Essay Test – E01 – Statistics & Analysis
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 example as you can for this essay.This is a 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.
Receive Daily Updates
Recent Posts
- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.