[Insights Secure – 2020] Daily UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice: 27 December 2019
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General Studies – 1
Topic: Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
Why this question:
The article discusses the lack of vision in the Indian society to foresee the role women play in its growth and development.
Key demand of the question:
One must provide for a critical analysis of how and in what different ways caste-laden political discourse has served to keep out a public discussion of the ‘women’s question’ in India. And suggest solutions to overcome such a problem.
Directive:
Critically analyze – 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. 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:
In first explain briefly the status of women in the Indian society.
Body:
One has to discuss strongly means and methods of disrupting the gender-blind political discourse in India.
Explain what the issues with Women participation in India are, what are the hurdles and challenges to it.
Deliberate upon the fact that India is a country forging ahead economically while upholding freedoms for its people. Recent reports of gruesome assaults on women, involving rape and ending with murder, have jolted this narrative.
Explain that When a society adopts democracy as its form of governance, it presumes the beginning of a social transformation.
Emphasize on the need and urgency of this social transformation.
Suggest what needs to be done.
Conclusion:
Conclude by recommending solutions to address these key challenges and help ensure women are centric to the growth and development of the country.
Topic: Indian Culture will cover the salient aspects of Art forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
Why this question:
The question is based upon the importance of Antiquities and Art Treasuries Act in preserving the art and culture of the country.
Key demand of the question:
One must discuss the need for ensuring an institutionalized framework for the protection of the art and culture of the country.
Directive:
Comment– here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Explain what are antiquities and art treasures.
Body:
An art treasure is a human work of art, other than an antiquity, declared to be a treasure by the Centre for its artistic value after the artist’s death.
According to the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, an “antiquity” is an article or object that is at least 100 years old. These illustrate the science, art, crafts or customs or religion or literature of a bygone age, or anything of historical interest.
Discuss the key features of the Act.
Explain the lacunas in the present form of the Act.
Highlight the Proposed Amendment to Antiquities Act, 1972.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Why this question:
As protests spread all across the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and the proposed National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), West Bengal and Kerala suspended work related to the preparation and update of the National Population Register in their respective States. Thus the context of the question.
Key demand of the question:
Bring out the interaction of the three things – the National Population Register, citizenship Act and the decennial census.
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:
Discuss the ongoing issue in short.
Body:
Explain what is the National Population Register (NPR) – The NPR is a database containing a list of all usual residents of the country. Its objective is to have a comprehensive identity database of people residing in the country.
It is generated through house-to-house enumeration during the “house-listing” phase of the census, which is held once in 10 years. The last census was in 2011, and the next will be done in 2021.
Discuss the legal basis for the above.
Debate on the link between the NPR and Aadhaar.
Explain What is the relationship between the NPR and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Conclusion:
Conclude that There is no direct link. But remarks by the Home Minister that the CAA would be followed by the NRC has given rise to fears that when people are excluded from the final citizenship register, the CAA may help non-Muslims take the CAA route to apply for citizenship, and leave Muslims with no option. However, the government seeks to allay these fears.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Why this question:
The article brings out a detailed discussion of the double whammy Indian economy is facing.
Key demand of the question:
Discuss in detail the double trouble Indian economy is facing – the problem of decreasing economic growth rate and increasing
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 judgment.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Define inflation and the trends of growth witnessing the Indian economy.
Body:
Uneven inflation and sluggish growth present serious dilemmas for policymakers in the country as prices in the economy continue to rise even as economic growth has plummeted to well under 5%. Food inflation, now in double-digits, has caused significant pain. The International Monetary Fund on December 23 called for “urgent” policy measures to reverse the current slowdown that has weighed down global economic growth.
Discuss the causative factors in detail.
Explain what needs to be done to overcome the issue.
Conclusion:
Conclude by suggesting solutions to the problem.
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Why this question:
The article is in the backdrop of the recent IMF that has listed reform measures that might help India increase economic growth to the baseline medium-term potential of 7.3 percent.
Key demand of the question:
Explain the necessity of reforms that can help India to increase economic growth to the baseline medium-term potential and help push up growth in a sustainable way.
Directive:
Deliberate – 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 general discuss the persistent issues brought out by the IMF.
Body:
Briefly discuss the suggestions made by the IMF.
What are the issues with the economy in the country?
Suggest what reforms can be made to overcome the challenges.
Conclusion:
Conclude by suggesting reforms – both long term and for short term.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
Why this question:
Recently, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh launched the Good Governance Index (GGI). December 25, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was declared Good Governance Day by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.
Key demand of the question:
Discuss the key features of GGI and the role it plays in measuring governance.
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:
Explain what you understand by Good Governance.
Body:
According to a Good Governance Index Report submitted to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, “Good governance can be referred as an effective and efficient process of decisionmaking and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented) keeping the amelioration of citizens as the topmost priority. Resource allocation, creation of formal establishments, setting up rules and regulations etc., are part of achieving this goal.
Define what is GGI – GGI is a uniform tool that will help in assessing the status of governance and the impact of interventions undertaken by governments across all states and UTs.
Discuss its key features and objectives in detail.
Highlight the performance of Indian states on the GGI.
Conclusion:
Conclude with its significance.
Topic: Citizen’s Charters
Ethics by Lexicon Publications
Why this question:
The question is straightforward from the static portions of the GS paper IV.
Key demand of the question:
Explain what is Citizen Charter Act, Why the Citizen Charter is important and suggest measures that need to be taken to improvise upon the efficiency and effectiveness of the Citizen Charter.
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:
Define citizen’s charter. In India, the concept of citizen’s charter was first adopted at a ‘Conference of Chief Ministers of various States and Union Territories’ held in May 1997 in the national capital.
Body:
The citizen’s charter is a document that outlines the service commitment of organizations or service providers towards providing quality, high-standard services, including mechanisms for grievance redressal.
The Citizen’s Charter is a voluntary and written document that spells out the service provider’s efforts taken to focus on their commitment towards fulfilling the needs of the citizens/customers.
- It also includes the ways in which citizens can redress any grievances.
- It includes what the citizens can expect out of the service provider.
- The concept is that the charter preserves the trust between the service provider and the citizens/users.
The concept of a citizen’s charter was initiated by former British Prime Minister John Major in the year 1991. It was started as a national programme intended to improve the quality of public services. In 1998, in the UK, the concept was renamed ‘Services First’.
Discuss its objectives.
Explain in what way it can be improvised.
Discuss the challenges faced in implementing Citizen’s Charters in India.
Suggest solutions.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
