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
General Studies – 1
Topic: Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: Indian Express , Insights on India
Why the question:
Jawaharlal Nehru has recently come under criticism for declining to accept the Kashmir Maharaja’s initial offer to accede to India in September 1947, several weeks before the tribal invasion.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about issues regarding accession of Kashmir, issues regarding and steps that are needed to resolve it.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context regarding Kashmir Accession.
Body:
First, write about the Instrument of Accession and its nature post which Kashmir became a part of the Indian union.
Next, write about the Article 370 and trace the resultant issues till present day developments.
Next, write about the various issues in the above, leading to the illegal occupation of parts of Kashmir by Pakistan and India’s response to it. Trace the developments to the present day.
Next, write about the possible solutions to settle the Kashmir issue.
Conclusion:
Conclude by summarising.
Introduction
It was in 1947 when Pakistan illegally occupied certain parts of Jammu and Kashmir; India refers to this area as ‘Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’ (PoK). The region comprises two ethnically and linguistically different regions: which includes parts of Kashmir and Jammu; and Gilgit Baltistan, which makes up 86 percent of the total area of PoK.
Body
Instrument of Accession
- Hari Singh tried to negotiate with India and Pakistan to have an independent status for his state. He offered a proposal of Standstill Agreement to both the Dominion, pending a final decision on State’s accession. On August 12, 1947, the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir sent identical communications to the Government of India and Pakistan.
- Pakistan accepted the offer and sent a communication to J&K Prime Minister on August 15, 1947.
- Pakistan, though entered into Standstill Agreement with Jammu and Kashmir, had an eye on it. It broke the Standstill Agreement by sponsoring a tribal militant attack in Kashmir on October 1947.
- Maharaja of Kashmir initially harboring ambitions of independence, but after coming under attack from Pakistan, he had signed the Instrument of Accession unconditionally — which the Governor General of India had accepted unconditionally.
- The devil was in Mountbatten’s letter of 27 October 1947 to the Maharaja, conveying the acceptance of the state’s accession. In doing so, Mountbatten added that India would ascertain the wishes of the people of the state on the return of normal conditions.
- On 27 October 1947, Nehru had told both Mehr Chand Mahajan, who had reached Srinagar as the new prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir days earlier, and Sheikh Abdullah, the leader of the National Conference, of his decision to involve the United Nations to supervise the referendum to ascertain the people’s wishes.
Resultant issues thereafter
- India referred the dispute to the United Nations Security Council on 1 January 1948. Following the set-up of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), the UN Security Council passed Resolution 47 on 21 April 1948.
- The issue of Kashmir also became a victim of the politics of the Cold War, in which the aggressor, Pakistan, through the management of deft policy initiatives, managed to have the upper hand for some time.
- Externally, ever since 1947, Kashmir remained a major issue of conflict between India and Pakistan (and between India and China to a minor extent).
- Pakistan has always claimed that Kashmir valley should be part of Pakistan. The conflict resulted in 3 main wars between India and Pakistan – 1947, 1965, and 1971. A war-like situation erupted in 1998 as well (Kargil war).
- Pakistan was not only the illegal occupant of the Kashmir region. China too started claiming parts of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
- By the 1950s, China started to gradually occupy the eastern Kashmir (Aksai Chin). In 1962, India fought a war with China over its encroachments, however, China defeated India. To make matters worse, Pakistan ceded the Trans-Karakoram Tract of Kashmir (Saksham valley) to China.
Way forward
- Engaging the non-state actors through interlocutors, Tier-2 diplomacy should help alleviate the fears and misunderstandings that have cropped up.
- The way out of the deadlock is to strengthen democracy.
- Economic development through investments can be a game changer for Kashmir. All Kashmiris should get the due share in the growth story of India.
- Urgent steps should be taken to bridge the gaps of trust deficit in the minds of Kashmiri youth.
- De-radicalisation camps should be organised for the youth.
- A balanced mix of hard and soft powers can help improve the situation in J&K. The need of the hour is proper integration of Kashmir, Jammu, and Ladakh with India. Integration should not be seen in a limited dimension of territory. India should be able to win the heart of the people of Kashmir.
Conclusion
Many steps have been taken for maintaining peace in the state; but political instability, separatism and Pakistan-sponsored terrorism continue to surround the state of J&K. But India has been clear that no third party will be involved in the resolution of Kashmir issue and has vehemently opposed even other countries talking about interfering in Kashmir issue.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The sixth round of negotiations between senior officials of India and the UK for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) will begin here on Monday.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the advantages of FTA for India-U.K while taking in to account potential bottlenecks.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate 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 writing about FTA in the context of India-U.K relations.
Body:
In first part, give the historical ties between the two nations in brief and current status of bilateral relations.
Next, write about potential benefits of FTA for both the countries especially in aftermath of the disruptions caused by Brexit and Covid-19 pandemic. Mention trade, diaspora, collaboration etc.
Mention, the potential bottlenecks such as non-tariff barriers, IP protection and Tariff’s etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward for the potential realisation of the FTA.
Introduction
India will soon commence the next round of talks over a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom in the coming months. The move comes amid concerns that the inclusion of issues such as labour and environment may not be in the interest of the country, in the long run.
Body
India UK relations
- Trade and investments: Trade between India and UK touched $5 billion with a $2 billion trade surplus in favour of India.
- UK is the 4th largest inward investor in India accounting for around 7% of all foreign direct investment into India.
- India is the second largest investor in the UK.
- There are 842 Indian companies in the UK, employing more than 110,000 people. o This year, both sides agreed to establish ‘Enhanced Trade Partnership’, which is the first step towards a free trade agreement.
- Defence Relations: Ajeya Warrior (army-to-army biennial exercise), the Konkan (joint navy-to-navy annual exercise) and the Indradhanush (joint air-to-air exercise) happens between India and UK.
- A bilateral Defence Consultative Group (DCG) meeting has taken place annually between the top officials of the Defence Ministry since 1995.
- Diaspora: The year 2017 was declared as UK India year of Culture.
- The 2011 census records approximately 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK equating to almost 1.8 percent of the population and contributing 6% of the country’s GDP.
- In 2017 almost one million Britons visited India. Also, there has been a gradual mainstreaming of Indian culture and absorption of Indian cuisine, cinema, languages, religion, philosophy, performing arts, etc. in UK.
India UK FTA: Prospects
- By 2050, India will be the world’s third-largest economy with a middle class of almost 250 million shoppers.
- The UK wants to unlock this huge new market for the great British producers and manufacturers across numerous industries from food and drinks to services and automotive.
- It has the potential to boost bilateral trade by up to GBP 28 billion a year by 2035 and increase wages by up to GBP 3 billion across the UK.
- A deal with India is also pegged as a “big step forward” in the UK’s post-Brexit strategy to refocus trade on the Indo-Pacific, home to half of the world’s population and 50 per cent of global economic growth.
- Reduction or elimination of customs duty under the pact would help Indian labour-intensive sectors like textiles, leather, gems and jewellery to boost exports in the UK market. The UK is seeking duty concessions in areas like Scotch whiskey and automobiles.
- India’s main exports to the UK include ready-made garments and textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, petroleum and petrochemical products, transport equipment and parts, spices, metal products, machinery and instruments, pharma and marine items.
- Major imports include precious and semi-precious stones, ores and metal scraps, engineering goods, professional instruments, non-ferrous metals, chemicals and machinery.
- The UK is also a key investor in India. New Delhi attracted foreign direct investment of USD 1.64 billion in 2021-22. The figure was about USD 32 billion between April 2000 and March 2022.
- In the services sector, the UK is one of the largest markets in Europe for Indian IT services.
Conclusion
Through its Indo-Pacific tilt, the U.K. is finally carving out a direction and purpose to its post-Brexit foreign policy. And it is this prioritisation that has opened up a new window for New Delhi and London to quickly finalise their FTA.
India is showing a newfound flexibility in engaging with its partners on trade. Moreover, strategic partnerships without strong economic content would have no meaning in the Indo-Pacific, where China’s economic clout is growing by the day. It is a unique “now or never” moment and the two sides seem willing to seize it despite the challenges.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Indian Express , Insights on India
Why the question:
Five years ago, a new indirect tax system was launched by the Narendra Modi government. The Goods and Services Tax was introduced to replace the complex order of entry levies and sales tax in India. It also aimed to modify tax compliance and administration within the country. Half a decade later this move has become a lot more than just being about “one nation, one tax”.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about GST, various successes and limitations of GST and reforms that are needed in it.
Directive word:
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 aims and objectives behind the launch of GST.
Body:
First, write about the achievements of GST in the past 5 years. Substantiate with examples, facts or statistics.
Next, write about the shortcomings of GST in the past 5 years. Substantiate with examples, facts or statistics.
Next, suggest reforms in GST.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market. GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer. Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be available in the subsequent stage of value addition, which makes GST essentially a tax only on value addition at each stage. The final consumer will thus bear only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous stages.
GST is an indirect tax system which was rolled out on 1st July 2017 The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out lacunae in the GST regime, saying that system-validated input tax credit through invoice matching is not in place and a non-intrusive e-tax system still remains elusive.
Body
Benefits of the GST Regime
- For business and industry
- Easy compliance: A robust and comprehensive IT system would be the foundation of the GST regime in India. Therefore, all tax payer services such as registrations, returns, payments, etc. would be available to the taxpayers online, which would make compliance easy and transparent.
- Uniformity of tax rates and structures: GST will ensure that indirect tax rates and structures are common across the country, thereby increasing certainty and ease of doing business. In other words, GST would make doing business in the country tax neutral, irrespective of the choice of place of doing business.
- Removal of cascading: A system of seamless tax-credits throughout the value-chain, and across boundaries of States, would ensure that there is minimal cascading of taxes. This would reduce hidden costs of doing business.
- Improved competitiveness: Reduction in transaction costs of doing business would eventually lead to an improved competitiveness for the trade and industry.
- Gain to manufacturers and exporters: The subsuming of major Central and State taxes in GST, complete and comprehensive set-off of input goods and services and phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST) would reduce the cost of locally manufactured goods and services. This will increase the competitiveness of Indian goods and services in the international market and give boost to Indian exports. The uniformity in tax rates and procedures across the country will also go a long way in reducing the compliance cost.
- For Central and State Governments
- Simple and easy to administer: Multiple indirect taxes at the Central and State levels are being replaced by GST. Backed with a robust end-to-end IT system, GST would be simpler and easier to administer than all other indirect taxes of the Centre and State levied so far.
- Better controls on leakage: GST will result in better tax compliance due to a robust IT infrastructure. Due to the seamless transfer of input tax credit from one stage to another in the chain of value addition, there is an inbuilt mechanism in the design of GST that would incentivize tax compliance by traders.
- Higher revenue efficiency: GST is expected to decrease the cost of collection of tax revenues of the Government, and will therefore, lead to higher revenue efficiency.
- For the consumer
- Single and transparent tax proportionate to the value of goods and services: Due to multiple indirect taxes being levied by the Centre and State, with incomplete or no input tax credits available at progressive stages of value addition, the cost of most goods and services in the country today are laden with many hidden taxes. Under GST, there would be only one tax from the manufacturer to the consumer, leading to transparency of taxes paid to the final consumer.
- Relief in overall tax burden: Because of efficiency gains and prevention of leakages, the overall tax burden on most commodities will come down, which will benefit consumers.
Various issues with respect to goods and services tax (GST) regime
- The breakdown of trust and cooperative federalism between states and the Union government:
- It turned out to be prescient as GST failed to live up to its economic promises and states’ revenues were protected through this guarantee, despite Finance’s attempt to wriggle out of this commitment during the pandemic under the alibi of an “act of God”.
- The Union government’s proclivity to levy and appropriate cess revenues for itself without sharing them with the states has lent credence to the wisdom of guaranteed compensation for states.
- This guarantee is now set to expire..
- The recent Supreme Court’s judgment highlighting that the GST Council’s recommendations are not binding on the states:
- The SC recently observed that it is in the national interest to have both cooperative and competitive federalism, and hence, the GST Council’s decisions are not binding on the states.
- This means that states had and continue to have the right to either comply fully with the Council’s recommendations or modify them as they deem necessary.
- This has opened the window for states to override the fundamental GST premise of a “one nation one tax”.
- If pushed to a corner, states may now use the SC ruling as a shield.
- Expiry of the revenue guarantee that protected states’ revenues
- GST is too precariously perched to yank away the compensation guarantee for states.
- the Union government is not desirous of extending the compensation guarantee.
- Difficulty in tax administration:
- Goes against the canons of taxation.
- A modern tax system should be fair, uncomplicated, transparent and easy to administer.
- It must yield revenues sufficient to cover the cost of government services and public goods.
- Lack of clarity on many rules is also leading to various litigation and different interpretations (of the same laws) by Advanced Ruling Authorities in different states.
- Complicated taxation structure:
- A World Bank study published in May 2018 said that the Indian GST rate was the second highest among the 115 countries with a national value-added tax.
- It was also the most complicated, with five main tax rates, several exemptions, a cess and a special rate for gold.
- The multilateral lender said that only five countries had four or more non-zero tax rates—India, Italy, Pakistan, Luxembourg and Ghana.
- Falling revenue amid disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has continuously delayed the reform, leaving a large number of items in high tax slabs.
- High compliance costs: are also arising because the prevalence of multiple tax rates implies a need to classify inputs and outputs based on the applicable tax rate. Along with the need to apply the correct rate, firms are required to match invoices between their outputs and inputs to be eligible for full input tax credit, which increases compliance costs further.
- GST Council meetings: the meetings of the GST Council are not as frequent as they were earlier, if the recent incidents are anything to go by, and it often end up with disagreement, fight and strong letters and statements. States have also accused the Centre of cornering a substantial portion of tax in forms of cess.
- There has been lack of coordination between the Department of Revenue, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the GST Network.
Way Forward
- The first target should be to move to at least a three-rate structure, a lower rate for essential goods, a relatively high rate for luxury goods, and a standard rate for the majority of goods and services.
- The next step would be simplifying the tax returns process.
- The scope for lowering the GST rate is umbilically linked to direct tax reform.
- A better way to make a tax system more just is by lowering regressive indirect tax rates while widening the base for progressive direct taxes on income and corporate profits.
- The government needs to establish GST Tribunals to reduce litigation timelines and the pressure on courts.
- The state authorities for Advance Ruling should ideally also have an independent jurist member, apart from a representative from the tax department.
- Many goods are still outside the GST net, which comes in the way of seamless flow of input tax credit. Key items outside its ambit are electricity, alcohol, petroleum goods and real estate. This aspect need to be looked into.
- Emulating the best practices. The GST in New Zealand, widely regarded as the most efficient in the world, has a single standard rate of 12.5 percent across all industry groups.
- The Fifteenth finance commission, in its latest report, has addressed many issues including large shortfall in collections as compared to original forecast, high volatility in collections, accumulation of large integrated GST credit, glitches in invoice and input tax matching, and delay in refunds.
- The Commission also observed that the continuing dependence of states on compensation from the central government for making up for the shortfall in revenue is a concern.
- While at the same time it suggested that the structural implications of GST for low consumption states need to be considered.
Conclusion
While the GST’s journey has given its stakeholders some causes to celebrate, it has also given moments of worry. But then, no transformation of the scale and complexity can be achieved without its share of hiccups and challenges. The process of evolution will take a few years more for the mammoth structural change to stabilize. The four-year journey of GST has been a roller-coaster ride for all stakeholders with equitable share of hits, misses and expectations. A work-in-progress in its transformational journey, GST suffers from several shortcomings which need to be resolved quickly, but its journey to ‘Good & Simple Tax’ is still quite long.
Topic: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint , Insights on India
Why the question:
NFTs are gaining massive popularity now because they are becoming an increasingly popular way to showcase and sell your digital artwork.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about NFTs, technology they function on and its applications.
Directive word:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the context. You must be defining key terms wherever appropriate and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining NFTs.
Body:
First, explain the technology behind the functioning of NFTs – it is recorded in the blockchain and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded. NFTs can be created by anybody, and require few or no coding skills to create.
Next, write about the applications of NFTs – Digital art, Games, Music, Film etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward to overcome limitations.
Introduction
An non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique, irreplaceable token that can be used to prove ownership of digital assets such as music, artwork, even tweets and memes. Anything that can be converted into a digital form can be an NFT. Everything from your drawings, photos, videos, GIF, music, in-game items, selfies, and even a tweet can be turned into an NFT, which can then be traded online using cryptocurrency. What makes NFTs unique from other digital forms is that it is backed by Blockchain technology. NFT transactions are recorded on blockchains, which is a digital public ledger, with most NFTs being a part of the Ethereum blockchain.
Body
Technology behind NFT
- NFTs exist on a blockchain, which is a distributed public ledger that records transactions. You’re probably most familiar with blockchain as the underlying process that makes cryptocurrencies possible.
- Specifically, NFTs are typically held on the Ethereum blockchain, although other blockchains support them as well.
- An NFT is created, or “minted” from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible items, including:
- Art
- GIFs
- Videos and sports highlights
- Collectibles
- Virtual avatars and video game skins
- Designer sneakers
- Music
- Even tweets count. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sold his first ever tweet as an NFT for more than $2.9 million.
- Essentially, NFTs are like physical collector’s items, only digital. So instead of getting an actual oil painting to hang on the wall, the buyer gets a digital file instead.
- They also get exclusive ownership rights. NFTs can have only one owner at a time. NFTs’ unique data makes it easy to verify their ownership and transfer tokens between owners. The owner or creator can also store specific information inside them. For instance, artists can sign their artwork by including their signature in an NFT’s metadata.
Applications
People interested in Crypto-trading and people who like to collect artwork often use NFTs. Other than that, it has some other uses too like:
- Digital Content – The most significant use of NFTs today is in digital content. Content creators see their profits enhanced by NFTs, as they power a creator economy where creators have the ownership of their content over to the platforms they use to publicize it.
- Gaming Items – NFTs have garnered considerable interest from game developers. NFTs can provide a lot of benefits to the players. Normally, in an online game, you can buy items for your character, but that’s as far as it goes. With NFTs, you can recoup your money by selling the items once you’re finished with them.
- Investment and Collaterals – Both NFT and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) share the same infrastructure. DeFi applications let you borrow money by using collateral. NFT and DeFi both work together to explore using NFTs as collateral instead.
- Domain Names – NFTs provide your domain with an easier-to-remember name. This works like a website domain name, making its IP address more memorable and valuable, usually based on length and relevance.
- Tickets for an event (movie, live performance, soccer match, etc.) can be tokenized as NFTs. As every seat location is unique and no two can be the same.
- Legal Docs, Invoices, Signatures, etc. You can convert any legal property document into an NFT. It can help in identifying the actual owner. This will reduce scams in real estate and ease the selling process. Additionally, it will reduce the necessity of middlemen (local administration). So, the transfer will be economical and quick for both the seller and the buyer.
- Supply Chain Management using NFTs can provide evidence about the originality of any product. For instance, you can check any medicine for its authenticity by tracking it to its genuine manufacturer.
- Anything distinctive can be converted into a non-fungible token to ensure fair use. For example, your college degree, driver’s license, personal ID, passport, etc., can be issued as an NFT to prevent forgery.
Conclusion
NFTs that use blockchain technology like cryptocurrency are generally secure. Their distributed nature makes NFTs nearly impossible to hack. The only security risk is that you could lose access to your NFTs if the hosting platform goes out of business.
Topic: Disaster and disaster management.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
That Cyclone Mandous, which had its landfall near Mamallapuram, near Chennai, in the early hours of Saturday, did not cause much damage has come as a huge relief to the people of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. At one stage, it was expected to develop into a “severe cyclonic storm”, but did not gain much strength. Called a “textbook cyclone”, the storm, as predicted by the India Meteorological Department, crossed the coast with all the attendant features, to the satisfaction of professional meteorologists.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the role of government preparedness in cyclone mitigation.
Directive word:
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 providing context and the increasing frequency of cyclones in India.
Body:
In first part, bring out the economic costs and human costs as a result of devastation caused by the severe cyclones.
Next, write about the role of government preparedness – installing a disaster warning system in the coastal districts, and construction of evacuation shelters in cyclone-prone districts etc.
Next, mention long term measures – Embankments that are resilient to storm surges, improved prevention of flooding from swollen rivers and coastal mangrove habitats regeneration etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward as the how the above will help mitigate the impact of devastating cyclones.
Introduction
A cyclone is a large-scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure. Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure. Tropical cyclones are intense low-pressure areas confined to the area lying between 30° N and 30° S latitudes, in the atmosphere around which high velocity winds blow. Horizontally, it extends up to 500-1,000 km and vertically from surface to 12-14 km.
IPCC research shows that the frequency and severity of cyclones will increase due to the warming of oceans and melting glaciers. Of India’s 7,500 kilometre coastline, almost 5,700 kilometres are highly vulnerable to the impacts of tropical cyclones and related hydro-meteorological hazards and consequently to recurrent loss of life and properties. Approximately 40 percent of the total population in the maritime states, lives within 100 kms of coastlines.
Body
Impacts of cyclones
- Economic costs: India lost around 2% of GDP and 15% of total revenue over 1999-2020. According to the Global Climate Risk Index report 2021, India ranks the seventh worst-hit country globally in 2019 due to the frequent occurrence of extreme weather-related events. Moreover, the report showed that India lost around 2,267 human lives, while damages stood at $68,812 million in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms in 2019. In the same year, India ranked first concerning human deaths and economic losses due to extreme weather-related events.
- Coastal Flooding:It is likely to reshape the coastlines and potentially inundate or even submerge many low-lying areas. Cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad are endangered by cyclone storms.
- Destruction of Coastal Biodiversity: Frequent storms can cause destructive erosion, wetland flooding, aquifer and agricultural soil contamination with salt, and lost habitat for biodiversity.
- Dangerous Storm Surges:Higher sea levels are coinciding with more dangerous hurricanes and typhoons leading to loss of life and property.
- Regional Climate: Tropical cyclones can quickly change the environment of the affected areas. They can bring warmer air into hot places. This makes the atmosphere feel very sticky and muggy and rises the temperature dramatically. This can cause heat strokes and other heat related illness to children and the elderly after the storm which is not good.
- Fishing and livelihood: Loss of habitat and Loss of juveniles and brood fishes. Loss of livelihoods of farmers and fishermen: Statistics show that the global average annual losses from cyclones and storm surges are estimated at US$ 80 billion. Small fishermen with no state-of-the-art technology are usually advised to stay off the seas before and during the cyclones.
- Lateral and Inland Migration:Flooding in low-lying coastal areas is forcing people to migrate to the higher ground causing displacement and dispossession and in turn a refugee crisis
- Effect on Communications Infrastructure:The prospect of higher coastal water levels threatens basic services such as internet access.
- Threat to Inland Life:Rising seas can contaminate soil and groundwater with salt threatening life farther away from coasts.
- Tourism and Military Preparedness:Tourism to coastal areas and military preparedness will also be negatively affected by an increase in cyclone storms
- The interesting thing is that the frequency of tropical cyclones has decreased ever so slightly over the last 70 years.
Role of government preparedness
- National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has responsibility of formulating National Guidelines for Management of Cyclonesand India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the nodal agency for providing cyclone warning services to communities and important officials in affected areas.
- The National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), to be implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank, is envisaged to have four major components:
- Component A: Improvement of early warning dissemination system by strengthening the Last Mile Connectivity (LMC) of cyclone warnings and advisories.
- Component B: Cyclone risk mitigation investments.
- Component C: Technical assistance for hazard risk management and capacity-building.
- Component D: Project management and institutional support.
- These components are highly interdependent and have to be implemented in a coherent manner.
- Its aim is to undertake suitable structural and non-structural measures to mitigate the effects of cyclones in the coastal states and UTs of India.
- The NDMA had come up with its National Guidelines of Management of Cyclones in 2008. The basic premise of these guidelines is that the mitigation has to be multi-sectoral.
Challenges posing the Cyclone Management in India
- India has a coastline of about 7,516 km, 5,400 km along the mainland, 132 km in Lakshadweep and 1,900 km in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- On an average, five to six tropical cyclones form every year, of which two or three could be severe.
- More cyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal than the Arabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1. This is now changing due to impact of climate change.
- There is an over-emphasis on a total evacuee figure, particularly in states such as Odisha.
- There exists an inadequate focus on response aspects other than evacuation, such as measures to minimise crop damage, assistance for quick harvest, adequate relief and timely distribution of post-cyclone assistance such as for damaged houses, etc.
Measures needed to tackle such incidences:
Short term measures:
- provide cyclone forecasting, tracking and warning systems
- Construction of cyclone shelters, cyclone resistant buildings, road links, bridges, canals, drains etc.
- Establishing Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS), and Capacity building for coastal communities.
- Mock drills, and training of local population and police by NDRF and SDRF
- Plantations of strong rooted trees, canopies, mangroves and proper vegetation cover which act as first line of defence.
- Proper drainage system throughout the city to discharge the water as soon as possible to avoid flood like conditions
- Use of NAVIC and RESOURCESAT-2 for disseminating coastal information and helping in disaster management.
- Implementation of National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project
Long term measures:
- The National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), to be implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank, is envisaged to have four major components:
- Component A: Improvement of early warning dissemination system by strengthening the Last Mile Connectivity (LMC) of cyclone warnings and advisories.
- Component B: Cyclone risk mitigation investments.
- Component C: Technical assistance for hazard risk management and capacity-building.
- Component D: Project management and institutional support.
- These components are highly interdependent and have to be implemented in a coherent manner.
- The NDMA had come up with its National Guidelines of Management of Cyclones in 2008. The basic premise of these guidelines is that the mitigation has to be multi-sectoral.
- Developing Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) frameworks for addressing the sustainability and optimal utilisation of coastal resources as also cyclone impact minimisation plans.
- Ensuring cyclone resistant design standards are incorporated in the rural/ urban housing schemes in coastal areas
- Implementing coastal flood zoning, flood plain development and flood inundation management and regulatory plans.
- Coastal bio-shields spread, preservation and restoration/ regeneration plans.
- There is a need for private sector participation in designing and implementing policies, plans, and standards.
- Need of Disaster Management program to be inclusive including women, civil society, and academia.
Conclusion
India should prepare to mitigate and deflect the destruction caused by Cyclones. We need to employ technology, strict following of command structure and most importantly the participation and cooperation of local communities in the affected area.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
Difficulty level: Easy
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Mission-2023 Secure.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about emotional intelligence and its role in persuasion.
Directive:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the context. You must be defining key terms wherever appropriate and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining emotional intelligence (EI).
Body:
First, write about the various components of EI.
Next, link the emotional aspect of EI with communication and persuasion – attempting to influence an outcome or followers using – authority, consistency and commitment, liking and reciprocity/reciprocation etc. Write about its link with the leadership.
Conclusion:
Complete the answer by summarising.
Introduction
Emotional intelligence refers to the capability of a person to manage and control his or her emotions and possess the ability to control the emotions of others as well. In other words, they can influence the emotions of other people also.
Body
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence or EI is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth.
It is said to have five main elements such as – self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Of these, self-regulation is of significant importance in this context, especially for civil servants.
For instance, watching social media and comparing ourselves with someone else might lead to extreme anxiety about our inadequacies or shortcomings. Instead of indicting ourselves for our situation, one must understand that every individual has their own trajectory in life. And circumstances surrounding one’s riches or well-being can be very different.
Significance of Emotional Intelligence
- The chances of succeeding are skewed towards people who are better able to manage themselves and others emotionally, one’s who are likeable and trustworthy.
- Research shows that more than 80% percent of success is due to skills in “human engineering,” personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Only 15 percent is due to technical knowledge.
- Additionally, Nobel Prize winning psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, found that people would rather do business with a person they like and trust rather than someone they don’t, even if the likeable person is offering a lower quality product or service at a higher price.
- Hence, instead of exclusively focusing on conventional intelligence quotient, one should make an investment in strengthening his/her EQ (Emotional Intelligence). The concepts of EQ may be difficult to measure, but their significance is far greater than IQ.
- Simply put, emotional intelligence is that “something” within us that help us to sense how we feel and enables us to truly connect with others and form a bond.
- It gives us the ability to be present and listen to someone when they most need it. It is that sense of internal balance within us that enables us to keep our composure, make good decisions, communicate successfully, and maintain effective leadership even when under stress.
Developing Emotional Intelligence
- Self-regard: Having high self-regard means that one has a good understanding of his
strengths and weaknesses. Acting on this understanding requires that you have good self-
knowledge and effectively strike a balance between being confident and being arrogant.
People are more comfortable helping others who demonstrate the right amount of humility.
- Optimism: People find optimism and happiness attractive attributes. People are more likely to cooperate with someone who’s optimistic.
- Approachability: Approachability, like optimism, attracts people. When we’re happy others are more pleasant to be around. Being happy add to “likability” factor. It can also be contagious. Everybody likes to be happy, and being around happy people contributes to one’s own happiness.
- Self-evaluation: By self-evaluating oneself, one can know one’s emotions and reactions to different situations. By observing others, one can comprehend feelings of others.
- Communication: By improving one’s expression, one can communicate better.
Conclusion
High-EI individuals, could reduce the effects of negative emotions like anger or rage on their decision-making. Rage and anger are not only removed as hindrances, but also used to enhance the quality of decisions.
Topic: Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
7. Happiness is inextricably tied to your Emotional Intelligence. Examine. (150 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Mission-2023 Secure.
Key Demand of the question:
To develop a link between emotional intelligence and happiness.
Directive:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate 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 the positive correlation between happiness and emotional intelligence.
Body:
First, write about as to how EI can lead to happiness – Emotionally intelligent people understand that happiness is worth short-term sacrifices, they don’t let what they cannot control affect what they can, they always abide by their values etc. Substantiate with examples.
Conclusion:
Complete the answer by summarising.
Introduction
Happiness is physical, mental or emotional state of well-being. It can be defined by some positive emotions ranging from pleasant feeling to intense joy. It is the happiness of one & one’s loved ones which matters & drives the actions of a person. Happiness is a choice. People are generally as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Body
Happiness is inextricably tied to your Emotional Intelligence
Happiness comes from within and can’t be imbibe from external sources. A happy mind always has attributes of empathy, love, compassion, benevolence, solidarity etc. for the fellow human beings which serve as the purpose of life. More specifically, your right actions will lead to increased levels of happiness. The act of expressing gratitude to those you love will immediately affect your level of happiness.
For e.g.: An act of telling thankyou to your mother when she cooks lunch for you.Conclusion
Negative emotions are counter-productive and impede goal achievement. They’re unpleasant and feel bad. Self-awareness recognizes these concerns and permits limiting and dismissing them. Negatives attract other harmful emotions and lead to patterns. These can quickly become negative spirals. Anger, depression, sadness, fear, doubt… need to be dealt with before they take root. While everyone experiences some counter-productive beliefs and feelings, mastering these limits the degree they can hinder happiness and impede success.
When things are going well, happiness can be amplified by nurturing and tapping the energy of success. Emotions are always in the present tense. Positive feelings can be enjoyed by remembering happy experiences, finding joy in the present, and looking towards the future with optimism and hope. Positives attract positives. Go with the flow. Happy people enjoy their feelings. They experience gladness, joy and supportive emotions from their experiences. These positives can and should be cultivated and repeated.
It is in giving that we receive. Friendships double joy and half sorrow. Connection to others, empathy and compassion generate the joy of giving. Sharing creates strong positives. Not only do relationships contribute joy to the journey, they promote the quality of life and lead to better health (and longevity). Invest in others. These connections provide real long-term value. They serve belongingness needs and create a strong sense of connection.
Persevering and succeeding in a long-term endeavor in which you’ve committed heart and soul establishes a positive feeling of being a champion. Legitimate pride comes from a task well done. Victory and championships are the accolades of perseverance and excellence. Effort and diligence create positive outcomes.
Way forward
Thus, Happiness is not an accidental outcome. It needs to be a targeted, valued objective. Through emotional intelligence and positive psychology, meaningful, measurable goals can be set and achieved. To improve overall happiness, one must attend to mental, physical and emotional needs (nutrition, diet, rest, exercise) on a deliberate, regular basis. One must be active, energetic and engaged; perform; and One must also be mindful and meditate; have the self-awareness to take command of self-management and feelings; understand cause and effect and apply it.
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