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NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same
General Studies – 1
Topic: urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint , orfonline.org
Why the question:
The article discusses the concept of water pricing in India.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about feasibility of water pricing in India.
Directive word:
Comment– here we must express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving statistic regarding water scarcity in India.
Body:
First, in write about the acute water shortage and its impact on India’s urban spaces.
Next, write about the concept of water pricing, its features and its feasibility – affordability of water for different socio-economic groups, Public awareness and education and metering infrastructure and billing systems etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
A disastrous water crisis has been creeping up on us for years. Water tables have declined precipitously, even by thousands of feet in some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. Tanks and wells have gone dry. Some rivers have shrunk while other smaller ones have completely dried up. Water rationing is routine in many urban areas, while in many villages women are trudging longer distances to fetch water.
Body
Current status
- India has 18% of the world’s population but only 4% of its water resources.
- A large number of Indians face high to extreme water stress.
- Groundwater, a crucial source for irrigation and domestic use, is being depleted rapidly.
- The per capita water availability has declined by almost 20% in the last two decades.
- India has 1123 billion cubic metres of surface and groundwater resources.
- According to the Central Water Commission, India receives 4,000 billion cubic metres in rainfall, which is higher than its requirement.
- However, in 2023, around 91 million Indians will not have access to safe water. This data indicates the massive water shortage in India.
- Bengaluru faces a looming water crisis, prompting concerns of a potential Day Zero scenario akin to Cape Town.
- As per the Report, 223 of the 236 talukas in Karnatakaare affected by drought, including Mandya and Mysuru districts, the sources of Bengaluru’s water.
- A BBC report highlighted Bengaluru as one of the cities likely to run out of drinking water, second only to Sao Paulo, Brazil, by 2031
Impact on Urban Spaces:
- Inadequate Supply: No Indian city currently supplies 24/7 clean potable water to all its residents year-round.
- Economic Growth vs. Water Security: Rapid urban growth and pollution have increased water insecurity.
- Infrastructure Challenges: Outdated infrastructure and minimal enforcement of water conservation measures exacerbate the crisis.
Water Pricing Concept:
- Economic and Social Considerations: Implementing water pricing in urban spaces requires careful consideration of economic and social aspects.
- Affordability: Different socio-economic groups must find water pricing affordable.
- Public Awareness: Education on water conservation and the importance of water pricing is essential.
- Metering Infrastructure: Adequate billing systems and metering infrastructure are necessary to implement water pricing effectively.
Why water should be priced?
- With 18% of the world population, India has only 4% of the world’s renewable water resources. Moreover, the distribution is geographically skewed and the majority of rainfall occurs over just a few months, leading to reckless consumption in well-endowed geographies and during those months. This can be avoided because of pricing
- Low/Free water rates, apart from encouraging the inefficient use of water, result in low revenue collections and contribute to the growing burden of government subsidies
- OECD studies say that putting the right price on water will encourage people to waste less, pollute less, and invest more in water infrastructure
Why water should not be priced?
- Water is the basic human need. Making it a commodity is against human rights of those who can’t pay.
- It will erode India’s export advantage
- It will increase input cost of farmers
Way Forward:
- Policy Structuring: Effective policymaking and governance reforms are needed to strengthen overall water management.
- Localized Solutions: Localized storage options and optimal use of reservoirs can help manage water resources better.
- Agricultural Management: Regulation of water-intensive crops and groundwater consumption is crucial.
- Urban Water Policy: Developing Water Smart cities and managing urban water demand will be key to addressing water scarcity.
- Investment in Infrastructure: Investing in water infrastructure like dams and canals will improve water storage and distribution.
Conclusion
Addressing water scarcity in India requires a multi-faceted approach that includes policy reform, infrastructure investment, public education, and the implementation of water pricing mechanisms that are equitable and sustainable. The success of these initiatives will hinge on the cooperation between government bodies, communities, and individual citizens to ensure the judicious use of this vital resource.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India
Why the question:
On December, 12, 2012, the UN General Assembly unanimously endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress towards UHC. In India, the high level expert group report, submitted to the Planning Commission in 2011, outlined a government intent to increase public financing for health to 2.5% of India’s GDP during the 12th Plan (2012-17).
Key Demand of the question:
To write about UHC, challenges in its implementation and steps that are needed to overcome them.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
Body:
In the first part, write about the various components of UHC – access to health services, including preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative care.
Next, write about challenges in the implementation of UHC – funding, human resources, infrastructure, and political will etc.
Next, write about the steps that are needed to overcome the above-mentioned challenges.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people have access to the health services they need (prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care) without the risk of financial hardship when paying for them.
On December, 12, 2012, the UN General Assembly unanimously endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress towards UHC. In India, the high level expert group report, submitted to the Planning Commission in 2011, outlined a government intent to increase public financing for health to 2.5% of India’s GDP during the 12th Plan (2012-17).
Body:
Significance of UHC:
- Universal health coverage has a direct impact on a population’s health and welfare.
- Access and use of health services enables people to be more productive and active contributors to their families and communities.
- It also ensures that children can go to school and learn.
- At the same time, financial risk protection prevents people from being pushed into poverty when they have to pay for health services out of their own pockets.
- Universal health coverage is thus a critical component of sustainable development and poverty reduction, and a key element of any effort to reduce social inequities.
- Universal coverage is the hallmark of a government’s commitment to improve the wellbeing of all its citizens.
Issues and Challenges:
- Finance: At about 1.3% of the national income, India’s public healthcare spending between 2008 and 2015, has virtually remained stagnant. This is way less than the global average of 6 per cent. It is a herculean task to implement a scheme that could potentially cost Rs 5 lakh per person and benefit 53.7 crore out of India’s 121 crore citizenry, or roughly about 44% of the country’s population. Over 70 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure is accounted for by the private sector.
- Crumbling public health infrastructure: Given the country’s crumbling public healthcare infrastructure, most patients are forced to go to private clinics and hospitals. There is a shortage of PHCs (22%) and sub-health centres (20%), while only 7% sub-health centres and 12% primary health centres meet Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) norms.
- High Out of Pocket Expenditure: Reports suggest that 70% of the medical spending is from the patient’s pockets leading to huge burden and pushing many into poverty. Most consumers complain of rising costs. Hundred days into the PMJAY, it remains to be seen if private hospitals provide knee replacement at Rs 80,000 (current charges Rs 3.5 lakh) bypass surgery at Rs 1.7 lakh (against Rs 4 lakh).
- Insurance: India has one of the lowest per capita healthcare expenditures in the world. Government contribution to insurance stands at roughly 32 percent, as opposed to 83.5 percent in the UK. The high out-of-pocket expenses in India stem from the fact that 76 percent of Indians do not have health insurance.
- Doctor-Density Ratio: The WHO reports the doctor-density ratio in India at 8 per 10,000 people as against one doctor for a population of 1,000. To achieve such access, merely increasing the number of primary and secondary healthcare centres is not enough.
- Shortage of Medical Personnel: Data by IndiaSpend show that there is a staggering shortage of medical and paramedical staff at all levels of care: 10,907 auxiliary nurse midwives and 3,673 doctors are needed at sub-health and primary health centres, while for community health centres the figure is 18,422 specialists.
- Rural-urban disparity: The rural healthcare infrastructure is three-tiered and includes a sub-center, primary health centre (PHC) and CHC. PHCs are short of more than 3,000 doctors, with the shortage up by 200 per cent over the last 10 years to 27,421. Private hospitals don’t have adequate presence in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and there is a trend towards super specialisation in Tier-1 cities.
- Social Inequality: The growth of health facilities has been highly imbalanced in India. Rural, hilly and remote areas of the country are under served while in urban areas and cities, health facility is well developed. The SC/ST and the poor people are far away from modern health service.
- Poor healthcare ranking: India ranks as low as 145th among 195 countries in healthcare quality and accessibility, behind even Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
- Commercial motive: lack of transparency and unethical practices in the private sector.
- Lack of level playing field between the public and private hospitals: This has been a major concern as public hospitals would continue receiving budgetary support. This would dissuade the private players from actively participating in the scheme.
- Scheme flaws: The overall situation with the National Health Mission, India’s flagship programme in primary health care, continues to be dismal. The NHM’s share in the health budget fell from 73% in 2006 to 50% in 2019 in the absence of uniform and substantial increases in health spending by States.
Steps taken up currently:
- The National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 advocated allocating resources of up to two-thirds or more to primary care as it enunciated the goal of achieving “the highest possible level of good health and well-being, through a preventive and promotive healthcare orientation”.
- A 167% increase in allocation this year for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) — the insurance programme which aims to cover 10 crore poor families for hospitalisation expenses of up to ₹5 lakh per family per annum.
- The government’s recent steps to incentivise the private sector to open hospitals in Tier II and Tier III cities.
- Individual states are adopting technology to support health-insurance schemes. For instance, Remedinet Technology (India’s first completely electronic cashless health insurance claims processing network) has been signed on as the technology partner for the Karnataka Government’s recently announced cashless health insurance schemes.
Measures needed to strengthen the existing state of Health infrastructure in the country are:
- There is an immediate need to increase the public spending to 2.5% of GDP, despite that being lower than global average of 5.4%.
- The achievement of a distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for all hinges on the performance of health and wellness centres as they will be instrumental in reducing the greater burden of out-of-pocket expenditure on health.
- there is a need to depart from the current trend of erratic and insufficient increases in health spending and make substantial and sustained investments in public health over the next decade.
- A National Health Regulatory and Development Framework needs to be made for improving the quality (for example registration of health practitioners), performance, equity, efficacy and accountability of healthcare delivery across the country.
- Increase the Public-Private Partnerships to increase the last-mile reach of healthcare.
- Generic drugs and Jan Aushadi Kendras should be increased to make medicines affordable and reduce the major component of Out of Pocket Expenditure.
- The government’s National Innovation Council, which is mandated to provide a platform for collaboration amongst healthcare domain experts, stakeholders and key participants, should encourage a culture of innovation in India and help develop policy on innovations that will focus on an Indian model for inclusive growth.
- India should take cue from other developing countries like Thailand to work towards providing Universal Health Coverage. UHC includes three components: Population coverage, disease coverage and cost coverage.
- Leveraging the benefits of Information Technology like computer and mobile-phone based e-health and m-health initiatives to improve quality of healthcare service delivery. Start-ups are investing in healthcare sector from process automation to diagnostics to low-cost innovations. Policy and regulatory support should be provided to make healthcare accessible and affordable.
Way forward:
- For UHC to become a reality, it is important to expedite steps beyond infrastructural interventions to include water, sanitation, nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. The challenge is to incentivize wellness-seeking behaviour.
- An encouraging aspect of India’s commitment to UHC has been the active and participatory role of the government.
- From Poshan Abhiyaan, which aims to eliminate the malaise of malnutrition, to the Prime Minister’s call for a Fit India Movement, new emphasis has been given to multi-stakeholder engagements.
- India has to align the vision of medical education with the vision of “one nation, one healthcare sector”.
- The National Medical Commission (NMC) 2019 Bill recognizes the much-needed reforms in medical education.
- The challenge of building capacity of people in a short time needs to be addressed through more transformational public-private partnerships (PPPs), presenting another opportunity to develop and adopt e-learning models.
- Digital health has emerged as a game-changer in achieving UHC goals. India has taken rapid strides here and digital health is bringing healthcare within reach of 70% of our population residing in rural and remote areas.
- With the use of digital technology, India is positioned to not only bridge gaps in our healthcare delivery but also to have the capability to contribute to global UHC goals through its telemedicine and digital health tools.
- India’s healthcare providers are already working on new frontiers of digital technologies.
- Machine learning, blockchain and AI will continue to strengthen India’s ability to engage effectively with other geographies towards achieving global UHC targets.
- Regional disparities in terms of resources and institutional capabilities must be addressed. This diversity, nevertheless, can be a powerful source of policy innovation and creativity.
- A collaborative approach aligning patients, payers and providers, along with innovative partnerships, will hasten efforts to mitigate risks, drive impact, forge stronger social returns and achieve sustainable UHC targets.
Conclusion:
India needs a holistic approach to tackle problems in healthcare industry. This includes the active collaboration of all stakeholders’ public, private sectors, and individuals. Amore dynamic and pro-active approach is needed to handle the dual disease burden. A universal access to health makes the nation fit and healthy, aiding better to achieve the demographic dividend.
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports that 1.71 lakh people died by suicide in 2022. The suicide rate has increased to 12.4 per 1,00,000 — the highest rate ever recorded in India.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the increasing incidence of suicide and strategies needed to prevent it.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Present data and statistics related to suicide rates in India.
Body:
First, write about the major causes of suicides in India across age groups and sections.
Next, write about the specific strategies that are required to address this issues across various groups – Children, Young adults, Adults, Women, Weaker sections, Farmers and LGBTQIA+ people etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Sociologist Emile Durkheim had famously hypothesised that ‘suicides are a result of not just psychological or emotional factors but social factors as well’. Every 40 seconds, someone somewhere in the world takes his or her own life.
Body:
Suicide statistics:
- India has the highest suicide rate in the Southeast Asian region.
- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports that 1.71 lakh people died by suicide in 2022.
- The suicide rate has increased to 12.4 per 1,00,000 — the highest rate ever recorded in India.
- And for every death that takes place by suicide, there are about 60 people who are impacted due to the loss of a loved one, and more than 20 who attempt suicide.
- There was an increasing surge in suicidal deaths, with a rate of 10.2 in 2018, 10.4 in 2019, 11.3 in 2020, and 12 in 2021 (per lakh population). The rise from 10.2 to 11.3 per lakh in the last three years is significant.
- With suicide rates rapidly increasing and access to mental healthcare remaining elusive for many, there has never been a more pressing time to shift the focus to suicide prevention.
Reasons for high number of suicides in India are a mix of psychological or emotional influences and social dimensions:
- Women :
- Women are struggling with disproportionate socio-economic burdens.
- Their high SDRs relative to men are rooted in factors as varied as the difference in socially acceptable methods of dealing with stress and conflict for women and men, domestic violence and the different ways in which poverty affects the genders.
- Married women form the biggest victim group of suicide deaths among women in general. This group becomes more vulnerable due to arranged and early marriage, young motherhood and economic dependence.
- The past few decades have witnessed economic, labour and social changes on a scale rarely seen before. Such rapid change with the economic dislocation and change in social and community links it brings can be destabilizing.
- The social stigma:
- The social stigma attached to mental health disorders in India is a major hurdle in addressing them.
- Stigma and general lack of knowledge and understanding when it comes to mental health disorders prevent timely intervention.
- Lack of Medical and Psychological Care:
- State capabilities for addressing mental health issues are close to non-existent.
- The country has about 5,000 psychiatrists and less than 2,000 clinical psychologists.
- Expenditure on mental health accounts for a tiny fraction of total public health spending.
- Farmers suicide:
- India’s economy vastly depends on agriculture with around 60% of its people directly or indirectly depends upon it.
- Different reasons like droughts, low yield prices, exploitation by middlemen and inability to pay loans lead Indian farmers to commit suicide.
- Youth suicide:
- Reason for such high numbers can be attributed to lack of economic, social, and emotional resources.
- More specifically, academic pressure, workplace stress, social pressures, modernisation of urban centers, relationship concerns, and the breakdown of support systems.
- Some researchers have attributed the rise of youth suicide to urbanisation and the breakdown of the traditional large family support system.
- The clash of values within families is an important factor for young people in their lives. As young Indians become more progressive, their traditionalist households become less supportive of their choices pertaining to financial independence, marriage age, rehabilitation, taking care of the elderly etc
- Depression:
- WHO says that depression and suicide are closely linked and, at its worst, depression can lead to suicide.18 per cent of the total number of people suffering from depression globally were in India in 2015.
- Discrimination:
- Discrimination and slurs for having belonged to an ST community and having procured admission into the college through the SC/ST quota.
- Racial slurs, Sexist slur etc. leading to extreme harassment of individuals.
- Caste-based discriminationand resentment from upper-caste students and faculty is common in the high-pressure environment of medical colleges, as well as in other higher educational institutes in the country.
- The 2007 report by the Thorat Committee has shown how rampant and varied the caste-based discrimination practices were in AIIMS, the country’s premier medical college.
Measures taken by Government:
- There have been some positive developments over the past few years.
- The decriminalization of suicide was long overdue and welcome.
- The same holds true for the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s mandating that insurance companies are to make provisions to cover mental illnesses in their policies along with physical illnesses.
- Concerned over the spate of suicides in Indian colleges, the ministry of human resource development has circulated a manual to the country’s higher education institutions, asking the authorities to adopt measures to prevent students from taking the extreme step.
- The manual lists measures such as early identification of suicidal tendencies, a buddy programme and a double-blind helpline where both the caller and the counsellor are unaware of each other’s identity.
- Other experts have suggested proactive steps at the adolescent stage itself with the introduction of mental health in school curricula.
- Mental healthcare act 2016: This Act will ensure these people have the right to live a life with dignity and not be discriminated against or harassed by the authorities. .
- The SC has also said that Section 309 of IPC also violates right to life as given under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Measures needed:
- First, stop-gap solutions to setting up expert committees and counsellors in schools have not been able to solve the problem.
- The deep-rooted causes must be addressed. The government must undertake a comprehensive study on the reasons behind these suicides.
- Second, the curriculum should be designed in ways that stress the importance of mental exercises and meditation. E.g.: The Delhi government’s initiative on the ‘Happiness Curriculum’ may be a step in the right direction.
- Third, with regards to higher education, 12 measures were suggested by the Justice Roopanwal Commission.
- Making Equal Opportunity Cells with an anti-discrimination officer functional in universities and colleges.
- Starting from the most “innocuous” of ragging practices to “extreme harassment,” such discriminatory behaviour in fact constitutes violence and is an assault on the human rights of a person that prevents them from leading their lives with dignity and obtaining an education.
- Educational approaches in schools, namely, teaching about the facts of suicide, developing educational modules in life skills, and problem-solving and training teachers
- Psychological support and care should be given to the individual. The state can seek assistance from NGOs as well as religious missionaries for this purpose.
- Strengthening the existing National Mental Health Programme and the district mental health programme, along with focus on training resources and streamlining of funds are some other recommendations for fighting depression and suicide.
- Finally, it is high time we seek to reinvent our educational ecosystem in ways that impregnate new meanings, new ideas of living, and renewed possibilities that could transform a life of precarity into a life worth living.
Conclusion:
Suicide is preventable. Youth who are contemplating suicide frequently give warning signs of their distress. Parents, teachers, and friends are in a key position to pick up on these signs and get help. Most important is to never take these warning signs lightly or promise to keep them secret.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Insights on India , en.wikipedia.org
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 3 and mentioned as part of Mission-2024 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the objectives of Chandrayaan-3 and its potential contributions
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context.
Body:
First, write about the major objectives of Chandrayaan-3 – conduct scientific studies of the Moon’s surface and sub-surface using a lander and rover. The mission will also aim to study the lunar atmosphere and determine the presence of water and other minerals on the Moon etc.
Next, write about its contributions to India’s Space Exploration.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing about the importance of space missions to moon.
Introduction
Chandrayaan-3 is the successor to the Chandrayaan-2 mission and it will likely attempt another soft-landing on the lunar surface. It will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 but will only include a lander and rover similar to that of Chandrayaan-2. It will not have an orbiter. As per ISRO, the total cost of Chandrayaan-3 mission will be over Rs 600 crores. In comparison, the total cost of the Chandrayaan-2 mission was Rs 960 crores.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission’s successful soft landing on the Moon marks India’s significant achievement, becoming the fourth nation in history to reach the lunar surface.
Body
Objectives of Chandrayaan – 3 mission
- The mission is aimed at better understanding the Moon’s composition.
- Isro has laid out three main objectives for the mission, which include
- demonstrating a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface
- demonstrating the rover’s roving capabilities on the moon
- performing in-situ scientific observations.
Chandrayaan – 3 vis-à-vis Chandrayaan 2
- Chandrayaan 3 is an ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) mission with the primary objective of putting a lander and rover in the highlands near the south pole of the Moon in 2023.
- According to ISRO, the Chandrayaan-3 mission will cost more than Rs 600 crores in total. In contrast, the Chandrayaan-2 mission cost a total of Rs 960 crores.
- Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 but will only include a lander and rover similar to that of Chandrayaan-2. It will not have an orbiter, but its propulsion module will behave like a communications relay satellite.
- But unlike Chandrayaan-2, this orbiter won’t be equipped with a research payload.
- India aims to examine the Moon’s surface, especially areas that have not been receiving sunlight in some billion years.
- Scientists and astronomers are suspecting the presence of ice and abundant mineral stocks in these darker parts of the lunar surface.
- In addition, this exploration will not limit to the surface but aim to study the sub-surface and exosphere.
- The rover of this spacecraft will communicate to earth via an orbiter taken from Chandrayaan 2.
- It will study the surface by taking images at a distance of 100km from the lunar orbit.
Conclusion
Chandrayaan 3, if successful, will make India the fourth country to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon after the United States, USSR and China.
Topic: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Insights on India
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 3 and mentioned as part of Mission-2024 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the Gaganyaan mission, challenges in it and its relevance.
Directive word:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context of Gaganyaan mission as first manned space mission of India.
Body:
First, write the major aims and objectives of Gaganyaan mission.
Next, write about the relevance of manned spaced mission for India – Boost to industries, Technological development, Spurs research and development, National Prestige and economic opportunities etc.
Next, write about the challenges in the mission and steps that are needed to overcome them
Conclusion:
Conclude by summarising.
Introduction
Mission Gaganyaan is India’s first Human Space Flight Programme which aims to make India the fourth nation in the world to launch a Human Spaceflight Mission. So far, only the USA, Russia and China have launched human spaceflight missions.
Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap and Shubhanshu Shukla — these Air Force pilots constitute the final shortlist of candidates from among whom India’s astronauts for its human spaceflight mission, a.k.a. Gaganyaan, will be selected. The announcement, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an official visit to Kerala, fills the last real unknown about the ambitious mission, which aims to send an Indian crew to low-earth orbit onboard an Indian rocket.
Body
Aims & Objectives of the Mission:
- Enhancement of science and technology levels in the country
- A national project involving several institutes, academia and industry
- Improvement of industrial growth
- Inspiring youth
- Development of technology for social benefits
- Improving international collaboration
Relevance of a Manned Space Mission for India:
- Boost to industries: The Indian industry will find large opportunities through participation in the highly demanding Space missions. Gaganyaan Mission is expected will source nearly 60% of its equipment from the Indian private sector.
- Employment: According to the ISRO chief, the Gaganyaan mission would create 15,000 new employment opportunities, 13,000 of them in private industry and the space organisation would need an additional manpower of 900.
- Technological development: Human Space flights are frontier field in the science and technology. The challenges the Human Space Flights provide to India, and the benefits accruing from taking up those missions will be very high and will lead to further thrust for technological developments in India
- Spurs research and development: It will boost good research and technology development. With a large number of researchers with proper equipment involved, HSF will thrust significant research in areas such as materials processing, astro-biology, resources mining, planetary chemistry, planetary orbital calculus and many other areas
- Motivation: Human space flight will provide that inspiration to the youth and also the national public mainstream. It would inspire young generation into notable achievements and enable them to play their legitimate role in challenging future activities
- Prestige: India will be the fourth country to launch human space mission. The Gaganyaan will not only bring about prestige to the nation but also establish India’s role as a key player in the space industry
Challenges:
- For a manned mission, the key distinguishing capabilities that ISRO has had to develop include the ability
- to bring the spacecraft back to Earth after flight
- to build a spacecraft in which astronauts can live in Earth-like conditions in space
- India is yet to perfect fool-proof launch vehicle technology, the basic requirement for a manned space mission.
- The Polar Satellite launch vehicle and the Geosynchronous Launch vehicle, the two Indian spacecraft deployed to launch satellites and modules into space, are yet to be man-rated.
- India does not even have the facilities to train astronauts.
- ISRO has not been able to put in place India’s own Global Positioning System in spite of completing the NavIC due to dysfunctional atomic clocks in the satellites, rendering the fleet a dud.
- The launchpad at the Sriharikota spaceport, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, will have to be enhanced for the human mission.
- While the launch vehicle, crew module, re-entry technology, crew escape system are in place, monitoring and tracking systems, Environmental Control & Life Support System (ELCSS), space suit and crew support systems are still in the developmental phase.
Way forward
- It is important to ensure engagements at political level to obtain long term commitment for India’s human space flight missions
- Financial implications of a long-term human space-flight programme development should be assessed and the returns and benefits should be clearly articulated
- It is important to overcome the technological challenges to ensure a safe, successful manned space mission. International collaboration in this domain can help India ensure a robust technology for its HSF programme.
- Selection of Indians for astronauts will be an important step. Procedures and specifications for astronauts and a rigorous selection process is suggested.
General Studies – 4
Topic: laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance;
Difficulty level: Tough
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4
Key Demand of the question:
To debate as to what should prevail if morality is in conflict with the law.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start the answer by mentioning the relationship between morality and law.
Body:
Explain that the popular conception of the connection between law and morality is that in some way the law exists to promote morality, to preserve those conditions which make the moral life possible.
Write about the reason for conflict. They conflict most often because morality gives you a sense of what is right and wrong or acceptable and what is not according to human nature. Law commands obedience not out of a sense of right or wrong but out of necessity. Substantiate the above with examples.
Conclusion:
Conclude by underscoring that Morality forms the foundation, the pre-condition, for laws. Put another way, laws do not have the necessary foundation or reason to be, if there is no such thing as morality.
Introduction
Law is the codification of societal norms and values which helps in delivering justice. Law is enforced and must be obeyed. Morality on the other hand is determined by the will of humans rather than the law itself, it is a set of standards we have set ourselves to decide what is morally right or wrong. Morality is similar to law, but need not always be obeyed. We can see there are cases of both the law reflecting morality and the law not reflecting certain moral judgments.
Body
Relation between law and morality
- Law is essentially a set of rules and principles created and enforced by the state whereas morals are a set of beliefs, values and principles and behaviour standards which are enforced and created by society.
- Legal and moral rules can be isolated with the former being created by the legislative institution of parliament whereas the latter have evolved with and through society and are the standards which society in general accepts and promotes.
- Some laws mirror the majority of society’s moral view, for example, that murder is wrong but the introduction of same sex marriages is seen by some people as morally wrong and society is divided.
- The existence of unjust laws proves that morality and law are not identical and do not coincide.g.: Slavery of Africans by the White supremacists.
- The existence of laws that serve to defend basic values such as laws against murder, rape, malicious defamation of character, fraud, bribery, etc. prove that the two can work together.
- However, this may not always be true.
- g.: Hitler’s holocaust, where Jews were killed in concentration camps; had support of majority of Nazis.
- Morality forms the basis of good law and therefore laws are framed to prohibit any immoral act.
- For example, Laws in India prohibits domestic violence, atrocities on lower castes, child marriages, crimes like murder and rapes because they are immoral.
- Laws govern conduct at least partly through fear of punishment. Morality, when it is internalized governs conduct without compulsion.
- The virtuous person does the appropriate thing because it is the fine or noble thing to do.
- Morality can influence the law in the sense that it can provide the reason for making whole groups of immoral actions illegal.
- Law can be a public expression of morality which codifies in a public way the basic principles of conduct which a society accepts.
- In that way it can guide the educators of the next generation by giving them a clear outline of the values society wants taught to its children.
- Obedience to law depends upon the active support of the moral sentiments of the people. Laws which are not supported by the moral conscience of the people are liable to become dead letters.
Conflict between law and morality
- Though, it cannot be said that morals are the basis of legal rules. It can be said that usually law has some base of morals but law and morality can be described separately in the contemporary world.
- There are various things, which may be immoral but not necessarily illegal like cheating on your friend or spouse, breaking promises (for certain sets of people).
- Even inter-caste marriage is not a norm in India, but it is perfectly legal.
- There are things, which may be illegal but not necessarily immoral like drinking under age, abortion (for certain sets of people).
- g.: Take issue of live-in relationships, which already has a moral ban on it.
- The purpose of law is not to make the laws of the land ineffective but to maintain law and order in the country. If someone violates these minimum standards, then punishment is remedy. Accordingly, morality has got recognition but it does not mean that all the legal rules are based on morals. There are certain legal rules which are not based on morality
Conclusion
The only check against the breach of morality is social condemnation or individual conscience. Moral actions are a matter of choice of inner conscience of the individual; laws are a matter of compulsion. Law cannot be made on each and every aspect of life. More than law behavioural change is the key to a moral society, as rightly said by BR Ambedkar, “No law can protect us if it’s not avowed by the moral conscience of the society at large”.
Topic: Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Key Demand of the question:
To explain how EI makes a difference in day to day administration as well in extreme situations.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
In your own words, define Emotional intelligence and what it means to you.
Body:
Emotional Intelligence (EI) refers to the capability of a person to recognize, understand and manage own emotions, as well as to understand, manage and influence emotions of others. It is not always virtuous and can be used as a tool for positive and negative ends.
Very briefly describe the key 5 components of EI.
Explain why it is so valuable in the context of civil servants. Mention how it makes a difference and people with high EI can manage any situation and rise above it. Cite examples to substantiate your points.
Conclusion:
Conclude that Emotional intelligence is the single best predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.
Introduction
Emotional intelligence or EI is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth.
Body:
According to Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist who helped to popularize emotional intelligence, there are four key elements to it viz. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness & relationship management.
Significance of Emotional intelligence:
- Appraising emotions arising from situations:
- Using emotions for reason based decisions and policy making.
- Identifying emotions in faces, voices, postures, and other content during public management activities.
- Recruitment:
- EQ measurement is invaluable in selecting and recruiting high performance workers.
- Predicting performance:
- Some companies are blending IQ testing with scientific measurement of EQ to predict job performance and direct workers to jobs where they are most likely to succeed.
- Negotiation:
- Whether you’re dealing with a trading partner, competitor, customer or colleague, being able to empathize and be creative in finding win-win solutions will consistently pay off.
- Performance management:
- 360-degree feedback is a common tool for assessing EQ. Knowing how your self-perception compares with others’ views about your performance provides focus for career development and positive behavioural changes.
- Peer relationships:
- Good networking skills are a staple of job effectiveness for the average worker. Networking has too often been associated with “using” other people, but a heightened EQ ensures a mutually beneficial approach to others.
- Social responsibility:
- When a leader cares about others, he is not a centre of attention and keeps everyone in the loop by making their intentions known.
- Stress tolerance:
- To stay focused, stress should be managed and it involves own reactions to stress or the reactions of others to the stress.
- Impulse control:
- Independent people evaluate the alternatives and initiate the work by taking appropriate action by executing the right options. People who manage their impulses avoid being distracted and losing control of the situation.
- Optimism:
- Optimistic people have a target that they’re aiming toward. These people are confident in their ability to carry out the required actions and meet the target by looking for successful solutions to problems.
Ways to develop emotional intelligence in civil servants:
- Assessing personal strengths and limitations
- Providing feedback with care
- Maximizing learner choice
- Encouraging participation
- Linking learning goals to personal values
- Adjusting expectations
- Gauging readiness
- Fostering a positive relationship between the trainer and the learner
- Maximizing self-directed change
- Setting clear goal
- Maximizing opportunities to practice emotional intelligence
- Providing frequent feedback on that practice
- Enhancing insight into emotions and thought patterns
Conclusion:
The Center for Creative Leadership even draws on research to suggest that 75% of careers are negatively impacted by emotional competency-related themes. These include the inability to respond adaptively to change, nurture trust, lead teams during tough times, and deal effectively with interpersonal problems. So developing your EI skills will help civils servants perform better in the workplace.
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