Dear Students,
Hope you preparation is going well.
As stated before we are launching our CIVIL service preparation programs for 2017.
- Essay Test series will; start from 20th December 2016
- Prelims Test series will start from 25th December 2016
- Mains test series will start from 5th Jan 2017
We have launched a new student portal which is open for all to register.Once you login , you will be assigned a default role of a student which will give you access to Current events and few other details etc.
Student Portal – IASTREE-UPSCTREE Student Portal
We have been working for past 3 months to build this , and after many feedbacks from our students , we had to do this.As far as the functionalities goes the portal is akin to social learning and delivers everything that one wishes for.Few features are
- Messaging and notification system where student can contact the teacher directly
- You can upload and keep your files- Your own drive once you login
- You can communicate among students , create new forums and topics
- You can login through Facebook and Google accounts as well.
- Check out your dashboard once you login , there you have to-do list which you can create and every other thing as far as functionality is concerned.
- And yes, you can upload your photos and create your cover page.
That’s what we have been doing to take student experience to next level from technical stand point.
Now coming to the test series part, here is what we are going to do.
Prelims Test Series:-
- The details of number of tests and all other details can be found in the student portal as mentioned above.
- First register and then navigate through different test series to know the details.
- This year prelims was mostly current events based however UPSC did a twist in MAINS , it was more Static than current.So those who cleared PRELIMS only by reading current events might not be able to score well this year in MAINS if they did not have good hold over static portion.
- So UPSC is going to retain its unpredictability, however , we sense a moderation in UPSC question , that is , it is rooting for candidates who are good in both current and static part.
- So , Next year prelims might be as much of current events based as much of static portion.
- Through our program we are going to ensure that you cover Static as well as Current events.
- That will prepare you for all eventualities.We can’t rely on law of uncertainties.
- We are also planning to give micro-tests if required for current events apart from the usual tests.
Mains Test Series :-
- We did manage to predict good number of questions in Mains.You can check them here – Click Here
- All the questions asked in the series were intuitive and at par with UPSC. Many of our students used the sentences of our mains questions to write answer in real exam as they were that good.Moreover those statement were written by us not shop-lifted, so gives uniqueness to you answer.For eg- “India has too many children but too little childhood” or “Water reinforcing regionalism ” and many others.
- All of our essay and mains students are over-whelmed when they first saw their personalized feedback .Because, they never saw any teacher writing the whole answer for them and diversifying their content and taking it a whole different level altogether.Yes, our reviews are that good.It is not our arrogance, it is a matter of pride for us.It is our core competency.
- Prior to mains we published many articles focusing mains and they did appear in Mains (Role of women in freedom struggle or inclusive growth-challenges and solutions ,South china sea, poverty issues and many others).That means , we don’t give in to temptation, we know what UPSC might ask and focus on that rather than copy-pasting everything that is there over internet .
- From the beginning we have been focusing on to get to the root of every issue and then analyse , and this year UPSC did just that (eg- Coelho case and judicial review or Amartya Sen’s advise etc).We will be doing the same thing for our upcoming editorials.
- Also in the student portal , we have segregated the pages , so that each editorial will be catalouged according to the General studies paper number.
- This year, we have ample time and rest assured the mains program will be of great help.
- We will provide answer scripts for each question in Mains program along with answer approach.We did it last year upon request from students,however it will be further streamlined and will be much better as we have the time in our side now.
Essay Test Series :-
- This is our flagship program.
- We manage to predict 6 out of 8 essays in mains exam this year.
- You can check the essay exam analysis here- Click here
- Our reviews usually include 3-4 pages – that is they are most comprehensive and guides you on every aspect including how to go about the framework.
- Of course, there are bunch of strategies out there on how to write essay etc.But that are of least help , because even if you know strategy but you don’t have content then it will be a difficult task.
- For example , there was a question in Mains this year – “Innovation essay”, and if you miss to write about printing press and connect it with various revolutions which it generated or don’t write about Internet and its impact then your essay may have great content but will fall as you can not miss the two greatest innovation when writing an essay on innovation.Similarly if you write more than one paragraph on invention of wheel or fire then it will hamper you essay as you are writing the obvious.We pointed this out in our essay test series.Many other examples were given related to medicine – such as Penicillin etc. in the personalized feedback anyway.
- Crux of the matter is topic wise guidance is important , and if that topic comes in exam , you will be ready with your guns and bullets.If you wrote a topic, got it reviewed and inculcated the review, you will certainly write a better essay than the other person who is writing it for the first time.Practice makes one perfect.No doubt about that.
For all the tests of prelims and mains , we will provide question and answer script in PDF format.Prelims test will be online however if one wants to take a print out and do the test , they certainly can do it.For essay there will be no model essay, however we can give you a framework and important points that one has to cover in the essay.There is no such thing as model essay , everyone has their strength and weakness , so you have to write to know about it and then inculcate the change to make it better.
For Essay and Mains , we can only accommodate 400-500 students at max.So if we get the desired number of student soon, we have to close the registration .Few seats are already reserved for the former students upon their request.We can not compromise on the quality of review and hence we request you to join at the earliest.
Discount Coupon Codes :-
- Go to – http://www.iastree.com/
- Register yourself , upload your photos or cover page if you want.
- Click on SHOP and choose your course accordingly
- Then Click on “Add to cart” , Then “View Cart” and then you can apply the coupon codes accordingly.
Coupon codes :-
- If you are joining only one program use coupon code – treedisintstd
- If you wan to join any two programs – You can use this coupon code for discount – treeanytwo
- If you want to join all 3 programs – You can use this coupon code – treedisintstdall3
Referral Discount– If you refer it to a friend and your friend joins us, then Rs-500/- will be credited back to you bank account.For referral send us the name of your friend, his/her mobile number and mail id along with your details.Of course, this applies if you yourself have been part of our program.
Please note that the coupons will be inactive after 20 Dec 2017, hence it is limited time period offer .Also we are starting our programs on 20 Dec 2017.Post which there will be no discount.
Feel free to write to us in case of any queries:- Contact US
Thank You
UPSCTREE Team
Recent Posts
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.
Globally, around 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations.
This can pose a significant environmental and health threat.
In the absence of cost-effective, sustainable, disruptive water management solutions, about 70% of sewage is discharged untreated into India’s water bodies.
A staggering 21% of diseases are caused by contaminated water in India, according to the World Bank, and one in five children die before their fifth birthday because of poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, according to Startup India.
As we confront these public health challenges emerging out of environmental concerns, expanding the scope of public health/environmental engineering science becomes pivotal.
For India to achieve its sustainable development goals of clean water and sanitation and to address the growing demands for water consumption and preservation of both surface water bodies and groundwater resources, it is essential to find and implement innovative ways of treating wastewater.
It is in this context why the specialised cadre of public health engineers, also known as sanitation engineers or environmental engineers, is best suited to provide the growing urban and rural water supply and to manage solid waste and wastewater.
Traditionally, engineering and public health have been understood as different fields.
Currently in India, civil engineering incorporates a course or two on environmental engineering for students to learn about wastewater management as a part of their pre-service and in-service training.
Most often, civil engineers do not have adequate skills to address public health problems. And public health professionals do not have adequate engineering skills.
India aims to supply 55 litres of water per person per day by 2024 under its Jal Jeevan Mission to install functional household tap connections.
The goal of reaching every rural household with functional tap water can be achieved in a sustainable and resilient manner only if the cadre of public health engineers is expanded and strengthened.
In India, public health engineering is executed by the Public Works Department or by health officials.
This differs from international trends. To manage a wastewater treatment plant in Europe, for example, a candidate must specialise in wastewater engineering.
Furthermore, public health engineering should be developed as an interdisciplinary field. Engineers can significantly contribute to public health in defining what is possible, identifying limitations, and shaping workable solutions with a problem-solving approach.
Similarly, public health professionals can contribute to engineering through well-researched understanding of health issues, measured risks and how course correction can be initiated.
Once both meet, a public health engineer can identify a health risk, work on developing concrete solutions such as new health and safety practices or specialised equipment, in order to correct the safety concern..
There is no doubt that the majority of diseases are water-related, transmitted through consumption of contaminated water, vectors breeding in stagnated water, or lack of adequate quantity of good quality water for proper personal hygiene.
Diseases cannot be contained unless we provide good quality and adequate quantity of water. Most of the world’s diseases can be prevented by considering this.
Training our young minds towards creating sustainable water management systems would be the first step.
Currently, institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) are considering initiating public health engineering as a separate discipline.
To leverage this opportunity even further, India needs to scale up in the same direction.