UPSC MAINS 2017 - G.S PAPER I

1.  How do you justify the view that the level of excellence of the Gupta numismatic art is not at all noticeable in later times? (150 words) 
   
   
2. 2. Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity. (150 words) 
   
   
   
   
3. Why did the ‘Moderates’ failed to carry conviction with the nation about their proclaimed ideology and political goals by the end of the nineteenth century? (150 words) 
   
   
   
   
4.  What problems are germane to the decolonization process in the Malay Peninsula? (150 words) 
   
   
5.  How does the Juno Mission of NASA help to understand the origin and evolution of the Earth? (150 words) 
   
   
6.  “Inspite of adverse environmental impact, coal mining is still inevitable for development”. Discuss (150 words) 
   
   
7.  Mention the advantages of the cultivation of pulses because of which the year 2016 was declared as the International Year of Pulses by United Nations. (150 words) 
   
   
8. How does the cryosphere affect global climate? (150 words) 
   
   
   
   
9.  In the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your view point. (150 words) 
   
   
   
   
10.  What are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes(STs)? (150 words) (250 words) 
    
    
    
    
11.  The spirit of tolerance and love is not only an interesting feature of Indian society from very early times, but it is also playing an important part at the present. Elaborate. (250 words) 
    
    
    
    
12.  Examine how the decline of traditional artisanal industry in colonial India crippled the rural economy. (250 words)
13.  Highlight the importance of the new objectives that got added to the vision of Indian Independence since the twenties of the last century. (250 words)
14.  Account for variations in oceanic salinity and discuss its multi-dimensional effects. (250 words)
15. Petroleum refineries are not necessarily located nearer to crude oil producing areas, particularly in many of the developing countries. Explain its implications. (250 words)
16. In what way can floods be converted into a sustainable source of irrigation and all-weather inland navigation in India? (250 words)
17. What characteristics can be assigned to monsoon climate that succeeds in feeding more than 50 percent of the world population residing in Monsoon Asia? (250 words)
    
    
    
18. The women’s questions arose in modern India as a part of the 19th century social reform movement. What are the major issues and debates concerning women in that period? (250 words)
19.  Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India. (250 words)
20.  “The growth of cities as I.T. hubs has opened up new avenues of employment, but has also created new problems”. Substantiate this statement with examples (250 words)

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GS-1 2017 Paper, General studies Mains Paper 2017 , GS-1 30/10/2017 , General studies UPSC civil service exam paper 2017

Essay Paper of SPIPA

Exam was held on 16/09/2018 for Essay writing which was conducted by SPIPA as part of selection

of student for batch 2018-2019  coaching for UPSC Civil services (IAS, IPS, IFS etc ).

The paper contain two section with both the section are compulsory and carry 50 marks each .

Exam was held on 29/10/2017 for Essay writing which was conducted by SPIPA as part of selection

of student for batch 2017-20118  coaching for UPSC Civil services (IAS, IPS, IFS etc ).

The paper contain two section with both the section are compulsory and carry 50 marks each .

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29th Oct Daily current affairs for UPSC Civil Service Exam

Bonn Convention

• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is popularly known as Bonn convention.
• It is an environmental treaty under the aegis of United Nations Environment Programme.
• It brings together the States through which migratory animals pass (the range states) and lays down conservation measures.
• Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I of the Convention.
• CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving and mitigating obstacles to their migration.
• Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention.
• India is a party to this convention whereas China, Russia, US, Canada, Japan are not party to it.

Meeting of CMS and its outcomes

• The Twelfth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Bonn Convention (CMS COP12) was held in Manila, the Philippines.
• It is the first time that the COP has been held in Asia.
• The slogan for the Conference is “Their Future is Our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife & People”, links to the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Four Asian Vultures such as red-headed vulture, white-rumped vulture, Indian vulture and slender-billed vulture are set to get highest protection by the convention.
• The whale shark, which inhabits the Indian Ocean, got global protection too.
• The Caspian seal, the only marine mammal found in the world’s largest inland sea has also been identified for conservation.
• The next edition of the meeting will be held in India in 2020.

Cholera

• After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti there was a sudden outbreak of cholera.
• According to a recent study, bacterial strains similar to those found in Haitian cholera were present in Delhi as early as 2004, showing that the disease may have originated in the Indian subcontinent.
• Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
• Diarrhoea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. It can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution.
• Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
• During the 19th century, cholera spread across the world from its original reservoir in the Ganges delta in India.

Exocomets

• Scientists have detected the dusty tails of six exocomets – comets outside our solar system – orbiting a faint star 800 light years from Earth.
• They are some of the smallest objects yet found outside our own solar system.
• The discovery marks the first time that an object as small as a comet has been detected using transit photometry, a technique by which astronomers observe a star’s light for revealing dips in intensity.
• The detection was made using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, a stellar observatory that was launched into space in 2009.

ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)

• ADMM-Plus was inaugurated in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010.
• It is an annual meeting that brings together the defence ministers of ten ASEAN countries, with those of eight “dialogue partners”.
• These include India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.
• This year it was recently held in Manila, Philippines.
• India called for safeguarding freedom of navigation, over flight and commerce in regional waters.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• ASEAN is a regional organisation comprising 10 Southeast Asian states which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic integration amongst its members.
• Member nations are: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
• ASEAN plus Three was created to improve existing ties with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea.
• ASEAN became ASEAN Plus Six with additional countries: Australia, New Zealand and India
• Even larger East Asia Summit (EAS) was formed which included ASEAN plus Three countries as well as India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Russia.
• In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.
• In response, the organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the UN.

Source: The Hindu, Business Standard, Indian Express

28th Oct Daily current affairs for UPSC Civil Service Exam

Waning of Arctic sea ice

• Arctic sea ice is a key indicator of climate change.
• According to the research undertaken by the Cryosphere Climate Research Group, Arctic sea ice could be dwindling faster than predicted.
• Dwindling ice cover led to reduction in the amount of solar radiation reflected back in to space and increases its absorption.
• Thereby it hastens the warming of oceans which has an impact on weather phenomena like the El Nino that influences the Asian Monsoon.
• The thinning ice would make it difficult for animals like polar bears and seals and organisms like phytoplankton to survive
• The researchers have found that satellite measurements over the years have overestimated the thickness of Arctic sea ice by as much as 25% because of the presence of salty snow.
• This is because of salty snow (brine is expelled upward from the ice surface) does not allow radar waves from satellites to penetrate, leading to skewed measurements.

Vikram Class offshore Patrol Vessel

• Vikram is the first of a series of seven offshore patrol vessels (OPV).
• OPV are long-range surface ships capable of coastal and off-shore patrolling, policing maritime zones, control & surveillance, anti-smuggling and anti-piracy operations.
• It is the country's first-ever such defence craft to be built in a private shipyard (L&T).
• It is likely to be inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in April 2018.

Kala Azar

• Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is caused by the protozoan Leishmania parasites.
• It is transmitted to humans through infected sandflies.
• It is characterized by irregular bouts of fever, weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and anaemia.
• The parasite migrates to the internal organs such as the liver, spleen, and bone marrow, and, if left untreated, may result in the death.
• It is endemic to the Indian subcontinent in 119 districts in four countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal).
• India itself accounts for half the global burden of the disease.
• Scientists have recently identified an unknown virus that may be responsible for the persistence of kala-azar.
• However, scientists are still not clear how the parasites cause the infection and how they manage to hide within the body.

Public Financial Management System (PFMS)

• PFMS, earlier known as Central Plan Schemes Monitoring System (CPSMS), is a web-based online software application.
• It is developed and implemented by the Office of Controller General of Accounts.
• It is launched with the objective of tracking funds released under all Plan schemes of GoI, and real time reporting of expenditure at all levels of Programme implementation.
• In 2013, its scope was enlarged to cover direct payment to beneficiaries under both Plan and non-Plan Schemes.
• In 2014, it has been envisaged that digitization of accounts shall be achieved through PFMS.
• The biggest strength of PFMS is its integration with the Core banking system.
• Union Finance Ministry has recently ascertained the mandatory use of PFMS will help in monitoring the flow of funds to beneficiaries of different government welfare schemes.

VARUNA

• Recently, India and France discussed about enhancing the scope of their joint exercises, in particular the VARUNA naval exercise scheduled in early 2018.
• Both countries will also actively explore additional measures to facilitate operational level interactions between their respective armed forces.

'Udyami Mitra' portal

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has revamped its Udyami Mitra with enhanced features.
• The portal was launched to improve accessibility of credit for the MSMEs.
• It helps MSMEs for submission of loan applications which can be picked up by multiple lenders.
• It aims at bringing in transparency in processing of loans by the banks.
• Now non-banking finance companies and small finance banks are being on-boarded on the platform for enhancing flow of credit to MSMEs.
• Under the new capitalisation plan banks will have to compete for loans through the revamped udyamimitra portal.

Source: PIB, The Hindu

27th Oct Daily current affairs for UPSC Civil Service Exam

Red Sanders

• Pterocarpus santalinus (Red sanders) is a species of Pterocarpus with a common name red sandalwood, and saunders wood.
• It is endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats mountain range of South India.
• It is listed in the category of “Endangered” by the IUCN because of overexploitation for its timber in South India.
• It is also listed in the appendix II of the CITES.
• This tree is valued for the rich red color of its wood and it is highly in demand in China.
• The wood is not aromatic and it is not to be confused with the aromatic Santalum sandalwood trees that grow natively in South India.

Typhoon Lan

• Typhoon Lan, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Paolo was the second largest tropical cyclone in terms of a gale diameter on record.
• It is the most intense of the Northwest Pacific Ocean in 2017.
• It made a landfall in Japan as a category 2 equivalent typhoon.
• The areas affected by this include Caroline Islands, Phillippines, Japan and South Korea.
• Gale - The most common way of measuring winds is with the Beaufort scale, which defines a gale as wind from 50 to 102 km/h.
• It is an empirical measure for describing wind speed based mainly on observed sea conditions.

Global Investors’ India Forum

• It is the global event of investors and investees organized by ASSOCHAM, India’s oldest apex chamber for commerce and industry.
• The event is officially supported by the Ministry of External affairs and Department of Industrial policy and promotion, Ministry of commerce and Industry.
• It was started in 2015 and this year it is organized with a theme “Ideate, Innovate, Implement and Invest in India”.

Asian Development Bank

• India signed a USD 300 million loan pact with ADB for fiscal reforms in West Bengal to improve the quality of public service delivery.
• ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966, headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines.
• ADB now has 67 members of which 48 from within Asia and Pacific while remaining 19 from outside.
• It admits the members of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and non-regional developed countries.
• Its voting system was modeled closely on the World Bank where votes are distributed in proportion with members' capital subscriptions..
• It assists its members by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.

Ban of Pet coke in NCR

• The Supreme Court has recently directed the prohibition of industrial use of pet coke and furnace oil in NCR regions from November 1, 2017.
• It also imposed a fine of Rs. 2 lakh on the Ministry of Environment for not fixing any emission standards for industries using pet coke and furnace oil in the NCR region.
• Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining.
• Petcoke is over 90 percent carbon and emits 5 to 10 percent more carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal on a per-unit-of-energy basis when it is burned.
• It can contain vanadium, a toxic metal which is toxic in tiny quantities, 0.8 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
• It is sometimes a source of fine dust, which can get through the filtering process of the human airway and lodge in the lungs.

Source: PIB, The Hindu

Ease of business: India in top 100

India will leapfrog 30 places to the 100th position out of 190 countries in the World Bank's Doing Business Report, high-level sources have confirmed to The Hindu. 

According to a source involved in the exercise — the report is expected to be released on October 31 — “India will hit a century.” This huge jump in the country's ranking is thanks to reforms in areas such as ‘starting a business’, ‘dealing with construction permits’, and ‘resolving insolvency’, where it was placed a lowly 155, 185 and 136 respectively last year. 

The source said, “The low rank last year galvanised India to act. There was an explicit order from the PM [Narendra Modi] to ensure faster reforms to improve India’s rankings.” India was ranked a poor 130 overall last year, up by just one place from 131 the previous year. 

On the future prospects for India, the source said, “If India maintains this momentum, it can jump to a rank in double digits next year,” adding that Mumbai and Delhi — the two cities covered in the Report — had responded well to the government’s call for improvement. 

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion systematically worked with the line ministries and State governments to “get things done on the ground”, the source said.

Essay Question Paper : UPSC Civil Services MAINS Exam 2017 ,28/10/2017

Instructions: Write two essays, choosing one from each of the following Section A & B, in about   1000-1200 words.


Total Marks: 250 

Section – A 

1. भारत में अधिकतर कृषको के लिए कृषि जीवन निर्वाह का एक सक्षम श्रोत नहीं रही है ।

     Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of farmers in India.

2. भारत में संग और राज्यों के बिच राजकोषीय संभंधो पर नए आर्थिक उपायों का प्रभाव ।

     Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India.

3. राष्ट्र भाग्य  का  स्वरुप - निर्माण उसकी कक्षाओं में होता है ।

    Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.

4. क्या गुटनिरपेक्ष आंदोलन (नाम) एक बहुध्रुवी विश्व में अपनी प्रासंगिकता खो बैठा है ।

Has the Non- Alignment Movement(NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world.

Section – B 

1. हर्ष कृतज्ञता का सरलतम रूप है ।

   Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.

2. भारत में 'नए युग की नारी 'की परिपूर्णता एक मिथक है ।

    Fulfillment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth.

3. हम मानवीय नियमो का तो साहसपूर्वक सामना कर सकते है परन्तु प्राकृतिक नियमो का प्रतिरोध नहीं कर सकते ।

    We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.

4. ' सोशल मीडिया ' अंतनिर्हित रूप से एक स्वार्थपरायण  माध्यम है ।

       Social media is inherently a selfish medium.

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Burundi becomes first nation to leave ICC ( International Criminal Court )

 THE HAGUE

Burundi on Friday became the first ever nation to leave the International Criminal Court, set up some 15 years ago to prosecute those behind the world's worst atrocities. The move comes a year to the day after Bujumbura oofficially notified the United Nations that it was quitting the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal

TPP

 The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

The finalized proposal was signed on 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, concluding seven years of negotiations.

 The TPP contains measures to lower both non-tariff and tariff barriers to trade, and establish an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism.

 Current trade agreements between participating countries, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, will be reduced to those provisions that do not conflict with the TPP or provide greater trade liberalization than the TPP.

 TPP a companion agreement to the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a broadly similar agreement between the U.S. and the European Union.

 The largest economy in the Pacific Rim not involved in the negotiations is China.

 Sri Lanka has announced interest of joining the TPP and is currently studying its feasibility.

 TPP lays out a minimum level of protection parties to the Agreement must grant for trademarks, copyright, and patents.

 US administration recently withdrew its candidature from the organisation.

RCEP

 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the ASEAN and the six states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements - Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam are ASEAN members.

 RCEP is viewed as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade agreement which includes several Asian and American nations but excludes China and India.

 The arrangement is also open to any other external economic partners, such as nations in Central Asia and remaining nations in South Asia and Oceania.

 In 2017, US President Trump signed a memorandum that stated withdrawal of the US from the TPP, a move which is seen to improve the chances of success for RCEP.

 RCEP will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical co-operation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and other issues.

 Negotiations of RCEP will aim to achieve the high level of tariff liberalisation, through building upon the existing liberalisation levels between participating countries.

 The RCEP takes into account the East Asia Free Trade Agreement (EAFTA) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) initiatives, with the difference that the RCEP is not working on a pre-determined membership.

 Instead, it is based on open accession which enables participation of any of the ASEAN FTA partners (China, Korea, Japan, India and Australia-New Zealand).

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

 OECD is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 35 member countries, founded to stimulate economic progress and world trade.

 OECD nations are committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.

 It has created agencies such as the OECD Development Centre, International Energy Agency, and Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.

 OECD mandate covers economic, environmental, and social issues.

 It acts by peer pressure to improve policy and implement "soft law"—non-binding instruments that can occasionally lead to binding treaties.

 OECD administers and publishes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is a regular assessment of the attainment of 15-year-olds in three areas of knowledge thus measuring the performance of educational systems across countries.

 India is also a signatory of this policy.

Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

 OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of 13 nations with headquarters in Vienna.

 Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela are its members.

 The 13 countries accounted for an estimated 42% of global oil production and 73% of the world's "proven" oil reserves.

OPEC's stated mission is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets, in order to have regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers, and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.

 Two-thirds of OPEC's oil production and reserves are in its six Middle Eastern countries that surround the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

 Gabon recently rejoined OPEC.

 The OPEC Conference ordinarily meets at least twice a year and in additional extraordinary sessions when necessary.

 OPEC collaborated with five other international organizations (APEC, Eurostat, IEA, OLADE (es), UNSD) to improve the availability and reliability of oil data.

 They launched the Joint Oil Data Exercise, which in 2005 was joined by IEF and renamed the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI), covering more than 90 percent of the global oil market.

 GECF joined as an eighth partner in 2014, enabling JODI also to cover nearly 90 percent of the global market for natural gas.

 Since 2007, OPEC has published the "World Oil Outlook" (WOO) annually, in which it presents a comprehensive analysis of the global oil industry including medium- and long-term projections for supply and demand.

26th Oct Daily current affairs for UPSC Civil Service Exam

Fish – Lizard

• Indian scientists have recently discovered a fully preserved fossil sea-dwelling reptile known as the ‘fish lizard’ from Gujarat’s Kutch district.
• The fossil is believed to be from Jurassic period, which lasted from about 250 million to 200 million years.
• The discovery adds to the knowledge of ichthyosaur (fish – lizard) from the southern continents.
• It is the first Jurassic ichthyosaur found in India. It has been found in Americas, Australia and Europe.
• Other Ichthyosaur fossils from the Crustacean period which lasted 145 million to 66 million years ago found in India usually in the form of teeth or fragments of vertebrae.
• It’s the second significant fossil discovery in India this year.
• The oldest plant fossil in India, red algae from the Chitrakoot region in Madhya Pradesh, believed to be 1.6 billion years old was discovered earlier.

Mekedatu Project

• The central water commission has recently sent back a pre-feasibility report on the Mekedatu project to the Karnataka government.
• It is a balancing reservoir cum drinking water project on the Cauvery River proposed by Karnataka.
• It is proposed to be located about 110 km from Bengaluru, with storage capacity of 66.50 tmc ft.
• Tamil Nadu objected the project saying that it would affect the flow of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Central Water Commission

• It is a premier technical organization in the field of Water Resources.
• It is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Water Resources.
• It will carry out techno-economic appraisal of medium and major irrigation and multi-purpose projects on inter-state rivers.

Integrity Index

• Central Vigilance Commission has set to develop integrity index for public sector undertakings, public sector banks and financial institutions, Ministries and its departments.
• CVC will calculate scores by linking the essential drivers of vigilance with long term efficiency, profitability and sustainability of public organizations.
• It will help in creating an internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with Integrity in public organizations.
• Initially 25 organizations have been selected for development of the index.

Central Vigilance Commission

• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an autonomous statutory body created to address governmental corruption.
• It is free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India.
• The Commission shall consist of

1. A Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) - Chairperson;
2. Not more than two Vigilance Commissioners (VC) - Members;

• They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of three member committee.
• The committee consists of PM as its head, the union minister of Home affairs and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
• They hold office for a term of 4 years or until they attain the age of 65 years whichever is earlier.
• They are not eligible for further employment after their tenure.
• The salary, allowance and other conditions of CVC is similar to chairman of UPSC and VC is similar to members of UPSC.

Dawn Mission

• Dawn mission was launched by NASA deploying spacecrafts to orbit extra terrestrial objects.
• It is the only mission ever to orbit two extraterrestrial targets.
• It orbited giant asteroid Vesta for 14 months from 2011 to 2012, then continued on to Ceres, where it has been in orbit since March 2015.
• Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
• NASA has recently authorized a second extension of the Dawn mission at Ceres.
• During this extension, the spacecraft will descend to lower altitudes than ever before at the dwarf planet, which it has been orbiting since 2015.

Passport Index

• The index ranks passports worldwide based on the cross-border access a holder has.
• It was developed by Canada based global consultancy Arton Capital.
• In its new ranking, Singapore has the world’s most powerful passport which allows travel to 159 countries either without a visa or visa on arrival.
• It is the first time that an Asian country has occupied the first place in the index.
• Germany listed in second place with its citizens able to visit 158 countries.
• India has improved its ranking to 75th position from 78th last year.

Source: PIB, The Hindu.