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5 January 2015
Monday’s Topic for GS-1: Themes in Indian History – III, Class XII – Theme 13 (i.e. chapter 13)
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General Studies – 1
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
1) What are the different colonial architectural styles which can be seen in Bombay city? Also explain the motivation behind such styles. (200 Words)
NCERT
Topic: urbanization
2) Write a note on the concerns that influenced town planning in the nineteenth century in India. (200 Words)
NCERT
Topic: urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
3) Critically examine the policies and mechanisms that exist in India to assess and monitor the pollution levels on air in cities. (200 Words)
Business Standard
Topic: urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
4) How an urban region is defined in India? Some commentators argue that considering the flaws in definitions, India has more urban centres than what government estimates reveal. Critically examine why. (200 Words)
The Indian Express
General Studies – 2
Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
5) Women, Dalits and tribals, who are at the bottom of the pile, are said to be the most affected because of the ordinance that requires passing class 8 and 10 as eligibility criteria for standing for elections at panchayat level. Critically examine why. (200 Words)
The Hindu
Topic: devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein (also Paper – 3: Infrastructure)
6) What are municipal bonds? Recently government initiated a process to identify few cities to issue such bonds. Examine why and how these bonds will be issued. (150 Words)
Business Standard
Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
7) Analyse the impact of falling global oil prices on India. (200 Words)
The Indian Express
Topic: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the
performance of these schemes;
8) In India though unorganized workers make up the bulk of working population they are kept out of many of government benefits. In this light, examine what measures have been taken by the governments at state and centre to address the problems faced by this section of population. (200 Words)
The Hindu
General Studies – 3
Topic: money-laundering and its prevention
9) What are Global Depository Receipts (GDRs)? Recently GDR was in news related to black money in India. Examine the issue. (200 Words)
The Hindu
Topic: Infrastructure- Airports; Effects of liberalization on the economy
10) “The mess that we witness today in the Indian aviation sector is thus not only a consequence of flawed government policies but also constant meddling and complicit silence of some private Indian carriers.” Critically examine. (200 Words)
Business Standard
Topic: environmental pollution and degradation
11) The United Nations Environment Programme, through the Stockholm convention on POPs, listed 12 organochlorine pesticides as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Most of them are used in India by farmers and are found at alarming levels on vegetables and fruits. Examine the magnitude, implications of and reasons behind blatant use of these pesticides and insecticides in India. (200 Words)
The Indian Express
General Studies – 4
Topic: ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; role of family in inculcating values.
12) You are working a Superintendent of Police in a district where trafficking or women and children is rampant. Your wife who is very concerned and involved in many social works in the city insists you to come up with some innovative ideas to prevent trafficking, to identify trafficked persons and rescue them in your capacity as Superintendent of Police. The problem is severe and has affected thousands of families over the years and it has also brought bad name to the district.
What measures will you come up with to address the issues raised by your wife? Suggest pragmatic and logical measures. (250 Words)
The Hindu
