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: Art & Culture
Difficulty Level: Easy
Reference: InsightsIAS
Why the question
To link the advanced urban planning of the Indus Valley Civilization with the continuity of India’s architectural and engineering traditions, highlighting both features and their long-term legacy.Key Demand of the question
You need to discuss the major features of Indus Valley urban planning and then explain their enduring significance for India’s architectural, engineering, and urban planning traditions.Structure of the Answer:
IntroductionBriefly introduce IVC as an early example of advanced urban planning in the ancient world.
Body
- Urban planning legacy – Grid layout, sanitation, drainage, water management, construction techniques.
- Features of IVC planning – Citadel-lower town division, standardized bricks, wells, courtyards, public spaces.
- Significance – Influence on later Indian architecture, hydraulic engineering, sustainable urbanism, and community-focused planning.
Conclusion
Conclude by stressing how IVC principles still resonate in modern urban planning and sustainability efforts.
Introduction
The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), dating back to 2500 BCE, exemplified advanced urban planning and engineering practices. Its features, like grid-based layouts, sanitation systems, and water management structures, laid the foundation for India’s architectural and engineering traditions.
Body
Urban planning in the Indus Valley Civilization laid the foundation for India’s architectural and engineering traditions
- Pioneering urban layouts: The IVC introduced grid-based city designs, a hallmark of systematic urban planning, influencing future Indian cities.
Eg: The city of Jaipur (18th century) implemented grid principles for efficient urban design.
- Innovative drainage systems: Underground drainage networks in IVC cities set the benchmark for organized waste and water management in later civilizations.
Eg: Modern sewer systems in India, such as in Delhi and Chennai, reflect this inspiration.
- Advanced water management: The presence of reservoirs and public baths showcased early expertise in hydraulic engineering.
Eg: The Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro laid the foundation for stepwells and temple tanks in medieval India.
- Standardization of construction materials: Uniform bricks demonstrated advanced engineering and influenced quality control in later architectural traditions.
Eg: Structures like Nalanda University adhered to similar principles of standardization.
- Civic-focused urban design: The integration of public spaces, such as assembly areas and baths, emphasized collective welfare.
Eg: The public squares of Lutyens’ Delhi reflect a continuation of this tradition.
Features of Indus Valley urban planning
- Grid-based street patterns: Streets intersected at right angles with defined zones for residential, commercial, and administrative use, ensuring organized urban life.
Eg: Cities like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa exemplified this approach.
- Covered drainage systems: Parallel brick-lined drains ran along streets, connected to homes and public spaces for efficient sanitation.
Eg: The Lothal drainage system, with its filtration pits, highlights advanced engineering.
- Water-focused infrastructure: Public and private wells, along with storage tanks, ensured water availability and equitable distribution.
Eg: Kalibangan featured wells shared by multiple households.
- Zoning and city structure: Citadels housed administrative and religious functions, while lower towns were designed for residential and commercial purposes.
Eg: The Citadel of Harappa functioned as a center for governance and trade.
- Multi-storied structures with courtyards: Residential buildings included ventilation-friendly courtyards and multi-level designs for efficient space utilization.
Eg: Houses in Dholavira followed similar designs with integrated cisterns.
Significance of this legacy
- Foundation for future urban planning: The grid-based layouts, zoning, and systematic planning inspired later city developments in India.
Eg: Chandigarh, planned by Le Corbusier, incorporates zoning and aligned roads.
- Early focus on sanitation: The emphasis on underground drainage systems became a reference for modern waste and water management practices.
Eg: The Swachh Bharat Mission reflects ancient priorities of cleanliness and public health.
- Sustainability in architecture: The use of durable materials and water conservation techniques emphasized sustainable practices.
Eg: Stepwells in Gujarat, like Rani ki Vav, are rooted in these traditions.
- Advancement in hydraulic engineering: Techniques like water storage and tidal management in IVC laid the groundwork for India’s irrigation systems.
Eg: The Chola irrigation tanks reflect continuity in water management.
- Resilient and community-oriented designs: The focus on collective spaces and robust construction set examples for disaster-resilient architecture.
Eg: The Smart Cities Mission integrates community-centric and sustainable engineering solutions.
Conclusion
The urban and engineering innovations of the Indus Valley Civilization continue to inspire modern urban planning and infrastructure development. By adopting its principles of sustainability and inclusivity, India can create smarter, resilient, and more equitable cities for the future.
Topic: Art & Culture
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: InsightsIAS
Why the question
India’s cultural continuity rests on living traditions where festivals, rituals, and processions serve as platforms that keep performing arts vibrant, relevant, and transmitted across generations.Key Demand of the question
The question requires examining how these socio-cultural practices act as frameworks for preserving and transmitting performing arts, while also sustaining their community, devotional, and economic relevance.Structure of the Answer:
IntroductionNote how performing arts in India are deeply interwoven with religious, social, and cultural life, ensuring their organic survival.
Body
- Festivals – act as cultural stages promoting folk, classical, and contemporary performing arts, often supported by state and tourism.
- Rituals – integrate music, dance, and storytelling into worship, ensuring continuity of oral and devotional traditions.
- Processions – foster collective participation, display local identity, and provide visibility to community-based performance traditions.
Conclusion
Stress that these practices form sustainable frameworks for preservation, and that modern technology, institutional support, and global linkages can further strengthen their role.
Introduction
Festivals, rituals, and processions in India are not just celebrations but cultural frameworks that preserve and nurture the country’s diverse performing arts, ensuring their transmission across generations.
Body
Role of festivals in preserving performing arts
- Promotion of folk and classical arts: Festivals provide platforms for both folk and classical performances, ensuring their relevance in modern times.
Eg: Navratri features folk dances like Garba alongside classical forms like Bharatanatyam.
- Cultural tourism and global exposure: Festivals attract tourists, boosting the visibility and sustainability of traditional art forms.
Eg: The Hornbill Festival in Nagaland showcases Naga tribal dances to global audiences.
- Celebration of music: Festivals incorporate diverse musical traditions, from devotional songs to classical renditions.
Eg: The Tyagaraja Aradhana Festival celebrates Carnatic music annually in Tamil Nadu.
- Fusion of modern and traditional arts: Urban festivals reimagine traditional performances to make them appealing to younger audiences.
Eg: The Jaipur Literature Festival combines traditional performances like Kathputli (puppetry) with contemporary art forms.
- State-sponsored cultural platforms: Festivals organized by governments ensure the preservation of endangered art forms.
Eg: The Surajkund Mela in Haryana promotes dances like Bhangra and Lavani along with crafts.
Role of rituals and processions in preserving performing arts
- Integration of art into devotion: Rituals often incorporate dance, music, and drama to enhance spiritual experiences.
Eg: Kathakali performances during temple rituals in Kerala narrate epics like the Mahabharata.
- Preservation of oral traditions: Rituals and processions use performing arts to pass down folklore and mythology.
Eg: Pandavani, a folk performance from Chhattisgarh, narrates Mahabharata stories in rituals.
- Community participation in processions: Processions involve large-scale community engagement, helping preserve local performing arts.
Eg: Puli Kali (Tiger Dance) during Onam involves mass participation in Kerala.
- Theatrical rituals and storytelling: Ritual dramas like Ramleela preserve India’s theatrical traditions and mythology.
Eg: Ramleela, enacted during Dussehra, showcases the Ramayana through performance.
- Preservation of tribal art forms: Rituals provide a platform for tribal dances and performances, ensuring their survival.
Eg: Chhau Dance, performed during Chaitra Parva, reflects the tribal ethos of Odisha and West Bengal.
Conclusion
By intertwining performing arts with festivals, rituals, and processions, Indian society has created a sustainable framework for preserving its artistic heritage. Leveraging modern technology and collaborative efforts can further amplify the reach and impact of these cultural platforms.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: NIE
Why the question
Asked in the context of WHO’s 2025 ageing projections and UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, highlighting the need for India to reframe ageing as a continuum instead of end-of-life welfare.Key Demand of the question
You must explain the life-course perspective of ageing, analyse its implications for India’s social security framework, and suggest strategies for integrating this approach into policy design.Structure of the Answer:
Introduction:
Define ageing as an outcome of cumulative life-stage factors, not just old-age dependency.
Body
- Explain the concept: life-course determinants such as childhood nutrition, education, work, and lifestyle shaping ageing outcomes.
- Implications: fragmented pensions, healthcare burden of NCDs, gendered vulnerabilities, fiscal sustainability challenges.
- Strategies: universal pension coverage, preventive healthcare, gender-sensitive support, labour market reforms, community-based integrated care.
Conclusion:
Stress shift from welfare mindset to life-long human capital investment for dignified and inclusive ageing.
Introduction
With 1 in 6 people globally above 60 years by 2030 (WHO, 2025), ageing must be seen not just as a stage of decline but as an outcome of cumulative life-course influences on health, education, and work opportunities.
Body
Ageing as a life-course continuum
- Early life determinants: Childhood nutrition, healthcare, and education shape physical and cognitive ageing outcomes.
Eg: UNICEF (2024) highlights that stunting in early years increases risks of chronic illness in old age. - Socio-economic conditions through adulthood: Employment, income, and housing directly affect security in later years.
Eg: NSSO data (2022) shows unorganised workers without pensions are at higher risk of poverty in old age. - Cumulative health behaviours: Lifelong lifestyle factors like diet, physical activity, and tobacco use determine ageing trajectories.
Eg: Lancet (2023) study found Indians with mid-life obesity face double risk of elderly care dependency.
Implications for India’s social security architecture
- Fragmented pension coverage: Current schemes largely cover organised sector, leaving 90% informal workers outside.
Eg: Only 24% of elderly in India receive pensions (NSO, 2023). - Healthcare burden: Ageing increases prevalence of NCDs, straining underfunded public health systems.
Eg: India spends only 2.1% of GDP on health (2024-25 budget) despite rising elderly population. - Gendered vulnerabilities: Women, with higher life expectancy and lower workforce participation, face old-age poverty.
Eg: SEWA case studies show widowed elderly women lack pension entitlements. - Weak integration of social insurance: Schemes like PM-SYM and Atal Pension Yojana are not universal, lacking portability and adequacy.
Eg: Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice (2023) flagged poor enrolment in Atal Pension Yojana. - Intergenerational equity concerns: Rising fiscal burden on working-age population risks future sustainability.
Eg: Economic Survey (2023-24) warns of demographic dividend turning into ageing liability post-2040.
Strategies to integrate life-course perspective into policy design
- Universal pension and insurance coverage: Expand NPS and APY portability, ensuring lifelong contributions and post-retirement adequacy.
Eg: Justice V.S. Malimath Committee suggested integrating contributory and non-contributory pension streams. - Preventive healthcare across life stages: Institutionalise NCD screenings, nutrition programmes, and lifestyle interventions at primary health centres.
Eg: Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (2023) provide NCD care at community level. - Labour and employment linkages: Formalise gig and informal workers with pension and provident fund portability.
Eg: Code on Social Security (2020) provides framework for universalisation. - Gender-sensitive interventions: Prioritise pensions, property rights, and micro-insurance for elderly women.
Eg: Kerala’s Kudumbashree model integrates livelihood and elderly care support. - Community-based integrated care: Decentralise elderly services through panchayat-level Elderly Care Committees linked with BMCs and SSBs.
Eg: WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–30) stresses community-driven care models.
Conclusion
Ageing policies must evolve from end-of-life welfare to lifelong investment in human capital, ensuring dignity, equity, and intergenerational justice. A life-course approach integrated into social security reforms can transform India’s demographic shift into a strength.
Topic: Role of civil services in a democracy
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: IE
Why the question
The issue of civil service autonomy has gained contemporary relevance due to debates over frequent transfers, vigilance clearances, and Centre–State tussles.Key Demand of the question
The question asks you to first explain how civil service autonomy safeguards rule of law and democratic accountability, and then suggest structural reforms required to ensure impartial and effective functioning of the services.Structure of the Answer:
Introduction:
Briefly define civil service autonomy and link it to democratic governance.
Body
- Civil service autonomy and rule of law – show how it ensures neutrality, continuity, accountability.
- Structural reforms needed – fixed tenure, civil services boards, performance appraisal, vigilance reforms, capacity building.
Conclusion:
End with a forward-looking note on aligning civil service reforms with constitutional values and good governance.
Introduction
An autonomous civil service is the steel frame of Indian democracy, ensuring that governance remains impartial, accountable, and rooted in constitutional values.
Body
Civil service autonomy as a safeguard of rule of law and accountability
- Prevents arbitrary political influence: Independence ensures officers are not pressured into partisan decisions.
Eg: Article 311 provides protection against arbitrary dismissal, safeguarding neutrality. - Upholds constitutional principles: Officers enforce constitutional mandates like equality, liberty and federal balance.
Eg: S.R. Bommai case (1994) relied on impartial civil service to uphold secularism during President’s Rule. - Ensures continuity of governance: Neutral officers provide policy stability despite frequent political changes.
Eg: Independence of Election Commission’s civil staff enables smooth conduct of elections across governments. - Checks abuse of power: Officers act as a buffer against excesses of ruling parties by upholding law over political pressure.
Eg: Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1964) stressed officer independence to resist corrupt directives. - Strengthens democratic accountability: Independent bureaucrats are more likely to uphold citizens’ rights and ensure public service delivery.
Eg: RTI Act 2005 implementation relied heavily on impartial officers ensuring proactive disclosure of information.
Structural reforms needed for impartial and effective functioning
- Legally guaranteed fixed tenure: Statutory tenure for key posts reduces whimsical transfers and ensures stability.
Eg: Prakash Singh case (2006) mandated minimum two-year tenure for DGPs and police officers. - Independent Civil Services Boards: Statutory boards at Centre and states for postings, promotions, and transfers to reduce political discretion.
Eg: T.S.R. Subramanian case (2013) directed creation of Civil Services Boards to ensure autonomy. - Transparent performance management: Move from confidential reporting to citizen-centric and outcome-based evaluations.
Eg: NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme (2018) uses real-time data dashboards to monitor officer performance. - Strengthened vigilance and clearance: Standardised, time-bound vigilance clearance process to prevent delays in empanelment and deputation.
Eg: CAG Report 2022 highlighted delays in forwarding vigilance reports for senior officers. - Continuous capacity and ethics training: Institutionalise leadership and ethical training through new learning platforms.
Eg: Mission Karmayogi (2020) provides lifelong online competency development for civil servants.
Conclusion
Civil service reforms must ensure that officers remain servants of the Constitution rather than political masters, enabling governance that is rule-based, accountable, and future-ready.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: NIE
Why the question
The frequent amendments and growing relevance of the RoDTEP scheme in India’s export policy, especially in the backdrop of global tariff turbulence and the trillion export target.Key Demand of the question
You need to examine the opportunities created by RoDTEP, identify the structural barriers restricting its full potential, and suggest reforms to build resilience in export growth.Structure of the Answer:
Introduction
Briefly link RoDTEP’s WTO-compliant nature with India’s export ambitions.
Body
- Opportunities created by RoDTEP – WTO compliance, wider product coverage, MSME competitiveness, digitalisation, FTA complementarity.
- Structural barriers restricting its impact – Frequent amendments, eligibility uncertainty, compliance burden, MSME transition costs, limited fiscal support.
- Policy reforms to build resilience – Ensure predictability, simplify compliance, increase allocations, MSME handholding, leverage RoDTEP data in trade defence.
Conclusion
Stress that RoDTEP is a step toward resilient export growth, but stability, simplification, and institutional support are crucial to realise the trillion goal.
Introduction
India’s export sector is navigating tariff turbulence, with global protectionism reshaping trade flows. The RoDTEP scheme (2021) replaced the WTO-disputed MEIS, aiming to refund embedded taxes and enhance competitiveness, making it central to India’s $1 trillion export aspiration.
Body
Opportunities created by RoDTEP
- WTO-compliant design: RoDTEP refunds unrebated duties (electricity, mandi tax, transport levies) instead of offering subsidies, aligning with WTO rules.
Eg: The US challenged MEIS in 2019 at WTO, leading to RoDTEP’s launch in 2021 as a compliant scheme. - Expanded coverage: Currently over 10,795 tariff lines are covered, with remission rates ranging from 0.3%–4.3% of FOB value.
Eg: The Union Budget 2025-26 earmarked ₹18,233 crore for RoDTEP, significantly expanding its reach from the 8,500 products of 2021. - Digitalisation of benefits: E-scrips issued on the DGFT portal have replaced paper credits, ensuring transparent disbursal and easier usage.
Eg: Since 2021, electronic scrips can be directly used for basic customs duty payments, improving trade facilitation. - MSME support: By reducing embedded cost burdens, RoDTEP creates a buffer for small exporters against tariff shocks and enhances competitiveness.
Eg: The Economic Survey 2024 highlighted regulatory costs as a key MSME barrier, which RoDTEP partially offsets by reimbursing hidden taxes. - Strategic fit with new markets: It complements India’s trade pacts, cushioning exporters in textiles, engineering, and chemicals against global tariff swings.
Eg: Under India-UAE CEPA (2022), exporters gained duty advantages that combine with RoDTEP refunds to improve margins.
Structural barriers restricting its impact
- Frequent amendments: More than 12 changes since 2021 — altering rates, adding or removing products — create instability.
Eg: In 2022 alone, three revisions were issued, forcing exporters to constantly recalculate viability. - Eligibility uncertainty: SEZ, EOU, and AA units were included briefly in Sept 2024, paused in Dec 2024, and restored in June 2025, creating unpredictability.
Eg: This stop-start policy undermined planning for firms operating in Mundra SEZ and other clusters. - Compliance burden: New mandatory annual returns (for claims > ₹1 crore) require detailed data on embedded taxes, which many firms were not tracking earlier.
Eg: DGFT’s 2025 notification froze e-scrips of exporters missing filing deadlines, penalising especially smaller firms. - High transition costs for MSMEs: Smaller enterprises lack the resources to constantly adapt to changes, discouraging them from scaling exports.
Eg: The Economic Survey 2024 noted that many MSMEs prefer to remain small to avoid compliance burdens, which RoDTEP’s complexity may worsen. - Fiscal constraint: The allocated budget is modest compared to India’s overall export volume, limiting its capacity to drive major competitiveness gains.
Eg: FIEO (2025) argued that ₹18,233 crore is inadequate to substantially impact a $1 trillion export target.
Policy reforms to build resilience
- Predictability in benefits: Fix remission rates and product lists for 2–3 years to reduce uncertainty and enable long-term planning.
Eg: Trade bodies like FIEO and CITI have repeatedly called for stable, multi-year schedules for exporters. - Simplify compliance: Integrate filings with GSTN so tax levies are auto-captured, easing documentation burden on MSMEs.
Eg: Linking DGFT portal with GST invoices would automate tax breakdowns and reduce filing disputes. - Expand fiscal support: Increase allocations in line with export targets and ensure timely disbursal of benefits to exporters.
Eg: Raising allocation beyond ₹18,233 crore is essential to meaningfully support sectors like textiles and engineering goods. - Strengthen MSME handholding: Establish Export Facilitation Cells at state level to educate firms on documentation and RoDTEP claims.
Eg: CITI workshops (2025) are a start, but state-backed facilitation can institutionalise awareness at grassroots. - Leverage RoDTEP for trade defence: Use detailed annual return data to demonstrate refunds are not subsidies in WTO and bilateral disputes.
Eg: After the EU imposed anti-subsidy duties in 2023, India needed transparent tax-refund data to contest allegations.
Conclusion
RoDTEP reflects India’s attempt to balance WTO compliance with domestic competitiveness. Its effectiveness will hinge on predictability, simplified compliance, and stronger MSME facilitation — transforming it from a reactive measure into a resilient pillar of India’s export strategy.
Topic: Disaster and disaster management
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: DTE
Why the question
The Jharia coalfield fires and similar slow-onset disasters highlight governance gaps in India’s disaster management system, making it a contemporary and recurring issue.Key Demand of the question
You need to critically analyse the limitations of India’s disaster governance framework in handling slow-onset disasters and then evaluate strategies to manage such chronic risks effectively.Structure of the Answer:
Introduction
Briefly define slow-onset disasters and their hidden but severe impact on people, ecology, and economy.
Body
- Limitations of disaster governance framework – reactive approach, weak institutional coordination, policy vacuum, inadequate resources, community exclusion.
- Strategies for managing chronic risks – legal reforms, technology-driven monitoring, robust rehabilitation policy, participatory governance, multi-sectoral coordination.
Conclusion
Emphasise need for anticipatory and rights-based disaster governance to transform chronic risks into opportunities for resilient development.
Introduction
Slow-onset disasters such as coalfield fires, arsenic contamination, or desertification silently erode ecosystems and livelihoods, often escaping the urgency of response that sudden events like floods or cyclones receive.
Body
Limitations of disaster governance framework
- Reactive approach: Focus remains on post-disaster relief rather than long-term mitigation.
Eg: Jharia coalfield fires (Jharkhand, 1916–2025) continue despite multiple master plans (2009, revised 2025) showing weak proactive planning. - Weak institutional coordination: Overlapping mandates among NDMA, State DMAs and line ministries delay integrated responses.
Eg: CAG Report 2020 flagged coordination gaps in NDMA’s long-term risk mitigation plans. - Inadequate community participation: Local voices are sidelined in planning, violating Sendai Framework’s emphasis on inclusivity.
Eg: Protests by Jharia residents (2024–25) over arbitrary relocation without livelihood assurance. - Legal-policy vacuum: The Disaster Management Act, 2005 lacks explicit recognition of slow-onset disasters, limiting accountability mechanisms.
Eg: No binding timelines for coal subsidence rehabilitation despite repeated SC observations on Right to Life (Article 21). - Resource constraints: Fire-fighting measures rely on outdated technologies and inadequate budgetary support.
Eg: Only ₹5,940 crore allocation in 2025 for revised Jharia plan, far below expert estimates (CSE 2025).
Strategies for managing chronic risks
- Legal recognition: Amend DM Act, 2005 to include slow-onset disasters explicitly for funding and accountability.
Eg: ARC 15th Report (2012) recommended periodic review of DM Act to cover emerging risks. - Technology-driven interventions: Deploy remote sensing, GIS mapping, drone surveillance, inert gas flushing for early detection and containment.
Eg: ISRO’s satellite monitoring of Jharia fires (2023) mapped 70+ hotspots for targeted action. - Strengthened rehabilitation policy: Integrate LARR Act, 2013 with livelihood guarantees, health cover and social infrastructure.
Eg: Belgaria resettlement colony (2009–2025) failed due to lack of jobs and services, highlighting the gap. - Community-based risk governance: Empower Gram Sabhas and unions in planning, monitoring, and compensation delivery.
Eg: Assam flood-resilient community models (2022) show success in participatory approaches. - Multi-sectoral coordination: Establish a judicial-cum-expert commission for coalfield rehabilitation with representation from NDMA, MoEFCC, MoC, Labour Ministry.
Eg: Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Rehabilitation Committee (2013) ensured inter-agency oversight and public confidence.
Conclusion
Chronic disasters demand anticipatory governance rather than reactive measures. Embedding technology, law, and community participation into disaster governance is essential to transform “reign of fire” zones into resilient habitats.
General Studies – 4
-
- Identify the ethical issues involved in the case.
- How would you handle the emergent situation and what will be your course of action?
- Is it ethically justifiable for local authorities to employ aggressive tactics like fire or loud noise to drive animals away from human settlements?
- What measures can be implemented to ensure both community safety and animal welfare in areas with high wildlife presence?
Difficulty Level: Medium
Why the question
It highlights ethical dilemmas in human–wildlife conflict, negligence in oversight, community safety vs animal welfare, and India’s global conservation commitments.Key Demand of the question
You need to identify the ethical issues, suggest immediate and long-term actions as a forest officer, evaluate the justification of aggressive methods, and propose balanced measures that protect both people and elephants.Structure of the Answer:
Introduction
Briefly state the Jhargram incident as a case of human-elephant conflict raising ethical and governance concerns.
Body
- Ethical issues: humane treatment, negligence/oversight, conflict between community safety and conservation.
- Handling situation: inquiry, transparent communication, community dialogue, training, collaboration with conservationists.
- Ethical justification: explain why aggressive tactics are problematic; highlight alternative humane strategies.
- Measures: early warning systems, habitat corridors, community training, technology monitoring, compensation/insurance.
Conclusion
Stress on balancing ethical responsibility, community trust, and India’s conservation obligations with innovative, humane conflict-mitigation strategies.
Introduction:
In Jhargram, West Bengal, the tragic death of a pregnant elephant during a conflict resolution attempt by a local ‘hula party’ underscores tensions between human settlements and elephant corridors. The incident has sparked national and international criticism, questioning India’s wildlife conservation and humane conflict management practices.
Body:
Stakeholders involved:
- Local Communities: Facing crop destruction and safety threats due to elephant intrusions.
- Forest Department: Responsible for overseeing wildlife and mitigating human-animal conflicts.
- Hula Parties: Tasked with driving away elephants but accused of using aggressive tactics.
- Wildlife Conservationists: Advocating for humane treatment of animals and improved oversight.
- National and International Media: Raising awareness about the incident and India’s conservation reputation.
- Government Authorities: Balancing community safety and conservation standards.
- Elephants: Endangered species central to the human-wildlife conflict.
- Ethical issues involved:
- Humane Treatment of Wildlife: The use of aggressive tactics violates animal welfare principles.
- Negligence and Oversight: Lack of proper supervision over ‘hula party’ activities.
- Conflict of Interest: Balancing community safety and wildlife conservation priorities.
- Responsibility of the State: Ensuring adherence to India’s wildlife protection laws and global conservation commitments.
- Community Livelihoods: Managing human dependence on forest resources and crop safety.
- Handling the emergent situation and course of action:
- Immediate investigation: Conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident, identifying lapses in protocol and accountability.
- Community engagement: Hold dialogues with local communities and conservation groups to address concerns and reduce tensions.
- Public communication: Issue a transparent statement emphasizing the department’s commitment to both community safety and wildlife welfare.
- Training and oversight: Provide advanced training to ‘hula parties’ on humane conflict mitigation techniques, ensuring strict supervision.
- Collaboration with conservationists: Work with NGOs and experts to develop alternative conflict-resolution strategies.
- No, it not ethically justifiable for local authorities to employ aggressive tactics like fire or loud noise to drive animals away from human settlements because:
- Violates animal rights: Aggressive methods such as fire cause unnecessary suffering to animals.
- Escalates conflicts: Injured or frightened animals may become more aggressive, increasing the risk of harm to humans.
- Damages India’s conservation image: Incidents like these tarnish India’s global reputation as a wildlife-friendly nation.
- Neglects humane alternatives: There are non-aggressive techniques like barriers and sensory repellents that can be employed.
- Legal non-compliance: Such tactics can contravene the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, emphasizing humane treatment of animals.
- Measures to balance community safety and animal welfare are:
- Early-warning systems: Install sensor-based alert systems to warn communities about elephant movement.
E.g. Tamil Nadu’s Elephant Alert System effectively reduces conflicts.
- Habitat restoration: Develop and maintain forest corridors to ensure safe passage for elephants.
E.g. Karnataka’s corridor restoration has minimized human-elephant encounters.
- Community training programs: Train locals in non-aggressive methods to manage wildlife.
E.g. Assam’s community workshops on coexisting with elephants.
- Technology integration: Use drones and AI tools for monitoring elephant movements and issuing alerts.
E.g. Kerala employs drones for elephant tracking near populated areas.
- Policy and financial support: Offer compensation for crop loss and create insurance schemes to reduce resentment against wildlife.
E.g. Odisha’s compensation policy for human-wildlife conflict victims.
Conclusion:
Human-wildlife conflict demands innovative solutions. Leveraging technology like AI-based monitoring, early-warning systems, and community-driven initiatives can ensure a harmonious balance between community safety and animal welfare, safeguarding both livelihoods and conservation efforts.
Join our Official Telegram Channel HERE
Please subscribe to Our podcast channel HERE
Subscribe to our YouTube ChannelHERE
Follow our Twitter Account HERE
Follow our Instagram ID HERE
Follow us on LinkedIn : HERE
