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: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Times of India , Insights on India
Why the question:
The article reports that the Mayon Volcano in the Philippines has experienced a gentle eruption, spewing lava and prompting authorities to warn thousands of people to be prepared to evacuate.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about volcanic landforms and reasons for frequent eruptions and earthquakes in the rim of the Pacific Ocean.
Directive word:
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 about volcano and volcanism.
Body:
First, write about the Pacific Ring of Fire and explaining the reason behind its active state due to which it hosts the largest number of active volcanoes of the world, its association with plate tectonics.
Conclusion:
Conclude by Summarising.
Introduction
The Ring of Fire is a Pacific region home to over 450 volcanoes, including three of the world’s four most active volcanoes – Mount St. Helens in the USA, Mount Fuji in Japan and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. It is also sometimes called the circum-Pacific belt. Around 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur in the Ring of Fire, and 80% of the world’s largest earthquakes.
The Mayon Volcano in the Philippines has experienced a gentle eruption, spewing lava and prompting authorities to warn thousands of people to be prepared to evacuate.
Body
Ring of fire and volcanoes:
- The Ring of Fire is a direct outcome of the tectonic activitiesin the Pacific Ocean. The lithosphere plates are in constant motion and collisions.
- These plates making up the outermost layer of the earth are always moving on top of the mantle and sometimes pull apart, collide, or slide past each other resulting in divergent boundaries, convergent boundaries, and transform boundaries respectively.
- The Ring of Fire is the result from subduction of oceanic tectonic plates beneath lighter continental plates. The area where these tectonic plates meet is called a subduction zone.
- Subduction zones are also predominant due to the action of the tectonic movements when heavier plates slip under lighter plates, creating deep trenches.
- The subduction alters the heavy mantle into buoyant magma which moves up the crust to the surface of the earth. When this occurs over millions of years, the rising magma brings about a series of active volcanoes referred to as volcanic arc.
- The volcanic arcs and ocean trenches run parallel to each other thereby bringing about the ever expanding Pacific Ring of Fire.
- For example, the Aleutian Islands in Alaska run parallel to the Aleutian Trench. What’s more, the Andes Mountains of South America runs parallel to the Peru-Chile Trench.
- These parallel geologic features are the ones responsible for the subductions of the Plates.
- When it comes to plate tectonic boundaries, it leads to faulting, crashing, and formation of rift valleys on the sea floor which contributes to the ejection of magma and powerful shaking of the ocean floor.
- This leads to the formation of more cracks, vents, and fault lines which can trigger strong earthquakes and volcanic activities.
- The ejected magma is cooled by the seawater to form new crust, creating high ridges on the ocean floor.
- The East Pacific Rise is one of the major locations experiencing fast seafloor spreading in the ring of fire.
Ring of fire and earthquakes:
- The world’s deepest earthquakes happen in subduction zone areas as tectonic plates scrape against each other – and the Ring of Fire has the world’s biggest concentration of subduction zones.
- As energy is released from the earth’s molten core, it forces tectonic plates to move and they crash up against each other, causing friction. The friction causes a build-up of energy and when this energy is finally released it causes an earthquake. If this happens at sea it can cause devastating tsunamis.
- Tectonic plates usually only move on average a few centimetres each year, but when an earthquake strikes, they speed up massively and can move at several metres per second.
Conclusion
Volcanoes have a huge impact on man and material as urbanization and globalization increases. The effects have impacts on flora, fauna and the global warming which can accelerate the climate change.
Value addition
Location of Circum-Pacific Region (“Pacific Ring of fire”):
- It stretches along the Pacific Ocean coastlines, where the Pacific Plate grinds against other, smaller tectonic plates that form the Earth’s crust – such as the Philippine Sea plate and the Cocos and Nazca Plates that line the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
- The 40,000 kilometre horse-shoe-shaped ring loops from New Zealand to Chile, passing through the coasts of Asia and the Americas on the way.
- The chain of volcanoes extends from Aleutian Islands into Kamchatka, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, southward into Pacific Islands of Solomon, Tonga and New Zealand. On the other side of the pacific, the chain continues from the Andes to Central America (Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua), Mexico and right up to Alaska.
- Example: Mt. Fuji, Mt.Vesuvius, Stromboli, Etna etc.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: reuters.com
Why the question:
UN Secretary-General expresses concerns over Russia potentially withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal by July.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its efficacy in preventing escalating food prices.
Directive word:
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 about the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Body:
First, write about the major features of the Black Sea Grain Initiative – to provide for a safe maritime humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian exports, commercial ships are required to register directly with the JCC and its importance.
Next, write about the potential and the shortcomings of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
In a move that allayed concerns about yet another disruption to global food supply chains, Russia re-joined the Black Sea Grain deal. The reversal came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow would suspend, but not end, its involvement in the deal. The Black Sea Grain deal endeavours to tackle escalating food prices emanating from supply chain disruptions because of Russian actions in the world’s ‘breadbasket’.
UN Secretary-General expresses concerns over Russia potentially withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal by July 2023.
Body
About the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its importance
- The deal, brokered by the United Nations (UN) and Turkey, was signed in Istanbul on July 27 this year.
- Initially stipulated for a period of 120 days, with an option to extend or terminate thereafter in November, the deal was to provide for asafe maritime humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian exports (particularly for food grains) from three of its key ports, namely, Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.
- The central idea was tocalm markets by ensuring an adequate supply of grains, thereby limiting food price inflation.
- Ukraine is among the largest exporters of wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil, globally.
- Its access to the deep-sea ports in the Black Sea enables it to directly approach Russia and Europe along with grain importers from the Middle East and North Africa.
- Russia’s action in the East European country has now disturbed this route, earlier used to ship 75% of its agricultural exports – precisely what the initiative sought to address.
- The deal put in place a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), comprising senior representatives from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN for oversight and coordination.
- All commercial ships are required to register directly with the JCC to ensure appropriate monitoring, inspection and safe passage.
- Inbound and outbound ships (to the designated corridor) transit as per a schedule accorded by the JCC post-inspection. This is done so as to ensure there is no unauthorised cargo or personnel onboard.Following this, they are allowed to sail onwards to Ukrainian ports for loading through the designated corridor.
- All ships, once inside the Ukrainian territorial waters, are subject to the nation’s authority and responsibility.
- Moreover, in order to avoid provocations and untoward incidents, it is mandated that monitoring be done remotely.
- No military ships or unmanned aerial vehicles can approach the corridor closer than a pre-decided distance agreed upon by the JCC. This too would require consultation with the parties and authorisation of the JCC.
Role in preventing escalation of prices
- As per the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, approximately 9.8 million tonnes of grains have been shipped since the initiative was commenced.
- The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) Food Price Index, which assesses the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities,fell for the sixth consecutive month in a row this October.
- Following thefifth consecutive month of decline, the supply situation in markets was seen to be easing, with the potential for further price drop
- People hoarding the grain in the hope of selling it for a sizeable profit owing to the supply crunch were now obligated to sell.
- The initiative has also been credited forhaving made a “huge difference” to the global cost of living crisis.
- About 44% of the shipments, which include corn, wheat, rapeseed, and sunflower oil among others, reached high-income countries (including Spain, Netherlands and Italy among others), 28% reached low and middle-income countries (Egypt, Iran, Sudan and Kenya among others) and 27% reached upper-middle income countries (Turkey, China and Bulgaria among others).
- It is important to note here that certain countries here may be re-exporters of a certain grain— thus, the indicator might only reflect the first point of export.
Conclusion
As Ukraine typically accounted for about 10% of global wheat exports before the war, the effect on global markets is akin to back-to-back droughts over three years in a major wheat-producing region, and it likely means that global stocks will not recover for at least another year. This initiative can be the solution to the current price volatility but then again, it alone cannot solve the escalating prices.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: Hindustan Times
Why the question:
The article reports that Uttar Pradesh (UP), a state in India, has observed International Child Labour Day and declared 20 districts as child labour-free with the assistance of UNICEF.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about impact of inclusive growth and reduction in absolute poverty in the country.
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 giving context regarding in decline in poverty.
Body:
First, write about the emphasis on inclusive growth by the policy makers in the past couple of decades and the steps and measures that were taken in this regard.
Next, write about the successes and limitations of the above-mentioned measures.
Next, write about the further measures that are needed to end poverty.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
The recent release of the NFHS data for 2019-21 allows for a detailed analysis of the progress in the reduction of absolute poverty and related determinants like nutrition. There is decline in poverty between periods of 2004-2013 and 2014-2021 and that India’s economic growth has been the most inclusive between 2014 and 2019.
The two time periods under examination i.e. 2005 to 2011 (P-1) and 2011 to 2021 (P-2) are separated by per capita income growth declining in the world (2.8 to 2.2 per cent) and in India (from 6.3 to 4.4 per cent).
Body
Background: Statistics
- Poverty downturn: NFHS estimates put emphasis that poverty fell sharply after 2011 based on these two periods i.e. P-1 to P-2
- Depiction:Multidimensional poverty declined at a compounded annual average rate of 4.8 per cent per year in P-1 and more than double that pace at 10.3 per cent a year during P-2.
- The average equally weighted decline for nine indicators was 1.9 per cent per annum in P-1 and a rate of 6 per cent per annum, more than eight times higher in P-2.
- This unambiguous and strong conclusion however needs further investigation that what made growth so inclusive in P-2.
- Bolstering reveals:Also the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) nutrition index improved at a 2.5 per cent rate during 2005-11 and at a more than five times faster rate during 2020-11.
- About DHS:The DHS are nationally-representative household surveys that provide data for a wide range of monitoring and impact evaluation indicators in the areas of population, health, and nutrition.
- A similar improvement is found in nutrition deprivation, which registered a CAGR decline of 11.6 per cent from 2015 onward.
- Contrasting findings: On other hand, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) released recently depicted a worsening of hunger in India between 2014 and 2021, and hence contradicts the large improvement documented in the NFHS data.
- It ranked India 107 out of 123 countries, dropping from the rank of 101 in 2021 and put it in “serious” category and behind all south Asian countries except the war-torn Afghanistan.
- However, unlike the GHI, the NFHS provides comparative state-level data, including the main pointers that determine health and nutrition.
Inclusive growth prioritised in recent times
- Access to toilets : The current government’s Swachh Bharat mission in P-2 constructed over 110 million toilets.
- Access to electricity: Close to one-third of Indians were deprived of electricity till as recently as 2014. However, after a dedicated push ofSaubhagya Yojana, India managed to electrify every village, and eventually households.
- Electricity deprivation declined by a 28.2 per cent rate post-2014, but from 2005-2011 (P-1), the rate of decline was close to zero.
- Financial inclusion: Jan Dhan Yojana, providing basic banking facilities to the underprivileged, made financial inclusion a reality in India, especially for women.
- It presently has in excess of 472 million accounts with deposits in excess of ₹1.75 lakh crore.
- Access to modern cooking fuel: Through the Ujjwala Yojana, deprivation was nearly halved from 26 per cent to 14 per cent in just five years. The previous halving (2005/6 to 2015/16) took 10 years.
- Affordable housing scheme: Under Awas Yojana,less than 14 per cent are now deprived, compared to thrice that number in 2011/12.
- Clean water:More recently, after 2019, India has embarked on an ambitious project of ensuring universal access to piped water under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
- Rural piped water coverage was a little less than 17 per cent in 2019, but is now well above 54 per cent and expected to at least be near, if not meet, the 100 per cent target by 2024.
Measures 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 morein 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 Indiahave 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 entrepreneursin 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
The policy-makers and academics have given a higher priority to the poverty-reducing properties of inclusive growth rather than growth per se. Given the estimated poverty decline in India, time has come to change our economic policies; concentrate on what causes growth, not what causes poverty to decline.
Poverty is now not just about food but living standards like sanitation, housing, piped water, electricity, education, health, and jobs. And on each of these elements, the focus should shift to quality, not quantity.
Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: wikipedia.org
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 3.
Key Demand of the question:
To analyse if climate engineering could be a viable option to overcome the climate crisis.
Directive word:
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:
Begin the answer by defining climate engineering.
Body:
You can use a bubble diagram to show the various modes of geo-engineering such as Shoot Mirrors into Space (Solar Sunscreen), Copy a Volcano, Build Fake Trees etc.
In the first part of the body, write about how the above strategies work and will be beneficial for the planet above and over existing mitigation strategies to tide over the climate crisis. Clearly outline as to why it may be needed.
In the next part, mention about the major drawbacks, impediments and concerns regarding the implementation of the above strategies
Conclusion:
Conclude by giving a balanced opinion.
Introduction
Geoengineering interventions are large-scale attempts to purposefully alter the climate system in order to offset the effects of global warming. Geoengineering is the intentional, large-scale technological manipulation of the Earth’s systems. It is also known as Climate Engineering because it is often discussed as a technological solution for combating climate change.
Most geoengineering proposals can be divided into two types: solar radiation management (SRM) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Geoengineering offers the hope of temporarily reversing some aspects of global warming and allowing the natural climate to be substantially preserved whilst greenhouse gas emissions are brought under control and removed from the atmosphere by natural or artificial processes.
Body:
Positives of geoengineering:
- As expected, the climate would begin to cool once geoengineering commences. This initial cooling phase, would provide relief, particularly for species that were unable to keep up with past warming.
- Also, birds and fish which may have moved in response to elevated temperatures in the past will possibly turn back.
- If solar geoengineering were ramped up slowly to half the rate of warming over the coming decades, then it seems likely it would reduce many climate risks. Solar geoengineering deployment can be ended without the impacts of a termination shock if it is gradually ramped down over decades.
- The climate models reveal that the large-scale action would indeed calm things down a bit and potentially reduce the number of North Atlantic cyclones.
Negatives of geoengineering:
- A recent study shows that rapid application, followed by abrupt termination of this temporary tech-fix can in fact accelerate climate change.
- The increase in temperature from the abrupt termination is so quick that most species, terrestrial or marine, may not be able to keep up with it and eventually perish.
- The increase in temperature is two to four times more rapid than climate change without geoengineering. This increase would be dangerous for biodiversity and ecosystems.
- Reptiles, mammals, fish and birds that have been moving at 1.7 km/year on average will now have to move faster than 10 km/year to remain in their preferred climatic zones. This raises serious concerns, especially for less-mobile animals like amphibians and corals.
- Not just species but entire ecosystems could collapse by suddenly hitting the stop button on geoengineering.
- For example, temperate grassland and savannahs, which are maintained by specific combinations of temperature and rainfall, may experience increasing rates of temperatures, but an opposing trend in rainfall, after 2070.
- Ineffectiveness
- The effectiveness of the techniques proposed may fall short of predictions.
- In ocean iron fertilization, for example, the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere may be much lower than predicted, as carbon taken up by plankton may be released back into the atmosphere from dead plankton, rather than being carried to the bottom of the sea and sequestered.
- Model results from a 2016 study, suggest that blooming algae could even accelerate Arctic warming.
- Moral hazard or risk compensation
- The existence of such techniques may reduce the political and social impetus to reduce carbon emissions
- Albedo modification strategies could rapidly cool the planet’s surface but pose environmental and other risksthat are not well understood and therefore should not be deployed at climate-altering scales.
- In the case of environmental risks, the offsetting of greenhouse gases by increasing the reflection of sunlight is not going to be perfect. Some people, potentially a small minority, will get less rainfall. There is concern about what particles might do to the ozone layer.
- The drop off of tropical storms in one area would actually lead to a spike in drought in parts of Africa, according to the data.
Way forward:
- The potential of natural systems as an effective solution for sequestering carbon dioxide has led to several efforts to scale nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change.
- These proliferating efforts, however, must take cognisance of the fact that these solutions are effective only when applied while protecting the already existing forest.
- Additionally, we must not run blindly after planting trees; instead, we must back reason with science.
- Trees should be planted where they belong, that too with native species, and in consultation with local communities.
Conclusion:
In any case in the meantime, two aspects are certain: under no scenario could climate engineering serve as a substitute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and it would be better to implement such technologies with more nuanced research.
Value addition
Some geoengineering techniques and its drawbacks:
Carbon capture and storage technologies:
- This carbon dioxide removal approach focuses on removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and locking them away.
- The process starts with the capture of generated CO2 which undergoes a compression process to form a dense fluid. This eases the transport and storage of the captured CO2.
- The dense fluid is transported via pipelines and then injected into an underground storage facility.
- Captured CO2 can also be used as a raw material in other industrial processes such as bicarbonates.
- The CCS has significant backing from the International Energy Agency and the IPCC.
- However, it still is hanging in uncertainty due to high upfront costs in the instalment of such plants.
- A growing number of corporations are pouring money into so-called engineered carbon removal techniques.
- However, these technologies are at a nascent stage and need an overhaul to be exploited.
- Carbon dioxide may be stored deep underground. Reservoir design faults, rock fissures, and tectonic processes may act to release the gas stored into the ocean or atmosphere leading to unintended consequences such as ocean acidification etc.
solar radiation modification:
- This process does not affect atmospheric greenhouse gases but aims to reflect the solar radiation coming to the earth.
- The science of the method is, however, largely model-based, and the impacts of deflecting the solar radiations could be unpredictable.
- Additionally, due to the thermal inertia of the climate system, removal of the radiation modification could result in the escalation of temperature very quickly, giving significantly less time to adapt.
- Another side effect of the radiation modification process could be natural vegetation.
- Since solar radiation is responsible for photosynthesis, sudden masking of solar radiation could significantly affect the process.
- While these questions remain unanswered, the futures of these technologies remain uncertain.
Topic: Disaster and disaster management.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Insights on India
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 3.
Key Demand of the question:
To analyse the natural anthropogenic causes of landslides and to account for their increased risk.
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:
Briefly introduce landslide by defining them. Give examples of some major landslides in the recent past.
Body:
Mention the natural factors behind the causes of landslides in India with a few examples. Mention the areas which are most prone to landslides. Draw a small illustrative map showing the same.
Next bring in the instances of human activity induced landslides. Bring forth the anthropogenic factors responsible for causing Landslides. Substantiate with facts and figures regarding the incidence of landslides. For eg: a 2018 report from Copernicus Publications, which states that 18% of global human-induced landslide casualties occur in India. Mention the stats from recent NCRB report on casualties from Landslides.
Reason as to why the increase in anthropogenic induced landslides is alarming and cause of concern. Give solutions to overcome the same.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of “mass wasting,” which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity.
Body
Vulnerability of India to landslides
- About 12.6 per cent of the total land mass of India falls under the landslide-prone hazardous zone, according to a study by the GSI
- The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)stated that a global rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius (from pre-Industrial times) was inevitable in the next two decades. This would increase glacier melt and more water would flow over the steep slopes, thereby generating more landslides.
- Highly unstable, relatively young mountainous areas in the Himalayas and Andaman and Nicobar, high rainfall regions with steep slopes in the Western Ghats and Nilgiris, the north-eastern regions, along with areas that experience frequent ground-shaking due to earthquakes, etc., which can result in an increased number of landslides.
- The rivers in Himalayan regions are mighty and in their youthful stage. They do a lot of downcutting, which enhances the occurrence of landslides.
- Landslides due to mining and subsidence are most common in states like Jharkhand, Orissa. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Kerala.
- India was one of the countries most affected by human-triggered fatal landslides in the 2004-16 period, found a study by researchers at Sheffield University, UK.
- A 2011 estimate suggested that India suffers Rs 150-200 crore of monetary loss every year from landslides, said a study by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)
link between deforestation, ecological challenges, and the severity of landslides
- Deforestation of steep slopes may temporarily reduce evapotranspiration and lessen root reinforcement thus potentially enhancing landslide susceptibility.
- Deforestation adds to landslides because the roots of trees and plants hold the soil.
- The presence of vegetation on steep hillslopes contributes to the mechanical stability of the soil mantle primarily by root reinforcement that enhances soil strength and by reducing wetness conditions through evapotranspiration and rainfall interception.
- Evidence suggests that forest removal enhances landslide occurrence.
- For example, forest clear-cutting in regions with steep topography and high rainfall has been reported to increase landslide events by 2 to 10-fold relative to vegetated slopes
- On clearing the vegetation, the mountain slope loses its protective layer due to which the rain water flows with very high speed on the slopes which results in landslides.
- Increased grazing has led to wiping out of many grassland areas causing soil erosion and easy prey for landslides.
- In the regions of North East India, landslides occur because of shifting agriculture (jhum cultivation) as it involves clearing the forest areas.
The measures to control landslides are
- Structural measures:
- Stopping Jhum cultivation.
- Store Excess water in catchments areas to reduce the fury of flash floods, recharge the ground water and improve the environment. Dig runoff collection ponds in the catchments.
- Grow fuel / fodder trees in all of the common lands.
- Plantation in barren areas, especially on slopes, with grass cover is an important component of integrated watershed management programme.
- Grazing should be restricted. The grasses of industrial importance should also be planted so that there is some economic return to the farmers as well.
- Use the surface vegetative coverto protect the land from raindrop’s beating action, bind the soil particles and decrease the velocity of flowing water.
- Construction of engineering structures like buttress beams,retaining walls, geogids, nailings, anchorsto stabilise the slopes.
- Non-structural measures:
- Environmental Impact Assessment of the infrastructure projectsbefore commencing the work.
- Declaration ofeco-sensitive zones where mining and other industrial activities are banned. Eco-tourismshould be promoted.
- Hazard mapping of the region to identify the most vulnerable zones and take measures to safeguard it.
- Local Disaster Management force for quick relief and safety of the people affected by landslides.
- Teaching people about landslides & ways to mitigate.
- Constructing a permanent assessment team comprising scientists & geologists for better mitigation and adaptation techniques.
- Involving the local people for sustainable development of Himalayas
Conclusion
Himalayas are of vital importance to India in terms of climate, monsoon, water source and a natural barrier safeguarding the peninsula. The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem under NAPCC is a step ahead to address a variety of issues Himalayas is facing today.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: plato.stanford.edu
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4.
Directive word:
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:
In the introduction, given brief of major aspects of Buddhist ethics.
Body:
Explain the detail that Buddhism proposes a way of thinking about ethics based on the assumption that all sentient beings want to avoid pain. Thus, the Buddha teaches that an action is good if it leads to freedom from suffering.
Next, Mention the Do No Harm principle, Compassion, Justice and Accountability etc which the Buddhist philosophy emphasises.
Mention its application in daily life,
Conclusion:
Conclude by mentioning Buddhist moral claims of compassion and equality can contribute to the thinking of modern educational issues, such as peace education, ecological education
Introduction
Buddhism, represents a vast and rich intellectual tradition, tells us to purify our own minds and to develop lovingkindness and compassion for all beings. The various forms of Buddhism offer systematic frameworks for understanding the traits of character and types of actions that cause problems for ourselves and others, as well as those qualities and actions that help to heal the suffering of the world.
Body
Ideas of Buddhism which emphasize the cultivation of wisdom, compassion, and moral conduct
- Believe in ‘Karma’:Human beings must believe in ‘Karma’ theory which has a cause and effect relationship.
- Serve the Sick: According to him, serving the sick means serving the God.
- Morality:He believed in two golden rules of Christianity i.e. principle of equality and the principle of reciprocity. It means we must behave or act in the way, we expect from others. As per Buddha all human beings are equal and we must follow moral and ethical values being good human beings.
- Mental Development: This is the only path which can strengthen and control our mind. Mental Development is possible by concentration and meditation. This will help in maintaining good mental health and conduct.
- Love:As per Buddha the end of hatred is to do love and compassion. We can conquer anger by love and affection to others.
- Harmony:He strived to maintain a balance and harmony between all living and non-living things in the universe in order to attain enlightenment.
- Spread of Peace: Human society can be peaceful by accepting this very aim of Buddha. Peace can be attained through the practice of non-violence, equally brotherhood and friendship.
- Self- Reliance – Human society and nation can be developed by self-power, unity and self- reliance. Unity got and grown by the strength of weapons is not last longing. True unity lies with courtesy and self-sacrifice.
- Patience and Calmness– One must have the ability to be calm and clear while facing various obstacles like delays, frustrations etc. Human beings should have ability to remain peaceful and abstain from anger during the time when other people try to harm them. With due patience, It is easy to control all unpleasant situations.
- Perseverance– It is the capability to utilize all of our energy into productive and constructive purpose which may benefit to all mankind.
- Self-Analysis– Self-analysis and self-observation is required for self-improvement. A little practice to improve ourselves is needed in every day of our life. Right practice will become our habit which ultimately becomes the part of our character.
Conclusion
To live is to act, and our actions can have either harmful or beneficial consequences for oneself and others. Buddhist ethics is concerned with the principles and practices that help one to act in ways that help rather than harm. The core ethical code of Buddhism is known as the five precepts, and these are the distillation of its ethical principles. The precepts are not rules or commandments, but ‘principles of training’, which are undertaken freely and need to be put into practice with intelligence and sensitivity.
Topic: laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance;
Difficulty level: Moderate
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about how moral compass leads to describe conscience, our inner sense of right and wrong offers a framework to guide our actions.
Directive:
Elaborate – 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 by describing what you understand by moral compass (conscience) which governs the actions you take in day-to-day life.
Body:
Elaborate on how a moral compass helps people make ethical decisions by helping to determine which actions would help or harm others, society, or the environment. It also helps people see how their actions can have consequences for other people and cultures.
Cite examples to substantiate.
Conclusion:
Complete the answer by bring out how the moral compass prevents us acting purely from self-interest and helps us live a life of integrity.
Introduction
Moral compass is a term used to describe our inner sense of right and wrong offers a framework to guide our actions. Conscience is inner moral sense of a person which guides him/her to regulate his behaviour. Voice of conscience corresponds to an inner voice that judges your behaviour. Voice of conscience is the source of ethical decision making for many.
Body
Conscience can be defined as something within each of us that tells us what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, if one uses his/her conscience when making decisions it would be guided by what is the right thing to do and what is wrong.
The traditional test is to apply ethical decision-making methods such as Rights Theory that obligates us to respect the rights of others and live up to our obligations towards them. Another approach is to evaluate the possible benefits and harms of alternative courses of action on stakeholders who may be affected by our possible actions and choose the one that maximizes net benefits.
- Our conscience is our inner guide and it helps you figure out how to make good choices. As we grow up, we learn right from wrong. Our conscience is the thought and feeling we have that tells us whether something is a right or wrong thing to do or say. Thus voice of Conscience is a consistent guide to ethical decision making.
- A person can prepare himself/herself to heed to the voice of conscience by:
- Pausing and thinking about the dimensions of issue.
- Practicing the power of silence.
- Meditating and prayer.
- Freeing oneself from external influences and selfish interests.
- A human being always comes across ethical dilemmas in the decision making the process. Voice of Conscience acts as the guide for taking correct decisions when we have to choose between competing sets of principles in a given, usually undesirable or perplexing, situation. Example: Helping accident victim on your way to an interview.
- The voice of conscience of an individual help in analysing the situation from different perspectives and help in taking the right decision.
- Voice of Conscience helps in avoiding Conflicts of interest for better decision making. It can help in deciding between personal gains and public welfare.
- Voice of Conscience is our ability to make a practical decision in light of ethical values and principles.
- Voice of Conscience is a person’s moral compass of right and wrong as well as the consciousness of one’s actions. Expressions such as ‘gut feeling’ and ‘guilt’ are often applied in conjunction with a conscience.
- The voice of conscience might suggest different principles and different behaviours to different situations. But it for a moment help individual from not doing wrong based on universal values.
Conclusion
Acting purely from self-interest, at best, keeps us parallel to the original position and can turn our compass south if our actions do harm to others. We avoid going in that direction by living a life of integrity. We also need to understand and appreciate why we should consider the needs of others before acting. We could simply go back to The Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. None of us, presumably, wants to be disrespected so we should treat others respectfully.
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