Dear All,
We have got few queries with regards to our essay program.
Here is our answer.
Q- Is the Essay Program Flexible ?
A- Yes, the program is completely flexible, however we urge candidate to adhere to the timeline, so that by the time they are through the program their writing will be refined.
Q-How many tests ?
A- We give 10 essay tests. Each test has 4 topics and we ask student to write at least 2 topics from each essay test.In short we will give you 40 essay topics , and if you are interested in writing 40 essay topics , we review all the essays.
Q-Can a student write topics of his/her choosing ?
A- Last year we gave this flexibility, however we got many essay topics written by student that are not going to help them. However, if anyone who wants to write a topic of their choosing , we will review it nonetheless. Last year we managed to predict 6 out of 8 essay topics in the Mains exam, and urge you to write the topics which we provide first, so that you are better prepared for the upcoming exam.
Q- Is there a guidance available apart from the personalized feedback ?
A- We give 3 to 4 pages of review for each essay you write. However, due to multiple request by students, this year , we will give you some material and guidelines on each essay topic , so that you have fairly a good deal of idea on what to write for each topic. Materials will be varied (Editorial, references, books and frameworks written by us along with few good quotes to use them wisely)
Q-Is the coupon code still valid ?
A- Many have joined us at different points of time, hence we have reactivated the coupon codes , so that you can use them (Limited time only)
Here is the coupon code – treedisintstd
You have register at our student portal – http://www.iastree.com/
Q-Is there any limit on number of student ?
A- Yes, providing good review requires good faculty and there are very limited number of people who can give you top-notch essay reviews, thus the student numbers are also limited in this aspect.So if you are interested, joining sooner will be wise as essay has it own learning curve ( If you want to write top-notch essays , then you have to start soon, write them at regular intervals and get it reviewed- and before the exam , just check those reviews and appear, you will certainly do better)
Q-How do we frame the topics ?
A- We try to catch the pulse of the time and UPSC and then bring in some literary works along with critical aspects and devise a topic. Most of the topics are written by ourselves (for example – Technology makes democracy more democratic or Demography of India- Visible dividend or Invisible disaster or Sustainable development – myth or reality or India- Too may Children but too little childhood and so on – the topics itself are qualitative and can be used in your answers)
Q-I already score good marks in essay , so why should I join ? (Thanks Aakash for asking this question as it is one of those crucial mistakes that many make)
A- This is a very good question, most of the students who have written and scored well in the Essay paper have a good deal of idea on how devise a good framework. The only reason you may think to join us is simple, we give topic-wise reviews, so if that topic comes in the exam you will be better equipped to answer it.
Moreover, many say that they know how to write an essay and aware of the strategy. True. But most of us are aware of the general strategy. Unless you write an essay on a particular topic, you will never know, what is your strength and which mistakes to avoid to score even better. Hence topic-wise strategy is must. General strategy gives you the general idea but topic-wise strategy will take you far and help you succeed. Everyone , who scored well in essay are already aware of it. Also , once you write on each topic of the test series, you will be wiser on which topic to choose and which one to avoid and align it with your core strength.(For example – One can write very good essay on environment topic but may falter on a philosophical essay and if you are already aware of it, then those mistakes can be avoided. You should avoid the dilemma – if i have chosen that essay then I might have scored more – this can be avoided once you write and get it reviewed)
On a side note, Essay program is one of our flagship program. Last year, more than 90% who joined us have tried other programs and had Mains experience (at least once), and upon receiving their first review, they were highly satisfied. We put a sincere effort in our review and this year it is going to be much better as we will be giving reference materials and guidelines for essay topics.
In case any queries , feel free to write to us – upsctree@upsctree.com (The query does not necessary have to about the program, you can ask us anything with regards to preparation and we will certainly provide our insight)
As of now, 2 essay tests are already live. here are the topic of essay test 2:-
- Daughters of India – their plights and their achievements.
- Digital Economy and India
- Ability can take you to the top but character will keep you there
- Will we be leaving the earth as a better place than we found it ?
Topics of Essay test 1
- Technology makes democracy more democratic
- Embracing fourth Industrial revolution
- There is no meaning of economic prosperity if it is not accompanied by social justice.
- Demography of India- Visible dividend or Invisible disaster
Thank You
UPSCTREE
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.