recognize some of the things we don’t know, but have you ever thought about everything you don’t even know you don’t know? Many of us haven’t, which makes us ignorant of our own ignorance.
We know we don’t know quantum physics, how to fly an airplane, or how to speak Cantonese. These are known unknowns — all of the things we recognize we don’t know. This so-called knowledge territory consists of everything we don’t even know we don’t know. We would provide examples here, but we can’t because we are ignorant of them. This territory is the unknown unknown, and it is big. There is an unquantifiable amount of unknown unknowns, but the more aware of it you are, the more real knowledge you possess. To be clear, it is impossible to be aware of what you don’t know you don’t know.
Even great thinkers like Socrates admitted ignorance. What set him apart from others of his time is that he was aware of what he lacked, and he sought more wisdom because of it. The only way around the unknown is through it.
No matter how knowledgeable we are, we all inevitably have things that we don’t know. That is what it means to be human. We have limits. And knowing when we don’t know something is far more powerful, and knowledgeable, than the more emotionally immature attitude of thinking that we know it all.
Conclusion
Thus, the mark of an intelligent person would be know where his wisdom ends and his ignorance begins. It doesn’t feign well to brag that a person is very intelligent and knows everything about everything.
To borrow a phrase from one of Exploratory Leaders, Seth Godin, it’s your turn. It’s your turn to recognize there is a universe of knowledge you aren’t aware of. Only once you understand this can you begin to navigate your own unknowns.
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