[Insights Secure – 2020] Daily UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice: 21 December 2019
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General Studies – 1
Topic: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India
Why this question:
The nation’s socio-political fabric comes under tremendous strain in the aftermath of the passage of the Citizens’ Amendment Bill, as well as the impending creation of a National Register of Citizens.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to discuss the significance of India’s diversity and the perils of painting it in monochrome.
Directive:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, 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:
Start by explaining in brief the diversity of India. Also throw light on the protests against the CAA Bill and NRC.
Body:
Discuss the significance of diversity to India.
- Historically, the prime causes for India succumbing to foreign invaders have been lack of visionary leadership and absence of internal cohesion.
- If history has a lesson for us, it is that divisive bigotry and religious hysteria can destroy nations while social cohesion and nationalism hold them together.
Further go on to define how these lead to tolerance and acceptance
Discuss the challenges in today’s India:
- continuing agrarian distress — varying only in degree from state to state — and a slowdown in manufacturing, jobs have been scarce for a long time.
- As schools and colleges continue to churn out young and hopeful job-seekers, frustration levels amongst the youth are rising.
- The “demographic dividend” that India had once dreamt would help it overtake an “ageing China” is turning into a nightmare.
- Placed 102 out of 117 countries in the 2019 Global Hunger Index, India remains home to a third of the world’s poor.
- Our filthy cities, teeming with slums, have seen India placed at 129 out of 189 in the 2019 UN Human Development Index.
Provide measures to safeguard the diversity of India.
- With the common man still in the quest for roti, kapda, makan, one had expected that utmost priority would be accorded by our elected representatives to addressing unemployment, hunger, healthcare and education.
Conclusion:
Conclude with balanced way forward.
General Studies – 2
Topic: India and its neighbourhood- relations.
1. “India- EU relations are like a loveless arranged marriage “. Critically discuss. (250 words)
Why this question:
For long, the EU and India partnership had been slow-moving and fragmented, struggling to maintain momentum. Unfairly large emphasis was laid on foreign policy cooperation, but on many issues divisions far exceeded commonalities, leading to disappointment and an overall delusion in the potential of the partnership. Today, not only do the EU and India have a thriving commercial relationship and growing security collaboration, but both partners have developed greater depth in political cooperation internationally while exploring new and innovative areas for further broadening their partnership.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to express our knowledge and understanding about the India-EU relations, its evolution, the concerns and challenges and the way forward.
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:
Provide the Background of India-EU relations.
- India-EU relationship dates back to 1960s when India was the first country to establish relationship with European economic union which later evolved into common market -European union
- For more than a decade, the EU and India partnership had been slow-moving and fragmented, struggling to maintain momentum. India was acknowledged as a strategic partner in 2004.
- But fifteen years on there is still no mutually agreed set of clear priorities. The EU-India relationship fails to acknowledge each partner’s individual realities.
Body:
Discuss the following points:
- Brief summary if India EU relations
- Trade and Investment
- Energy Cooperation
- Research and development
- And so on
- Concerns in India-EU relations
- India’s protectionism to automobile sector
- India’s Intellectual property regime with the provision of compulsory licensing and manufacture of generic medicine
- Domestic source obligation in the multi brand retail
- European Union’s heavily subsidised agro industry. This could hurt Indian farmers
- EU Import restriction: like ban on the import of mangoes from India
- Work visa restriction – movement of skilled professionals
- Way forward
Conclusion:
Based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
Topic: India and its neighbourhood- relations.
Why this question:
Israel and India are exploring to open new vistas of partnership in the world of finance, including collaboration between market regulators and allowing Israeli investment in corporate bonds, taking advantage of a favourable climate in both countries.
Key demand of the question:
One must explain how has the bilateral relations between evolved from outright hate in 1950’s to strategic partnership today. Also discuss about how there is a co-operation today in various fields from agriculture to defence to science and technology.
Directive word
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:
In a few introductory lines define the current bilateral relations between India and Israel.
Body:
Discuss the evolution of India-Israel bilateral relations from 1948 onwards.
Trace the changes in trends of co-operation.
How and why is there a shift?
Discuss the various areas of co-operation.
Talk about the significance of growing India-Israel strategic relations.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Topic: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Why this question:
The AAGC is a roadmap for opportunities and aspirations in Asia and Africa. It was launched with an aim to prioritize development projects in health and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and agro-processing, disaster management and skill enhancement. The idea of AAGC had emerged in the Joint Declaration issued by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in November 2016. It will focus on people centric sustainable growth strategy details of which would be evolved through a process of detailed consultation across Asia and Africa.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to talk how the AAGC will impact the relations between India, Japan and African countries. One must talk about the benefits of the AAGC, the challenges and finally have to differentiate between AAGC and China’s BRI.
Directive word:
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:
write a few introductory lines about AAGC and its mandate.
Body:
Discuss in detail about the AAGC initiative.
- AAGC aims to be an efficient and sustainable mechanism for linking economies, industries and institutions, ideas and people in Africa and Asia in an inclusive manner.
- There is vast and untapped potential in both Asia and Africa which needs to be explored for shared growth, development, peace, prosperity and stability of these regions.
- Four main components of AAGC are:
- Development and cooperation projects
- Quality infrastructure and institutional connectivity
- Capacity and skill enhancement
- People to people partnerships
Now discuss the implications on India, Japan and African countries.
Finally, discuss how AAGC works vis-à-vis BRI.
- AAGC is a consultative initiative which is essentially a sea corridor unlike OBOR, which entails development of a land.
- AAGC is said to link Africa with India and other countries of South-East Asia and Oceania.
- The initiative is considered to be a “distinct initiative” which would be profitable and bankable, borne out of a consultative process, unlike the ‘government – funded model’ of the BRI project.
- The AAGC is built on the pivot that rather than excessive emphasis on trade and economic relations, the centrality of people in Africa needs to be brought to the fore front
Conclusion:
based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Why this question:
India is facing a “Great Slowdown” with its economy headed for intensive care unit primarily due to a “second wave” of the twin balance sheet crisis at banks, former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said. In a new working paper published by Harvard University’s Center for International Development last week, Arvind Subramanian, who was India’s chief economic advisor between October 2014 and August 2018, and Josh Felman, former IMF resident representative to India, give a detailed understanding of how the Indian economy lost its way.
Key demand of the question:
The question is in the backdrop of India’s Great Economic Slowdown. One must provide the details for the economic slowdown and how the twin-balance sheet is now a four-balance sheet problem. Provide measures to tackle the issue.
Directive:
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 brief explain what the economic slowdown in India. TBS-1 was about bank loans made to steel, power, and infrastructure sector companies during the investment boom of 2004-11 turning bad. TBS-2 is largely a post-demonetization phenomenon, involving non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and real estate firms.
Body:
Explain about the twin-balance sheet syndrome.
Now move on to discuss the reasons for the TBS to become four balance sheet challenge
- Since the Global Financial Crisis, India’s long-term growth has slowed as the two engines propelling rapid growth — investment and exports — sputtered.
- Today, the other engine — consumption — has also stalled. As a result, growth has plummeted precipitously over the past few quarters
- Dwelling into the current problem facing the economy, he said, after demonetization, considerable amounts of cash made their way to banks, who on-lent a major part of that to NBFCs. The NBFCs, in turn, channelled this money to the real estate sector. By 2017-18, NBFCs were accounting for roughly half of the estimated Rs 5 lakh crore of outstanding real estate loans.
- The collapse of IL&FS in September 2018 was a “seismic event” not only because of the Rs 90,000 crore-plus debts of the infrastructure-cum-lending behemoth, but also its “prompting markets to wake up and reassess the entire NBFC sector
Provide measures to tackle it.
Conclusion:
Conclude by suggesting what should be the way forward.
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Why this question:
Last month, the Cabinet approved sale of the government’s stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, a navratna public sector company with oil refining and marketing operations. BPCL’s stake alone is expected to raise about ₹60,000 crore for the exchequer this year, and given the fiscal pressures the government is facing on the tax revenue front, such large-scale disinvestment will help.
Key demand of the question
One needs to examine the India’s path of disinvestment since liberalisation, discuss the macro features of the policy of disinvestment and analyse whether there is a need to have a relook at it.
Directive word
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.
Analyse – When asked to analyse, 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:
In a few introductory lines brief define the disinvestment. Give the context of recent sale of stakes in BPCL.
Body:
The question must discuss the following points:
- Present the evolution of disinvestment in India.
- Discuss how the disinvestment has fared and loopholes/challenges for disinvestment.
- Mention the cases of air India sale, and the hesitant approach in case of IDBI etc. shows the reticence of government towards disinvestment.
- Examine whether disinvestment has yielded results. Whether private management can take PSUs to bigger scales.
Also discuss why there is a need to remain cautious with respect to disinvestment and measures to attain the same.
Conclusion:
Give a balanced way forward.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
Key demand of the question:
The question wants us to write in detail about the importance of self-development and personality for every individual to realise his/her true potential.
Directive:
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 define what is self-development.
Body:
Discuss the importance of self-development.
Discuss Gandhiji’s idea and how he promoted the idea of self-development.
- Gandhiji’s emphasis on subjecting the body to harsh discipline finds echo in the Indic traditions, which are in a way wary of the deha or the body.
- Satyagraha, too, at one level, was a relentless pursuit of truth by an individual. If we were to go by its literal meaning in Hindi, then it is a “struggle for truth”.
- It was as much spiritual as it was political.
- The individual self and its mastery over its body and its spiritual self thus constituted important elements of the Gandhian discourse on politics.
Conclusion:
based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
