[Insights Secure – 2020] Daily UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice: 19 December 2019
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General Studies – 1
Topic: Role of women and women’s organization; social empowerment
Why this question:
India has been ranked 112th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020, out of the 153 countries across the world. Overall gender equality is improving but the number of women entering work is “stalling” and financial disparities are widening, found the World Economic Forum’s annual index tracking gender divides in health, education, economy and politics.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to analyse how the increase in the penetration of technology will lead to increase in the gender pay gap due to lack of reskilling and upskilling. Further, you must provide the solutions to tackle the same.
Directive:
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.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by explaining the gender gap in India based on the findings of the report.
- Social observers often contend that considerable progress has been made on some fronts.
- But the arc of progress is not straightforward, and even though gender parity is an official policy in various corporate and other settings, the outcomes remain extremely poor in comparison with other countries.
Body:
Discuss about the challenges posed to gender pay gap by digitization and technology:
- One of the biggest challenges to achieving equal pay – with women currently earning about half as much as men – is getting more women into jobs in emerging digital industries as business and trade go online.
- As technology creates new jobs AI, engineering and cloud computing and renders others, like retail, obsolete, women risk losing out as they are less likely to have “disruptive” skills for careers with high job growth and salaries.
- bad share of female voices in our legislative bodies have done little for overall women’s welfare
Now talk about the implications of such challenges to women
- Overall, women must wait 99.5 years to see parity with men on average across health, education, economy and politics, said the authors, a slight improvement from 108 years in 2018.
- This means ensuring women have access to the most in-demand skills but also that companies adopt diverse hiring practices and more inclusive workplace cultures.
Discuss the measures needed to reduce this gender pay gap.
Unless India undergoes a social revolution that puts the idea of equity at its forefront, gender gaps would get harder to close.
Conclusion:
Conclude with balanced way forward.
Topic: poverty and developmental issues; Social empowerment;
Why this question:
Nearly 107 people have been killed in witch-hunting incidents in Assam since 2011, parliamentary affairs Chandra Mohan Patowary told the Assembly during a discussion on various issues related to the home department. Such killings are not uncommon in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and some other states. The truth is that the markers of modernity — literacy, equality and rights — are not universal.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to express our knowledge and understanding about the RTI act. The recent proposed changes in the RTI act and how it could lead to subversion of the objectives of right to information.
Directive:
Comment – When asked to comment, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Define the practice of witch hunting. Give the background of continued witch hunting cases in India.
- Witch hunting involves the branding of victims, especially women as witches, where they are accused of possessing supernatural powers to harm others.
- The victim is subjected to numerous forms of torture, beatings, burns, paraded naked through the village, forced to eat human excrement and sometimes even raped.
- In some cases, their hair is cut off and the victim and their children are socially excluded and even put to death.
Body:
Discuss the reasons for such victimization.
Discuss the problems faced and implications on women due to discriminatory acts like witch hunting.
- Women are being killed and specially targeted by being branded as witches.
- Anything that happens abruptly, which does not favour a person or the family, is attached to the cause that the woman (daughter-in-law/wife) is the witch.
- She is the unlucky one, responsible for all the mishaps.
Discuss the failure to prohibit such practices despite presence of laws in states.
Provide measures to tackle the issue of witch hunting.
Conclusion:
Based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information.
Why this question:
RTI has been a revolutionary legislation and has significantly increased the transparency and accountability in government functioning. There have been persistent and growing misgivings of the RTI Act. A change in the Act that seeks locus standi as a criterion could dramatically increase the rejection rate of RTI which is around 4.7% now. Limiting RTI responses based on locus standi of the applicants could create a chilling effect.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to express our knowledge and understanding about the RTI act. The recent proposed changes in the RTI act and how it could lead to subversion of the objectives of right to information.
Directive:
Critically discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, all you need to do is look at the good and bad of something and give a fair judgement.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Write a few introductory lines about the RTI act- its aims and significance.
Body:
Discuss the present problems with the act and the need to rectify the same
- seeking locus standi in order to respond to public requests could result in a chilling effect as public authorities (PAs) could choose to deny information to general citizens on subjective grounds.
- Besides, information commissioners and public officials have the authority to reject requests based on criteria that enable exemption from information disclosure
- the persisting problem of vacancies in the CIC and State commissions — the CIC has four vacancies and 33,000 pending cases.
Provide the various measures needed to strengthen the “Master key to Good Governance”.
Conclusion:
Based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Why this question:
The first Global Refugee Forum comes at the end of a tumultuous decade in which the number of refugees has risen to over 25 million people worldwide. The Forum will showcase impactful pledges and contributions and the exchange of good practices. At the two-day event, member states of the United Nations (UN) are debating the response of nations to the global refugee situation.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to write in detail about the Global refugee crisis and how the Global Refugee Forum can help in international responsibility sharing and help reduce the refugee crisis.
Directive word:
Discuss- this is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. we also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
write a few introductory lines about the Global refugee crisis and increasing number of refugees. Mention about the Global Refugee forum which was underway in Geneva with UN members in participation.
Body:
Firstly, throw light on how the refugee crisis in on the rise across the globe.
- According to the UN, by the end of 2018, there were around 70.8 million people around the world who had left their home countries because of conflict and persecution.
- Of these 70.8 million, roughly 30 million are refugees.
- Globally, more two-thirds of all refugees come from five countries: Syria (6.7 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), South Sudan (2.3 million), Myanmar (1.1 million), and Somalia (0.9 million).
- Countries in the developed regions host 16 per cent of refugees; one-third of the refugee population (6.7 million people) are in the Least Developed Countries.
Explain about the Global Refugee Forum, its mandate.
- The first-ever Global Refugee Forum brings together refugees, heads of state and government, UN leaders, international institutions, development organizations, business leaders and civil society representatives, among others, at the Palais des Nations, the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
- Guided by the Global Compact on Refugees, the Global Refugee Forum is an opportunity to translate the principle of international responsibility-sharing into concrete action.
- The Forum will showcase impactful pledges and contributions and the exchange of good practices.
Mention about what measures can be taken to overcome the refugee crisis by various stakeholders like international communities, individual countries, private companies, NGOs etc.
Mention about any good practices if any.
Conclusion:
based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Why this question:
A special meeting of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Kashmir was not convened on Tuesday, diplomatic sources have confirmed. The meeting was sought by China to discuss India’s decision to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Key demand of the question:
The answer must discuss the role and significance of UNSC, need for UNSC reforms, why India should be given permanent membership.
Directive:
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 judgement.
Structure of the answer
Introduction:
Briefly explain the mandate of UN security council in general.
Body:
Discuss about the successes of UNSC since its inception.
Discuss about the various concerns/challenges plaguing the UNSC:
- Expansion of UNSC.
- Asia’s inadequate representation
- Do away with Veto power
- It doesn’t represent the current balance of power.
- South America and Africa have no representative at all.
- Changes in geopolitical realities since UNSC formation.
Now discuss the following:
- What are the current proposed reforms?
- What are India’s demands?
- Why India should be given a permanent seat in the council?
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Why this question:
Recently, the Ganga Council headed by Prime Minister (PM), in its first meeting held on December 14, 2019, floated a plan to promote sustainable agriculture in the Gangetic plain by promoting organic clusters in a five-km stretch on both sides of the Ganga basin in Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
It is a good policy move, considering the cumulative use of pesticides has doubled in the last one decade and most of it runs off in our rivers. For the short-term, the five-km stretch is fine, but the government should eventually plan to stretch it to cover more area in the basin. Agriculture along the entire riverbed should be organic.
Key demand of the question
The question is about analysing the significance of Namami Gange programme and the achievements made by it. One has to further discuss the challenges faced and measures needed to set the problems straight.
Directive word
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments .
Structure of the answer
Introduction:
In a few introductory lines brief upon the background and mission objectives of NMCG.
Body:
The question must discuss the following points:
The successes of NMCG so far:
- Namami Gange has completed 114 projects and about 150 projects are in progress, while about 40 projects are under tendering, of which 51 sewage projects were approved before May 13, 2015 — the day Namami Gange was approved by the Union Cabinet.
- Till April 2019, 1,930 MLD of sewerage treatment capacity in 97 Ganga towns has been developed, whereas the sewerage generation in these towns is 2,953 MLD.
- It is further projected that the sewerage generation would touch 3,700 MLD by 2035.
The failures, challenges facing in the revival of Ganga
- The industrial pollutants largely originate from tanneries in Kanpur, paper mills, distilleries and sugar mills in the Yamuna, Ramganga, Hindon and Kali river catchments.
- Then, there is the huge load of municipal sewage which contributes two-thirds of total pollution load.
- Water in India is a state subject and water management is not a truly knowledge-based practice.
- The management of the Ganga lacked basin-wide integration and is not very cohesive between various riparian states.
- Further, there is a greater challenge of upgrading the water supply and wastewater treatment infrastructure in the designated smart cities and of providing clean water supply to all rural households by 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Critical steps needed to overcome the challenges:
- Promote only decentralised sewage treatment plants (dSTP) at the colony level.
- Develop and restore local storages (ponds, lakes, wetlands) as permanent solutions to both floods and droughts.
Conclusion:
Give a balanced way forward.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
Ethics by Lexicon
Why this question:
The article discusses in detail the importance of emotional intelligence in life of every person. People who exhibit emotional intelligence have the less obvious skills necessary to get ahead in life, such as managing conflict resolution, reading and responding to the needs of others, and keeping their own emotions from overflowing and disrupting their lives.
Key demand of the question:
The answer must discuss why emotional intelligence is of prime importance in life, how empathy can be more effective than anger at the personal and professional level.
Directive:
Elucidate – 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:
In a few introductory lines appreciate the need for Emotional intelligence.
Body:
Define – empathy and emotional intelligence
Discuss how emotional intelligence is necessary for the people interaction, dispute resolution in daily life. Emotional intelligence as the ability to accurately perceive and manage your own emotions and understand and navigate those of others, thus enhancing your ability to influence, manage conflicts, lead others and build relationships.
Elucidate on the four pillars of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.
Provide for a case study/example to conclude better.
Conclusion:
Conclude by re asserting significance of such virtues.
