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Questions of the UTM01 Test :-
- The nation can progress only if the Union and State Governments walk shoulder to shoulder. Inter-State Council is one of the most significant platforms for strengthening Centre-State and Inter-State relationship. Discuss. What further steps need to be taken to strengthen the Inter-State Council?
- National Human Rights Commissions (NHRCs) have become prominent actors in the national,regional and international human rights arena. Critically examine the role of NHRC in curbing Human Rights violations in the country.
- Recently the Supreme Court had requested the Central government to consider the possibility of establishing a National Court of Appeal (NCA) which has elicited mixed reactions from the legal community. Do you think an intermediary like NCA will be a solution to reduce judicial backlog or suggest any alternative measures?
- Elections in India have become a continuous process and political parties with stakes in various states are constantly preparing for one election or the other. Discuss the problems associated with frequent elections and suggest a way forward.
- Judiciary, in recent years is increasingly being criticized for actively encroaching upon the powers of legislative and executive authorities. The judiciary must retain a fine balance between Judicial Activism and Judicial Over-reach. Elucidate.
- Recently the Chief Justice of India criticized the actions of the Centre over the matter of appointments of judges in the higher judiciary and for trying to bring the entire judiciary to a grinding halt. The legislature and the Judiciary must work together to formulate the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges to higher judiciary. Discuss.
- Smart Cities Mission aims to improve the quality of life of the average urban citizen. However according to few experts, it is necessary to make cities liveable first before making them smart.Discuss in light of problems associated with urban areas in India.
- What do you understand by ‘Lobbying’? Do you think Lobbying should be legalised in India?
- Even after a quarter of a century of their enactment, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are yet to achieve their full potential. Do you agree? Discuss in light of various issues associated with PRIs in India and suggest measures.
- India has too many children but too little childhood. In light of this statement analyze the various legal and policy related loopholes in Indian context and suggest a way forward.
- What do you understand by judicial accountability? Discuss and suggest a way forward to inculcate judiciary accountability in Indian jurisprudence.
- Critically analyse IPC Section – 377 in light of the recent developments with respect to LGBT rights and comment on the judicial judgements pertaining to it.
- The union cabinet has recently cleared draft Surrogacy (Regulation) bill, 2016, which bans commercial surrogacy in India and allows altruistic surrogacy to a qualified set of couples. Critically analyse provisions of the bill and put forth your views on surrogacy.
- Life Exists, therefore it has a right to exist ; Death exist, therefore it has a right to exist too .In light of this statement analyse the legal entanglement surrounding Euthanasia in India.
- Critically comment on right to privacy vis-à-vis various judicial pronouncements surrounding the Aadhaar card and the various provisions of the act pertaining to it?
- What do you understand by rights based approach? Do you think it is helping India better itself to be a more just and inclusive society. Analyse with examples and list out the benefits of this approach, if any.
- What do you understand by pressure group ?Discuss their role in a vibrant democracy?
- Supreme Court had recently upheld criminal defamation. However parties in power in various states are constantly found to be misusing this provision to settle political score or suppress any voice of dissent. In light of this discuss defamation and comment on whether it should be criminal or civil.
- Discuss the role and functions of Medical Council of India and the various issues surrounding it and suggest a way forward.
- Discuss the recommendations of Lodha committee on reforming BCCI. Do you think the similar set of recommendations should be extended to other sports governing bodies to bring transparency and accountability to sports administration in India.
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UPSCTREE Team
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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.