CIVIL SERVICE MAINS – 2016 – GENERAL STUDIES Question Paper -III
We are happy that many questions were asked in our test series and sincerely hope that our students did well.As far as the number of questions concerned we predicted correctly in the MAINS exam – we will leave it to your better judgment.The comparative analysis was given towards the end of the post.
We have asked this questions in our Mains Program :-
- We have published many articles relate to globalization and its impact and the question related to globalization and formal sector was part of it. The most important part being – globalization led to rise of contract employment where the contractors don’t have the social security net provided their employer.We have discussed it one of our articles and in answer scripts of the test series.
- The GENDER BUDGETING question was asked by us verbatim.Hope our students did well.Here is the question we asked in our mock test:-
- Give an outline of the concept of and the government initiatives for gender-budgeting in India.
- PMJDY and financial inclusion , was a question expected last year but came this year.Not much of a trouble for the candidate to answer this question anyway.We have asked question related to financial inclusion however not specific to PMJDY as we expected it last year.
- SMART CITY and RURBAN – both were specifically asked by us on our test series.There are 2 questions asked by us :-
- Smart Cities Mission aims to improve the quality of life of the average urban citizen. However according to few experts, it is necessary to make cities liveable first before making them smart.Discuss in light of problems associated with urban areas in India.
- The sustainable cities need sustainable villages. In light of this statement , discuss the components and importance of RURBAN mission.
- FDI question can be discussed in many heads :-
- Justification – for FOREX .Capital Investment is anyway a good things for economy.It also brings new technology along with work culture and better management practices.
- The gap is due to :-
- Foggy business process along with difficulty is getting permits ,land acquisition and EIA etc (eg – POSCO fiasco)
- Politicization of the issue leading to protests etc
- Red-tapesim
- Retrospective taxation issue
- High corporate tax
- The criteria for local employment issue and the burden of skilling them.
- Many other issues can be thought of on these line
- Question given in our test series is not related to the question of the Mains exam directly however there is little overlap of content.Question in our test series –
- “The recent liberalization in FDI will help India to attain the commanding heights of its economic potential”. Comment.
- Inclusive Growth – the editorial is here – Click Here
- Question asked in our test series –
- Even after seven decades of targeted policy making, India was ranked very low globally on most of the parameters for inclusive growth and development. Analyse the problems associated with achieving inclusive growth in India and suggest solutions for it.
- Question asked in our test series –
- Water use efficiency and micro irrigation can be answered , but you have to extrapolate points from our various articles, and it is fairly a simple answer.While answering one can link water with climate smart agriculture because agriculture uses the most of the water. Discuss what what we can learn from Israel.You must discuss drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation etc.We have published one article on climate smart agriculture, 6 articles on water usage and one one Indo-Israel mou etc.So you have link it all and then answer this question.
- Allelopathy is the biological phenomenon where a plant releases certain biochemical which influence the germination and growth of certain other plants and organisms.It essentially , if put to good use can reduce the unnecessary weeds in agriculture.This question was not given by us in any of our tests 🙂
- Land reforms was a question asked in our mains test series.This was our question :-
- “By and large land reforms in India enacted so far and those contemplated in the near future are in the right direction; and yet due to lack of implementation the actual results are far from satisfactory”. Substantiate.
- And the answer script we have provided is one of the best to answer this question holistically.
- The exhaustive answer script can be found her – Click here
- The password to open the post is – utree2016
- PMFBY, we asked this question in Mains series : This was the question :-
- The recently launched “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana” can bring paradigm shift as far as crop insurance is concerned. Comment.
- In the mains exam question you only have to write the salient features but in our question you have to go a step further and justify why it is a paradigm shift by comparing the features with previous crop insurance schemes.
- Renewable energy question:-
- This question can easily be answered by few article given by us :-
- Space tech and its application
- Question in our test series:-
- Space technology is increasingly changing the method and means of administration.In light of this , discuss importance of space technology to bring paradigm shift in rural economy of India.
- Question in our test series:-
- Nanotechnology and application
- Question in our test series:-
- What is “nano technology” ?Bring out its benefits and applications.
- Question in our test series:-
- Rehabilitation and its impact
- You can answer this question by 2 of our ARC report summaries.
- Urban Flood
- Question given in our test series :-
- Increasing anthropogenic intervention in natural processes is transforming rainfall, rather a “natural event” to a “man-made disaster”. In light of this discuss the reasons behind rising instances of urban floods in India and suggest measures to tackle it.
- Question given in our test series :-
- NDMA guidelines and cloud burst (Not asked by us)
- Surgical strikes and hot pursuit (Not asked by us , although article were published on this)
- Terrorism as industry
- Many article and question were given on this, well known theme anyway.
- Border management
- This question has to answered by using geography and polity along with International relationship.
- Use geography to justify complexity – 15000 km land and 7000km sea border in most volatile region with hostile neighbours.Hogback topography, Siachen difficulties.
- Challenges are well known and can be discussed in the following heads – geographical/environmental (for example – cross-country biosphere reserves , natural parks etc ),historical,socio-cultural and political etc
- Social media and national security
- Question given by us in our test series:-
- Discuss role of social media in globalizing terrorism.Suggest Measures to counter the propaganda of terrorists.
- Question given by us in our test series:-
Recent Posts
- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)