UPSCTREE PRELIMS 2016 Analysis
Message:-
The deed is done and the fate is sealed.So, stop worrying about the cut-offs and start preparing for MAINS immediately.Try to use this period as a head start.
We have heard all the noises around cut-offs and our two cents to the issue would be – Anybody scoring in 3 figures has a fair chance.Here are the reasons, WHY ? :-
1)The veterans who were given extra 2 attempts back in 2013 are gone from the race.(Increase in age from 30 to 32 and increase in number of attempts from 4 to 6)
2)The 2011 aspirants who were given an extra attempt last year are not in the race either.
3)Yes, the number of vacancies have decreased but generally speaking the paper was on the tougher side as compared to last year so these two may cancel out each other.
4)Finally,there is no harm in studying for MAINS , even if you don’t qualify this year, you are already one year ahead of your competitors.
Static :-
1)Relegated to backyard
2)Can’t ignore either
3)May reappear in PRELIMS 2017
Conclusion – Finishing the static portion is just the first step, but an indispensible one.You can not afford to go to the exam without preparing for it nor you can afford to prepare exclusively for it.
Dynamic:-
1)Current Affairs (CA) day-in and day-out preparation is sine-qua-non
2)Widening the traditional coverage of CA ; for eg- Butterfly question or Kharai Camel or Movie or things related to daily life are important.
3)This portion became binary – either you know it or you don’t
4)CA of not only this year but also of last year is important
5)Importance of international organisation is on the rise and on a positive side we have tried to cover all the organisations in our MOCK tests.
Conclusion – It seems preparation starts from the grocery store itself.Always keep your eyes and ears open.There is no space for personal likings/disliking as far as CA coverage is concerned (For eg- you may not be a movie-buff but you should know what is happening around the world on the celluloid and same goes for olympics or state animals or anythings else).This is to say, if it was in the news, then it is in your syllabus and hence you should know it (Of course, we will be there to pick the relevant from the sea of irrelevant)
Overall :-
1)UPSC civil service prelims exams used to be on a different plane compared to other tests conducted by UPSC or any other mass recruiter/s, however this gulf is alarmingly diminishing.
2)The change in quality in the standard of question asked has forced a metamorphosis in the prelims syllabus.Hitherto, the usual items that an UPSC aspirant used to ignore or study at max once have become the first ones to be picked up by the UPSC.So let nothing pass around you without passing through you.
3)This PRELIMS has made the competitional aspect of the exam brutally clear.Certainly the gulf between the average score and higher scores indicate the same.
4)Moreover, UPSC has asked question from those few months (especially of September- December )when aspirants are busy preparing for MAINS.In short,it is increasingly becoming difficult to outsmart UPSC as it is focusing specifically on areas where you tend to defocus.
In conclusion,you can still clear prelims easily provided you are increasing the HARDWORK (day-in-day-out) quotient of your preparation vis-a-vis your SMARTWORK (Few weeks/months of work).Contrary to popular belief and relentless propaganda on various platforms , what UPSC demands is basic awareness on any topic rather than in-depth knowldge on it unless the topic is from a specific part of the syllabus (For eg- Environment).
Finally, we are glad that , our intuition to focus more on history, economy, envirnoment, and international organisations during our mock tests paid rich divedends to our aspirants and we are hopeful that more than 90% of our UPSCTREE saplings will get through 🙂 .
On a side note, we will be launching our PRELIMS 2017 program soon and the details will be with you in a few days time.
At this moment, we are planning on the MAINS and will roll out a questionnaire to understand your requirements so that we can be of real help.
The ESSAY initiative will continue as planned and based on popular demand a shorter version of the whole program will be launched soon.
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)