VISION IAS

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Approach Answer: General Studies Mains Mock Test 698 (2015)
Answer all the questions in NOT MORE THAN 150 WORDS each. Contents of the answer are more important
than its length. All questions carry equal marks.
10X25=250
1.

A new style of architecture, entirely different in character from Muslim architecture in other countries,
gradually evolved, incorporating the best of both Hindu and Muslim styles. Discuss the above
statement in the context of Indo-Islamic style of architecture.

Approach:
The answer is required to identify the main features and characteristics of Indo-Islamic Architecture. The
emphasis must be on the evolution of the stylistic differentiation of architecture of Indo-Islamic
monuments across the empires and how it was a unique harmonious blend of both Hindu and Muslim
styles. To structure it further, it can be sub divided into earlier Islamic rule and Mughal Period apart from
provincial styles. Provide reference to few important monuments also.
Answer:
The development of Muslim Style of Architecture of this period can be called the Indo-Islamic
Architecture or the Indian Architecture influenced by Islamic Art.
Characteristics of Indo-Islamic architecture

The main elements in the Islamic architecture is the arcuate style of constructions- introduction of
arches and beams while the traditional Indian building style is trabeate- using pillars and beams and
lintels.
Among the architectural features introduced by them mention may be made of arches, domes, tall
towers(minars) and minarets, squinch arch, half domed double portals, kiosks (chhatris).
They also introduced gilding and painting in varied colours and designs. Muslim decorative elements
are usually of the nature of embroidery. Apart from this they also introduced decorative brackets
and balconies.
One of the major aspect of distinction was the emphasis on decoration. While Hindus as part of their
religious faith decorated sculptures and paintings, Islam forbidden to replicate living forms on any
surface, developed their religious art and architecture consisting of the arts of arabesque,
geometrical patterns and calligraphy on plaster and stone.
The Muslims, like the Romans, were also responsible for making extensive use of concrete and lime
mortar as an important factor of construction and incidentally used lime as plaster and a base for
decoration.
Muslim added the inlay decoration and use of coloured marble, painted plaster and brilliantly glazed
tiles. A variety of stones were used such as quartzite, sandstone. In some cases, the Polychrome tiles
were used to finish the walls.
From the seventeenth century onward, bricks were also used for construction and these imparted
greater flexibility to the structures. In this phase there was more reliance on local materials.

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In spite of the Saracenic, Arabic, Persian and Turkish influences, Indo-Islamic structures were heavily
influenced by prevailing sensibilities of Indian architectural and decorative forms.
1. Influence of Hindu style: It must be emphasized that the development of the Indo-Islamic
architecture was greatly facilitated by the knowledge and skill possessed by the Indian craftsmen,
who had mastered the art of stonework for centuries and used their experience while constructing
Islamic monuments in India. The Muslims borrowed the design of kalash on the top of the Hindu
temple by placing a dome on the top of their buildings. Infact kiosks (chhatris) is a borrowing from
Rajput school of architecture.
2. Provincial Style: Amongst provincial styles, the architecture of Bengal and Jaunpur is regarded as
distinct, while the style of Gujarat was marked with borrowed elements from regional temple
traditions such as toranas, lintels in mihrabs, carvings of bell and chain motifs, and carved panels
depicting trees, for tombs, mosques and dargahs.3. Under the Mughal, Akbar was keenly interested in art and architecture and his architecture is
regarded as blend of the Hindu and Islamic modes of construction ornamentation. This reached its
culmination during the reign of Shah Jahan which is called the Golden Age of Indo-Islamic
architecture. The Mughals are also credited to have introduced the double dome system of dome
architecture and the pietra-dura style of inlay decorations.
4. Tomb Architecture: To the general tomb architecture, the Mughals added a new dimension by
introducing gardens all around the tomb. The Mughal tombs are generally placed at the centre of a
huge garden complex, the latter being sub-divided into square compartments, the style is known as
char-bagh. The most famous example of tomb in India is the Taj Mahal.

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The Mughal paintings represent an assimilation of Indian, Persian and European elements. Elucidate.

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The answer must trace the development in painting under Mughals with emphasis on prominent
changes in terms of characteristics and influence of the varied elements. Trace the changes from early
Mughal rulers and Persian influence to the phase of Indian elements during Akbar to gradual emergence
of European influence in a brief, structured manner largely in terms of style and techniques.

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The sixteenth century, especially the second half, marks a watershed in the development of the art of
painting in India. Later, in the eighteenth century, the patronage to paintings shifted from the Mughal
court to regional kingdoms such as Rajasthan and Punjab.

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There are several important features of the Mughal School, which seem to have originated in the
paintings done during Humayuns period. An important painting from Humayuns period is titled Princes
of the House of Timur, which is executed on cloth and is suggested to be related to Mongol tradition.

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It was due to the deep interest, which Akbar took in promotion of painting, that led to emergence of a
distinct Mughal School of painting. In his reign, artists belonged to different class composition, but
majority among them were Hindus. Interestingly, several low caste people, primarily due to their artistic
skill, were also raised to the status of royal artist. The case of Daswant may be especially cited.
Notably in these paintings, there is evident a gradual evolution in the style and technique, as the early
phase was clearly influenced by Persian tradition which included:

Symmetrical compositions
Restricted movement of figures
Fineness of the lines of drawings
Flat depiction of architectural columns.

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Later, the paintings assumed wide-ranging character composed mainly of the Persian and Indian
traditions with touches of European influence.

Naturalism and rhythm

Clothing objects of daily use assuming Indian forms
Picture space having subsidiary scenes set in background
Extraordinary action and violent movements.

Painting under Akbars period distinguished itself as a tradition from Persian painting as well as from
Indian styles by presence of historical subject matter. The two most commonly used themes are daily
events of the court and portraits of leading personalities.
During the period of Jahangir and Shahjahan, Mughal painting reached its zenith. Jahangirs preference
was of paintings of hunting scenes, birds and flowers. He also continued the tradition of portraiture. His
paintings seem to make more prominent a formalist style i.e. making the work realistic. The paintings of
this period have broad margins, which are decorated with the depiction of flora and faces of human
figures.
Under ShahJahan, the colour of the paintings became more decorative and gold was more frequently
used for decoration. In addition, paintings depicting portraits of female members and superimposition of
animals was also found.

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Aurangzeb ignored art in his regime but painting did not stop altogether. There exist few pictures of the
emperor himself during his campaigns. Paintings are more formal. By this time, many of the painters had
begun migrating to provincial courts.

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Indian Dancing has changed little with the centuries, and till date the art form is practiced according to
the rules of the Bharata Natyasastra. Discuss.

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In its later phases, especially during 17th century, the Mughal painting was influenced by the
European art.
A large number of European paintings were either copied or adapted or even reinterpreted,
sometimes by Mughal Painters.
At the same time many original prints from Europe were collected and preserved in the reign of
Jahangir, and Dara Shikoh.
One important feature of European impact that becomes noticeable in some Mughal Painting is
the attempt to make them three-dimensional.
Another influence was the effect of light and shade mostly utilized in fight scenes.

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European Impact on Mughal Painting:

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The Answers should discuss how the dance form grew in past few centuries and the main focus term is
Bharatas Natyasastra. One should discuss about the term and why it is said that they have not changed
much. The Answer should mainly discuss the various RULES followed till date in natya sastra.
Answer:

Bharatas Natya sastra is an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts encompassing theatre,
dance and music. It educates the spectator in observing correct behaviour while watching a
performance. It deals with the theory of Rasa.
Dancing {nrtya) is closely connected with acting (natya), both are forms of the same word, the latter
being a Prakritism, and both are aspects of a single art, abhinaya.

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Business groups in colonial India were guided by a pragmatic approach to issues and this explained
why they maintained a policy of equidistance from both the government and the Congress. Discuss.

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The abhinaya or rasa is the portrayal of the eight emotions like love, courage, loathing, anger, mirth,
terror, pity and surprise.
The drama employed chiefly word and gesture, the dance chiefly music and gesture. In India the
drama, developed from ritual miming, song and dance. Indian dancing is not a thing of legs and arms
alone, but of the whole body.
Every movement of the little finger or the eyebrow is significant, and must be fully controlled. The
poses and gestures are classified in detail, even as early as the Bharata Natya sastra, which mentions
thirteen postures of the head, thirty-six of the eyes, nine of the neck, thirty-seven of the hand, and
ten of die body.
Later texts classify many more poses and gestures, every one of which depicts a specific emotion or
object. With so many possible combinations the dancer can tell a whole story, easily comprehensible
to the observer who knows the convention.
The most striking feature of the Indian dance is undoubtedly the hand-gesture (mudra). By a
beautiful and complicated code, the hand alone is capable of portraying not only a wide range of
emotions, but gods, animals, men, natural scenery, actions and so on.
Some hundreds of mudras are classified in later textbooks, and they are used not only in the dance,
but, as we have seen, in religious worship and iconography.
The highly developed dance style demanded years of training, and was probably always chiefly
performed by professionals, though there are references in literature to princes and their ladies
dancing their palaces.
Dancing has changed little with the century and the best modem Indian dancers, such as Uday
Shankar and Gopal, still dance according to the rules of the Bharata Natyasastra.

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The answer should begin by explaining the statement and then discuss the reasons responsible for
such a policy of the business groups.
Give examples which demonstrate the pragmatic approach of business groups to various issues.
Conclude suitably.

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The dependence of the business groups on the colonial government dictated that they adopt a
pragmatic approach of combining pressure and compromise. Many of them were dependent on
government orders for their products while all of them were dependent on it for favourable
industrial and trade policies
At the same time, they recognised the inherent conflict that existed between their interests and the
interests of a colonial government, guided by the interests of British capital. They realised that a
government of Indians would serve them better in the long run but the prevailing circumstances
recommended a pragmatic issue-based approach
Business groups preferred the mode of constitutional agitation and pressure group politics. They
wanted a nationalist movement led by right-wing moderates rather than left-wing radicals and tradeunionists
Many sections of merchants and entrepreneurs leaned towards Gandhi because of his emphasis on
non-violence - which they saw as a defence against political radicalism - and his trusteeship theory which legitimised wealth
The pragmatism of business groups was evident from their general aversion to various mass
movements organised by the Congress but their engagement with it on various issues concerning
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Answer:

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5.

For instance, business groups maintained their distance from the Non-cooperation movement (NCM)
in 1920-21 but they readily co-operated with the Swarajists in the legislature after the dissolution of
the NCM. Similarly, industrialists did not whole-heartedly support the Civil Disobedience Movement
(CDM) but they cooperated with Congress in the framing of Gandhis 11 point ultimatum to Lord
Irwin, which included three specific capitalist demands
The Bombay Manifesto of 1936, signed by 21 Bombay businessmen, openly criticised Nehrus
socialist ideals but later under changed circumstances, many of the same businessmen formulated
the Bombay Plan, which endorsed Nehrus socialism
However, in conclusion it should be said that business groups were not a homogenous group. There
were numerous differences between them. Some of them, especially the smaller traders, were
fervent Congress supporters while many of the bigger industrialists were staunch loyalists, but on the
whole, business groups in India tried to maintain an equilibrium with both sides.

The Treaty of Bassein proved to be a watershed event in the history of British supremacy in India.
Explain.

Approach:
Briefly mentioning the circumstances of signing the treaty and its nature i.e. subsidiary alliance, dwell
upon its major provisions by linking them as to how it aided the Britishers to establish their supremacy in
India in due course of time. Compare the position of Britishers in pre and post era of signing of the treaty.
Then conclude the answer by mentioning how it required more than a treaty to conquer whole of India.

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For the Britishers it was the most crucial step in the series of signing Subsidiary Alliance as ,prior to
1802, the Company had signed the Subsidiary Alliance with Bengal,Awadh and Hyderabad states but
Marathas ( Peshwa, Scindias, Holkars) were still a power to reckon with in Western and Central
India as well as they proved to be more powerful than the other States.
Also, the signing of Treaty of Bassein was an imperative condition for the Britishers in order to
emerge as a supreme power , ruling whole of India without the interference of French power.

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The Treaty of Bassein was essentially a Subsidiary Alliance signed between the Britishers and Peshwa,
BajiRao II. The system of Subsidiary Alliance was used by Wellesley to bring Indian States within the
ambit of British political power as it disarmed & threw British protectorate over Indian States in the form
of Resident being permanently stationed there.

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The Treaty provided a strategic, psycholological, economical and political gain to the company due to
the following reasons:-

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a. British troops at the expense of Peshwa were stationed at Poona, gave greater strategic
importance to the Britishers as the Company now could interfere in the Maratha affairs directly
& its Rulers .
b. Under the provisions of treaty, Peshwas foreign policy was in the hands of the Company ,
which made Poona party to each & every war with which Britishers were involved, aiding in
consolidating their supremacy over India by providing in return a large army & men to fight any
war for the Britishers.
c. Also, non-British Europeans were expelled and were not allowed employment under Peshwathis had political implications for the Britishers as it made them the sole arbitrator in Maratha
affairs.
d. Peshwa also agreed to cede in perpetuity to the Company Territories like some in Gujarat
including Surat, territories yeilding an income of 26 lakhs etc which was used for financing the
campaigns of Britishers in India.

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Thus, after signing of the Treaty of Bassein by the Peshwa, the options for other Maratha chiefs were
curtailed, which later led to 2nd Anglo- Maratha war and paved way for British supremacy in the
whole West and Central India.
In the long run, Peshwa too realised the mistakes of the Subsidiary Treaty and revolted in 1817 but
faced defeat at the hands of the Britishers and was pensioned off.

However, even though, by entering into the Treaty with the Peshwa, head of Maratha confederacy, gave
prestige to the Britishers. But to draw practical advantage from the treaty, the English had to fight wars
against the Marathas, which required more than a treaty to defeat the trained armies of Scindhia and
Holkar.

6.

"The introduction of printing press in India was an event of revolutionary significance in the life of
Indian people." In this context, discuss the contribution of press in the Indian national movement.

Approach:
Mention important Newspapers during the Indian National Movement and explain how they made an
impact during the Indian National Movement.
NOTE: There are many regional and National newspapers that played an important role in the Indian
National Movement. These can be mentioned, but how the Paper/Magazine/Journal brought a change in
the minds of the people should be discussed in detail.

Answer:

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The Press was a powerful factor in building and developing Indian nationalism and nationalist
movement encompassing social, cultural, political and economic spheres.
It was a weapon, in the hands of the nationalist groups, to popularize political programmes, policies,
and methods of struggle, and to form organizations.
Press made possible exchange of views among different social groups
The Press also played an important role in the growth of provincial literatures and cultures
It also helped to organize propaganda against such inhuman institutions as untouchability.

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There is not a single province in India, which did not produce a journal or newspaper to uphold the cause
of the freedom struggle. The following can be cited as the contribution of the Press during the Indian
National Movement:

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The history of Indian nationalism proves that the freedom of the Press in India suffered a proportional
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During 1st War of Indian Independence

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At the time of the first war of independence, any number of papers was in operation in the country. In
1857 itself that Payam-e-Azadi started publication in Hindi and Urdu, calling upon the people to fight
against the British. The paper was soon confiscated and anyone found with a copy of the paper was
prosecuted for sedition
Notable Role of Papers
Patriot established in 1853, by Grish Chandra Ghosh, it became popular under Harish Chandra
Mukherjee. In 1861 a play, "Neel Darpan" was published and launched a movement against the British,
urging the people to stop cultivating the Indigo crop for the white traders. This resulted in the formation
of a Neel Commission.
Amrita Bazar Patrika which was being published from Jessore, was critical of the government, with the
result that its proprietors faced trial and conviction

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Tilak's Kesari became one of the leading media to propagate the message of freedom movement. It also
made the anti-partition movement of Bengal a national issue. In 1908, Tilak opposed the Sedition
ordinance.
Press and the First Session of Congress
The first ever resolution at this Session was proposed by the editor of The Hindu, G. Subramanya Iyer. In
this resolution, it was demanded that the government should appoint a committee to enquire into the
functioning of Indian administration.
During his stay in South Africa, Gandhiji had brought outIndian Opinion and after settling in India, he
started the publication of Young India; Subash Chandra Bose and C.R. Das were not journalists but they
acquired the papers like Forward and Advance which later attained national status.
Revolutionary Movement and the Press
When the Ghadar party was organised in Amenca, Lala Hardayal started publication of the journal
'Ghadar'. Within one year, millions of copies of this journal were published. After Yugantar, it
was Vandematram that played a significant role in the freedom struggle.

7.

The Swadeshi Movement of 1905 not only laid the foundation of Gandhian techniques of protest but
also used other innovative methods. Elaborate.

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Simply enumerate the techniques used during the Swadeshi movement and highlight how they formed
the basis of Gandhian mode of struggle. Further, the students should list the other new methods
espoused during this movement.

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The Swadeshi Movement, which had its genesis in the anti-partition movement of Bengal, saw a shift
from the old moderate methods of prayer and petition to that of passive resistance and noncooperation. While laying a foundation of Gandhian techniques like boycott of foreign goods, emphasis
on self-reliance or atma-shakti, swadeshi education and swadeshi enterprise, it also developed other
innovative methods including:
Using traditional melas, festivals and congregations to spread political message to the masses. This
technique was largely used by Tilak who used the Shivaji and the Ganapati festival to propagate the
cause of the Swadeshi movement. Further it was for the first time that people participated in huge
number, which was further seen in mass movements lead by Mahatma Gandhi.
Creation of volunteer corps or samitis which created mass mobilization by reaching out to interior
villages. They used magic lantern lectures and swadeshi songs and also gave physical and moral
training to their members. They were used not only for spreading political awareness but also
performing social work
Organizing of public meetings and processions at district, taluqa and village levels as well as cities
and towns
Using traditional folk theatre or jatras to spread the message of Swadeshi to vast sections of people.
Further, people tied rakhis on each others hand as a symbol of unity of the two halves of Bengal.
From conservative moderation to political extremism, from terrorism to incipient socialism, from
petitioning and public speeches to passive resistance and boycott, all these major political trends had
their origin in the Swadeshi Movement. Though the movement was not able to successfully put into
practice the techniques it evolved, the later national movement drew heavily from them.

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8.

Comparisons of the Fascist regime of Italy with the Nationalist Socialist regime of Germany is almost
inevitable. The similarities are obvious, but there are differences which are worth mentioning.
Comment.

Approach:
After introduction, the first part of the answer must explain how similar were the two aforementioned
ideologies and regimes in the exercise of power and extreme form of nationalism; in brief the specific
circumstances of the rise of both the power and the forms and methods. The second part should outline
differences in the ideology and application. Focus should be more on differences as the question already
says that similarities are obvious.
Answer:
Fascism as a rightist extreme national ideology took root in Italy and few years later in Germany, Hitler
followed his own brand of Fascism, which was more ruthless, is known as Nazism. Both Fascism and
Nazism, focused on Extreme form of Nationalism for rebirth of a nation. They represented right wing
ideology and represented an over-centralised form of administration and government. Similarities of
Fascism and Nazism include: Both were intensely anticommunist and because of this drew support from
capitalist class.

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Both believed in and practiced Totalitarian regime where state controlled all aspect of life of people,
so that personal freedom is limited.
Economically both believe in economic self-sufficiency of country.
Both reject class struggle and preach, even force the unity among all classes to achieve national goals.
Both emphasised on supremacy of state, no voice of dissent was tolerable.
The Leader is considered to be infallible; his every command had to be followed.
Both pursued aggressive foreign policy in order to distract attention from domestic problems.
Both believed in inevitability of war to make a nation great and powerful.

Racism was the most prominent difference between Nazism and Fascism. Towards the Jews Nazis
followed the policy of cleansing, which resulted in death of millions of Jews. Nazi believed in the
supremacy of Aryan race. Italian also adopted a racial policy but it was rather late in 1938 and not as
ruthlessly as Nazis did.
Nazism spread much more deeply and widely in Germany than Fascism in Italy.
The Nazi system was more efficient and successful with respect to the goal of economic selfsufficiency and Hitler was able to eliminate unemployment. In contrast, unemployment increased in
Fascist Italy and thus failed to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Nazis were more brutal in their oppression and violated the human rights to a much greater extent.
Organisation of Nazis was strong. Hitler kept the party strong but Mussolini kept party organisation
weak to maintain his influence.
Mussolini was more successful in his policy towards church. He was able to reach an agreement with
the pope in 1929.
Constitutional positions of Hitler and Mussolini were different. In Italy, the monarchy had continued
to exist and the king played an important role in the end of Mussolinis rule by ordering his dismissal
in 1943. In contrast, there was no authority above Hitler in Germany to constitutionally dismiss or
arrest him.

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Differences: In terms of policy and principle, Nazism may be considered as more organised ideology
which espoused distinct policies which can be considered extreme and repressive over Fascism. Some of
the prominent differences include the following:

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9.

Continental system of Napoleon was his single biggest blunder, which eventually led to his downfall.
Examine.

Approach:

First part of answer should describe the continental system and its purpose.
Second part should deal with its implementation and problems it generated for Napoleon and how it
contributed to his downfall.
Third part should mention other reasons which eventually led to his downfall.
Conclude by pointing out that all these factors were not standalone events but eventually reinforced
each other and led to his downfall.

Answer:
Continental system was a kind of economic war against Britain waged by Napoleon. He planned to
prohibit the British ships and goods at European ports. In Berlin declaration (1806), he announced that
ships of Britain and its friends cannot be anchored at any port of France and its friendly nations. It had
two objectives:

To put an end to the economic empire of Britain,

To gain a big market for French industrial goods.

The said system proved to be a disaster for Napoleon. The implementation of this system did not
produce desired results for Napoleon because:

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France did not had a powerful navy which was capable enough to implement the system effectively
all over the European continent.
Britain, with the help of its powerful navy, also retaliated by creating the blockade for French ships,
which was rather successful.
French industries were not able to fulfil the demand of entire Europe, so shortage of goods became a
problem.
Smuggling of British goods also started, which rendered the system ineffective.

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Shortage of goods fuelled the unrest against the Napoleon, leading to a sharp decline in his
popularity.
For effective implementation of said policy, it was imperative to get Portugal and Spain under
control. Napoleon on this pretext, get himself trapped in a difficult war situation in Spain, which
proved to be the beginning of his downfall.
It was one of the reasons which led him to declare war on Moscow, as Russia had distanced itself
formally from continental system in 1810, which further proved to be a disaster for him.

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This failure created a lot of problems for Napoleon, for instance:

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Due to the above reasons, it is often said that continental system was the biggest fall of Napoleon. But
there were many other reasons, which ended Napoleons tenure as the de facto dictator of Europe;
which include:
Overturning of the principals of French revolution;
His oppressive behaviour towards other rulers of Europe, which led them to unite against him;
Europe had also overtaken France on ideological ground as was evident from Spanish nationalism
etc.

This above stated reasons along with the continental system led to demise of Napoleon. But other
reasons were manageable had the implementation of continental system not drawn all his energy.
Therefore it can be concluded that Continental System was the biggest possible blunder that Napoleon
had made.

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10.

Many post-communist states took the recourse to Shock Therapy after the collapse of USSR. What do
you understand by Shock Therapy? Critically evaluate its impact on these states.

Approach:
Briefly write about the collapse of USSR and attempt of resulting nations at transition from communist
regime to free market economies. Mention about shock therapy in this regard and discuss its features.
Then discuss how this therapy proved detrimental rather than beneficial to the new states.
Answer:
The collapse of communist regime of USSR resulted in creation of new nations. It resulted from the
failure of communist regime to develop a strong economy and stable political system. Also, the large size
of USSR was a reason for much dysfunctionality that emerged in the Soviet Republics. As a result the
solution appeared to be the alternative model of capitalism and free market. The model of transition in
these countries from a socialist authoritarian system to a democratic capitalist system under the
influence of World Bank and IMF came to be known as Shock Therapy. It varied in speed and intensity
but had similar features and direction.

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1. Each country was required to shift totally to capitalist system with complete privatization of state
assets and collective farms.
2. Countries were required to open their economies. They were to follow a Fee Trade Regime and allow
Foreign Direct Investment. It also involved deregulating the economy and a free floating currency.
3. Existing trade alliances of these countries with each other were disallowed. Each state was now to
trade only with west. Thus their economies were to be integrated with West.

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These measures resulted in unexpected results and rather than boosting the economies, the economies
further nosedived. Some results are as follows:

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1. The industries of these countries collapsed. Government held Public sectors were greatly
undervalued and sold to general public. Since, public did not have money to buy, they eventually
went into the hands of mafia. This was called the largest garage sale in history. It led to the rise of
oligarchy in these countries.
2. The value of currency declined sharply. The rate of inflation was so high in Russia that people lost all
their savings and about 1500 banks and financial institutes became bankrupt.
3. The collective farm system disintegrated, generating a food crisis.
4. The old system of social welfare was destroyed and subsidies withdrawn throwing many into poverty
and joblessness. It also resulted in emigration on large scale.
5. The construction of democratic institutions was not given attention as was given on restructuring
economies. It resulted in coming of autocratic regimes in many of these countries.

Globalization will end up making all cultures of the world homogeneous. Critically examine the
statement taking examples from socio-cultural and economic life of India.

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Thus, hardly any positive benefits could be derived by these countries from the Shock Therapy. It
resulted in continuous decline of their economies. These economies finally began to revive in 2000s
when they adopted an independent economic path without the interference of the Western countries.

Approach:
The question wants to elicit an understanding of multiple responses of globalization from
homogenization/standardization to Hybridization/Globalization.

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Introduce the answer by discussing the process of globalization and how it aids in spreading
cultural uniformity or homogeneity.
Then discuss specifically how this process has elicited multiple responses i.e. i) Homogenization
ii) Glocalization iii) Spreading of Indian culture in the West.
In the end also discuss briefly that how Globalization has negatively impacted Indian culture.(
because the question is critically examine) and then conclude the answer.

Answer:
Due to economic liberalization and globalization, the world has become a global village. As social
relations expand globally through the creation of global networks and communities, as technologies of
communication and transportation make a wide range of standardized products available to global
audiences, societies become more homogenous, more alike.
Cultural homogeneity due to globalization in India can be seen at 2 levels:
Socio-cultural level: Certain common values of Globalization like modernization, promotion of
democracy, promotion of English, food habits (macdonaldization, pizza culture) consumerism
(mall culture, inroads of various international brands in India ) etc. have led to the uniformity and
imposed American culture and way of life everywhere. Use of English as a global language has
been rapidly increasing Many Indian restaurants are keeping cuisines belong to different parts of
the world.

ii.

Economic level: The spread of MNCs, corporate culture has made inroads in the economic life
and work culture in India. The opportunities opened up by the information technology revolution
has created in the metropolitan cities in India class of upwardly mobile professionals working in
software firms, multinational banks, stock markets, and other allied fields.

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Globalization has not only led to imposing of Western and modern ideas in India but also led to
Glocalization (refers to the mixing of the global with the local). In India, we find that all the foreign
television channels like Star, MTV, Channel V and Cartoon Network use Indian languages. Even McDonald
sells only vegetarian and chicken products in India and not its beef products, which are popular abroad.
McDonalds goes vegetarian during the Navaratri festival. In the field of music, one can see the growth of
popularity of Bhangra pop, Indi pop, fusion music and even remixes. Many English movies being
dubbed in Hindi to increase the marketability and to cater to large number of audiences.

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Also, due to the process of Globalization ,there has been an impulse towards understanding the local
cultures and preserving them which help in spreading Indian culture in the West. Global tourism is
spurring cultural revival as well as homogeneity in response to touristic demands, and also helping in
preserving diversity. Indians spiritual and cultural power like YOGA, AYURVEDA, Meditation, spirituality,
etc. has spread and become global.eg. Sri Sri Ravishankar, Ramdev have become global-gurus and are
aiding in exchange of spiritual ideas, naturopathy, yoga, etc. which are increasingly becoming popular
and are also being adapted by the people all across the world.

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However, the Indian society and its culture is drastically changing as a result of globalization due to
following reasons-Contemporary changes are taking place like from Joint families , more number of
nuclear families are becoming a norm ; youth are increasingly becoming westernized and consumerist in
their thinking , clash of values among the elders leading to generation-gap; many marriages are
breaking up for many reasons like modern lifestyles, professional ambitions and unrealistic expectations ;
TV channels or Mass Media, Internet , FTV MTV culture etc. have often been accused of leading to
cultural degeneration of Indian society esp. among youths.
Thus, despite the negative fallouts of globalization on Indian culture, we can say that culture cannot be
seen as an unchanging fixed entity that can either collapse or remain the same when faced with social
change. What is more likely even today is that globalisation will lead to the creation of not just new local
traditions but global ones too.

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12.

Language was an issue that once threatened to destroy the unity of India. But India dealt with it in an
exemplary fashion, which her neighbours could not emulate and consequently suffered. Comment.

Approach:

First part of answer should discuss in brief how the problem of linguistic organization and issue of
official language threatened unity of India.
Second part should outline how India dealt with these issues.
Third part should discuss Pakistan and Sri Lankas failure in dealing with language issue vis-a-vis India.

Answer:
India, at its infant stage had to deal with the sensitive issue of language in two major forms: first was the
dispute over the official language of union and second was the linguistic reorganization of the states. It
tried to find a solution to the above problem honestly and amicably and even succeeded to great extent.
The first issue was of official language, which created an environment of acrimony between Hindi and
non-Hindi speaking areas. While the case for Hindi basically rested on the fact that it was the language of
the largest number, though not of the majority, of the people of India. The non-hindi speaking areas
feared that Hindis adoption as the official language would place non-Hindi areas, especially South India,
at a disadvantage in the educational and economic spheres, and particularly in competition for
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The issue was dealt by making Hindi language in devanagari script along with international numerals as
the official language of the Union but a timeframe of 15 years was also offered toa shift from English to
Hindi. In 1963, Official language Act was passed for continuation of English even after 1965 (last year of
15 year time frame). Later an amendment was made in this act which provided that English could be
used as an associate language in addition to hindi for official work at the centre and for communication
between the centre and the states as long as the states wanted it to be, giving them full veto powers
over the question of official language and settling the issue. Further, many other languages were given
constitutional status by including them in 8th schedule of the Constitution.

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The second issue was of linguistic reorganization of states, a demand which the post independent
leadership felt would considerably threaten the unity and integrity of the nation. The JVP committee
appointed to examine the question, was of the view that creation of linguistic states should be avoided
for the time being, emphasizing on unity, national security and economic development as the needs of
the hour. However the violent agitation after the death of Gandhian Potti Sriramalu initiated a process of
language based states, leading to the appointment of a states reorganization commission, which finally
suggested creation of 14 states and 6 CATs. Later Maharashtra also divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra;
and Punjab and Haryana were also bifurcated on linguistic basis.

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Hence India established itself strongly as a multilingual nation where a number of language enjoyed
constitutional status and linguistic states which were thought to be divisive force helping to cement
Indias integrity and unity. When this scenario is compared with that of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the
contrast becomes imminent and clear

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While Pakistan tried to impose Urdu upon Bengali people of East Pakistan, as a consequence of which it
had to face a violent revolution resulting in bifurcation of the state into East and West Pakistan. Similarly
Sri Lanka tried to impose Sinhalese language and culture upon the northerners who are Tamil and
witnessed violent clashes. It had to encounter a long civil war and even after the end of war it is finding it
difficult to normalize situation; i.e. India could be applauded for the manner in which it dealt with the
sensitive question of language with utmost care while other nations who were not able to resolve the
conflict suffered and had to pay a price.

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13.

The framing of a uniform civil code is an acid test of Indias commitment to secularism and
modernisation. Critically analyse the statement in the light of post-independent developments in India.

Approach:
The answer should provide a balanced perspective and refrain from making politically incorrect
assertions.

The answer should define what a uniform civil code means and its necessity
It should specify the constitutional basis of uniform civil code and discuss the post-independence
developments in the direction of a uniform civil code and the impediments to it
The answer should discuss the arguments against a uniform civil code
The answer should suitably conclude with a balanced perspective

Answer:

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Indian environmentalism is qualitatively different from western environmentalism. Discuss the

statement in the context of post-independence environmental movements in India.

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A Uniform civil code seeks to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of a
religious community with a common set governing every citizen.
At its core, Uniform Civil Code (UCC) deals with issues of secularism, equality and womens rights.
The secular argument is that the laws of the state should not be religion, caste or community
specific. Further, a modern state should treat all citizens equally and should not discriminate against
women.
In the Constituent Assembly, a UCC was supported by leaders such as Nehru, Ambedkar and women
members but due to stringent opposition from orthodox members, it was included only in the form
of Directive Principles as a compromise.
Later a Hindu Code Bill to provide for a uniform civil code for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists also
met with opposition but was eventually passed in a diluted form through 4 separate acts.
The Muslim Personal Law continued to exist and is considered as discriminatory towards Muslim
women as it permits unilateral divorce and polygamy.
However, the demand to include the Muslim community under a UCC was resisted by Indias leaders
as there was a feeling that partition had left Indian Muslims feeing vulnerable and any tampering
with their traditions at that stage would have made them feel even less secure. Hence, it was
decided to delay such a move to a more apt time.
However, the controversial case of Shah Bano once again led to demands for a UCC.
At the same time, there is another perspective that the state should not unilaterally change
personal laws, based on religion. Support for such changes should come from the community itself.
For instance, the demand for uniform personal laws for all Hindus was the result of a vigorous socialreform movement among them. Despite opposition from some orthodox sections, there was
widespread support for such a move. On the other hand, such a demand did not emanate from the
Muslim community.
Hence, in conclusion a UCC is a worthy goal to seek but it should be arrived at through a process of
debate and consensus and not through top-down law making.

The answer should compare Indian environmental movements with western environmental movements
and bring out their similarities/differences on the basis of:

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The kind of environmental issues that are raised

The social base of the movements
The driving motives of the participants
The organisational structure of these movements
Ideological and cultural values, etc.

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Answer:

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Discuss the problems faced by workers in the informal sector in India. What steps have been taken by
the government to improve the condition of workers in the informal sector?

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The environmental movement in India started in the early 1970s. Major environmental movements
in independent India include Chipko, Appiko and the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
Though having some basic similarities, western and Indian environmentalism are qualitatively
different.
Both western and Indian environmentalism have raised issues such as protection of forests
(Chipko/Appiko), compensation for industrial pollution and disasters (Bhopal Gas Leak) and banning
of nuclear energy (Kudankulam).
Also, both types of movements typically employ peaceful form of protests such as picketing,
marches, sit-ins and various forms of civil disobedience.
However, the concern for nature is couched in aesthetic terms in the west. Nature is associated with
a certain quality of life that all human beings deserve to enjoy. In India, the protection of nature is
portrayed as essential to the survival of the communities involved. For e.g. the Chipko movement
sought to protect the local peoples right to the benefits of the forest and especially the right to
fodder.
The social base of the environmental movements also varies. In the west, it is mostly led and
constituted by the middle class, especially the new middle class of professionals while Indian
environmentalism is referred to as the environmentalism of the poor. The poor in India constitute a
majority of the protesters in the various environmental movements.
Many western environmental organisations have attained a degree of formalisation and
bureaucratisation and they constitute a mature environmental sector. These organisations are
staffed by paid volunteers, experts, lawyers and scientists. These organisations such as Greenpeace
bring out research reports, lobby with policymakers and lend their voice to the environmental
concerns of local communities. In India, on the other hand there are fewer formal/bureaucratic
environmental organisations and the existing ones are of a much smaller size. Also, unlike the west,
the vast majority of environmental protests are initiated by local people generally in participation
with local bodies and NGOs.
Finally, Indian cultural and religious values, especially the animistic aspects of Hindu and tribal
religions, provide a spiritual basis to Indian environmentalism which is not found in the materialistic
values of western religions.
Hence, though they share some common concerns and modes of protest, Indian environmentalism
and western environmentalism vary in terms of social base, motives, values, etc.

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Approach:
Answer can be written in two parts:
Identify the problems faced by workers in informal sector.
Enlist the steps taken by government to address the problems of workers in informal sector.

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Informal/unorganized sector has a predominant place in the Indian economy in terms of its contribution
to the GDP and employment. Nearly 80 per cent workers in the rural areas and 70 per cent in the urban
areas are engaged in the informal sector.

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The employees in the unorganised sector, despite comprising a majority of the working class in
the country, mostly remain in low-paid insecure jobs on account of low productivity compared to
formal sector.
Poor working conditions and disregard for minimum standard at workplace leads to diseases,
morbidity and fatalities.

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Excessive seasonality of employment in sector hampers livelihood of the workers and their
families. Labourer working in agriculture and non-agriculture sector equally face this problem.
Poor human capital base (in terms of education, skill and training) as well as lower mobilization
status of the work force leads to exploitation. Problem of bonded labour and forced labour is
common because of lack of awareness.
Absence of social security measures puts serious pressure on workers and their families in case
of morbidity or death of the breadwinner. Lack of access to institutionalized social security
makes them most vulnerable to the negative impact of economic slowdowns in terms of job loss
and wage cuts.
The domestic workers face problem of non-recognition as workers. The domestic workforce is
excluded from labour laws that look after important employment-related issues such as
conditions of work, wages, social security, provident funds, old age pensions, and maternity
leave.
Working Women face added problem of harassment at work place and sexual exploitation.

Government took series of steps to tackle the problem of workers in informal sector.

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Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Scheme was launched to address excessive seasonality
National Rural Livelihood Mission or Ajeevika works for skill training and credit facilities for the
unemployed and workers in informal sector so that they earn more money.
The Unorganised Sectors social Security Act passed by government provides for constitution of
National Social Security Board at the Central level which shall recommend formulation of social
security schemes viz life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection
and any other benefit as may be determined by the Government for unorganised workers.
National Social Assistance Program along with its three components work for providing pension,
insurance and social security to the workers in informal sector. It was launched in accordance
with objectives of Act
Swashya Bima Yojana launched to provide in-patient health care insurance benefits as would be
designed by the respective State Governments based on the requirement of the people/
geographical area.
Every worker in the unorganised sector may soon be issued a smart card with a unique
identification number for accessing social schemes and benefits. The portable benefits card will
be issued under the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008.
Recently, government launched three ambitious social security schemes related to the insurance
and pension sector and intended at widening the process of financial inclusion. Pradhan Mantri
Suraksha Bima Yojana provides accident and disability cover, the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti
Bima Yojana and the Atal Pension Yojana are the life insurance schemes.

What are the factors responsible for high infant mortality rate in India? Discuss its implications for
Indian women. Suggest steps that have been taken by the government to address this problem.

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In this way government is addressing the problems of workers in informal sector. These measures are key
to the inclusive developmental goals of the Indian government.

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Approach:

Answer can be divided in three parts:

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First discuss the socio-economic and cultural factors that lead to high infant mortality in India
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In few concrete points discuss the implications of the phenomena for women.
Enumerate important steps taken by the government for reducing infant mortality.

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Answer:
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live
births in a given year. According to the 2011 Census report IMR in India stands at 40. India is unlikely to
achieve the targets under the Millennium Developmental Goals. Many research studies conducted so far
have indicated that, besides medico-clinical causes, the SOCIO-ECONOMIC factors are important
determinants in high infant mortality.

Economic Factors- Household income is measure determinant in the facilities that can be availed
during maternity and after birth. Access to healthcare, prenatal care, nutrition, immunization
and information about the care to be taken during pregnancy directly depends on the economic
profile of the family. Rampant poverty and unemployment leads to absence of toilet facilities,
sanitation and hygiene, particularly menstrual hygiene. It directly contributes in higher rates
Social and cultural factors- Girls are married young & pressurized after marriage to conceive
early. Resorting to foeticide to get rid of the girl child still is a common practice. Pregnant women
are not fed adequately due to superstitious belief and a fear of growth of the foetus, lending the
delivery difficult. Immunization of pregnant women is avoided as also the vaccination of the
child. Restrictions on girls in terms of education social roles reduce awareness about standard
health practices leading to higher mortality.

Implications for Women:

Health: Women suffer from mental and physical agony because of high infant mortality. Trauma
of infant death affects the mental health of women. A low or sad mood, loss of interest in fun
activities, changes in appetite, sleep, and energy, feelings of worthlessness, shame, or guilt and
thoughts that life is not worth living are common implications because of infant mortality.
Social: Social stigma attached to infant deaths leads to harassment, domestic violence and falling
prey to superstitions.
Economic: Morbidity and mental illness induced by infant mortality reduces capacity to
participate in economic activity thereby increasing economic hardships for women.

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Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) has been launched on which entitles all pregnant
women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no expense delivery
including Caesarean section. The initiative stipulates free drugs, diagnostics, blood and diet,
besides free transport from home to institution, between facilities in case of a referral and drop
back home. Similar entitlements have been put in place for all sick infants accessing public health
institutions for treatment.
Navjaat Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (NSSK), a programme for training health care providers on
essential newborn care and resuscitation.
Village Health and Nutrition Days in rural areas as an outreach activity, for provision of maternal
and child health services.
Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), an introduction of child health screening for 4Ds i.e.
defects at birth, deficiencies, diseases, development delays and their management among the
children.
Improving Infant and young child feeding practices including breastfeeding promotion.

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Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) the following programmes/schemes and awareness
campaign is launched by the Government to reduce infant mortality rate:

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17.

Even though the equatorial regions have great potential in timber resources, the lumbering industry
has not developed properly in these regions. What could be the possible reasons behind this? Discuss
the suitability of the equatorial regions for plantation agriculture.

Approach:
The first part of the answer should clearly establish how inspite of the presence of large number of
timber resources the development of timber industry has been hindered due to a large number of
physical factors. The second part should bring out the suitability of equatorial regions as popular place
for plantation agriculture. One should justify the statement with example of a few plantation crops and
the areas where they are grown. One can end the answer on the environmental implications of
plantation agriculture in these areas.
Answer:
The equatorial vegetation consists of a multitude of evergreen trees that yield tropical hardwood e.g
mahogany, ebony, dyewoods etc. But unlike the temperate forests where only a few species occur in
particular area, the species of tropical rain forests are not found in pure strand of single species. For
example in the case Malaysian forest as many as 200 species may be found in an acre of forest. This has
made the commercial exploitation of commercial timber a difficult task in these areas. Additionally, many
of the tropical hardwood do not float readily on water and this makes haulage an expensive matter. It is
therefore not surprising that many tropical countries are net importers. Absence of any frozen surfaces
which prevent logging is also an additional factor.

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With the coming of the Europeans many large plantations have been set up in these areas. Especially in
areas like Java, Sumatra, Malaysia, West Africa and Central America. The climate has proved to be very
favorable for the cultivation of many crops, that are highly valued in the west. The most outstanding is
the rubber, which has been transplanted to other parts of the world from the Amazon basin. Malaysia
and Indonesia are the leading producers, each accounting for more than a third of the world production.
This fact clearly establishes the dominance of tropical areas in the plantation agriculture. Another
tropical crop that achieved unparalleled success is the cocoa, which is mostly extensive in the area
bordering of the coast of Guinea in West Africa.

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Some of the other, important plantation farming are coffee plantation in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia,
Tanzania, Kenya; sugarcane plantation in Cuba, Brazil, Peru, Puerto Rico and Philippines; tea plantation in
India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia; cocoa farming in West Indies, Ecuador, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana; banana
plantation in Mexico, Jamaica, Columbia, Brazil, Panama and Costa Rico.

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"The potential of Inland Water transport (IWT) to encourage and support increased economic and
social development is enormous". Discuss the factors responsible for the slow growth of IWT in India
with special emphasis on geographical limitations. Enumerate some steps taken by the government in
order to make this form of transportation competitive with respect to rail and road.

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Despite the importance of plantation agriculture, long-term effects of plantation cropping on the soil
have received little research attention. No systematic effort has been undertaken to prove that
plantation agriculture is a more sustainable form of land-use than arable cropping. However, it has been
long assumed that a perennial plant cover protects the soil better than an annual crop, and it has also
been stated that land degradation under perennial crops is usually less than in arable farming under
similar conditions.

Approach:

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The answer should begin by highlighting the importance and untapped potential of IWT in India with
respect to socio-economic development.
Reasons for slow growth

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o Geographical factors siltation, dry during summers etc.

o Other factors low budgetary allocation, availability of bulky goods etc
Steps by government can focus on early steps also such as creation of several institutions and
declaration of NWs
Steps list down efforts of government centre and states both
Conclusion Futuristic perspective that growth of IWT would be a boost for economic and social
development.

Answer:
India is blessed with 7,551km of coastline and about 14,500km of navigable inland waterways. Yet this
sector has remained neglected despite universal acceptance that transportation through waterways,
both coastal and inland, is fuel efficient, environment friendly and more economical than rail and road.
India transports only 7% of its domestic cargo by coastal shipping while the European Union transports
42%, China 43% and the US 15%. IWT accounts for less than a 1% share of goods transported within
India, much less than other nations that are similarly endowed.
Reasons for slow growth of IWT in India:
Geographical factors
River flow is not consistent: There is a seasonal variation in water level in the rivers especially in the
Rain-fed rivers of the peninsula which become nearly dry during the summer. Even perennial rivers of
Himalayan origin have very less flow during the non-rainy season. It is a hurdle in generating higher
traffic and larger ships.
Peninsular block of the India is rocky and only deltaic region is navigable.
Himalayan rivers bring a lot of silt with them and thus, create siltation problems in their path. Ex in
the Bhagirathi-Hooghly and in the Buckingham Canal.
Presence of waterfalls and cataracts, in rivers such as Narmada and Tapti creates problem for smooth
navigation. Also, westward flowing peninsular rivers meet the sea through estuaries.
Most of the large rivers of the country enter the sea through shallow sand chocked delta channels.
Thus navigation is hampered unless dredging is done.

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Poor maintenance of national waterways

IWT also requires huge initial capital. Budgetary allocation and private investment for the
development of IWT is very less.
Inadequate river conservancy measures, resulting in gradual deterioration of waterways.
Inadequate terminal facilities at the loading and unloading points.
Non availability of adequate navigational aids resulting in restricted sailing over long periods of time
Non availability of bulk commodities along the water front.
Non availability of return cargo on most of the routes.
Limited availability of IWT vessels

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Other factors

Steps by the government to make this mode competitive

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Government started declaring NWs since 1986. Latest is the NW6 on the Barak river in Assam.

Bodies such as Inland Waterways Authority of India, National Inland Navigation Institute (Patana) and
the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation are involved in the development of IWT.

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An inland vessel building subsidy scheme was introduced in order to reduce the capital burden on
the IWT operators, and to enhance their profitability.

Seamless shipping of vessels through sea and river channels has been promoted through the
amendments in the Merchant Shipping Act in 2011. I

About Rs 4000 crore was set aside for NWs in budget 2014. India is in the process of getting $1 billion
loan from World Bank.

Government announced JalMargVikas project for Ganga river and is in the process of forming
waterway grids by linking several rivers.

In conclusion, India has tremendous potential in case of inland water transport, potential of this sector
can be tapped by focusing on the improving efficiency and productivity .Given rapid increases in
international trade movements, Government must to come up with integrated strategy by involving all
transport modes. Attracting Public and Private Players for the development of IWT can create huge
employment opportunities.

19.

Jute, The Golden Fiber enjoys significant ecological and economic advantages over other fibers yet it
has been struggling to survive. In this context, discuss the problems associated with the Jute Industry in
India. To what extent can the Jute Technology Mission address the same?

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Introduce ecological and economic benefits can be talked about in a brief.

Problems classify the problems and discuss them in terms of severity and other factors.
JTM
o A brief about what is JTM
o Effectiveness of JTM
Note: Students are not supposed to follow a very generic pattern where problems followed by
measures are mentioned. Measures should focus only on JTM (Jute Technology Mission)

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using then modern machines in the 1850s.

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Jute fibre is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable and thus environmentally friendly. Containers for
planting young trees and geotextiles for erosion control are few of the applications designed to break
down after sometime and no removal is required.
Jute is a versatile fibre and flexible to use in the sense that it can be used either independently or
blended with a range of other fibres and materials.
The jute industry provides direct employment to about 0.26 million workers, and supports the
livelihood of around 4.0 million farm families.

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Because of its several ecological and economic advantages Jute has often been cited as a golden fibre.
Some of these are:

Problems of Jute Industry in India

Supply side

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There is import of raw jute at large scale. In spite of legal routes, there is illegal import which added
to the woes of the jute farmers and mill workers. Imported jute bags are cheaper as they are dutyfree and they enjoy various cash subsidies in the countries of origin (Bangladesh and Nepal).

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There is continuous tussle between mill owners and workers. The CEO of a mill was lynched by
workers who were protesting against a proposal to cut back on working hours due to paucity of
orders.
Equipments for production are all worn out, outmoded in design. Many mills are uneconomic.
Products are made costlier.
Load-shedding creates problem of under-utilization of capacity.
Poor implementation of the centres pro-jute measures.

Demand Side

Indian jute goods have been losing ground in the world market primarily due to keen competition
from synthetic substitutes and also supplies from Bangladesh and China.
Cement and fertilizer are no more packaged in jute bags. Sugar industry wants further dilution of jute
packaging material act 1987.

Keeping in view of the economic and ecological benefits of the golden fibre, government started the
Jute Technology Mission (JTM) in 2006. It involves development of quality seeds, better methods of
retting and extraction technologies and develops technologies to commercialize and diversify use of jute.
However, JTM has failed to achieve its targets. Allocated fund is also left unspent. In spite of several court
ruling against use of plastic, jute products have not diversified and lack innovation. Industry is facing
existential crisis today. Jute parks promised are facing hurdles and are not established completely yet.

Illustrate the socio-economic significance of local winds across the world with special emphasis on
India.

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JTM can only address technology related problems. Rest of the problems must be address under National
Jute policy (2005). It should provide a platform to farmers, research institute, industry and government
for collaboration.

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The Answer should introduce the concept of local wind briefly followed by examples of prominent local
winds and their socioeconomic impact. Local winds in India should receive relatively detailed attention.

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Answer:

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Local Winds also known as named winds circulate in narrow areas, as compared to planetary winds, and
develop due to local variations in temperature, pressure and humidity. Local terrain has a very strong
influence on local winds. Their formation can also be attributed to formation of air currents, crossing
mountain ranges, valleys and physical barriers. These can be regular or periodic and influence human
health as well as socioeconomic activities.

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Chinnook: are foehn winds in the interior West of North America. It can dry out soil and sublimate snow
very quickly thats why also called the snow-eater. They sometimes cause a sharp increase in the
number of migraine headaches suffered by the locals, and are often called chinook
headaches.Chinooks can often override cold air in the city, trapping the pollutants in the cold air and
causing inversion smog
Santa Ana: The Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry down-slope winds that originate inland and
affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. The winds are known especially for the
hot dry weather that they bring in the fall, and are infamous for fanning regional wildfires and hence also
called the devil winds.

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Khamsin: is a dry, hot, sandy local wind, blowing from the south, in North Africa and the Arabian
Peninsula. Similar winds in the area are sirocco and simoom. These dry, sand-filled windstorms often
blow sporadically over fifty days, hence the name.Carrying great quantities of sand and dust from the
deserts it impacts health and day to day activities.
The Mistral: is a strong, cold and northwesterly wind that blows from southern France into the Gulf of
Lion in the northern Mediterranean. It is usually accompanied by clear, fresh weather, and it plays an
important role in creating the climate of Provence in France. The mistral has the reputation of bringing
good health, since the dry air dries stagnant water and the mud, giving the mistral the local name
mange-fange (mud-eater). It also blows away pollution from the skies over the large cities and
industrial areas.
KalBaisakhior calamity of the month of Baisakh is a dry local wind of west Bengal, Assam, Bangladesh
and parts of Orissa and Bihar during summer season. It is responsible for heavy rain and hailstones in
West Bengal, Assam and Orissa. These winds also known as Northwesters, cause destruction to life and
property due to sudden rise in wind speed, lighting, thunder and hail. However, rain associated with the
storm although small in amount, is extremely helpful for the pre-kharif crops like jute, paddy and large
number of vegetables and fruits. It is good for the tea crop in Assam and the jute and rice in West Bengal
Aandhi: During the pre-monsoon season, northwest and adjoining central India is usually affected by
dust storms. These winds add to discomfort and can disrupt the lives of the people by uprooting houses,
trees, telephone and electricity poles. These are harmful for mango crops.

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Loo: is a hot, dry wind, that blows in Northern plains. It is very common in Bihar, Western Uttar Pradesh,
Punjab and Haryana. It makes life miserable for the people. The heat wave takes its toll and many people
die because of it.

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Mango showers: occurs along the coast of Kerala. The showers prevent the mangoes from dropping
prematurely from trees and are crucial for the mango cultivation in South India.

How do global pressure belts explain the formation of climatic regions across the world?

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Cherry Blossom or Coffee showers: is a local wind that blows over the interior Karnataka during the hot
weather season and is extremely helpful for coffee cultivation.

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Question seeks to establish the causal link between global pressure belts (which are responsible for
causing wind belts) and different climatic regions across the world. It can be done by first introducing
global pressure belt and the wind system (with diagram) followed by description of those features of
various climatic regions, which are influenced by wind system.

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Global pressure belts are permanent geo-climatic features on earth produced by the diffential heating of
its surface.
These belts exist in pattern of alternate high and low pressure zones over the earth and they are four in
numbers: equatorial low pressure belt, sub-tropical high pressure belt, sub-polar low pressure belt and
polar high pressure belt (Figure below).

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Within this pattern of pressure belts, winds tend to blow from high pressure belts to low pressure
belts as planetary winds.
Due to Coriolis force winds acquire rightward and leftward tilt in northern and southern hemisphere
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Pressure and wind belts are dynamic and tend to shifts northward and southwards in response to
migration of sun.
These belts and their shifting play an important role in forming some important features of climatic
regions of the world.

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The hot-wet equatorial climate: This region coincides with the equatorial low pressure belt. The
condition of low pressure due to high heat results in heavy precipitation and constantly high relative
humidity. Hence this climate region supports luxuriant type of vegetation.
The tropical monsoon climate: The shifting of pressure and wind belts produces a unique
phenomenon of monsoons in some regions between two tropics. This seasonal shift in winds and
consequent precipitation results in south-west monsoon and north-east monsoon in summer and
winters respectively.
The savannah climate: This region is confined within tropics in interior of the continents. The
prevailing winds of the region, trade winds loose the moisture when it reaches there and create the
unique climate of savannah characterized by grasslands.
The mid-latitude desert climate: This region coincides with sub-tropical high pressure belt where air
descends. This condition is least favorable for precipitation. Hence in this climatic region
permanently arid conditions prevail.
The warm-temperate Mediterranean climate: This climatic region is confined to the western portion
of the continental masses below the high pressure belt that hovers above the region between 30o
and 45o north and south of the equator. The shifting of these belts produces rainy winters and dry
summers as the region comes under influence of moisture laden westerlies and dry trade winds in
winters and summers respectively.
The warm-temperate eastern margin: This climatic region experienced wet summer and dry winter
as it comes under wet trade winds when pressure belts shifts north in summers.
The cool temperate western margin: these regions remained permanent influence of westerlies that
blow from sub-tropical high pressure belt to sub-polar low pressure belt. As a result the precipitation
occurs throughout the year.
The cool temperate continental climate: it is found in the interiors of the continent mainly in the
northern hemisphere under sub-polar low pressure belts. Hence the rainfall is well distributed
throughout the year though it is low due to continental influence.

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 The cool temperate eastern margin: this region comes under influence of westerlies that blow out
from the continental interiors; hence the winter is cold and dry while summers are wet.
The polar climate: this climate is found in north of the Arctic Circle in the northern hemisphere.
Prevalence of anti cyclonic condition due to high pressure above results in very low precipitation
mainly in form of snow.

22.

What are extra tropical cyclones? How are they different from tropical cyclones? Why do the tropical
cyclones weaken over the land after landfall?

Approach:
The first part of the answer should focus on clearly defining the extra tropical cyclones and their region
of extent. Secondly, the students should focus on bringing out the difference between the tropical and
extra tropical cyclones in term of process, region of extent etc. Finally, the answer should bring list the
various responsible to weakening of the cyclones over the land.
Answer:
Definition of Extra-tropical cyclones
Extra-tropical cyclones are a type of storm system formed in middle or high latitudes, in regions of
large horizontal temperature variations called frontal zones. "Extratropical" means the storms
originate outside the tropics.
Extratropical cyclones present a contrast to the more violent cyclones or hurricanes of the tropics,
which form in regions of relatively uniform temperatures. are low pressure systems with associated
cold fronts, warm fronts, and occluded fronts.
Their circulations affect the entire troposphere over a region 1000 km or more across. Extratropical
cyclones tend to develop with a particular lifecycle and generally move from west to east across the
oceans and continents .

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Difference between Extra-tropical and tropical cyclones

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There are a lot of minor details, particularly with extratropical storm formation, which is considerably
more complex than tropical storm formation. Upper level winds fuel a mid-latitude cyclone but can
tear a tropical one apart.
Extratropical storms usually disintegrate after a couple days due to an occlusion, but tropical storms
can exist for a much longer time.
And the biggest difference, is that tropical cyclones have no fronts. They get their energy from warm
air. Extratropical cyclones start because two air masses come together and form a front.

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These two types of storms differ significantly on many aspects

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Why do tropical cyclones dissipate over the land?

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After just a few hours, a tropical cyclone over land begins to weaken rapidly because the storm lacks
the moisture and heat sources that the ocean provided. This depletion of moisture and heat hurts
the tropical cyclone's ability to produce thunderstorms near the storm centre. Without this
convection the cyclone cannot survive. However, there are instances like Orissa super cyclone of
October 1999, which maintained its intensity of cyclonic storm even 24 hours after landfall. During
this period, it remained practically stationary over coastal Orissa.
Another reason that cyclones lose power when they move over land is because of friction.
In addition, if the cyclone experiences vertical wind shear it will also lose its power.

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23.

The formation and nature of a soil depends on a number of factors other than the parent rock. Explain
through examples of Indian soil types.

Approach:
Begin the answer with the process of weathering of Parent rock material. Write about the various factors
that affect the process of soil formation. Give examples of Indian soil types in explaining these factors.
Answer:
Pedogenesis or the process of formation of soil begins with the weathering of parent material. It is this
weathered material which is the basic input for soil form. However many other factors such as the
climate, topography, biological activities and time decide the formation and nature of soil. In fact soil
forming factors act in union and affect the action of one another.
Role of other factors:
Topography:

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The influence of topography is felt through the amount of exposure of a surface covered by parent
materials to sunlight and the amount of surface and sub-surface drainage over and through the
parent materials.
Soils will be thin on steep slopes and thick over flat upland areas. Over gentle slopes where erosion is
slow and percolation of water is good, soil formation is very favourable.
Soils over flat areas develop a thick layer of clay.
In middle latitudes, the south facing slopes of Vindhyas and Satpuras, which are exposed to sunlight,
have different conditions of vegetation and soils and the north facing slopes with cool, moist
conditions have some other soils and vegetation.

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Climate:

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The climatic elements involved in soil development are: moisture in terms of intensity, frequency and
duration of precipitation - evaporation and humidity; temperature in terms of seasonal and diurnal
variations.
In the regions of hot and wet Tropical rainy areas of Western Ghats, most of the minerals including
Silica are leached. This results in the formation of Laterite soil.
In dry climates of Rajasthan, evaporation exceeds precipitation, which brings salts to surface by
capillary action, resulting in Saline soils.
Increased temperature shows increased chemical activity, thats why tropical soils with higher
temperatures show deeper profiles and in the frozen tundra regions soils contains mechanically
broken materials.

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Organic acids, which form during humification, aid in decomposing the minerals of the soil parent
materials.
The vegetative cover and organisms help in adding organic matter, moisture retention, nitrogen etc.
Dead plants provide humus, the finely divided organic matter of the soil.
With undecomposed organic matter because of low bacterial activity, layers of peat develop in soils
of Himalayas and high mountains of North East.
In humid Tropics, bacterial growth and action is intense and dead vegetation is rapidly oxidised
leaving very low humus content in the soil. Example: Red and Yellow Soils of South India.
The influence of large animals like ants, termites, earthworms, rodents etc., is mechanical, but
important in soil formation as they rework the soil up and down.

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Biological activity:

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Time:

The length of time the soil forming processes operate, determines maturation of soils and profile
development. Soils developing from recently deposited alluvium or glacial till are considered young
and they exhibit no horizons or only poorly developed horizons.
Examples: In the Gangetic plains, Khadar is the newly deposited alluvium and Bhangar is the older
alluvium.

24.

Which are the prominent monsoon regions other than the Indian sub-continent? Elucidate the crucial
role played by the Tibetan Plateau in regulating monsoons over the sub-continent.
Approach:
Briefly define monsoon and mention the prominent monsoon regions other than the India
subcontinent.
Briefly mention the role of different warming trends over land and sea as factors regulating
monsoon. Highlight the role played by the Tibetan Plateau as the heat source involved in the onset
and regulation of monsoon over the Indian subcontinent. In this part one has to explain the
mechanism as well.

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Answer:
Monsoon is a major wind system that seasonally reverses its direction. The most prominent monsoons
occur in South Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific coast of Central America. Monsoonal tendencies
also are apparent along the Gulf Coast of the United States and in central Europe; however, true
monsoons do not occur in those regions.

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West African monsoon

Malaysian-Australian monsoon
North American monsoon

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Most prominent monsoon regions apart from Indian subcontinent are:

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The primary cause of monsoons lies in different warming trends over land and sea, though other factors
may be involved. In the Indian subcontinent the Tibetan plateau plays an important role in regulating the
monsoon:
The heat source involved in the Indian summer monsoon resides over the Plateau of Tibet and the
eastern foothills of the Himalayas, while the heat sink occurs over the southern Indian Ocean and
Madagascar, a region where relatively cloud-free air cools by emitting infrared, or long-wave,
radiation into space.
As the vast Tibetan plateau, high up in the mountains, warms during the summer months, it heats
the air above, which then rises and creates an area of low pressure. That belt of low pressure sucks
in moisture from the oceans, thus initiating the monsoon.

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However, it has been observed that heating of the plateau correlated with monsoon rainfall only
during the early and late parts of the season. According to the available data the heating of the
Tibetan plateau correlated well with rainfall over India from May 20 to June 15 when the monsoon
was setting in. But then the correlation disappeared only to reappear again for rainfall between
September 1 and October 15 when the monsoon was tailing off.

Scholars such as William Boos and Zhiming Kuang consider that even if the Tibetan plateau did not exist,
the monsoon would be unaffected provided the Himalayas and adjacent mountain ranges were there to
prevent intrusion of northern air. However, the consensus remains on the crucial role played by the
Tibetan plateau in the onset of monsoon in the region.

25.

Describe the different types of earthquake waves and their modes of propagation. How do the
earthquakes occurring in the Fold Mountain regions differ from those occurring at large
reservoirs/dams? What is the difference between Shallow-focus and deep-focus earthquakes?

Approach:
There are three parts of the question as following:

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Types of earthquake waves body and surface waves. Give some points on their properties in brief
with focus on the mode of propagation.
Earthquakes in fold mountain and reservoir regions forces for the displacement of rocks differ.
Difference in Shallow and deep earthquakes reasons, relation with major and minor earthquakes

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Earthquake waves are of two types body waves and surface waves. Body waves are generated due to
the release of energy at the focus and move in all directions travelling through the body of the earth.
Body waves are of two types namely, P-waves and S-waves.

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The body waves interact with the surface rocks and generate new set of waves called surface waves.
Surface waves move along the surface. The velocity of waves changes as they travel through materials
with different densities. Their direction also changes as they reflect or refract when coming across
materials with different densities. Surface waves are also of two types -namely, Love and Rayleigh waves.

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P-waves can travel through all the mediums while S-waves can travel through only solid. The shadow
zone of p-waves is 105-145 degree and that of s-waves is beyond 105 degree.

Different types of earthquake waves travel in different manners. P-waves vibrate parallel to the direction
of the wave. This creates density differential within the material. S-waves and Surface waves vibrate
perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Hence, they create troughs and crests in the material. This
makes the Surface waves the most damaging earthquake waves.

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Earthquakes in the Fold Mountain regions are the most common type of earthquake while large
reservoir induced earthquakes (RIE) is a rare phenomenon. The earths crust breaks due to collision of
tectonic plates in the Fold Mountain regions that cause vibrations. The most widely accepted explanation
of RIE is related to the extra water pressure created in the micro-cracks and fissures in the ground. RIE is
not well established. Reservoirs can both increase the frequency of earthquake in the high seismic areas
and cause earthquake to happen in less seismic areas.

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The focus/hypocentre is the point inside earth where energy is released during an earthquake. Shallowfocus earthquakes are above 70km depth and deep-focus one in the range of 70-700km depth. Deepfocus earthquakes are localized within great slabs of shallow lithosphere that are sinking into the Earth's
mantle. A large earthquake has a deep focus is the small amplitude of the surface-waves. The hypocentre
of RIE is relatively at less depth.

Copyright by Vision IAS

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transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without prior permission of Vision IAS
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VISION IAS
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Approach Answer: General Studies Mains Mock Test 632 (2015)

All the questions are compulsory and carry 12.5 marks each. NOT MORE THAN 200 WORDS.
1.

It has been argued that if the tendency to bypass the Council of States for passing important legislation
through the nomenclature of money Bill is not checked legally, it can affect the very basic structure of
our Constitution and functioning of the Parliament. Discuss.

Approach:

Introduce the answer through reference to current controversy regarding bypassing of the Rajya
Sabha.
Discuss how money bill provisions can be used to bypass scrutiny by the Rajya Sabha.
Discuss how it is against the basic tenets of the constitution.
Discuss the remedies.

Answer:
The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha expressed concern recently on attempts being made to whittle away
the legislative powers of the Rajya Sabha and make it a redundant legislative House by making use of
Money bill provisions. The finance bill introduced in last budget session carries amendments to some
independent acts passed by both houses. To avoid the Rajya Sabha Scrutiny these amendments were
concealed as money bills.

The primacy of the peoples House in financial matters is enshrined in the Indian Constitution
through money bill provisions under Article 110. It provides list of items. The bills framed exclusively
on items from this article are certified as money bills. The Rajya Sabha has no power to reject money
bills.
The power to certify a bill as a money bill is vested by Article 110 of the Constitution in the Speaker
of the Lok Sabha, whose decision is final. Some Rajya Sabha Members have raised concerns about
the finality of the Article. Their uneasiness arises from the fact that the Rajya Sabha cant question
the decision of the Speaker even when they feel that they have a strong case for contesting the
decision of the Speaker.
The apprehension among Members is that government may bring bills with financial provisions and
push them through as money bills in order to circumvent the situation in the Rajya Sabha. The
Constitution makes it clear that money bills should contain only the provisions mentioned in Article
110 and nothing else. If a bill is a combination of money bill provision and other items, it cannot be
called a money bill. Such a bill needs to be passed by both the Houses of Parliament.
If it is said that the Speaker has absolute power in case of certifying bill as money bill and she does
not have to consult anyone. It is tantamount to accepting even a wrong decision by her, maybe even
a mala fide decision. The Constitution of India does not confer such absolute power on any authority.
The council of states, by providing voice to state units, forms critical link in Indian federation. The
Constitution has assigned special roles to this elders chamber. It checks the hasty decisions by the
lower house passed under political pressures. Federalism and parliamentary form of government

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2.

with independent powers to each chamber are basic features of the constitution as defined by
judiciary. Depriving the Rajya Sabha of its legitimate rights through legislative stratagems like money
bill violates the basic structure of the Constitution.
It is therefore necessary to evolve a proper procedure for the Speaker to arrive at a decision. A
committee of the secretaries-general of both Houses may examine in detail the given bill and submit
their views to the Speaker before she takes a final decision on certifying bill as money bill.

Parliament should be an institution of discussion, debate, deliberation and dissent not of disruption.
Comment.

Approach:

First introduce the answer by highlighting the significance or role of the Parliament (in brief).
Secondly, bring out the reasons for the decline in the Parliamentary functioning leading to
disruption.
Thirdly, mention briefly the implications of parliamentary logjams and finally conclude the answer.

Answer:

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The Indian Constitution gives Parliament the mandate to keep the government accountable by
scrutinizing the working of ministries, making laws to address opportunities in the legal system,
discussing and passing the budget and important bills representing the hopes and aspirations of the
people.

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With Parliament being disrupted routinely as evident from the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14), as much as 40
per cent of the total time was lost to disruptions, making it the least productive Lok Sabha ever. The
recent Monsoon Session of 2015 was also a near washout .

Change in the composition of Parliament- From 1967 onwards Parliament is witnessing coalition
governments, heterogeneity in terms of caste, class, region, religion, etc. which tend to make
debates more politicized and communal, i.e. more interest based than issue based.
Live proceedings of Parliament and increased penetration of Media in highlighting sensitive and
political issues, which tend to derail the debates as Parliamentarians try to take limelight and public
attention on controversial issues more, than trying to resolve the issue in a more constructive
manner.
Due to continuous elections throughout the year in one State or the other tend to keep the
Parliament politically charged by the Opposition as they focus more on criticizing the Ruling party
than cooperating with the Government over important public issues.
Criminalization of politics entry of Parliamentarians having criminal backgrounds tend to lower
down the culture of healthy debates and direct more towards political abuses, corruption cases, etc.
Due to continuous elections throughout the year in one State or the other tend to keep the
Parliament politically charged by the Opposition as they focus more on criticizing the Ruling party
than cooperating with the Government over important public issues.
Also, the imbalance in the numbers of Ruling and Opposition party members in the Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha respectively has led to more competitive politics than constructive politics, leading to
more disruption and walk-outs.
The poor levels of participation (or absenteeism) esp. by the members of the party enjoying more
number in Lok Sabha has also led to lack of quality debates or discussion over key issues and bills.

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Reasons for decline in the Parliamentary functioning

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Implications of Parliamentary Disruptions

With Parliament being disrupted routinely, MPs are not able to ask ministers tough questions during
question hour to assess the work that their ministries are doing.
With disruptions eating into the time available for Parliamentary business, adequate time is not
available for debating legislation. As a result, Bills either get passed without effective debate or
remain pending in Parliament. 2015 Monsoon Session (like in Vyapam Scam and unrelenting
demand for resignation of Ministers involved by the Opposition, political hijacking, etc., many
important bills either get sidelined or keep pending like GST etc.)
A days parliament sessions adjournment cost a loss of Rs2 crore.
Parliament meeting for a fewer number of days, MPs are not able to raise matters of urgent public
importance and bring it to the attention of the government
Lack of effectiveness in the Parliamentary proceedings and lack of political will displayed by the
Parliamentarians, has made civil society, pressure groups , more stronger in the recent years, as
people find these extra-parliamentary forums relatively more viable platform to discuss issues and
thus seek their help in putting pressure on political parties to pass the bills , as seen in the Lokpal Bill
issue, anti-corruption movement , etc.

Way Forward

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For debate and deliberation to happen, Parliamentary procedure would have to evolve to enable political
parties on different sides of the issue to set the agenda for debate and discuss the issue in detail on the
floor of the house. This would also require Parliament to meet for more number of days in a year and sit
for longer hours, as this would ensure that even if the proceedings are disrupted there is still enough
time for deliberations.

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While much has been said about the significance of Indian ocean region, the salience of Pacific has
only recently figured prominently in the Indian scheme of things. In what ways are the Pacific Island
nations important from India's perspective? What challenges does India face in furthering its influence
in the region?

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Thus, the need of the hour is consultation and consensus on parliamentary ethics and code of conduct in
the proceedings of the Parliament so that public faith increases in parliamentary values and democracy.

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Outline the reasons for Indias focus on Indian Ocean Region and name some of the important
initiatives and associations as examples.
Introduce Pacific Islands and recently created FIPIC Summit.
List the importance of Pacific Island Nations for India.
Bring out the challenges faced by India in expanding its influence over the region.
Conclude by giving a forward outlook on India and Pacific Island Nations.

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Answer:

Traditionally, India has maintained prime focus on the Indian Ocean Region due to a number of factors
such as geographical proximity, security concerns, trade and investment opportunities and direct
strategic importance owing to the sea lines of communication.
A number of projects and associations have been initiated such as Project Mausam, Sagarmala, Indian
Ocean Naval Symposium and Indian Ocean Rim Association as the key maritime initiatives and
associations.

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Vision IAS

However, in recent times, a shift is being observed and India is beginning to look towards the pacific for a
greater strategic advantage.
The Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation was launched in 2014 as platform to further Indias
association with the fourteen island nations of the Pacific namely Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall
Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and
Vanuatu. The forum is providing a perfect platform.
Importance of Pacific Island Nations for India:

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Key Factor in Indias Act East Policy: Economic linkages and co-operation with Pacific island countries
are key factors in India's extended 'Act East' policy. They hold immense geo-strategic importance as
the countries lie at the centre of a key maritime route rich in resources.
Climate Change Negotiations: Issues related to Climate Change are a national priority for all Pacific
Island Nations and India. Co-operation in upcoming international fora can be sought, such as at COP21 in Paris.
UNSC: The Island Nations support Indias candidature for the permanent membership of a reformed
UN Security Council. India in turn has offered to support a dedicated seat for SIDS (Small Island
Developing States) in an expanded and reformed UN Security Council.
Diaspora: Indian Diaspora constitutes a major part of the island nations population. Over 37% of the
Fiji population belongs to Indian origin.
Resources: The Pacific Island Nations are rich in resources such as oil and gas, sea bed minerals,
coconut, coir etc. The EEZ off the coast of Papua New Guinea has rich reserves in oil fields.
Research and Development Collaboration: Institute for Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research in
the region and a network of marine biology research stations in various island nations can be
established to further augment marine research and studies.
Soft Power Diplomacy: India has increased its annual Grant-in-aid, for each of the island nation, to
$200,000 annually. She is also offering a capacity building program through the Indian Technical and
Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scholarships and a training programme for elderly women to install
residential solar power units.
Trade and Investment: An annual trade of about $300 million takes place between the Pacific Island
countries and India at the moment. Our exports and imports are around $200 million and $100
million respectively. There is further potential to augment the numbers.
Space Mission: Fiji has been instrumental in hosting Indian scientists for tracking Indias Mars
Mission. Similarly other island nations can be vital partners in other space projects.
Balance of Power: Wariness at China's increasing presence in the Pacific Ocean has been voiced by
other countries in the region such as Australia and New Zealand. Indias presence could help create a
balance and allay such fears.

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Geographical distance: India and the Pacific Islands are separated by a distance of 4000 miles and
vast stretches of two oceans. This makes it difficult for India to maintain physical presence in the
region.
Proximity to China: The pacific island nations have been under Chinese sphere of influence due to
Maritime Silk Route project. Indias presence could further heighten tensions between India and
China.
The United States of America too has deep interest in the pacific islands and may view Indian
influence with suspicion, which does not augur well for India-US relations.
India does not have consulates on the Islands but is covering them from five different countries -New Zealand, Japan, Philippines, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Of the 14 island nations, 6 have accorded recognition to Taiwan. Whereas, India only has relations
with Taiwan at the level of a Trade Representation and Cultural centre. This may cause some strain in
matters of international diplomacy.

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Challenges faced by India in furthering its influence

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4.

Inspite of the importance of private sector's role in Indian higher education its performance has not
been satisfactory. Discuss. What are the challenges that lie ahead in setting up high quality private
institutions in the country?

Approach:

Point out the role played by private sector in providing higher education.
Discuss the reasons behind abysmal performance by private institutions.
Enumerate various challenges in setting quality private institutions in country.

Answer:
The absence of significant expansion in different sectors of higher education by the State has created a
space for the growth of private providers.

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The role of the private sector in providing education has increased with more than 14 million
students studying in around 30,000 institutions across the country. The Private sector has
contributed significantly to higher education expansion, now it accounts for 58.5 per cent of
enrolments.
However, what is being witnessed is, to a large extent, ad hoc privatization myriad institutes
continuing to come up without adequate checks and balances. There has been no policy or
guidelines to measure the competence of private investors in starting and managing a technical
institution other than the requirement that it should be registered as a non-profit or charitable trust
or society. The loopholes have been exploited by many investors, who have no understanding or
experience of the responsibilities associated with institutions of higher education. The trusts or
societies that have been formed largely consist of immediate family members some of whom had
little or no educational background with some exceptions.
Physical infrastructure in private institutions inadequate to provide the quality education. Lack of
state of art labs, instruments for technical and professional courses results in poor performance.
In many private educational institutions, the appointment of teachers is made at the lowest possible
cost. They are treated with scant dignity, thereby turning away competent persons from opting for
the teaching profession.
There is a need to have a clear understanding of the difference in the roles of a promoter or
philanthropist as a trustee as opposed to being an executive of the institution he or she establishes.
Executives must have appropriate abilities and qualifications required for the job.

The higher education system is stifled by plethora of regulators. While the UGC is the principal
regulatory body for higher education, numerous other bodies at the central (such as the AICTE, the
Medical Council and the Bar Council) and state levels coexist in the regulatory framework.
Multiplicity of regulators results in complex regulations and overlapping mandates obstructing the
setting of quality institutes.
The regulatory uncertainty has had the consequence of limiting activity by globally renowned
universities in the Indian higher education sector for quality education.
Building a good educational institution requires great physical and soft infrastructure, i.e.,
infrastructure, faculty and research. In an era of soaring market-driven salaries in other sectors, all
these require great deal of financial resources. Soaring land rates make it even more difficult to
recoup investments. The mandatory Not-For-Profit structure of the sector limits quality private
participation in such environment.

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There are numerous challenges in setting quality private institutions in India.

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5.

United Nations Security Council reforms should not only include its expansion but also the way it
functions. Analyze.

Approach:

Mention the need for reforms of UNSC, outlining the current method of its functioning.
Make the case for increased legitimacy by incorporating geographical and economic diversity.
Discuss how mere expansion is inadequate and for effective transition, its functioning must also be
reformed.
Highlight the issues that need to be addressed effectiveness, quality of decisions and veto power.

Answer:
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reforms have been under consideration since at least 1992
when a working group was established to study the issue and report before the 50th anniversary of the
UN.

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The need for reforms in UNSC arises from the following reasons:
Politically, UNSC of today reflects the realities of 1945, with countries winning the war 60 years ago,
and China, enjoying a veto.
Geographically, Europe, which accounts for barely 5% of world population still controls 33% seats,
excluding Russia.
Equity wise, the current situation is unjust to, say, those whose financial contribution is more than 4
out of 5 permanent members Germany (2nd) and Japan (3rd). Similarly those who have contributed
in kind (through Peacekeeping forces, etc.) or by size to the evolution of world affairs, like India and
Brazil also feel left out.

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The issue, therefore, is of legitimacy. Legitimacy of an international institution is a necessary trait for it to
function effectively. It facilitates accountability and persuasion if members deem an organisation to be
legitimate, they are more likely to adhere to its rules. It stems from egalitarian concerns and must reflect
the will of international community. As the council is no longer representative of the will of many, it
needs to be altered to better reflect communitys interests.

The basic aspect of functioning is the veto power. The role which it plays in the working of SC can be
gauged from these examples US vetoed a resolution calling Israeli settlements in West Bank illegal,
even though it was supported by 2/3rd UNGA, the entirety of UNSC and even the US Secretary of
State. Similarly, Russia and China vetoed UN resolution for intervention in Syria in spite of near
unanimity. The reality UNSC functioning is, thus, competitive geopolitics or, at best, adjustments,
that have either led to proxy wars or left turmoil to linger. Veto power would have to be central to
any reform. In case of expansion, either the status quo can prevail or the new members granted veto
or the power can be done away with completely.
While the current system is asymmetrical, its bias allows for relative consensus on issues. More
members bring a distinct set of goals, often at odds with each other. This harms effectiveness
because it creates a deadlock among the group. The agreements can then occur only at the bottomline of policy objectives.
Lastly, the UNSC provides a public good in form of security. The members collectively enjoy the
benefits, regardless of their contribution. Having more members in the group will lead to the
problem of free-riding, i.e. as individual size relative to the group decreases, members may be less
inclined to shoulder responsibility, further compromising effectiveness.

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However, though certainly desirable, these concerns do not necessarily translate into effectiveness.
While increasing the number of members in SC would increase its democratic nature, it would not
change its effectiveness in a significant way. The following aspects can be considered:

These are the areas of reforms, which UNSC must address while considering expansion. Otherwise, a
merely more democratic body may not be able to fulfil the requirements of the 21st century.

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Vision IAS

6.

Passing of private member's bill has been a rarity in India's political history. Compare and contrast
government bill and private members bill. Further discuss the issues w.r.t passage of private members
bill in the Parliament along with suggesting measures to address the same.

Approach:

Define private members and private members bill

Mention the current contextual importance of private members bill
Outline the challenges faced by private members bills
Suggest measures on how private members bills can achieve greater rates of success

Answer:
Members of Parliament other than ministers are called private members and bills presented by them are
known as private member's bills. Only 14 private members bill have so far become laws with the last one
being the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill, 1968, which became an
act on August 9, 1970.
Importance of private members bill has again come to the forefront with the passing of the Rights of
Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, in the Rajya Sabha, which was moved by DMK member Tiruchi Shiva.

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However, due to inherent nature of parliamentary system of government, private member bills lapse for
the want of time and support in the houses. Although a large number of such bills are introduced in the
parliament, only a fraction is discussed on the floor of the house. In the last Lok Sabha, 372 private
members bills were introduced but only 11 were discussed.

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Lack of time in the parliament leads to prioritization of government legislation

Government may be unwilling to lend or share credit with members outside the executive
Reluctance of the government to support unpopular or controversial issues
Debates are not timetabled and given due importance
Government may indirectly oppose the bill by talking it out and not finishing the debate and
putting it to vote (escaping Guillotine).

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Challenges faced in passing of private member bills

Government must allocate time for discussion of important private members bills at the end of each
parliamentary session
A private members bill must be given priority if it has broad support in the house. A suitable
mechanism to determine broad support must be devised.
Government must allot time to private members to discuss and deliberate in the spirit of democracy.
Rules and instruments of the houses should be amended and new conventions established to
facilitate passing of private members bills.

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Private members bills play an important role in shaping policy and giving voice to stakeholders and the
public. They are vital for democracy as they keep important issues alive for public debate and bring to
the fore concerns and issues of the unheard voices. The government of the day must vow it give due
importance to private members bills to further the spirit of democracy.

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7.

Law Commission in its 262nd report has the recommended the abolition of Death Penalty. What
arguments have been put forward by the commission in order to justify its stand. Does this issue
necessitate a fresh look in context of the changed socio-economic conditions in the country? Analyse.

Approach:
The answer should contain the following parts:

Very briefly mention perennial nature of debate on death penalty.

Write arguments given by Law Commission to justify abolition of death penalty

Answer:
Debate on death penalty is not new and in 1931 itself a Bill was introduced to abolish death penalty in
India. In the Constituent Assembly, Dr. B R Ambedkar had opposed death penalty.
Law Commission in its 35th Report had favored retention of death penalty. However, the Commission in
its recently submitted 262nd report has recommended for abolition of death penalty for all crimes other
than terrorism related cases and waging war.
Arguments put forward by Law Commission in its 262nd Report for abolition of Death Penalty

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There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the death penalty has greater deterrent effect than
life imprisonment
As per NCRB data, rate in decline in murder has coincided with a corresponding decline in the rate of
executions since 1992
It is an excessive punishment for purpose of incapacitation
The SC ruled that retribution has no Constitutional value (Shatrughan Chauhan case)
Death Penalty leaves no scope for reformation.
Public opinion have been given an important role to play
Focusing on death penalty leads to neglect of the restorative and rehabilitative aspects of justice.
Diverts attention from problems ailing criminal justice system - poor investigation, crime prevention
and rights of victims of crime.
The SC itself has come to doubt the implementation of rarest of rare test (Bachan Singh case) due
to rather high rate of death penalty.
Fallibility of criminal justice system e.g.- Ravji Rao case
The exercise of clemency power under article 72 and 161 have failed against acting as final safeguard
against miscarriage of justice

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Necessity for fresh look in issue of death sentence

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Earlier in 1967 the Law Commission rejected its abolition citing the size of the country and diversity of its
population across which law and order had to be maintained. India has undergone many changes since
then e.g higher national wage, changes in development, the introduction of a new code of criminal
procedure in 1973, the emergence of constitutional due process standards, calls for abolition of the
death penalty from political parties and judicial developments among the reasons to review capital
punishment.
There is lack of resources in India justice system, an overstretched police force and ineffective
prosecution as among the reasons. As a result, the administration of capital punishment is vulnerable to
misapplication. Thus most people who are executed are poor people, as they cannot afford the expenses
involved in defending them against conviction. Further, India has retained capital punishment while 140
countries have abolished it in law or in practice.

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8.

Transparency and accountability are important not only in state run enterprises but also nongovernmental organizations. Discuss. Further, suggest measures on how NGOs can be made more
transparent and accountable in India.

Approach:

Outline the key differences in transparency and accountability mechanisms between state run
enterprises and NGOs.
Bring out the challenges in fixing accountability of civil society organizations.
Suggest measures on how NGOs can be made more accountable.

Answer:
Transparency and Accountability are the two central pillars of democratic governance in modern society.
Increasingly, the demand to develop institutional structures and mechanisms for transparency in
organizations is gaining momentum.
While state-run enterprises are subject to much scrutiny, such as audits by the CAG, disclosure of
information under RTI Act, submission of reports before the parliament and the committee on public
undertakings etc. NGOs have enjoyed much freedom from public examination. Despite voluntary
organizations receiving over Rs 11,500 crore of foreign funds annually, only two per cent of the 20 lakh
odd NGOs operating in the country have been registered.
A number of challenges that are faced in fixing accountability of CSOs are:

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The CAGs power to audit accounts of NGOs is limited to those that are substantially funded by the
Government (at least 75% of the expenditure). NGOs rarely receive funds of more than 75% of their
expenditure from the Government and often have other sources of funding, which effectively takes
them out of CAG's audit.
NGOs do not fall under the purview of the RTI Act.
Inefficiencies in the FCRA department and lack of digitization, online application and processing have
made the entire process cumbersome.
Many small NGOs in the hinterland do not have access to electricity and internet making it difficult
for them to publish their annual reports and audit statements online.

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Strengthening of institutional mechanisms to verify annual reports, budgets

Bring all NGOs through which government programmes are being outsourced and implemented,
directly under the purview of the RTI Act
Establish a national regulatory agency to oversee the working of NGOs
Punitive measures such as cancelling of licenses, revoking accreditations can be done
Making online disclosure of annual reports mandatory
Encourage Social Audits to facilitate scrutiny by the beneficiaries themselves
Information on expenditure incurred must be done in an institutionalized and simplified manner.

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NGOs can be made more accountable and transparent in the following manner:

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9.

Many of the recent exclusivist outbursts in the northeastern States, including in Manipur, can be
attributed to a fear of losing ancestral land to outsiders. In this context, what has been the role of
Inner Line Permit system? Also, discuss its limitations and relevance in view of the situation prevailing
in the current scenario.

Approach:

Explain the Inner Line Permit System

Discuss role of ILP in protection of distinct tribal cultures and communities.
Identify limitations of ILP with special reference to Manipur and its relevance in current situation.

Answer:
The ILP is a special pass or permit that is required to enter the Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland and Mizoram. The system was introduced by the British to protect their commercial interests,
particularly in oil and tea, and continues now essentially as a mechanism to firewall the tribal peoples
and their cultures from onslaughts by outsiders.

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Under the ILP system, a certificate can be issued to outsiders only for travel in the areas covered by
ILP. A non-resident also cannot buy property in these areas.
The British introduced the ILP, which remained in force until 1950. The Commissioner of Assam
revoked it in the areas that went on to become the state of Manipur in 1972.
There is long standing demand for introduction of ILP system in Manipur. Those demanding the
permits in Manipur want to restrict and regulate the influx of outsiders and internal migrants to save
the culture, tradition, identity and demographic structure of the indigenous people of the state.
The demand for ILP is pushed mainly by the dominant Meiteis community living in the Imphal valley
which feels threatened by changing demography due to migration from Indian mainland,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. It is claimed that absence of a permit system can make indigenous
communities in Manipur a 'minority', both culturally and demographically.
However, instruments like the ILP keep people, commodities and even capital outside the areas
under ILP. It stunts the growth and diversification of the local economy. It hampers the connectivity
to rest of the world which fosters alienation and underdevelopment.
As a trading hub, Manipur could benefit immensely from integration with the better developed
markets in its west and east. At this historical juncture, Manipur should not seek closed borders but
insist on open boundaries, better connectivity and a clear policy on resource-sharing and
deployment. This could surely be done without compromising the rights and entitlements of the
local population.
Introducing ILP in current situations has potential to intensify inter-community struggles in Manipur.
By fixing the cut off year to 1951 to identify people as insiders and outsiders, the proposed ILP
system alienates not just people from Indian mainland but tribal communities living in Hill councils of
Manipur.
Lastly, it is difficult to deport the people identified as outsiders by proposed ILP system in Manipur.
Depriving this population of landholding rights and means of income will make the situation in state
volatile. In light of current drive towards interconnected and interdependent world, introducing
quasi-visa to its citizens to enter one State from another State is not conducive for development and
prosperity.

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10.

The move by Assam and Odisha to create legislative councils has created a public debate on the role of
upper house in states. In this context, examine the utility of legislative councils.

Approach:

Present Status of Legislative Councils in India

Pros and cons of the upper house in states:
o Aspects of inclusion, financial implications, constitutional position, administrative/
operational aspects,
Conclude with a balanced argument and need for a better national policy on the issue

Answer:
Present Status

Presently seven states - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra,
Telangana and Uttar Pradesh - have legislative councils (LCs).
Governments of Rajasthan, Odisha and Assam have also passed a resolution to this effect.

Utility
During the debates in the Constituent Assembly, the choice of having a second chamber was given to

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states at the time, as some states didnt have the resources to afford it. However decreasing number of
sittings and productive hours has raised concerns over need of second legislative body.

Limited Powers LC cannot stop a bill passed by assembly for more than four months. There is no
provision of joint sitting and in domain of finance, it has virtually no power.
Financial burden - The Rajasthan government estimated 100 crore while Assam concluded 68 crore.
Odisha government which is facing financial hardships is also too eager to join.
Politically motivated - It is said that it is merely a body to accommodate various political interests
within a party, a backdoor entry for those who lose direct elections. We have examples of even Chief
Ministers exploiting this route.
Constitutional Position - After 73rd and 74th amendments, local bodies such as municipalities and
gram panchayats have been constitutionally empowered. Hence, the necessity for a second House
has declined.

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Arguments against the need for LCs

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Enhances quality of proceedings - It enables educated intellectuals to participate in legislative

process. It raises the level of debate and provides opportunity to lower house to reconsider hasty
decisions.
Makes Decision-making inclusive - It also helps in accommodating more sections of society in the
process of legislation and decision-making. In case of tribal states especially, members of various
communities and ethnic groups, which could not through direct elections can be included for fair
representation.
Council of PRIs Just like Rajya Sabha functions as the Council of States, in the same way LCs can
function has the Council of PRIs as it gives representation to the representatives from local bodies.

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Arguments in favor of LCs -

In recent times, setting up legislative councils has become a highly politicized decision. For example, In
Tamil Nadu, the DMK moves to set up a legislative council only to be opposed once the AIADMK returns
to power. Hence there is a need to evolve a National Policy on LCs.

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Way Forward

The parliamentary standing committee on setting up of legislative councils in Assam and Rajasthan,
in 2013 recommended that the Central government should evolve a national policy.

This would replace current ad-hocism and changing decision every time ruling party changes. The policy
should consider all factors, especially the time and resources involved in having a second chamber.
Our primary goal of vibrant democracy should be met but with ground realities in mind.

11.

The Indian Police Act of 1861, a colonial relic, needs to be replaced with a law that befits a free
country. In context of the above statement discuss the need for reforms to establish a professional
police force in the country.

Approach:

Explain why Police Act is a colonial relic not suited to current needs of the country.
Discuss the issues arising due to Police Act.
Briefly suggest some remedial measure that can be taken.

Answer:

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The Police Act, 1861 was based on the recommendations of a committee established post Sepoy mutiny
of 1857. Hence, automatically it laid the roots of an authoritarian and coercive force, unmindful of the
rights of citizens. Post independence almost all the British era political and administrative structures
were reformed, yet the colonial system of policing established by the Act did not change much. Although
many commissions have been formed by the centre and states to reform police system, the focus has
been on resources and structure. But not much has been done to align the police with the democratic
ethos of the country.

Goal Clarity: Police is still not sure whether it is a coercive arm of the state or citizen centric
service
Role Clarity: Overburdened with all type of possible roles i.e. preventive, protective,
investigative and non-core functions like traffic management
Structural: Almost 85% police is constabulary with middle level officers crunch, unity of
command missing due to dual reporting relationship both to the senior police officials and
civilian bureaucracy
Operational: Failed to establish police as independent autonomous body without political
intervention, perceived as insensitive and violator of human rights
Recruitment and Training: Flawed archaic process of recruitment and training that still gives
undue importance to physical fitness especially for constabulary, while the crimes are becoming
sophisticated
Poor infrastructural support: Lack of police stations with basic amenities, lack of good R & D
support, poor armory and weapons quality
Emotional and behavioral problems: Lack of counseling, senior and peer support regarding
stress generating factors during the service

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As a result, even after seven decades of independence the police is infested with many problems
detrimental to current needs which can be attributed directly or indirectly to the Act:

These, issues have not been addressed by the Act, which focuses on maintaining hierarchy and discipline
internally and ensuring law and order in which it has failed to a great extent and created for police a
reputation of brutal and insensitive force.

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Hence, the need is to do away or comprehensively amend the Police Act. The reforms should address the
problems of police holistically with special focus on behavioral, moral, self esteem and identity problems.
The SCs directive to implement the Draft Police Act in 2006 has hardly been implemented. The draft act
is a solution to address the operational problems and problems of autonomy to great extent. Citizens
perception of the police also needs to change. Some states have taken initiatives to bring police and
citizens closer like Friends of Police in Kerala, Citizen Charter by Delhi Police etc. Such reform process
should be comprehensively inducted into the new or amended Police Act to address the defects and
lacunae of this colonial relic.

12.

A view which has gained currency is that the no-detention policy under the RTE Act has led to
deteriorating standards in learning outcomes. Critically examine this view and suggest measures to
improve education standards in the country.

Approach:

First write the basis of such a view quote ASER reports, etc.
Then, analyse the problem of education and mention the reasons for low standards.
Discuss how scrapping the no-detention policy would only pass the buck and not address real
problems plaguing the sector.
Also highlight the reason why such policy is in place in India large dropout rates and exclusionary
method of concentrating on bright students only.

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Answer:

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The low standards of learning outcome have been a constant feature of the ASER reports. Internationally,
India ranked second last among 73 countries that participated in Programme for International Students
Assessment (PISA) conducted annually by OECD. In recent years, cities like Delhi, Chandigarh and Nagpur
have also witnessed a rise in number of students failing in Class IX exams.

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A section of teachers, parents and Education Ministers have expressed the view that the No Detention
Policy (NDP) under the RTE Act has been responsible for such deterioration in learning standards. They
hold that with there being no risk of failing, students develop lackadaisical attitude towards studying.
Also, it is said that this system does not distinguish between good hardworking students and the others.

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However, there are common misconceptions that fuel this view. These are (i) No detention means No
assessment, and (ii) students can learn only under the threat of failure.

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First, guidelines for evaluation have been circulated from time to time by CBSE, NCERT and States. CCE
(Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation, under which NDP is implemented) allows for evaluating
students in non-academic and non-cognitive areas of learning. It emphasises on evaluating a child
throughout the year and not just based on performance in term exams. It is based on sound principles of
assessment and pedagogy, recognised world-wide.

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Secondly, examinations are often held for eliminating the children who obtain poor marks. Once declared
fail, children often repeat grade or leave the school altogether. Research evidence indicates that
detention of students by a year or more does not improve learning; rather it has adverse academic and
social effects on the child.
NDP was implemented to ensure holistic development of students, with an idea to reduce the dropout
rates, especially of the vulnerable section. CCE enables a teacher to give individual attention to the
childs learning and performance.
Attacking NDP for falling education standards conflates failure in implementation with failure of policy.
CCE has failed to take off because of lack of awareness, capacity and overburdened classrooms. Key

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factors which influence learning such as quality of teachers and the teacher-pupil ratio remain abysmal.
The need is to train and equip teachers to drive learning outcomes without having to teach for a test. The
foundation of education system has to be kept ready for reform. Reforms should not be held responsible
for the existing failure of system. Instead, efforts to strengthen the foundation have to be the objective of
the policy.

13.

PRAGATI is a unique blend of e-governance and e-transparecy, which seeks to promote a culture of
proactive governance and timely implementation involving realtime presence and exchange among
key stakeholders. Illustrate.

Approach:

Elaborate the PRAGATI platform, its aims and key feature.

Showcase the Integration of various technologies in the Platform for real-time presence, monitoring
and evaluation.
Further, explain the use of this system as a mechanism to promote e-governance and e-transparency.
Exemplify its uniqueness vis--vis older mechanism to clearly bring out the improvements especially
in terms of configuration and grievance redressal mechanism.

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Creating a credible mechanism for redressal of Public Grievances.

Proper monitoring for timely implementation and desired outcome for programs and projects
launched by the Government.
Facilitate the projects of the States from the Union Government level.

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An ambitious multi-purpose and multi-modal platform PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely
Implementation) is aimed at:

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It is a three-tier system (PMO, Union Government Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries of the
States) which brings in the major stakeholders from union and state on a common platform
Prime Minister will hold a monthly programme where he will interact with the Government of
India Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries through Video-conferencing enabled by data and geoinformatics visuals. It will ensure real-time, regular exchange.
PRAGATI provides an interface and platform for three existing platforms. (namely CPGRAMS,
PMG and Ministry of Statistics)

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Unique features:

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Conference will use the real time data exchange and geo spatial technology to monitor the
progress of flagged schemes and projects. ( of both union and state)
The grievance redressal mechanism is integrated and expanded to cater to the root cause of the
problems also.
Fast track clearance of projects due to involvement of major stakeholders across states and
ministries. For example ; Navi Mumbai airport project was flagged in the first meeting .
Focus on outcomes

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e-governance measures:

e-transparency measures:

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Centralized monitoring of critical projects like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

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All the flagged programs, projects, schemes would be monitored using advanced technology as
well as regular review (monthly basis).

A clear cut guidelines for bringing the issue into the system with detailed process and timelines.

The updates of the schemes and progress will remain visible at all times and would bring in extra
accountability.

The platform is user friendly and showcases all the updates, conference, geo tagging, etc at one place for
easy monitoring. The confluence of technology, transparency and accountability provided by PRAGATI
when backed by visionary leadership have a potential to contribute in efficient and responsive
governance.

14.

Discus how Directive Principle of State Policy have shaped the policy making process in India. Do you
think it has been successful in achieving its objective. Analyse.

Approach:
Define very briefly about DPSP in the introduction. Bring out its main objectives and classification.
Mention various policies, which are derived from the implementation of DPSP principles.
Trace the evolution of these policies.
In the second section, discuss the success and failures of state in achieving the ideals enshrined in
the DPSP. Since, the ideal situation is difficult to achieve, try not to be very critical of the process.
Rather, the focus should shift towards the progress and finally Suggestions to overcome the lacunae.
Conclude with summing up the whole situation.

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The Directive Principles of State Policy, although non-justiciable, lays down the principles, which are
considered fundamental in the governance of the country, making it the duty of the State to apply these
principles in making laws to establish a just society in the country. The DPSP draws its power from
multiple sources (Irish Constitution) including Gandhian principles and the constitution framers
enshrined many principles in order to establish a new social order in which justice social, economic and
political shall prevail.

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Land reforms and abolition of Zamindari System.

National Commission for the Welfare of Women has been established.
Ceiling has been placed on land and property to fix the limit of persons holdings.
The rules require that both men and women be paid equal wages for equal work.
Schemes like MGNREGA (Right to work), SABLA, ICDS, National Social Assistance, Mid-day meal etc.
are examples of state attempt to follow the principles embodied in the articles 39,41.

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Socio-economic principles

Gandhian Principles

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Through 73rd and 74thAmendments to the constitution, (1991 & 1992 respectively), Panchayati Raj
has been given the constitutional status with more powers. (Article 40)
Sincere efforts have been made for the upliftment of the SCs ,STs and of other Backward Classes.

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International Principles

India has also been actively co-operating with the U.N. to promote international peace and security.
(Article 51)

The above steps on the part of the central and state governments indicate that many Directive Principles
of State Policy have been implemented. However, still there is a long way to go to achieve all of them in
full. For instance:

The concentration of wealth has increased. (Indias top 1% holds close to half of the countrys total
wealth, Credit Suisses Global Wealth Databook 2014).
Although the school enrollment has almost reached universal, the high dropout rate (60 lakh
students are out of school with 77 percent in rural areas) and quality of education remains an area of
concern.
PRI suffers from the lacunae of Funds, Functions and Functionaries.
Women labour force participation rate have come down to 32 percent (ILO global employment
trends report 2013).

There are many hindrances in the non-implementation of Directive Principles of State Policy.
The main reasons are:
Limited material resources.
Lack of political will,
Lack of awareness and organized action on the part of the people.

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Indias participation in bilateral and multilateral naval and military exercises represent Indias desire to
safeguard its sphere of influence and is also a response to changing geo-strategic scenario. Comment.

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Though much has been achieved but still there is a long way to go to accomplish this objective of a
welfare state. The DPSP have long shaped the policy making in India and will continue to do so, as the
principles enshrined are fundamental in nature. The recent enactment of right to education, Housing for
All scheme, Mission Indradhanush etc. showcase the vigils of the state to abide by the DPSP.

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Describe the objectives of Naval and Military exercises.

Analyze how exercises secure strategic goals in changed Geo-strategic scenario.

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Safeguarding Sphere of influence-: The Indian Ocean has emerged as a new arena of competition
between China making inroads and India trying to recover its position as the dominant maritime
power in the region. Chinas aggressive new operations in the region and reports that Beijing is
pushing for the establishment of 18 deep-water posts with the African and Asian littoral has
challenged the Indias sphere of influence in region. The String of pearls policy and the Maritime Silk
route policy of Chinese planners has endangered pre-eminent Indian position. Naval exercises with
Australia, Japan, USA, Singapore and littoral countries act as deterrent to Chinese expansionism.
Coastal surveillance network-: Indias anti-submarine assets lack capacity to detect underwater
threats. The inability to detect the Chinese submarine supply ship that docked at Karachi highlighted

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India often conducts naval and military exercises with other friendly countries designed to increase naval
interoperability and also to strengthen cooperative security relationship. In last decade these exercises
are on rise. These exercises are conducted for numerous objectives.

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the critical gaps in Indias capabilities. Creating partnerships to plug these critical gaps is vital for
India. Naval And military exercises add to interoperability by creating military to-military linkages that
can be leveraged for joint surveillance. This could lead to sharing information and logistical
cooperation to achieve more comprehensive coverage.
Anti-Piracy operations-: The International Lines of communication face serious threat from the
increased piracy in the Indian Ocean region. The presence of heavy naval forces due to regular naval
exercises checks the attacks from pirates in the region.
Anti-terrorist Co-operation-: The organized and interconnected nature of terrorist activities
worldwide warrants co-ordination between armed forces. The regular intelligence sharing and joint
operations are made possible with military exercises. It makes the armed forces familiar with
organizations and command structure of friend country. It makes co-ordination easier.
Geo-strategic convergence-: There is a growing convergence in the region now that the strategic
framework of the Indo-Pacific remains the best way forward to manage the rapidly shifting contours
of Asia. Proposed first by Japan and adopted by Australia, the framework has gained considerable
currency. The rapidly evolving regional geopolitics is forcing Asias middle powers India, Japan and
Australia to devise alternative strategies for balancing China.

All these security concerns have resulted in rise in naval and military cooperation. It is time for India to
leverage existing and emerging multilateral platforms to engage deeply with partner countries and take
on a greater leadership role in the IOR. Given the centrality of the Indian Ocean to its national security,
India cannot afford to ignore any short or long term threats, and must begin to be proactive, rather than
reactive.

Despite complementarity of interests and needs, India and Central Asia have remained distant for a
long time. Explain why. In what ways can the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
help in expanding Indias trade and investment links with Central Asia?

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Mention what are the complementarity of interest and needs between India and Central Asia.
Discuss the reasons why the relationship remained distant.
Mention current status of relationship.
Mention the ways in which INSTC can help in trade relationship between India and Central Asia.

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India needs greater energy diversification and Central Asia, with its abundant oil, gas, and uranium
reserves as well as hydroelectric potential, is key to reducing its energy dependency on the Middle
East.
There is a great potential for economic cooperation. India trade with the whole region is very low
level of around 1.6 billion US dollars. India has thus not seen the sort of commercial interaction in
Central Asia, which we saw in Southeast Asia, East Asia and West Asia
Central Asia possesses large cultivable tracts of land and we see potential for India to cooperate in
production of profitable crops with value addition
For creating a cooperative security structure for maintaining peace in Asia, Indias policy of peaceful
coexistence and of playing a constructive and meaningful role in the United Nations drives India to
work with a deep sense of responsibility on all global issues. India's engagement in Central Asia,
therefore, must be seen in the context of a quest for a world order which is multi-polar.
Central Asian countries could also gain from the techno-economic- potential of India
Central Asias desire for diversifying hydro-power and energy export routes would correspond with
India's quest for diversifying imports.

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Complementarity of interest and needs between India and Central Asia

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India will be keen to invest in setting up downstream production facilities, instead of exporting raw
materials out of the region through expensive pipelines. This can benefit Central Asian regions as the
approach differ from those seeking exclusively to pump out Central Asia's riches.
Both share common concern from strategic and security point of view for example reconstruction in
Afghanistan, counter terrorism etc. The predominantly Muslim but multi-ethnic and multi-religious
CARs and India are both gets affected from terrorism (eg Afghanistan) and other issues such as drug
trafficking (Central Asian republics also face serious threat from illegal drug trade emanating from
Afghanistan.)
Central Asia lies at the strategic junction between two nuclear powers, Russia and China, and at the
interface between Russia and the Islamic world. It shares borders with Afghanistan, which is a major
source of spreading religious extremism in the region. India has a vital interest in the security and
political stability of this region.

India has traditionally attached great importance to its relations with Central Asia. But, unfortunately, the
relationship despite close historical & cultural contacts has not progressed to the desired extent. The key
constraint India faces is

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The most important bottleneck is lack of direct access to Central Asia.

The unstable situation in Afghanistan and a highly problematic India-Pakistan relation have deprived
India from the benefit of relations with Central Asia.
The Central Asian countries continue to face daunting socio-economic and security problems. The
relations among themselves are far from smooth. Issues like water security, borders, environmental
degradation and migration have become acute. Religious extremism & fundamentalism pose serious
challenge to regional stability for example the Fergana Valley remains a hot spot of fundamentalism.
Traditionally, Central Asia has been an arena of "great game". The modern version is being played out
even today. Russia, China, US, Turkey, Iran, Europe, EU, Japan, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan have all
substantial security and economic interests in the region.
Absence of a viable banking infrastructure in the region is a major barrier to trade and investment.
Indian banks can expand their presence if they see a favorable policy environment.

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The INSTC is a multi-modal trade transport network that includes rail, road, and water transport from
Mumbai in India via Bandar Abbas in Iran to Moscow in Russia. It could be used to explore further
options for developing connectivity with other countries such as Turkey and in Eastern Europe.

INSTC can play a very important role in expanding Indias trade and investment links with Central Asia.

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For India, the INSTC looks to be a trade corridor of tremendous promise that could help the country
develop its economic and strategic importance in Eurasia and Central Asia.

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17.

It could facilitate Indias economic integration with Eurasian economies and other countries in
surrounding regions.
The INSTC has particular economic and strategic relevance to India given the increasing regional
ambitions of China through its One Belt, One Road Initiative.
INSTC would substantially reduce the cost of transporting goods from India to Eurasia and
surrounding regions, because it is shorter than the existing routes. A study shows that the corridor
would be 30 percent cheaper and 40 percent shorter than the current route via St. Petersburg to
Moscow.
India is expected to negotiate a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the Eurasian
Economic Union, which consists of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, with Armenia likely to
join. This agreement would help India expand its economic, trade and investment opportunities in
this region. It would be easier to access these markets through the INSTC and it would boost the
competitiveness of Indias trade.

The fourteenth finance commission is advancement over the previous finance commission in terms of
improving the federal relations of the country. Discuss.

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Briefly introduce the recommendations of the financial commission as different from the previous
one
The underlying objective of the FFC.
The overall implications of the recommendations of the FFC for the Centre State relations.

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2011 Population and Forest cover have been introduced as the new variables and exclusion of the
fiscal discipline variable as used in the previous commission.
Increase the share of states in net shareable Central taxes pool reserve by 42%, which is 10% more
than the recommendation of the thirteenth commission. Such devolution can lead to greater fiscal
autonomy and fiscal federalism.
Proposal of grants to local and urban local bodies, performance grants along with grants for disaster
and revenue deficit. The grants are in two parts: basic and performance such steps seek to
strengthen and improve local governing structures.
No sector specific grants unlike in the Thirteenth Finance Commission.
Departure from the earlier Commissions recommendation regarding the grant in aid to the states by
the Centre.

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The Finance Commission is a constitutional body and is set up after every five years by the President to
review the state of finances between the Centre and the states and to recommend measures to ensure a
financially stable and sustainable environment. The Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) was appointed
in 2013 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Y.V. Reddy.

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Loopholes:

Some states like Bihar, North East depends upon the grant in aids and Central schemes for their
development therefore removal of such schemes would be detrimental for these states.
With no funds for sector specific grants, it puts a greater stress on the financial budget of poorer
states to manage their budget for development and other purposes.
Another issue that may adversely affect the finances of the State is changes in the allocation of
Normal Central Assistance (NCA) as per the Gadgil-Mukherjee formula, which favours special
category states.

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While greater devolution allows for states to manage their finances, some states like those in the N.
East and under developed regions have been dependent upon the Centre for their development
which needs to be ensured continues under various schemes and provisions

In conclusion, while the higher tax devolution allows for greater autonomy to the states the success of
cooperative federalism depends on how the states use the higher revenues and the freedom to frame
their development priorities.

18.

The Right to Privacy is not a guaranteed constitutional right. Critically discuss this statement in the
light of recent controversy around the Aadhar Scheme.

Approach:

First highlight the controversy surrounding Aadhar and Right to Privacy (especially the Govt. stand).
Since the question is to critically examine bring out the reasons / lacunae in violating privacy rights of
individuals in context of Aadhar.
Finally give a balanced view highlighting that why Right to Privacy cannot be absolute and
requirement of Aadhar in targeting social sector schemes.

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The Centre recently, by citing 1962 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Kharak Singh case , held that
privacy was not a guaranteed right under the Constitution, and is seeking justification before the
Supreme Court , that making a citizen part with vital personal data under the Aadhaar scheme does not
amount to intrusion of privacy

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According to the Govt. without Aadhar , identifying beneficiaries and targeting social sector schemes
would become difficult. Also the Centre cited that the Constitution-makers had never intended to make
it a Fundamental Right and it had been a vague concept all these years, subject to varying conclusions
from the Supreme Court.

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by the Executive because privacy is at the core of every individuals vital needs. Each citizen should
be entitled to his or her privacy, subject to what is necessary to ensure security of citizens, including
their well-being. A strict denial of privacy will defeat democracy.
The Centre by collecting personal biometric data of individuals without any legal backing attached to
Aadhar violates the right to privacy.
There is no law guaranteeing in Aadhar that the data already with government will not be used for
unintended purposes (for example, snooping on citizens) or that there will be foolproof safeguards to
prevent leakage of data to unauthorised hands as UIDAI has allowed many private parties to collect
biometrics from people and the collected data may lead to the possibility of its misuse.

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Why Privacy must be ensured

In pursuit of better management of and greater efficiency in the delivery of services, it is natural that
the government would want an identification mechanism to authenticate beneficiaries and
consumers of its services and welfare measures.
Thus, it is required not only a safe means of digitising citizens identity particulars, but also a
comprehensive law to protect their privacy and personal data from unauthorised surveillance and
misuse.

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It is a truism that Right to Privacy cannot be made absolute as there are chances of it being misused by
terrorists for snooping, spying etc. Also if privacy has to be secured meaningfully, then some limits have
to be placed on the governments ability to gather information. Anything short of that will leave the
citizen short-changed.

19.

India's inability to join APEC is not because of lack of interest on her part but due to a variety of other
reasons. Explain. What are the expected benefits of such a membership for India?

Approach:
Give a very brief introduction of APEC.
Why India wants to join this organization and what have been the reasons for India not becoming its
member.
Also discuss the significance of Indias membership to this organization.
Answer:
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), established in 1989, is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member
economies that seeks to promote free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. The aim
was to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.

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The organization imposed the moratorium on new membership from the 1990s in the wake of the
1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
India doesn't border the Pacific, which is the essential requirement for the membership.
It is alleged by some Western countries that inclusion of India in APEC would make it an organization
with more Asian orientation.
India levies substantial custom duties on imports and its rules on foreign direct investment (FDI) are
quite restrictive. Since, APEC is all about free trade and investment, so India is seen to be ineligible
for its membership.
For the country's political class it has been hard to execute long-term policy, as the APEC
membership would require India to implement various radical economic and financial reforms.

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India has been trying to be attain the membership of APEC since 1993, and received initial support from
some countries. Recently, India was invited to be an observer for the first time in November 2011.
However, even after initial support of the leading economies of the group, India has not been admitted
for various reasons. These are:

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However, after the recent economic and labor reforms by the new government, it is highly likely that
India will be a member pretty soon. The following are some of the benefits for India should it become a
member of APEC:

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Indias membership of APEC would further strengthen its Act East policy.
Since, many APEC economies, which dominate global value chains, will face labor shortages in the
coming years, Indias huge labor supply can be an integral part global value chains.
Since APEC is about setting benchmarks, India would need to improve its standards of goods and
services exports across the board. This would further expand the market for Indian exports.
The proposed Free Trade Area in Asia Pacific (FTAAP) is more ambitious in scope than the Doha
round, which limits itself to reducing trade restrictions. The FTAAP would create a free trade zone
that would considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region.

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However, APEC has been criticized for promoting free trade agreements that would trammel national
and local laws, which regulate and ensure labor rights, environmental protection, affordable access to
medicine etc. Further, whether APEC has really accomplished anything constructive remains debatable,
the birth of the narrower and newer Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Trans
Pacific Partnership (TPP) processes point to the sub-optimal realization of the goals of FTAAP under APEC.
Nevertheless, its membership may open new avenues for Indian economy.

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20.

That the recognition of transgender rights could open up a Pandoras Box on the issue of
decriminalization of homosexuality amounts to taking a narrow view on an important question of
social justice. Discuss.

Approach:

A small background explaining status of homosexuality and transgender rights in India, along with
problems faced by them.
Explain how recognition of transgender rights is linked with decriminalization of homosexuality.
Analyze how it is more a question of social justice than of gender and sexual orientation.
Conclude with way forward/recommendations.

Answer:
Transgender community enjoyed a respectable position in ancient Indian culture and civilization.
However, during British colonial rule, the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 categorized the transgender
community as criminals. This was further compounded by Section 377 of IPC added in 1860 and
provides for punishment for up to life imprisonment for "carnal intercourse against the order of the
nature with any man, woman or animal".
This essentially criminalized sexual expressions of Transgender people. For example, a transgender
woman engaged in heterosexual relations with a man may be breaking the law under Indias ban on
homosexual acts, if she is anatomically male.

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In 2014, Indias Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment recognizing transgender people as the third
gender. Ruling said that society had failed to realize the trauma, agony and pain, which transgender
people had experienced. Judges also highlighted the fact that misuse of Section 377 is one of the
principal forms of discrimination against the transgender community as gender identity and sexual
orientation are intrinsically linked.

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Recently, Rajya sabha passed a private member's bill seeking equal rights with dignity for transgenders.
While the bill majorly covers education, employment and health needs, the government is skeptical that
it might lead to larger debate on scrapping of section 377 as the bill talks about non discrimination in
matters of anatomy as well.

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The major concern today should be not on nuances of legality but the rights of a widely neglected
minority whose numbers run close to 25 lakhs. Discrimination in all walks of life is common for
transgender community, from housing, jobs to social sphere.

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Constitutional protection should be made available to a group regardless of its size. The provisions of
statutory body in centre and state level should be accepted along with reservation in jobs and education.

Copyright by Vision IAS

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
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VISION IAS
www.visionias.in
Approach Answer: General Studies Mains Mock Test 635 (2015)
Answer all the questions in NOT MORE THAN 150 WORDS each. Contents of the answer are more important
than its length. All questions carry equal marks.
10X25=250
1.

Mughal chronicles present the empire as comprising many different ethnic and religious communities;
the emperor stood at the centre of it and ensured that justice and peace prevailed. Elaborate in the
context of sulh-i kul as described by Abul Fazl.

Approach:

Introductory part should deal with explicating the chronicles, delineating their meaning and
significance in general.
Second part should deal with the idea of sulh-i kul in continuation of the introduction.
Conclude by contrasting the ideal of sulh-i kul with example of a departure from the ideal.

Answer:
Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for studying the empire and
its courts. They were written in order to

Project a vision of enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella. At the same time
they were meant to convey to those who resisted the rule of the Mughals that all resistance was
destined to fail.
The authors of these chronicles were invariably courtiers, the titles such as Akbar Nama, Shahjahan
Nama, Alamgir Nama etc suggests that in the eyes of their authors the history of empire and the
court was synonymous with that of the emperor.

These chronicles present a picture of the empire comprising multitude of ethnic and religious
communities such- Hindus, Jainas, Zoroastrians and Muslims. As the source of all peace and stability the
emperor stood above all religions and ethnic groups, mediated among them and ensured that peace and
justice prevail.
A case in point is what Abul, Fazl descirbes as the ideal of sulh-I kul (absolute peace) as the cornerstone
of enlightened rule. In sulh-I kul

All religions and schools of thought had freedome of expresson but on condition that they did not
undermine thae authority of the state or fight among themselves.
The ideal of sulh-I kul was implemented through state policies. For instance, the nobility under the
Mughals was a composite one comprising Iranis, Turanis, Afghans, Rajputs, Deccanis- all of who were
given positions purely on the basis of their service and loyality to the emperor.
Further, Akbar abolished the tax on pilgrimage in 1563 and jizya in 1564 as the two were based on
religious discrimination. Instructions were sent to officers of the empire to follow the precept of
sulh-I kul in administration.

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All Mughal emperors gave grants to support the maintenance of places of worship. Even when temples
were destroyed during war, grants were later issued for their repair as in the reins of Shah Jahan and
Aurangzeb. Nonetheless, contrary to this ideal pictures it is also true that during the reign of Aurangzeb
jizya was reimposed thus violating the precepts of sulh-I kul.

2.

Nalanda school of sculpture was the culmination of a synthesis between the local tradition and
surrounding areas. Elaborate. Also enumerate the features that make the Nalanda art distinct.

Approach:

Introductory part should lay out the background of Nalanda as a learning centre under Buddhist
influence and its development as a seat of distinct style of sculpture resulting from the confluence of
various influences.
Second part should explicate the specifics of Nalanda school of sculpture. Provide specifics of both
stone and bronze sculptural activities that this tradtition came to be known for
Conclude by underlining the emergence and presence of examples that provide glimpse of the later
phase.

Answer:

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Nalanda is known for the monastic university which was a Mahavihara. It was a prolific centre of art
production as well and had a decisive impact on the arts of all Buddhist countries in Asia. The sculptural
art of Nalanda, in stucco, stone and bronze, developed out of heavy dependence on the Buddhist Gupta
art of Sarnath. By the ninth century a synthesis occurred between Sarnath Gupta idiom, the local Bihar
tradition and that of central India, leading to the formation of the Nalanda school of sculpture.

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The precisely executed sculptures have an ordered appearance with little effect of crowding.
Sculptures are also not usually flat in relief but are depicted in three dimensional forms.
The black slabs of the sculpture are detailed and the ornaments delicate.
The Nalanda bronzes developed between the seventh and eights centuries to approximately
twelfth century outmumber the discovery of metal images from all other sites of eastern India
and constitute a large body of Pala Period metal sculptures.
Like their stone counterparts, the bronzes initially relied on Sarnath and Mathura Gupta
traditions.
The Nalanda sculptures initially depict Buddhist deities of the Mahayana pantheon such as
standing Budhhas, bodhisattvas such as Manjusri Kumara, Avlokiteshwara seated on a lotus and
Naga-Nagarjuna.

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This tradition was characterised by distinctive facial features, body forms and treatment o clothing and
jewellery. The characteristic features of Nalanda art distinguished by its high quality of workmanship, are

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During the eleventh and twelfth centuries , when Nalanda emerged as an important tantric centre, the
repertoire came to be dominated by deities such as Vajrasharda (a form of Saraswati), Khasarpana,
Avlokiteshwara etc. Depiction of crowned Budhha occours only after tenth century. Interestingly various
brahmanical images not conforming to the Sarnath style have also been found, many of which are still
worshipped in small temples in villages around the site.

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3.

Discuss the contribution of Vijayanagar Empire to Indian art and architecture.

Approach:

Give a brief account of the time period and the rule of Vijaynagar Empire.
One can divide the question in two parts and then give separate accounts of the contribution to
Indian Art (paintings and sculpture) and Architecture (buildings, pillars, temples, etc.) respectively.
Finally conclude the answer

Answer:
The Vijayanagar Empire was based in the Deccan plateau region of South India founded in 1336 by
Harihara I (ruled 1336-135 CE), and lasted until 1646.. The empire's patronage enabled its fine arts and
literature to rise to new heights, and its legacy of sculpture, painting, and architecture influenced the
development of the arts in South India long after the empire came to an end.

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Vijaynagara style is a harmonious combination of the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya, and Chola styles
which evolved in earlier centuries and represents a return to the simplicity of the past.
Vijaynagara Architecture developed its own style known as Provida style; massiveGopurams and
spacious mandapas; exquisitely carved Pillars and Piers; the stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana
were depicted on Temple walls; raised platform specifically meant for seated deities.
Vijayanagar-era architecture can be broadly classified into religious(temples etc.), courtly(consists of
a fusion of temple like elements i.e. carved eaves , pyramidal towers with sultanate elements like
lobed arches , plaster designs surrounded by high wall compound eg. Lotus Mahal) , and civic
architecture( mostly consisted of structures such as canals,water tanks ,and high raised platforms.
Like MahanavamiDibba "great platform",Hiriya Canal and Kamalapuram water tank.)
Local hard granite was used as the building material due to its durability, but soapstone, which was
soft and easily carved, was also used for reliefs and sculptures. In order to cover the unevenness of
the stone used in sculptures, artists employed brightly-painted plaster to smoothen the rough
surfaces.
An enduring example of Vijayanagar architecture can be seen in its temples which are: Surrounded
by strong enclosures, have ornate pillared Kalayanmandapa and tall Rayagopurams built of wood ,
brick and stucco reminiscent of Chola style
They are adorned by life sized figures of gods and goddesses
Virupaksha temple at Hampi exemplifies this architecture
Similarly in sculpture large monolithic statues such as Sasivekalu Ganesha at Hampi represents the
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Mysore painting, an important form of South Indian classical painting, is an off-shoot of Vijayanagar
painting originated in the southern town of Mysore, in Karnataka, during the reign of the Vijayanagar
emperors. Mysore paintings are known for their elegance, muted colors, and attention to detail.
Popular themes include Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology.
Vijayanagar art includes wall-paintings of the Dashavatara (The Ten Avatars of Vishnu) and the
Girijakalyana(marriage of Parvati) at theVirupaksha Temple at Hampi .

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Vijayanagar School of Painting was renowned for its frescoes of Hindu mythological themes on temple
walls and ceilings.

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4.

The striking thing about modern India is that the men and women who made its history also wrote
more authoritatively about it. In this context, highlight the literary contributions of B.R. Ambedkar,
Jawaharlal Nehru and M.K. Gandhi.

Approach:

Introductory part should sketch these leaders as towering intellectuals, thus building up the next
stage of analysis by indicating wide corpus of their writings.
The Second part should take each of them specifically mention their writings and at least provide on
example of a work that brings to the fore some of their key ideas.
Conclude by observing the impact of their ideas on contemporary India through their corpus of
writings.

Answer:
The trinity of M.K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and B.R. Ambedkar represent leading figures in modern
history of India who also were leading thinkers reflecting on state of affairs in the country at the time.
Even as these personalities fought and struggled, led and governed, they wrote at great length about the
world they saw and shaped. This can be seen in the fact that;

Gandhis Collected Works, run into more than ninety volumes.

More than fifty volumes of Nehrus selected works have so far been published
Dr Ambedkars works are published in sixteen volume many of them exceeding a thousand pages.

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Gandhi founded his own Journal the Indian opinion in 1903, much of it he wrote himself. On his
return to India he edited a journal called Young India and then another called Harijan, Gandhi also
extensively wrote in his Mother tongue Gujarati and published several books, among them two
volumes of autobiography. An example of his enduring idea, non-violence, comes in his critique of
colonialism and Western civilization called Hind Swaraj where he also talked about ideas such as soul
force or truth force.
Nehru founded and edited a daily newspaper, the National Herald. He published three major books
Glimpses of World History (1934), An Autobiography (1936), and The Discovery of India (1946).
Nehru as prime minister wrote Letters to Chief Ministers, published in five volumes. In these letters
the range of topics covered by Nehru includes economic development, linguistic and religious
politics, the ethics of governance, the Cold War and the passing away of literary Giants. These letters
represent valuable insights in to contemporary history of the country in the initial years.
Dr. Ambedakar published several books on many topics such as federalism, theology, philosophy,
finance, language, constitutionalism and most importantly on sociology, politics and history of the
Caste system. Through the 1930s and 1940s, Dr. Ambedakar wrote a series of tracts excoriating
Gandhi and Gandhism an example of which is What the Congress and Gandhi have done to the
Untouchables. Dr. Ambedkars speeches in the constituent assembly also point to his valuable
literary contribution to public life. The Annihilation of Caste, published by Dr. Ambedkar on his
own cost, is a brilliant and withering indictment of the caste system.

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Their literary contribution is highlighted not only in the prolific nature of their writings but also in the
ideas they engaged with:

From routine letters and speeches to extended essays on subjects such as national identity, democracy,
religious culture and social justice these stalwarts engaged each other and the wider world, thus, having
a profound impact on contemporary India through their ideas.

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5.

Railways, which served as an important tool of industrial revolution in many western countries, acted
in India as a catalyst of colonization. Discuss.

Approach:

Start with highlighting the importance of railways for industrial revolution.

Then, mention the conditions necessitated the introduction of railways in India.
Give reasons how railways acted as a catalyst forcolonization of India.
Give counterview and a balanced conclusion at the end.

Answer:
The railroads had a fairly large impact on the Industrial Revolution in western countries. Railroads could
transport men and materials needed faster than before, which helped factories produce goods.
The political condition and the economic trend of the 19th century India induced the British to construct
railways all over India. Railways, it was believed, would assist the economic development of India.
However Railways in India acted as a catalyst of colonization in following ways.
The rapid industrialization and the introduction of factory system in Europe compelled the British to
find market for their finished products. So they penetrated into the Indian life through infrastructural
developments, which were meant only to serve their interest. India became a source of raw
materials for the British textile industries and a profitable market for their factory goods aided by
ease of transport and reach made possible by railways. Being an imperialist power the British wanted
to perpetuate the domination over India. Before the construction of any railway bridge whether a
new one or the replacement of an existing one, the wishes of local governments and the military
department were considered. It was the army of Madras Presidency that the British had chiefly
looked for services beyond sea. By railway investment in India, the government had to reduce
military expenditure, through quicker military transport and better internal administration.The
railway was one of the protected monopolies sponsored by the British mostly to provide scope for
the fruitful investment of their capital in India. The successful running of the first train in England and
the opportunities and profits which accompanied it attracted the attention of the capitalists and
moneyed men who were searching for new areas for investments.
The British realized the importance of cheap means of transport for the efficiency of the
administration. The railway promoters in India wanted rapid expansion of railways because it would
provide political stability and administrative efficiency to India.

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Highlight the salient features of British policy towards Princely states during the 20th century. How did
the policy of Indian National Congress evolve towards democratic movements in the Princely States?

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However, perhaps as an unintended consequence, Indian Railways played a vital role in the economic
development and national integration of the country. It brought about remarkable changes in the
economic, political, social and cultural life a process that continues till day with the daily operation of the
vast network of the Indian Railway. The introduction of Railways , which is one of the legacies of the
British rule in India, has not only caused remarkable increase in the quick communication between
different parts of India but also brought about profound changes in the habits And outlook of the people.

Approach:

Introduction should briefly define princely states and their linkage with The British rule.
Major policies adopted by the British towards Princely states such as Policy of Subordinate Isolation,
Subordinate Union and Equal Federation should find a mention in the subsequent discussion. Last
two polices we have to highlight as 20th century relations were governed by them.
In the last part discuss the Congress policy with specific inputs such as the Praja Mandal Movement.

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Answer:
The territories, which were not direct rule of the British were known as Princely States. All of them
recognized the paramountcy of the British Government and in return the British Guaranteed the Princes
against any threat to their autocratic power, internal or external. The 20th century relations between the
British and the States were governed by the policies such as Subordinate Union and Equal Federation.
Policy of Subordinate Union- This policy though adopted in 1858 governed the relations till 1935. Its
features are a follows.

Hitherto prevailing policy of annexation was abandoned and Policy of Intervention was adopted by
which a ruler could be deposed.
sanads were issued at regular intervals by Governor Generals laying down the principles of
intervention.
The Butler committee Report declared that the Princes had no sovereign authority.

Policy of Equal Federation was adopted under Government of India Act 1935. Its features are:

It proposed the scheme of federation which rulers could join on their will and their terms.
In proposed bi-cameral Parliament the states were representation.

INC in its Nagpur session in 1920 urged princes to grant full responsible government in their states.
But at the same time it did not look for direct participation in the movement. Congress reiterated it
policy in 1927 resolution. Congress minister during 1937-39 kept encouraging people of States for
movement by highlighting the differences in their rule and states.
In 1938 Haripura session, Congress allowed its members to take part in their individual capacity.

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The advance of national movement in British India, an the accompanying increase in political
consciousness about democracy, responsible government and civil liberties had an inevitable impact on
the people of the states. A democratic movement broke out in states during 20th Century demanding
representation and justice culminating in the convening of the All India States Peoples Conference
(AISPC) in 1927. In this context the Policy of Indian National Congress was supportive of the peoples
movement:

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One of the paradoxical changes in the caste system in post-independence India is that it has become
almost invisible for the urban middle and upper classes amongst the upper castes. Critically examine.

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As political awareness increased in these states as seen in the mushrooming of Praja Mandals the
Congress changed its policy. Thus, in 1939 Tripuri Congress AISPC elected Jawaharlal Nehru as its
president indicating the fusion between movement in British India and the Princely India.

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Start the answer with brief introduction of caste system.

Bring out various reasons why caste system in post-independence India is almost invisible for the
urban middle and upper classes amongst the upper caste
Then write some reason why it is still prevalent.
Conclude positively with a way forward

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Answer:

Post independent India witnessed major changes in social institution of caste. While the state abolished
all consideration of caste, the degradation of politics, process of sanskritization, unequal development
policies intensified the caste system in pockets.

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After Independence the urban people in India (especially urban middle and upper class amongst the
upper caste) are less strict about the caste system due to the following reasons: This group has benefited the most from the developmental policies of the postcolonial era.
They were able to benefit from subsidized public education, especially professional education in
Science, technology, medicine and management.
They were also able to take advantage of the expansion of the state sectors job in the early decades
after independence.
Different caste people mingling with each other because they go to school/college, play, study, make
friends, work, eat and drink freely with people of other castes regardless of higher or lower"
caste.
As new occupations open up in urban areas, the correlation of caste with occupation is declining.
Change in work culture as in companys people from all caste work together.
Sometimes urban people (specially urban middle and upper classes amongst the upper castes) even
marry outside their caste.
Among anonymous crowds in urban public spaces and on public transportation, caste affiliations are
unknown, and observance of purity and pollution rules is negligible.

As their privileged status got consolidated in the second and third generations, these groups began to
believe that their advancement had little to do with caste, thus making caste invisible for them.

On the other hand, caste system is still a important reality, especially among lower class in the upper
caste and lower caste in urban India due to the following reason: -

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The poor among high caste communities feel discriminated by the government policy to reserve
positions for the Backward Classes. For e.g. recent agitation of panels in Gujarat against reservation.
The caste identity has become a subject of political, social and legal interpretation. Communities
who get listed as entitled for positive discrimination do not get out of this list even if their social and
political conditions get better.
Groups having no inherited educational and social capital , as they must compete with an already
entrenched upper caste group, cannot afford to abandon their caste identity for it is one of the few
collective assets they have
Finding power in numbers within India's democratic system, caste groups are pulling together closely
allied sub castes in their quest for political influence.
In efforts to solidify caste bonds, some caste associations have organized marriage fairs where
families can make matches for their children.
Traditional hierarchical concerns are being minimized in favor of strengthening horizontal unity.

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Though Pakistan believed that it could succeed against India in a short local war because of Indias
internal and external situation, India registered both real and symbolic gains. Discuss in context of the
1965 India-Pakistan war.

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Thus, caste has emerged as a key mobilization tool. As India industrializes and urbanizes, the caste
system will fade and eventually disappear. Education and election to political office have advanced the
status of many Dalit, but the overall picture remains one of great inequity.

Approach:

We have to highlight the prevailing internal political, economic and international challenges India
was facing the time of 1965 war.
Also, write briefly about the plan of war by Pakistan and how we succeeded in defeating this plan.

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Answer:
After the death of Nehru in 1964 Lal Bahadur Shastri came to power. This time India was facing severe
challenges.
Internal:

In 1965 India faced acute drought which broke the backbone of our economy.
This time also witnessed Hindi vs other language disputes which was capable of destabilising India.
While Nehru was undisputed leader of Congress, Shashtri was challenged by Syndicate led by Kamraj.

External:

India got decisive defeat in the hands of China which lowered the morale of our forces.
Non Alignment Movement was at the verge of fracture.
India was also facing severe Balance of payment crisis.

The blueprint was in the form of a four-phase plan:

a probing encounter to check the Indian response in the Rann of Kutch;

an engineered uprising in Kashmir via infiltrators (Operation Gibraltar);
followed by a sophisticated Patton tank assault in Punjab aimed at cutting of Jammu and Kashmir;
and finally, the, capture of Amritsar and many parts of the Indian territory, to be exchanged for
Kashmir.

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India won 1,920 sq. km of territory; Pakistan won 540 sqkm

2,862 Indian soldiers were killed; Pakistan lost 5,800 soldiers
India lost 97 tanks; 450 Pakistani tanks were destroyed or captured

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At the end of the war, this is what India said the tally looked like:

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India failed Pakistani attempt Pakistani attempt to capture Akhnoor Sector. Indian army crossed Ichogil
canal and reached till Lahore airport. Indian army also stopped Pakistan army to reach Amritsar and at
the same time gained big area in Sialkot, Lahore and PoK.

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The post-independence era witnessed emergence of New Social Movements as a corrective measure
to maladies arising from the neglect of political establishment. Discuss emergence of these movements
in India. Also, examine their limitations.

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This war is important for two reasons - it wiped the humiliation of defeat India faced in 1962 against
China and also allowed the Indian army to hone and tweak their strategy. This gave them confidence
which led to their decisive victory in the 1971 war against Pakistan.

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Identify the reasons for emergence of NSMs.

Discuss the contribution of various movements with examples.
Identify the limitations of these movements.

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Social movements formed integral part of the Indias freedom struggle. These movements tried to
address the centuries old deprivation of various social groups like dalits, adivasis and women. Even after
the indigenous rule for a decade social deprivations remain widespread in India. The disenchantment

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with the political and administrative establishment led to emergence of the New Social Movements
(NSMs).

Over-centralization, limited administrative capabilities, laxity of tax administration and authoritarian

tendencies has combined to provide fertile conditions for corruption in many countries. All these
factors promoted the cause of social protest against the establishment. Hence a large number of new
social movements originated from the under privileged section of Indian society.
New social movements emerge around new scopes and range of politics. The environment, the
rights, and role of women, health, food and nutrition, education, shelter and housing, the
dispensation of justice, communications and the dissemination of information which were
considered to be subject matter for politics in which ordinary people were involved, are major
concerns for the new movements.
New social movements are distinctive in so far as they work outside the traditional party system.
Much of their membership and force is the reflection of people's disappointment and frustration
with and their search for alternatives to the political process, political parties and the state.

Classification of New Social Movements-:

Environmental Movements-: India is a country blessed with abundant natural resources. The
country is also having many rivers which provides livelihood for a considerable number of people
including the Adivasies. The exploitation of natural resources resulted in displacement of indigenous
communities dependent on these forests. In the absence of proper rehabilitation and deprivation
these communities protested against the government. Chipko movement, Silent Valley movement
and Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) can be cited as few examples of these movements. These
movements are also reaction to the forces of globalization. NBA fought against the funding from
international donor agencies like the World Bank.
Dalit Movements-: Dalit movement was important part of pre-independence social movements.
However, atrocities towards Dalits continued even after independence. This has resulted in militant
Dalit movement in various regions of country. In post-independence, Republic Party of India provided
platform to these voices. In 1970 the young activists from Maharashtra formed Dalit Panther to fight
against the atrocities committed by upper classes.
Women Movement-: Dowry, domestic violence, alcoholism and erosion of women participation in
decade after independence led to resurgence of women movement in India. The price rise and
economic hardships in 1970s led to emergence of urban women movement. The Self-Employed
womens Association (SEWA) and Working Womens Forum in Madras were formed in this period.

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Most of these movements were localized in nature. It limited their success in influencing the policy
circles. In the absence of linkages between these individual movements, their capacity to bring about
change in the policy and attitude of government got limited success.
As the deprivations of women, dalits and Adivasies continue to exist in society, these movements failed
to bring about fundamental change in society. Though Dalit Panther like organizations wielded political
power, they got limited success in reforming the basic social structures responsible for atrocities.

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Limitations:

The Guomindang despite its attempts to unite China failed. What is meant by San min chui in the
context of Sun Yat-sens programme for modernising China? Elaborate the factors that led to the
failure of Guomindang.

Approach:

The introductory part should highlight the context in which the Guomindang arrived on the historical
scene in China.

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The second part should explicate the three points of Sun Yat-sens programme contained in san min
chui.
The failure of Guomindang should be in the context of the goal of moderninsing China and bringing
stability and not the ultimate failure or defeat at the hands of the Communists in the 1940s.

Answer:
Modern History of China has revolved around the question of how to regain sovereignty, end humiliation
of foreign occupation and bring about equality and development. These issues were variously
propagated by three groups namely early Qing reformers such as Kang Youwei who used traditional ideas
in new and different ways, the Communist party of China that used Marxist-Leninist revolutionary idioms
of modern age and in between the two were the republican revolutionaries led by Sun Yat-sens
Guomindang or the National Peoples Party inspired by the ideas from Japan and the West.
In 1911 the Manchu empire was overthrown and a republic established under Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sens
ideas became the basis of political philosophy of Guomindang. His programme was called the Three
Princilples or san min chui. These principles were:

Nationalism- this menat overthrowing the Manchu who were seen as a foreign dynasty, as well as
other foreign imperialists;
Democracy or establishing democratc government
Socialism regulating capital and equalising land holdings.

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The Spanish Civil War, often described as a prelude to WWII, represented a battle arena for all the
political ideologies of the time. Elucidate.

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Narrow social base and limited political vision

A major plank in Sun Yat Sens programme- regulating capital and equalising land- was never carried
out because the party ignored the peasantry.
It sought to impose military order rather than address the problem faced by the people.
The rise and expansion of CCP and the ensuing struggle also led to the weakening of the
Guomindang

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Even after the establishment of the republic the social and political situation continued to be unstable.
Protest movement in 1919 galvanised a whole generation to attack tradition and to call for saving China
through modern science, democracy and nationalism. The Guomindang and the CCP emerged as major
forces striving to unite the country and bring stability. Chiang Kai shek emerged as the leader of
Guomindang After the death of Sun and launched military campaign to control the warlords, regional
leaders and to eliminate the communists. However, in the rapidly changing scenario the Guomindang
could not sustain its bid to unite the country and following reasons can be attributed for the same:

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Briefly mention the background of the Spanish Civil war.

Give reason behind the civil war.
Mention how it represented battle arena for all political ideologies of the time.
Then mention how this civil war was a prelude to WWII.

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Approach:

Answer:
The Spanish Civil War started in 1936 as a domestic dispute but soon took an international character. It
mirrored the political disputes occurring in Europe at the time between Fascism and democracy on one
hand and the opposition to Communism on the other.

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The conflict was between nationalists and republicans. The Nationalists argued that they represented the
cause of Christianity against Communism. The Republicans argued that they were the legally elected
government of Spain which was under attack the fascist dictatorships.
At the end of the war Spanish nationalists led by General Francisco Franco successfully took control of
Spain. Many countries and organizations had helped these two groups during the war. For example,

Germany and Italy sent aid to Franco. Germans also used Spain as a testing ground for their new
planes tanks.
Britain and France remained neutral and pursued a non-intervention policy. The United States also
adopted a policy of non-intervention influenced by the powerful Catholic lobby there.
USSR: The Republican government received aid from two main sources, the USSR and the
International Brigades. The International Brigades were made up of men who opposed the spread of
fascism. They were mainly communist volunteers from many different countries.

Thus it was called a prelude to World War II because:

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The seven-year war was fought from 1754 to 1763. What were its consequences for British and French
colonies across the world? What were its repercussions in India?

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It was the first time there was armed conflict between fascists and communists/democratic nations.
It was the first time the weapons of the 20th century were used in a real combat situation.
The conflict caused much tension in Europe between the different nations funding various factions.
There was a lot of propaganda produced and the war was much discussed, with volunteer units going
to fight on both sides. This reflected the multi-racial armies used in the Second World War.

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Briefly introduce the seven year global war; briefly write the reasons behind it.
Without going into its course of progress, mention the results and consequences in different
theatres.
Mention the participants and alliances in India of the Third Carnatic War. Mention the concluding
treaty and the near end of French rule in India.

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The seven years war was fought from 1754 to 1763, with the main conflict occurring from 1756 to 1763.
It involved most of the great powers of the time, with the belligerent coalitions being led respectively by
Great Britain and France. Spain, Prussia, Austria, Russia and Portugal were other major participants. The
primary reason behind the war was the quest for hegemony over colonies between Britain and France.
Mutual interests of warring nations led to formation of diplomatic alliances.

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It was a global war since it involved battles and exchange of territories on different continents North
America (French and Spanish territories in present day US, Canada and Caribbean), Asia (India and
Philippines), Africa (West Coast), South America and Europe.
Briefly, the reasons behind it were:North America

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Expansion of the 13 British colonies to the west (towards Ohio River valley) against the countering
expansion of the French to the east.
A stronger Britain in North American posed threat to French colonies in the Caribbean. France and
Spain controlled the profiteering sugar plantations in the Caribbean.

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West African Senegal

The West African Senegal was rich in natural resources, especially Gum. French trading ports here
came under the British attack.

India

Succession wars in the Carnatic and Hyderabad had already led to two earlier conflicts. In 1756, the
renewal of hostilities in Europe automatically led to the Third Carnatic War in India.

In India, during the seven year period, The Battle of Plassey allowed the British to gain exclusive trading
rights in Bengal and the Battle of Wandiwash (where Sir Eyre Coot defeated Comte de Lally) established
British supremacy in South India and reduced the influence of French.
The war ended in victory for the British-Prussian coalition. In 1763, Treaty of Paris was signed between
Britain, France and Spain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Prussia, Austria and Saxony. As a
consequence,
1.
2.
3.
4.

Britain got Canada from France and Florida from Spain.

France was allowed to retain its Caribbean sugar Islands.
Spains control over Cuba and Philippines was recognized.
In India, Chandernagore and Pondicherry were returned to the French and they were allowed to
establish trading posts. It ended the French colonial ambitions in India for all practical purposes.

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Although Napoleon destroyed democracy in Europe, he laid the foundations of modern Europe.
Comment.

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The effect of the Seven Year war on world politics was that it reduced the domination of France, while
Britain consolidated its colonial power. Prussia also emerged as a dominant land power in Europe. The
resultant bankruptcy from war also laid the ground for American and French revolution.

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The question has two parts and both parts require equal attention.
First, discuss the policies of Napoleon, which were undemocratic and against the principles of French
revolution.
In second part, explain how his policies led to an awakening in Europe and became the ideals of
foundation of modern Europe.

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The French revolution had an important impact not just on France, but rest of the world. Napoleon was
the son of French revolution. Many of his policies were undemocratic and against the very principles
which inspired French revolution. For example:

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Napoleon rose to the power by eliminating the directory of France, a republic, and crowned himself
the King.
The powers of local bodies were significantly reduced by him. A strong central government was
formed revolving around his personality.
Freedom of press was curtailed. Napoleon sought to control what content was to be published and
read by the people.
The education was entirely controlled by state and one of the important elements of education was
to propagate nationalistic feelings not the liberal principles which inspired French revolution.

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However, many of Napoleons political, economic, judicial and religious policies also led to the
foundation of a strong France. Stronger France became the ideals of French revolution and policies of
Napoleon spread in other parts of the Europe. For example,

Napoleon relied on and promoted the idea that French people should feel proud of their country and
should feel connected to it. He used this nationalism to help create his huge and dedicated military
force. This influenced people in other countries, leading to the rise of nationalism in those countries.
The rise of Nationalism in other parts of the Europe had important impact on the world including on
the re-drawing of national boundaries.
Under Napoleons rule, the Napoleonic Code as a civil code for France was introduced and some of
its provision like merit based recruitment to government jobs and focus on clearly written law,
continue to affect the present legal system in France and other nations.
Napoleon simplified administrative decision thereby abolishing feudal system. He freed the peasants
and other section of society from serfdom and manorial duties. Thus the anti-feudalism wave that hit
Europe in 19th century owes its origin to the event in France.
Napoleon also adopted freedom of religion as a state policy which later was adopted by other
European countries.

Thus, Napoleon did not affect Europe and the world in the ways that he probably intended. Instead,
much of his impact came about inadvertently or even in response to his actions.

14.

The origin of the Israel-Palestine conflict is a corollary of the British imperialism. Discuss.

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Explain the historical context of creation of Israel and the origin of Israel-Palestine conflict.
The promise of a Zionist state by British government in Balfour declaration and subsequent events
which led to conflicts should be highlighted.

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With a mandate from the League of Nations, Britain governed the Holy Land from the end of the First
World War until 1948. During this time, the political landscape of Palestine was completely transformed.
Whilst Arabs and Jews played a fundamental role in the unfolding drama of mandate Palestine, the
driving force was imperial Britain.

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The formation of the British Mandate in Palestine is deeply rooted in the events of World War 1. The
British had made several promises in the midst of diplomatic negotiations regarding the rights over
Palestine. The Arabs, French and Zionists each entered into negotiations with Britain pertaining to who
would receive the right to rule in the region which once belonged to the defunct Ottoman Empire. The
conclusion of these negotiations was the commencement of the British Mandate in Palestine in 1920 but
the chain of events that preceded the mandate is far more complex.

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But by the end of British rule in May 1948 there had emerged a powerful Zionist movement. It had
succeeded in forging the institutions for statehood and independence. Palestinian nationalism had also
become deep-rooted in Arab society. But the Arab population suffered from under-development, debt,
widespread illiteracy, disillusionment, and the after effects of Britains decimation of the Palestinian
Uprising of 1936 to 1939. These seeds of Zionist victory and Palestinian defeat were the direct outcome
of Britains drafting, interpretation, and implementation of the League of Nations mandate for Palestine.
After World War II the Jewish communities were convinced to emigrate en masse from Europe and settle
down in Palestine. Its formal strategy was laid down in the form of Balfour Declaration of 1917. It often
has been thought that this statement committed Britain to supporting Zionism, come what may. As a

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result, the British could not abandon Zionism, as it would undermine Britains honour and prestigethe
perceived beating heart of imperial authority.
The two-state solution of 1937 was the one proposal offered by the British government that it was
believed could be acceptable to both Palestinians and Zionists. But even here, there was blatant
disregard for its impact on the average Palestinian. The principal reason for this oversight is that the
government was not focused on the future of Palestine when it issued the Declaration. Their primary
objective was to rally world Jewry behind the Allied war effort, especially in Russia and the United States.
This policy was pursued because of a mistaken belief in Jewish power and commitment to Zionism.
This lack of planning was, in large part, due to the British intention to stay in Palestine for as long as
possible, so as to protect strategic interests in the Middle East. As a result, no exit strategy was
developed by the British. This was despite the fact that the declared aim of the mandate system in the
Middle East was to help nations to become independent.
The partition idea, without population transfers, was taken up in 1947 by the United Nations, after
Britain had handed it the Palestine problem. This plan promised independent Jewish and Palestinian
states.
But the Palestinian population had no incentive to accept this agreement, which was decided upon by
the UN general assembly. Neither were the Zionists, in the aftermath of the holocaust, about to give in to
a defeated Palestinian population, who were opposed to a Jewish state. As a result, Britains departure
was preceded by the outbreak of a civil war in Palestine, and was followed by the first Arab-Israeli
conflagration.

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The Global Age Watch Index 2015 ranks India 71 out of 96 countries when it comes to social and
economic well being of elderly. What are the reasons behind the poor condition of the elderly in the
Indian society? Discuss.

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The assumption that state-sponsored violence followed by agreements between political elites can make
peace lives on to this day. It betrays the old assumptions of British colonialism that a reputation for
being firm must be maintained at all costs, that colonial state violence prevents future anti-colonial
violence, and that peace can be achieved by elites re-drawing maps, and making constitutional
agreements.

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Start with the status of elderly in India if possible, in light of Global Age Watch Index released by
Help Age International.
Delve into the issues and reasons for them abuse, neglect, isolation, health, self esteem, etc.
Give some recommendations for policy and societal steps for change

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The Global Age Watch Index 2015 which ranked India 71 out of 96 countries tries to capture the
multidimensional nature of the quality of life and wellbeing of older people, and to provide a means by
which to measure performance and promote improvements.
It assesses data on 13 different indicators for the four key domains of Income security, Health status,
Capability, and Enabling environment.
In India nearly 117 million people are above the age of 60 and in 2030. The report found that only 28
per cent of people over 65 in India are receiving a pension. Around 30 per cent of men and 72 per cent

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of women over 60 are fully dependent on others. This not only depicts high dependency of elders but
also gender disparity in treatment of elders which is a common across parameters.
Major reasons for such poor condition can be categorized under the following sub heads:

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Health issues: Failing health due to advancing age is a natural phenomenon that is complicated by
non-availability, non-accessibility to good quality health care, lack of information and high costs of
disease management for a large proportion of older persons in the country, especially those who are
poor and disadvantaged. In addition, there is a malaise of aging problems, the physical strength
diminishes, mental recall and stability deteriorates; many have memory loss.
Isolation and neglect: Changing lifestyles and values, demanding jobs, distractions such as internet
and television and redefined priorities have led to increased neglect of the elderly by families and
communities.
Nuclear family system: Indian society is changing rapidly due to urbanisation, the steep aspirations
of the youth and the increased numbers of women workforce. All these factors have led to a decline
in the number of joint families and an increase in the concept of nuclear families.
Economic insecurity: The problem of economic insecurity is faced by the elderly as they lack the
opportunity or the capacity to be as productive as they were. With increasing preference for nuclear
families and rising cost of living, the elderly are seen as a financial burden.
Many problems stem from property ownership issues. The older people often bear a lot of mental
harassment owing to transfer the property. While property is the only security they have; signing it
away leaves them extremely insecure.
Abuse and other social issues: Being relatively weak, elderly are vulnerable to physical abuse. They
may be wilfully or inadvertently harmed, usually by someone who is part of the family or otherwise
close to the victim.
Increasing competition from younger people, individual, family and societal mind sets, chronic
malnutrition and slowing physical and mental faculties, limited access to resources and lack of
awareness of their rights and entitlements play significant roles in reducing the ability of the elderly
to remain financially productive, and thereby, independent.

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What is meant by commodification? In what ways has water undergone the process of
commodification in India?

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In the light of these issues we can see that poor condition of elderly stems from multiple reasons in the
present day. One of the policy recommendations could be that the pension income coverage should
increase. Better income prospects in retirement will also have positive outcomes for their physical and
mental health and life expectancy. The provision of good quality affordable healthcare is the most
essential public service required to improve the wellbeing of Indian elderly. A formal awareness program
starting from higher level institutions to the local levels may also be initiated to apprise the elderly of
their rights and resources.

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Simply define commodification at the outset. Give examples to clarify the definition and highlight
issues involved with commodification.
Gradually move to India for depicting the process of commodification and explain the case of water
through the example of bottled water and buying and selling of drinking water.
Note: If one wants to one can also explain through the larger example of making water a tradable
commodity sold by the government, privatisation of water bodies and emerging trend of setting of
Water ATMs or Kiosks and selling of R.O. water in urban areas. The answer here sticks to the case of
packaged and bottled water.

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Answer:
Commodification occurs when things that were not earlier traded in the market become commodities.
For instance, labour or skills become things that can be bought and sold. According to critics of capitalism
process of commodification has negative social effects. Other examples of commodification can be,
although one which is mired in controversy, sale of kidney by the poor to cater the rich patients who
need kidney transplant. In even earlier times human beings were bought and sold as slaves, but today it
is considered immoral to treat people as commodities. In contemporary India, one can observe that
things or processes that earlier were not part of market exchange become commodified, for instance the
arrangement of marriage from families to marriage bureaus.
In the recent decades water, a scarce but essential commodity, has undergone the process of
commodification in India. Example can be seen in ubiquitous bottled water. In cities and towns and even
in most villages it is possible to by water packaged in sealed plastic bottles or pouches. These are
marketed by a wide variety of companies and there are innumerable brand names.
Older generation in India can remember the initial feeling of novelty when bottled water became widely
available. Whereas earlier it was unthinkable that anyone could sell drinking water and charge money for
it, today one takes bottled water for granted as a normal, convenient thing, a commodity that one can
buy or sell. Thus commodification also brings in cultural and attitudinal changes in society.

What are the reasons for highly concentrated nature of semiconductor chip manufacturing industry?
Should India aim for establishment of such an industry?

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Briefly write about the nature of industry.

The answer should consist of economic and geographic reasons for concentration such as demand,
raw material, technology, investment etc.
Indias plan to expand the industry and challenges associated with it
Draw conclusions based on factors you have mentioned.

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Semiconductor chips are found in almost all modern electronic equipment, ranging from common
household durables to space technology. The global semiconductor industry is dominated by the US,
South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the European Union. The two broad aspects of the industry are design
and fabrication of semiconductor devices.

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Semiconductor industry is a skill intensive industry, where investment in R&D (Research and
Development) plays a crucial role. Since the life cycle of products is very short, industrial setup must
ensure (i) Least Cost of production, and (ii) High rates of process improvement. The industry needs for
high degrees of flexibility and innovation in order to constantly adjust to the rapid pace of change in the
market.

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Reasons for concentration:

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Agglomeration factors - High degree of linkages with subsidiary industry reinforces the locational
dominance. Electronics companies are major end users. Semiconductor industry has high locational
correlation with them.
High competition ensures constant innovation. As a result, only the industrial regions with already
high investments in R&D are able to provide required facilities.
Availability of highly skilled labour due to pre-existing technical workforce.

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The high cost of owning and maintaining a fabrication facility, or fab - A fab is profitable only when
used at full capacity and volatility can lead to excess capacity.
Long break-even time It takes years to develop a chip or build a foundry, and even longer before
the products make money.

Apart from these, financial incentives, subsidies and good public services and utilities by local
administration also incentivize its location.
Innovation, for e.g. keeping pace with Moores law (doubling capacity and halving the transistor size
every decade) has led to specialization and cost minimization of the industry by splitting into design and
manufacturing. This is called the fabless-foundry model where a fabless company only focuses on chip
designing and a foundry focuses on manufacturing the chips.
U.S. and Europe have specialized in chip design and outsourced manufacturing to Asian countries.
However, this process is limited to a few countries like China, Taiwan, and South Korea.
India has a large and growing unmet demand for high-end electronic goods and therefore, is a key
subsidiary market for electronic chips. This makes a strong case for fab manufacturing to be set up in
India. Also, it is of strategic importance to have domestically manufactured microchips, considering cyber
threats.

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However, the high initial costs (estimated at $5 Billion) and long gestation period inhibit its setting up in
India. Also, changing technologies require large additional investments every two to three years. China's
semiconductor industry despite 15 years of state-sponsored effort has failed to given competition to the
existing manufacturers.

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With little competitive advantage in terms of price or performance, it would be difficult to convince
companies to set up a new Indian fab. Even making it mandatory for the core strategic sectors of
defence, space, atomic energy to use 'made in India' chips to protect its national security needs, these
sectors alone can't generate enough demand.

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(a) What is Acid mine drainage? How does it affect biodiversity?

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The economic gains are not clearly foreseeable. Large upfront investments as well development of large
client industry (such as Smartphone, space and defence manufacturing) is necessary before the ancillary
fab can be established in India. In the medium term, we can designate certified countries and set up test
labs domestically to protect our strategic interest.

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There are two parts of the question. First, define the formation, nature and features of Acid mine
drainage.
In second part, list out its effects on biodiversity in detail.

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Answer:

Acid Mine Drainage is caused when water flows over or through sulfur-bearing materials forming
solutions of net acidity.

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It occurs mainly from abandoned coal mines and sometimes active mining.
When the mining process exposes the sulfides to water and air, together they react to form sulfuric
acid. This acid can dissolve other harmful metals and metalloids (like arsenic) from the surrounding
rock.

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Ground water emerges from mines as soil water percolates through strip-mine waste banks. This
water contains sulfuric acid and various salts of metals, particularly of iron.

Besides corroding effects of acid on parts of infrastructure such as buildings it also impacts the
biodiversity. For example,

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It leads to disrupted growth and reproduction of aquatic plants and animals.

It has been found lethal to certain species of fish and has at times caused massive fish kills.
If used as a drinking water source or contaminates one, it can adversely affect animals and humans.
The iron and aluminum deposits tend to form a sludge-like material, which inhibits algae, insect, and
fish growth, and damages their habitat.
Benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms are particularly sensitive to this type of pollution. Depressed
food supplies, gill clogging, and smothering by iron or aluminum precipitates, along with direct
toxicity from ingested metals, contribute to the significant decline of fish, insect, and benthic
communities in streams polluted by metal oxides.

(b) What do you understand by permafrost? How does thermal erosion affect permafrost?

Approach:

There are two parts of the question. First, define permafrost, its nature and features in detail.
Then describe the process of thermal erosion in permafrost.

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It's found underneath about 25% of the northern hemisphere, mainly around the Arctic - but also in
the Antarctic and Alpine regions.
It can range in depth from one metre under the ground all the way down to 1,500 m.

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Ground and bedrock that lie below the freezing point of fresh water (0C) all year round are called
permafrost.

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The warm temperatures of surface water can deepen the active layer over broad areas of
permafrost.
When the natural surface cover is removed over a large expanse of nearly flat arctic tundra, the
ground can subside as the permafrost melts. Shallow depressions form, fill with water, and create
shallow lakes.
The lakes expand by thawing the permafrost at their margins, and soon a terrain of shallow lakes and
bogs, called thermokarst, develops. The continuation of this process may eventually drain the region
and permafrost may be lost.
In recent years, thermokarst lakes have become increasingly common in Siberia and other tundra
environments.

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Effect of thermal erosion

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To avoid creating thermal erosion and thermokarst terrain, buildings on permafrost are placed on piles
with an air space below or, alternatively, on a thick insulating pad of coarse gravel. Steam and hot- water
lines are placed above ground to prevent thawing of the permafrost layer.

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19.

Despite having one of the largest reserves of iron ore in the world, Indias share in the world steel
production is negligible. Discuss the challenges faced by the Indian steel industry. What measures has
the government taken to revive growth in this sector?

Approach:

Introduce by pointing out Indias share in world steel production and iron ore reserves.
Mention the challenges faced by Indian steel industry.
Enlist the measures taken by GOI to revive this sector.

Answer:
Even though India is now the third largest producer of crude steel in the world, it produces barely 5.3%
of the total world production (90mT out of 1700mT). In 2014-15 while steel exports were 5.5mT, imports
were 9.3mT (million Tonnes). Steel imports meet roughly 15% of monthly consumption of Steel in India.
Challenges faced by Indian Steel Industry are as follows:

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Stalling of projects and lack of capital availability Severe stress on account of delay in
environmental clearances and land acquisition. Also, Steel companies are reeling under huge debts
(around $50 Billion).
Technology In several developed nations 1.05 tonne of crude steel is required to produce a tonne
of saleable steel, while in India the average is high at 1.2 tonne.
Low Labour Productivity The per capita labour productivity in India is 90-100 tonne while in
countries like Japan and South Korea it is about 600-700 tonne per capita.
Low Potential Utilization Owing to several factors like scarcity of raw materials (coking coal), labour
unrest, energy crisis and inefficient administration, steel plants rarely reach their potential utilization.
The Durgapur steel plant utilizes only 50% of its potential.
Dumping of Chinese Steel Recent devaluation of Yuan had increased the competitiveness of
Chinese steel.
Export of Iron Ore Availability of good quality iron ore is also a challenge
Shortage of Coking Coal
Free trade agreements with Japan and South Korea have increased imports from Japan by 18% and
South Korea by 46%.
Infrastructure Bottlenecks Connectivity particularly across North India is imperative to bring down
logistics cost and save time.
Low Per capita Usage Indias per capita usage is only 59 Kg as compared to 700 Kg of China and
World average of 215 Kg. There is an urgent need to spread awareness about more usage of steel.

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Steel Research & Technology Mission of India to promote collaborative research programmes in
steel sector so as to enhance their competitiveness, quality and production capacities.
Trade Remedies: India has increased the import duty from 7.5 % to 10% on flat steel and 5% to 7.5%
(long steel) to counter Yuan Devaluation import duty hike.
Govt. has planned four SPVs with four iron ore rich state, i.e. Karnataka, Jharkhand, Orissa and
Chattisgarh.
Modernization of SAIL with an investment of 70,000 crore has been completed.
Steel Marts are being organized by CII to facilitate buyer seller meets.
Export duty on Iron Ore has been increased to 30% to prevent shortage of Iron Ore for domestic
consumption.
To expedite implementation of various stalled projects a Inter Ministerial Group has been set up for
effective coordination. A Project Monitoring Group under the Cabinet Secretariat to fast track
various clearances and resolve impending issues.

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The GOI has taken the following measures to achieve a target production of 300 MT per annum by 2025.

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The following additional measures may also be taken by GOI to

20.

Speed up Infrastructure development projects to enhance demand

Make steel corridors on the line of freight corridors
Earmark coal blocks for steel manufacturing to reduce dependence on coal

Desertification is caused by a combination of social, political, economic, and natural factors, which
vary from region to region. Examine in the context of India.

Approach:

Introduce with meaning of desertification.

List down various reasons/factors for desertification in Indian context, with regional variations and
the interrelations between the factors.
Conclude with brief summary.

Answer:
Desertification refers to land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas, resulting from
various factors including climatic variations and human activities.

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As a result of gross mismanagement of natural resources including land and water in India, certain
irreversible changes have triggered the desertic conditions.

Social: Historically, dry land livelihoods have been based on a mixture of hunting, gathering, farming,
and herding. Cultivation was less common; however population pressure has led to the extension of
cultivated lands in dry land areas. Changing lifestyle and decline in nomadic way of life exacerbated
adoption of agriculture that in turn led to reduction in the fallow period of soils, and lack of organic
or mineral fertilizers causing desertification.
Political:
o Policies leading to an unsustainable use of resources and the lack of adequate infrastructures are
major contributors to land degradation.
o The practice of common agricultural policy for entire country has also promoted desertification.
o Despite unsuitability, cereal crops are being grown, diversion of rivers to create irrigation
schemes, use of unsuitable agricultural machinery lead to loss of the soil fertility, make soils
prone to salinization, alkalinization and waterlogging and disturb the overall soil and water
balance that eventually lead to desertification.
Economic Overgrazing, often selectively of shrubs, herbs and grasses and overexploitation of woody
resources, unsustainable commercial farming practices adversely affect the soil moisture distribution
and promote salinity leading to desertification. Focus on raising agricultural and livestock production
for exports can also lead to desertification.
Natural Climate has a major influence through three factors rainfall, solar radiation and wind which
affect physical and mechanical erosion phenomena and chemical and biological degradation. The
land relief can exacerbate water erosion.

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The factors can be classified broadly as:

Human activities are the main factors triggering desertification processes on vulnerable land. These
activities are many and vary by country, society and the technologies applied. The need is to tackle all
these challenges through a well balanced comprehensive approach emphasizing sustainable
development.

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21.

Soil is a living system which responds to both degrading factors and conservation efforts. In this
context, discuss the factors responsible for soil degradation in India. What measures can be taken to
arrest soil degradation and restore soil fertility?
Approach:
Highlight the extent of the problem of soil degradation in India.
Discuss the factors behind it.
Enumerate various conservation strategies.
Answer:
Soil degradation is a serious problem both in rain-fed and irrigated areas of India. Its economic impact
can be estimated by declining crop productivity, changing crop patterns, high input use and declining
profit. According to National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use planning 147 Mha of land out of a total
328 Mha is degraded.
Factors responsible for soil degradation:

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What are the different types of droughts identified by the India Meteorological Department? Identify
the drought prone areas in India. Discuss its consequences and suggest some measures to mitigate its
effects.

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Soil Conservation measures such as contour ploughing, bunding, use of strips and terraces
Conservation Agriculture techniques such as agro-forestry
Water Harvesting using bunds, terraces, water harvesting ponds
River bank erosion control through bio-engineering techniques such as spurs, retaining walls,
embankments and vegetation.
Integrated Nutrient Management: Agronomical practices such as use of cover crops, crop rotation,
green manuring and mulch farming are vital practices associated with integrated nutrient
management.
Reforestation, Grassland and Horticulture Development: Soil conservation, particularly in hilly
areas, can be done using conventional reforestation measures and growing horticultural crops.

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Measures to arrest soil degradation and restore soil fertility are:

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Overgrazing, Deforestation and Careless Forest Management: High livestock density in arid regions
causes overgrazing. Also, loss of vegetation may occur due to unsustainable fuel wood and fodder
extraction, encroachment by agriculture into forest lands, forest fires etc.
Urban Growth, Industrialization and Mining: Encroachment on land for urban growth and
industrialization is resulting in soil contamination and degradation. Open-pit mines result in
significant loss of vegetation and rich top soil.
Agricultural Practices: Low and imbalanced fertilization, crop residue burning, improper irrigation
management, inadequate crop rotations and pesticide overuse are some of the causes of soil
degradation in India.
Social Factors: Poverty, decline in per capita land availability, economic pressure on land are some of
the social factors that limit the application of soil conservation measures.
Natural Sources: Natural causes include landslides, droughts, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions. The
Tsumani of 2004 rendered many fertile agricultural lands submerged and unfit for agriculture.

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Approach:
First define drought in brief and its subtypes according to classification given by IMD.
A map can be drawn showing the drought prone regions of India to compete the answer in word
limit.
In last part discuss the consequences as well as short and long term measures to mitigate the effects
of drought.

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Answer:
Drought is the consequence of a natural reduction in the amount of precipitation over an extended
period of time.
IMD classifies droughts in four types:
Meteorological Drought: Meteorological drought over an area is defined as a situation when the
seasonal rainfall received over the area is less than75% of its long term average value. It is further
classified as "moderate drought" if the rainfall deficit is between 26-50% and "severe drought"
when the deficit exceeds 50% of the normal.
Hydrological Drought: Hydrological Drought can be defined as a period during which the stream
flows are inadequate to supply established use of water under a given water management system.
Agricultural Drought: It occurs when available soil moisture is inadequate for healthy crop growth
and cause extreme stress and wilting
Socio-Economic Drought: Abnormal water shortage affects all aspects of established economy of a
region which in turn adversely affects the social fabric of the society creating unemployment,
migration, discontent and various other problems in the society. Thus, meteorological, hydrological
and agricultural droughts often lead to Socio-economic drought.
On the basis of severity of droughts, India can be divided into the following regions:

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Extreme Drought Affected Areas: Most parts of Rajasthan, particularly areas to the west of the
Aravali hills, Kachchh regions of Gujarat.
Severe Drought Prone Area: Parts of eastern Rajasthan, most parts of Madhya Pradesh, eastern
parts of Maharashtra, interior parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Plateau, northern parts of
interior Tamil Nadu and southern parts of Jharkhand and interior Odisha are included in this
category.
Moderate Drought Affected Area: Northern parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, southern districts of Uttar
Pradesh, the remaining parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra except Konkan, Jharkhand and Coimbatore
plateau of Tamil Nadu and interior Karnataka are included in this category.
The remaining parts of India can be considered either free or less prone to the drought.

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Consequences of Drought:
Crop failure leading to scarcity of food grains and fodder
Inadequate rainfall, resulting in shortage of water
Large-scale death of cattle and other animals
Migration of humans and livestock
Scarcity of water compels people to consume contaminated
water resulting in spread of many waterborne diseases like
gastro-enteritis, cholera, hepatitis, etc.

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Measures that may be taken to mitigate the effect of drought:

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Provision for the distribution of safe drinking water.

Increasing availability of feed ingredients for the cattle
through reduction in import duty on oil cakes, implementation
of fodder development scheme.
Short duration and drought tolerant varieties of seeds may be provided to farmers to save crop
failure.
Construction of water harvesting structures, restoration of irrigation infrastructure by desilting
canals, energizing tubewells etc.
Deliberation on State, District and Block level plans for drought mitigation.
Allocation of additional work days under MGNREGA can help provide additional wage employment.

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Long term measures may include planning for inter-linking of rivers, dissemination of knowledge about
drought-resistant crops and proper training to practise the same.

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23.

Giving examples, enumerate the non-natural causes of the phenomenon of earthquake. Also, list some
measures to make buildings and cities resilient to earthquakes.

Approach:

First, give examples of non-natural factors that lead to earthquakes, with explanation of the same.
Then list a few measures that can be taken to make buildings and cities resilient to earthquakes.

Answer:
Though the earthquakes are natural phenomena are caused by the endogenetic force coming from
within the earth but certain non-natural activities also cause earth tremors of serious consequences.
Following are major non-natural causes of earthquakes
Dams and reservoirs The 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China, that killed nearly 70,000 was triggered by
the construction of the Zipingpu Dam nearby. The Dam located near a fault, and the added weight of
millions of tons of water could have hastened the fault's rupture. Another example is Earthquake of
1967(6.3 magnitude) Koyana due to Koyana reservoir construction.
Fluid injection This process increases the fluid pressure within fault zones, loosening the fault zones
and making them more likely to fail in an earthquake and faults can be made to slip and cause an
earthquake. Wastewater injection, enhanced geothermal systems and hydraulic fracturing involve high
pressure fluid injection into the ground. 2011 Oklahoma earthquake is linked to wastewater injection.

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Groundwater extraction - causes the water table to drop, can also destabilize an existing fault. A 2011
earthquake in Lorca, with 5.1 magnitude and epicenter located close to the surface is related to
groundwater extraction near Lorca. Since 1960, water extraction has caused the region's water table to
drop by an incredible 250 meters.

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Skyscrapers - huge mass of skyscrapers put too much pressure on the soft sedimentary rock below due to
all the extra steel and concrete used to make the skyscraper solid enough to withstand earthquakes.
Since construction began on Taipei 101, weighing 770,000 tons, the region has seen several microearthquakes and two larger earthquakes directly underneath the building.

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Some measures to make building and cities resilient to earthquakes:

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Sturdy foundation - In cases involving sandy soils in the presence of ground water, the soil can suddenly
behave like quicksand, causing buildings to sink or tilt and collapse. In such regions, buildings should be
supported on pile foundations resting on hard strata or constructed after suitable ground improvement
measures. In hilly terrains (like Himalayan regions), landslides are likely to be triggered. Slope stabilizing
measures can help to arrest the damage.

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Building structure - collapse of a building can occur if it does not have adequate strength to resist the
horizontal forces that are generated during an earthquake. Also, it is important to ensure that the
connections at the various interfaces of building components remain intact during the shaking. Such
recommendations are available in our national codes.

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Disaster management Maintaining up to date data on hazards and vulnerabilities and risk assessments.
These can be the basis for urban development plans and decisions. Early warning systems and
emergency management capacities can be built too.
Critical infrastructure Investing in critical infrastructure that reduces risk, such as flood drainage as well
as assessment of safety of health facilities.

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Public participation Plans to elicit co-ordination and reduce disaster risk, based on participation of
citizen groups and civil society should be made. Regular preparedness drills could be conducted along
with education programs in schools and communities.
Regulatory measures A specific budget for disaster risk reduction and provide incentives for
homeowners, businesses and public sector to invest in earthquake resistant buildings. Application and
enforcement of realistic, risk compliant building regulations and land use planning principles is required.

24.

Explain the geographical factors affecting the location of the coffee plantation industry. What are the
reasons behind the tropical and sub-tropical regions having a lion's share in the world beverages
market?

Approach:

The question has two parts: First, explain geographical factors, like temperature, topography etc.
which influence the location of coffee plantation industry.
Then give reasons as to why the tropical and sub-tropical regions command a major share of the
world beverages market.

Answer:
Geographical factors affecting the location of the coffee plantation industry are as follow:

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Coffee needs to be protected from direct sunlight, especially when plant is young.
In Yemen/Ethiopia annual rainfall is less than 20 inches but still coffee grows well because thick sea
mist provides moisture and protects from excessive heat.
18-26 degree C temperature during the growing period and 14-18 degree C at the time of ripening.

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Temperature:

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Coffee is suited to abundant moisture but waterlogging is an issue. So, hilly slopes receiving
orographic rainfall are best suited for coffee.
Hill slops facing the sea are even better, because they benefit from the mist and sea breezes which
cooler.
It grows well in drained soils which are rich in iron and potash contents.
It grows best from 0-28 degree N and 0-30 degree south of equator.

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Topography:

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The berries have to be picked by hand, sorting the ripe berries from leaves, twigs etc. also needs
patience and skill.
Since coffee has to be grown in hill slopes, large scale mechanization is not possible

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Market:

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Labor:

Coffee loses flavour quickly after being roasted. Therefore, only preliminary processing is done in
exporting country, and roasting is done in the importing country.

The main reasons for lions share of tropical and subtropical countries in world beverage market are

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The climatic condition of this region which induces fatigue and therefore requires some refreshment
drink which can quench thirst and also provide respite from the climate.

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25.

These countries have a dense population and subsequently demand is huge. The region is also a
production hub, so due to intensive marketing efforts a sizeable chunk of produce is disposed in the
local market.
Due to historic colonial legacy and pre colonial usage, beverages like tea and coffee are quite popular
in many countries.
Lately, aerated and alcoholic beverages have also been gaining widespread acceptance.

Shrinking ice caps forced National Geographic to make the biggest change in its atlas since the Soviet
Union broke apart. Discuss the environmental and economic consequences that the loss of arctic ice
shelf will have.

Approach:

No need to explain the Global Warming mechanism. Come straight to the point clearly mention
economic and environmental consequences.
Touch upon the extent of ice melting.
Mention petroleum resources and navigation for economic impact, and biodiversity of the region,
ocean currents, weather phenomenon, etc. for environmental impact.

Answer:

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The effect of Global Warming in Arctic is more than anywhere else in the world. Here, the temperatures
have risen more than twice as fast than the rest of the world. This means that ice has started to melt
earlier, and faster than before. It shrank to its lowest ever recorded extent in 2015. The minimum extent
of ice has steadily declined and is less than half of what it used to be in during 1980s.

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It is expected that the Arctic will be ice-free, at least seasonally, as early as next decade. Ice melting has
provided some short term economic opportunities and some major environmental challenges in the
short as well as long term.

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It is estimated that the region has about 30% of worlds petroleum (oil and gas) resource. Melting of ice
would open the region for exploitation. However, the cost of production of oil from these seasonallyfrozen rigs would be too high, and the returns when the global prices of oil are low would not
materialise. Recently, Shell Plc. temporarily abandoned its drilling project in the North Alaska (Chukchi
Sea).

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Melting also provides a much shorter navigational route, especially to the arctic littoral countries. The
Northern Sea Route or the Northeast Passage, a shipping lane across the rim of Siberia, first became icefree in 2007. It would, for example, reduce the distance between Shanghai and Hamburg by 30% as
compared to the current Suez Canal route. Also, it avoids the piracy and terrorism infested zones.
However, even during summer, the harsh environment makes navigation difficult and risky. Ships often
require icebreaker escort and insurance costs are also high. It could, still become feasible for bulk
transport through pipelines.

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However, the environmental impacts are far more adverse. Arctic ice has a central role in stabilising
earths climate. 90% of sunlight falling on arctic ice is reflected, whereas 90% of sunlight falling on water
is absorbed. Warming water will accelerate the ice melt. Large stores of methane are trapped in arctic
and Greenland Soil (permafrost). Escaping methane will exacerbate global warming.
As land ice melts, it causes sea level rise. Greenland ice melt has been estimated to cause 4-9cm of sea
level rise by 2100.
Addition of fresh and warmer water from the arctic will also lead to modification of global ocean current
system. The North Atlantic Sinking, which is a major driver of ocean currents, like the Gulf Stream, which

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keep the European climate warm, will slow down. This will bring harsher climates in Europe and North
America.
Also, warming of Arctic will lead to weakening of the circum polar circulation, which holds the cold
temperatures of poles within the region. As it weakens, it will extend southward, causing severe cold
conditions (Phenomenon of Polar Vortex).

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It has been found that ice melting faster has also led to a drastic loss in the fat contained in zooplankton
the basic food in the fish-seal-Polar Bear food chain crucial for the entire areas ecosystem. This
impacts the creatures ability to make it through the winter. The Polar Bears, for example, have been
found dead at the base of Arctic Ocean, when they wandered too far ashore in search of food and could
not find any ice shelf to rest.

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