Essay Test – E01 – Statistics & Analaysis
Top 3 Scores – 105 , 101, 97 out of 250
Top 3 Scorers – Pankaj,Saumya,Shasank
Average Score – 63
Total number of submissions – 302
Most attempted topic- Demography of India – Visible dividend or Invisible disaster.
The 2nd Most attempted topic- Technology makes democracy more democratic
The 3rd Most attempted topic- Embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The least attempted topic- There is no meaning of economic prosperity if it is not accompanied by social justice.
The topic where we noted minimal digression among students- Demography of India – Visible dividend or Invisible disaster.
The topic where we noted maximum digression among students- Technology makes democracy more democratic
The topic where we noted very good writing style and content – Embracing 4th Industrial Revolution
The topic where we noted that everyone had to work on their content (less/more)-There is no meaning of economic prosperity if it is not accompanied by social justice and Technology makes democracy more democratic
Analysis of the TOPICS:-
Demography of India – Visible dividend or Invisible disaster– It is a straight forward essay, attempt only if you have data as the essay is data driven and every argument that you make , it must be substantiated with trends in data. Put as much as examples as you can for this essay.This is social topic.
Embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution– It is one of the critical essays and the theme was a buzzword in World Economic forum last year, you have to read and quote few reports (Such as World bank report where 60% of Indian and more than 70% of Chinese manufacturing jobs will be lost to Automation). Once you show the problems that arise out of automation and robotics, connect it with how it give rise to multitude of issues. You can connect the demography parameter in this essay. Also link it with Universal Basic Income (as social safety net is must if we embrace 4th IR as people will lose jobs in huge number). You can also connect how automation and robotics will take over slavery and manual scavenging-Machine enabling release of Man from clutches of Man- this is the good part. Complete details will be given in essay topic wise strategy soon.
Technology makes democracy more democratic– This is an interesting essay and requires in-depth understanding of what democracy is – not the letter but the spirit of democracy and then connecting it with how it is enabling citizenry across the world to realize their fundamental rights.Think of the all fundamental right that you have read in your polity papers and then think how technology is helping realize it. For instance- Right to timely service delivery and How tech is enabling it (This is not fundamental right however you can also show how the concept of rights are also evolving and how technology is enabling it- Right to healthy environment etc). You can also show how tech is enabling the democratic leaders to infringe upon the fundamental rights of the people for their undemocratic ends . E.g- NSA snooping , right to privacy etc.
There is no meaning of economic prosperity if it is not accompanied by social justice –This is an interesting essay and one can right multitude of dimensions and diversify this essay. You can start with the preamble of our constitution and what does it mean by social justice and then represent what various social indicators are indicating – Islands of prosperity in sea of poverty. You can take each and every social indicator and see how did we do – did our economic progress post-1991 and the fruits of development reached every nook and corner of society – Obviously not – and then suggest what can be done.This can be written from women’s perspective as well- for example – Women in India and across world have financial autonomy now however does their economic prosperity freed them from the social drudgery – dowry, harassment, commodification of women, social attitude etc – In sum they can earn how much they want but they can not do what they want from social perspective given the patriarchy and prejudice prevailing in society.Many other perspectives can be written for this essay.You can also give examples from across the world.
TOPIC wise strategy will be uploaded in the Student Portal along with reference material and approach.Students will be notified on the same.
Topics of Essay Test – E02
1. Daughters of India –their struggles, their plights and their achievements.
2. Digital Economy and India
3. “Ability can take you to the top, character will keep you there”
4. Will we be leaving the Earth as a better place than we found it?
Total submission till date – 109 (If you have not submitted, please do submit)
Do write on the topic that we provide as that can be more helpful than picking up random topics. Just because one likes a topic that does not mean that UPSC will ask that topic. We manged to predict 6 out 8 essays in Mains 2016. We intend to do the same this year, but writing past UPSC topics or any other topic that you picked from internet is secondary. You efforts should not be fruitless.Our goal is to predict the future with precision not ponder over past and so should you.If you like a particualr topic and want to write, we will certainly review it, but before writing it, send us the topic that you want to write, so that we can guide you accordingly or re-calibrate the topic or theme to suit UPSC needs.
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)