Monday 15 December, 2014

UPSC 2014 Mains - General Studies Paper 02 for 250 Marks - 15 Dec 2014

UPSC 2014 Mains - General Studies Paper 02 for 250 Marks - 15 Dec 2014 Afternoon
IAS Mains 2014 - General Studies Paper 02
http://mrunal.org/

UPSC Mains-2014: GS2-Polity, Governance, Policies, Schemes, International Bodies, Diplomacy

Question-Papers2 days Ago89 Comments

Analysis

Overall, same like GS1- wordlimit decreased but vagueness and complexity increased. But some continuity is visible from 2013.
GS3 Mains 2014 Paper Analysis

Comparison of GS3 Mains Paper : some continuity some divergence
Mains 2013	Mains 2014 GS3
25 questions worth 10 marks each. 10 marks =200 words.	20 questions worth 12.5 marks each. 12.5 marks=200 words. Hence paper length decreased.
SC keeps parliament in check.	SC keeps everyone in check (judicial activism).
One question about conduct of MP and anti-defection law.	MP-immunity: parliamentary privileges.
IT Act section 66A and freedom of speech	films and freedom of speech
Small states better or not?	Cadre based civil service better or not?
nothing from RPA	Nothing from Representation of people’s act (RPA) despite 2014 being an election year.
nothing from comparing Constitution	Same.
–	Overall, Constitution and governance portion: mixed bag. Some straightforward questions like federalism with strong centre, Judicial activism, presidential pardon Vague questions like hate speech in movies. Cadre based civil service- easy for Public Administration optional candidates, but vague for others.
Nothing from Diaspora	Nothing, despite ISIS threat to Indians working in Iraq.
Providing Urban amnesties in rural areas (PURA)	Backward excluded from urban economics. Difficult because requires brainstorming for points.
India-China topic: String of peals	South China sea.
SHG assessment	SHG socio-cultural hurdles.
Electronic cash transfer	UID vs NPR.
International bodies question very Simple IMF vs. Bretton woods difference.	Required better preparation – AIIB vs NDB, WTO food subsidies.
Within diplomacy: majority questions from “India vs. other countries” and just one question about “international bodies”.	Reverse happened. Majority of questions about international bodies.
less number of such questions	At least half-dozen questions required candidate to take a “Stand” e.g. should IIT/IIMs be allowed to retain premier status? Should there be Timelimit on presidential mercy-petition?
Current affairs mostly from “not in frequent lime-light” topics. e.g. petro ministry’s directive vs Naga tribe.	current affairs mixed bag: Not in frequent lime light: FDI in news-media. State governments dolling out truckload of cash to sportsmen- that was criticized in some English news debates, but that’s more of an interview topic than mains. In frequent lime-light: presidential pardon, WTO, AIIB, BRICS banks.
Same but I can’t recall any specific examples at the moment, except policy paralysis.	following “hot-topics” not asked despite being in news repeatedly ISIS-extremism, impact on India. Ebola public healthcare angle. Perhaps in GS3. Let’s wait and watch. MDG, mother-child mortality. Nehruvian world view, Panchsheel, NAM 2.0 Make in India, Modi diplomacy. Judicial appointment commission Restructuring Lok pal selection mechanism. but then again, Lokpal was already asked in 2013. FDI in insurance. But then again Insurance related topic already asked in 2013- merging IRDA and SEBI.

Anyways, let’s check the paper:

INSTRUCTIONS for General studies paper-2 (GS2)

Duration 3 hours. Total marks 250.
There are TWENTY (20) questions printed both in HINDI and ENGLISH.
Answer the questions in NOT MORE THAN 200 words each. Contents of the answer is more important than its length. All questions carry equal marks.
All the questions are compulsory.
Answers must be written in the medium authorized in the Admission Certificate which must be stated clearly on the cover of this Question-cum-Answer (QCA) Booklet in the space provided. No marks will be given for answers written in a medium other than the authorized one.
Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to.
Any page or portion of the page left blank in the answer book must be clearly struck off.

Constitution (50m)

Starting from inventing the ‘basic structure’ doctrine, the judiciary has played a highly proactive role in ensuring that India develops into a thriving democracy. In light of the statement, evaluate the role played by judicial activism in achieving the ideals of democracy.
Though the federal principle is dominant in our Constitution and that principle is one of its basic features, but it is equally true that federalism under the Indian Constitution leans in favour of a strong Centre, a feature that militates against the concept of strong federalism. Discuss.
The ‘Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and its Members’ as envisaged in Article 105 of the Constitution leave room for a large number of un-codified and un-enumerated privileges to continue. Assess the reasons for the absence of legal codification of the ‘parliamentary privileges’. How can this problem be addressed?
Instances of President’s delay in commuting death sentences has come under public debate as denial of justice. Should there be a time limit specified for the President to accept/reject such petitions? Analyse.
What do you understand by the concept “freedom of speech and expression”? Does it cover hate speech also? Why do the films in India stand on a slightly different plane from other forms of expression? Discuss.

Governance, Administration, Bodies (30m)

syllabus topic	Question asked
structure-functioning of executive	The size of the cabinet should be as big as governmental work justifies and as big as the Prime Minister can manage as a team. How far the efficacy of a government then is inversely related to the size of the cabinet? Discuss.
role of civil service	Has the Cadre based Civil Services Organisation been the cause of slow change in India? Critically examine.
Various bodies	National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in India can be most effective when its tasks are adequately supported by other mechanisms that ensure the accountability of a government. In light of the above observation assess the role of NHRC as an effective complement to the judiciary and other institutions in promoting and protecting human rights standards.

Policies: Economic sectors (20m)

Syllabus Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Though 100 percent FDI is already allowed in non-news media like a trade publication and general entertainment channel, the Government is mulling over the proposal for increased FDI in news media for quite some time. What difference would an increase in FDI make? Critically evaluate the pros and cons.
The setting up of a Rail Tariff Authority to regulate fares will subject the cash strapped Indian Railways to demand subsidy for obligation to operate non-profitable routes and services. Taking into account the experience in the power sector, discuss if the proposed reform is expected to benefit the consumers, the Indian Railways or the private container operators.

Policies: HRD /Welfare type (50m)

The penetration of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in rural areas in promoting participation in development programmes is facing socio-cultural hurdles. Examine.
Do government’s schemes for up-lifting vulnerable and backward communities by protecting required social resources for them, lead to their exclusion in establishing businesses in urban economics?
An athlete participates in Olympics for personal triumph and nation’s glory; victors are showered with cash incentives by various agencies, on their return. Discuss the merit of state sponsored talent hunt and its cultivation as against the rationale of a reward mechanism as encouragement.
Should the premier institutes like IITs/IIMs be allowed to retain premier status, allowed more academic independence in designing courses and also decide mode/criteria of selection of students. Discuss in light of the growing challenges.
Two parallel run schemes of the Government viz. the Adhaar Card and NPR, one as voluntary and the other as compulsory, have led to debates at national levels and also litigations. On merits, discuss whether or not both schemes need run concurrently. Analyse the potential of the schemes to achieve developmental benefits and equitable growth.

IR/Diplomacy (50m)

With respect to the South China sea, maritime territorial disputes and rising tension affirm the need for safeguarding maritime security to ensure freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region. In this context, discuss the bilateral issues between India and China.
The aim of Information Technology Agreements (ITAs) is to lower all taxes and tariffs on information technology products by signatories to zero. What impact should such agreements have on India’s interests?
Some of the International funding agencies have special terms for economic participation stipulating a substantial component of the aid to be used for sourcing equipment from the leading countries. Discuss on merits of such terms and if, there exists a strong case not to accept such conditions in the Indian context.
India has recently signed to become founding a New Development Bank (NDB) and also the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) .How will the role of the two Banks be different? Discuss the significance of these two Banks for India.
WTO is an important international institution where decisions taken affect countries in profound manner. What is the mandate of WTO and how binding are their decisions? Critically analyse India’s stand on the latest round of talks on Food security.

Question Paper: Linear format. Click to expand

Bogus marketing propaganda

Question and proof link	Utility
AIIB vs BRICS bank, because NDB=BRICS bank. revision note Link full-fledged article on both banks, available atMrunal.org/diplomacy	12.5/12.5
WTO, food subsidies: revision note link full-fledged article link	12.5/12.5
Independence for IIT/IIM. Covered in September: UGC vs IIT link.	7/12.5 Because the said article only covers IIT-portion. IIM points had to be ‘invented’.
Rail tariff authority: revision note Link. + also covered in economic survey summary Link	5/12.5, because I did not talk about how it’ll help private container operators, so only filler quality answer can be assembled.
UID vs NPR. link	0 because I had written it two years ago and de-indexed from economy page for superficial-shallow coverage.
Total Aukaat	37/250 marks.

Thankfully, Manniram (WTO) and 11^th Jinping (AIIB) have saved the day for Mrunal.org, otherwise I might have to open a desi liquor den out of humiliation. Now let’s see who saves the day in GS3. Visit Mrunal.org/download for more papers.

UPSC 2014 Mains - General Studies Paper 01 for 250 Marks - 15 Dec 2014

UPSC 2014 Mains - General Studies Paper 01 for 250 Marks - 15 Dec 2014 - Forenoon Session
IAS Mains 2014 - GS Paper 01
http://mrunal.org/

UPSC Mains-2014: GS1- Culture, History, Geography and Social issues

Question-Papers2 days Ago107 Comments

Analysis of Mains-2014 GS1 Paper

Word limit reduced but complexity & vagueness increased. साला इतना डिटेल में कोन प्रिपेर करता है? (Who prepares everything in this much detail?)
It seems Mains exam has become a competition, not to select “best among good answers” but rather “less bad among the worst answers”. Because it’s impossible to write 25/25 in honest manner even with sincere preparation.
Easy to give arm-chair commentaries like “UPSC is testing candidate’s emotional aptitude, and for xyz question- Hindu, old-NCERT or some random optional subject book has given 1-2 points, so candidate ought to have web-researched backwards and prepared a decent 200 words notes on everything under the Sun”….Plain waste of demographic dividend, electricity and bandwidth it is.
But positive side: Paper doesn’t put those without coaching, at disadvantage. Even for Mains-2015 exam, if coaching-walla try to revamp their material from scratch, perhaps UPSC will come up with yet another Back-Breaking Move^TM.
More can be said after analyzing the paper and preparing its Answerkey in peace.

2013	2014
10 marks = 200 words	No five-marker questions this time. 10 mark = 150 words. Word limit reduced. Seems UPSC examiner realized it’s difficult to assemble 200 words for every topic under the Sun.
Culture difficult.	More difficult, and weightage doubled from 20 to direct 40 marks.
Modern Indian History: Lord Dalhousie asked. (1850s)	Rewind the tape even further (1760s). Panipat asked.
–	World history: slightly easier than 2013. Straightforward questions like Suez crisis, factors motivating anti-colonial struggle in India. But nothing about fall of Berlin wall, despite 25^th Anniversary.
Freedom struggle complicated- like role of foreigners who made India their homeland. Women freedom fighters.	Freedom struggle relatively easier – British Policies, naval mutiny, because they’re available in Bipan and Spectrum. But no question on Ghadhar, Komagata Maru incident, Gandhi in South Africa, Shurawady-Sarat Bose, Sardar Patel, Nehru (except indirect about Lenin) etc. topics which were in Hindu and Frontline.
Less questions of this format.	Question with interlinking between two syllabus topics Example Influence of Lenin’s Policy (1921) on Indian policies after independence. (World History’s communism + Post Independent India) Harappa and Present day urbanization (Culture + Urbanization) Green revolution bypassed Eastern region (Agro-location + Post-Independence) India’s place in African resources (Geography + Diplomacy)
Globalization topic asked	Not asked.
Geography 70 marks.	Both marks and difficulty level increased further. e.g. British tea planters, thousand islands in Indonesia etc. But at the same time, some straight forward questions like El-Nino, Ocean resources etc.
sociology vague (increase male membership in women organization)	Slightly less vague because there is ample opportunities to ‘invent’ answers in joint family-economic factors, patriarchy and working women.

Anyways, let’s check the paper:

Instructions for General Studies Paper1

There are TWENTY-FIVE (25) questions printed both in HINDI and ENGLISH.
All the questions are compulsory.
The number of marks carried by a question/part is indicated against it.
Answers must be written in the medium authorized in the Admission Certificate which must be stated clearly on the cover of this Question-cum-Answer (QCA) Booklet in the space provided. No marks will be given for answers written in a medium other than the authorized one.
Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to.
Any page or portion of the page left blank in the answer book must be clearly struck off.
Answer the questions in NOT MORE THAN 150 words each. Contents of the answer is more important than its length. All questions carry equal marks.

Culture (40m)

Syllabus Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

To what extent has the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization provided inputs to the present day urbanization? Discuss.
Gandhara sculpture owed as much to the Romans as to the Greeks. Explain.
Taxila university was one of the oldest universities of the world with which were associated a number of renowned learned personalities of different disciplines. Its strategic location caused its fame to flourish, but unlike Nalanda, it is not considered as a university in the modern sense. Discuss.
Sufis and medieval mystic saints failed to modify either the religious ideas and practices or the outward structure of Hindu / Muslim societies to any appreciable extent. Comment.

Indian History (30m)

The third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761. Why were so many empire-shaking battles fought at Panipat?
Examine critically the various facets of economic policies of the British in India from mid-eighteenth century till independence.
In what ways did the naval mutiny prove to be the last nail in the coffin of British colonial aspirations in India?

World History (30m)

Syllabus Topic: History of the world will include events from 18^th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.- their forms and effect on the society.

What were the major political, economic and social developments in the world which motivated the anti-colonial struggle in India?
What were the events that led to the Suez Crisis in 1956? How did it deal a final blow to Britain’s self-image as a world power?
The New Economic Policy – 1921 of Lenin had influenced the policies adopted by India soon after independence. Evaluate.

Social issues (50m)

Role Of Women	How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle class working woman in India?
Population Issues	Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women? Give your arguments.
Population Issues	The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss.
Role Of Women / Poverty-Development	Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India.
Secularism	How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West?

Geography (100m)

Industrial Location (30m)

Whereas the British planters had developed tea gardens all along the Shivaliks and Lesser Himalayas from Assam to Himachal Pradesh, in effect they did not succeed beyond the Darjeeling area. Explain.
Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world.
Why did the Green Revolution in India virtually by-pass the eastern region despite fertile soil and good availability of water?

Physical Geography (20m)

Explain the formation of thousands of islands in Indonesian and Philippines archipelagos.
Why are the world’s fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents? Bring out the association between the global distribution of Fold Mountains and the earthquakes and volcanoes.

Climatology (30m)

Tropical cyclones are largely confined to South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mexico. Why?
Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree?
Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the Indian sub-continent.

Resource distribution (20m)

Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis in the world.
How does India see its place in the economic space of rising natural resource rich Africa?