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Treat the disease (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2 : Health
Prelims level : Paedophilia
Mains level : Government step towards eliminate Paedophilia disease

Context

•  In matters of sexual crime and criminals, where there is an understandable social revulsion towards the perpetrators, the law tends to be blunt and the public discourse vitiated by a collective desire for revenge.

About Paedophilia

•  Paedophilia has been classified by the World Health Organisation as a disease.
•  Over 300 people suspected of having paedophilic tendencies have reached out to a network of psychologists and psychiatrists based in Mumbai and Pune, seeking help.
•  There are severe legal consequences for those who sexually assault and target children under the POCSO Act.
•  But doctors in Mumbai attempt to treat paedophilia through counseling and anti-depressants.
•  This is especially those who are “at the lower threshold of the disease” and have not been booked under the Act.
•  According to Klaus Beier, director of the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine in Berlin’s Charité University, at least 1 per cent of the male population suffers from paedophilia.
•  Given India’s population, that’s too sizeable a number to leave unaddressed and untreated.

Significance of this move

•  The initiative to open the door to those who want to deal with their paedophilic tendencies is welcome.
•  The fear of the stigma that comes with articulating such feelings keeps them bottled up, leading to horrifying consequences.
•  That a section of mental health professionals is taking a series of steps — from anonymous helplines to expanding the number of doctors capable of managing the disorder — to make a conversation possible is welcome.

Conclusion

•  No society can leave the well-being of its children outside the ambit of the law, and once acts of sexual violence are committed, they must be prosecuted.
•  But it is also important to deal with those who seek treatment, before the worst happens, with compassion and sympathy.
•  It is important to treat the disease, not merely punish the diseased.

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To create a high-skills ambience in India (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: Schemes related to formal skilling
Mains level: Skilling unemployed youth

Context

• The small and informal sector is the backbone of the Indian workforce.
• Over 82 per cent of the workforce is engaged in the informal sector which, by definition, comprises small enterprises. Nearly 40 per cent of these informal workers are also single, own-account workers.
• As we move ahead, the small and informal sector will continue to be the primary source of employment and entrepreneurship. At the same time, despite engaging such a large proportion of the workforce, the productivity of such enterprises remains low.
• Despite the massive workforce, the informal sector contributes to only about 50 per cent of India’s GDP.
• Improving access to formal skills can be a transformative lever for the informal sector.
• It can also help create mass entrepreneurs who are not single, subsistence-driven, but have the capacity to be job creators and help the workforce transition steadily from the informal to formal.

Limited awareness in formal skilling

• Small and informal business owners often see limited benefit of formally skilled workers due to a lack of awareness of the productivity and income gains that can accrue because of skilling.
• This problem also extends to parts of the formal sector, which is experiencing increased ‘contractualisation of labour’.
• These formal employers might not see any incentive to invest in training, given the temporal nature of the occupation and high attrition rate for the ‘contract employees’.

Cost and time of training:

• Around half of the workers employed in the non-agriculture sector work in enterprises that employ less than two people on an average. This low number increases the opportunity cost of training per worker and discourages small and informal enterprise owners from investing in training.
• Entrepreneurs also find it difficult to upskill themselves as they already face time and financial constraints in their business. Finally, potential workers who do get formally skilled, demand a wage premium that small enterprises are unable to afford.

Lack of alignment

• Small enterprises often depend on workers who perform multiple tasks and thus need their employees to be trained in multiple skills.
• The current formal skilling programmes are often not designed for this and tend to be specific to a job role.
• The current programmes also provide full-time and non-local solutions while firms need flexible, hyper-local models. This combination limits the effectiveness of the initiatives.

Boosting demand

• Provide incentives and increase awareness to drive demand for formal skills training:
• Giving financial and non-financial incentives to enterprises in the informal sector has the potential to mitigate the cost and time pressures of engaging workers in formal training and increasing uptake of skilling programmes.
• Further, as small firms experience the productivity gains from investments in skill building, the demand for skilling of their workforce will increase. For example, Kenya launched the Jua Kali Skill Voucher Program to catalyse adoption of skill training programmes among micro and small enterprises (MSEs) through demonstration effect.
• After experiencing more than double the average sales, the MSEs increased their permanent training resources and staff. However, it is important to note that a detailed impact study showed that the programme was a high cost one and could not sustain without external funding support.
• Any incentives, therefore, must be designed with the goal of sustainability, with firms eventually transitioning to skilling their workforce without needing external support.

Foster tailored models of skill provision:

• There is a significant need to create an enabling environment and dedicate resources to support testing of new models across the sector.
• The ‘micro-training’ provider model in Rwanda is a case in point. It is a hyper-local and flexible training model operated by small enterprises that engage in production and sale of goods and services and provide training as a parallel service.
• Introduction of this model resulted in an enrolment rate of twice as many trainees, compared to formal public training systems.

Recognise skills

• It required through traditional apprenticeships or other non-formal channels.
• Workers and entrepreneurs in the informal sector often get trained by observing or working under master crafts persons or owners of small businesses.
• Since they might not have any record of their training, developing mechanisms for formal recognition of an informal worker’s existing skills can benefit them tremendously.
• Some platform aggregators, such as UrbanClap, are already supporting formal recognition and upskilling efforts in India.
• The indicative of a rising trend. It helps formalise the service provider’s informally-acquired skill by providing a short-term up-skilling course and offering a certificate for the training.

Conclusion

• Efforts in the skilling ecosystem so far have mostly focussed on serving the existing demand effectively.
• If we want India to transition to a high-skills equilibrium, it will be crucial to exponentially increase the demand for skilling.
• A concerted focus on the small and informal sector, will be the first step to achieving this.

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Difference between a job and work (Mint)

Mains Paper 3 : Ethics
Prelims level : Not Much
Mains level : Work Culture

Context

• Among the words that have infiltrated the vocabulary of common sense during the recent past, none is as egregious as ‘aspiration’.
• Its rampant use in the economic and political spheres has dented public awareness of reality. In the sphere of economics, in terms of both policies and propaganda, the use of ‘aspiration’ in various combinations and contexts has pushed aside common sense knowledge about life’s necessities.
• Things have come to a point where something as important as the need to work in order to make a living is referred to as aspiration.
• As political coinage, ‘aspirational India’ connotes revolutionary change.
• The users of this phrase ignore the long and tiring struggle of countless youth to find work. The vast majority spends years waiting, or in ‘time pass’ as an economist has called it.
• Those who portray India as ‘aspirational’ look at other basic needs in a similar vein.
• The security that a house gives and the basic amenities of life one needs in a house are deemed to be part of an aspirational package.
• We are not far from the day when the desire to avail one’s constitutional rights will be treated as a sign of aspiration.

Ethos behind Job and Work

• In an ethos where words and meanings are mutating fast, we must ask whether a right any right can be described as an aspiration.
• The debate whether the right to work is fundamental or not will hopefully be settled one day; for now, let us talk about one’s need to have some income, preferably by working.
• Someone who has no income can only survive as a dependent.
• That is how children and the elderly often do. The family provides the cover that the state does not explicitly acknowledge.

Degrees and jobs

• Today, when people say that educational standards are declining, they are in fact responding to devaluation of degrees.
• They feel that a certificate or degree does not mean what it did some time back, both in terms of knowledge and its value in the job market.
• People’s memories are often subjective, but the phenomenon they are talking about is real.
• Quite often, the reason for devaluation of degrees is that institutions cannot cope with the increased number of candidates without letting norms become lax.
• Stagnant financial resources are often an additional reason why institutions cannot cope with swollen enrolment.

Job versus work

• The term ‘job’ is now more common than ‘work’, indicating a shift in perspective. It also signifies the emergence of a new ideology that reinforces the traditional denial of dignity to work. ‘Job’ and ‘work’ differ in that a job is what someone gives you whereas work is what you do.
• For some kinds of work, the two meanings may be close or similar, but this is not true for many other kinds.
• If the political economy is eating up work opportunities, it can still keep on creating jobs artificially, to avoid social instability.
• Short-term jobs are often used to cite the success of an economic policy which, in reality, is decimating work and de-skilling people. This is often done in the name of modernisation.
• Driverless trains and automated manufacturing are presented as symbols of progress. An automation-obsessed economy thrives by maintaining millions in replaceable, short-term positions involving low-skill tasks.
• Such jobs make it impossible for lower-income participants in the work force to gain experience and a self-identity associated with a specialised skill.
• Those who justify all-round automation as a legitimate means of economic progress define the term ‘skill’ in a sense quite different from how it was understood so far.
• In its conventional sense, skill implies a specialised expertise that grows with experience and imparts a personal identity.
• Jobs that vanish after a brief period, forcing the work force to leave and look for re-training for a new short-term stint, offer no genuine opportunities for developing a skill.

An ideological trap

• To treat such job-culture as a symbol of progress is to fall into an ideological trap. Supporters of reckless automation say that it represents a natural course of technological progress.
• They also suggest that there is no alternative to automation, so we have no choice in the matter now.
• This approach echoes a theory of destiny.
• It assumes that the human desire to find meaning in work and cultivate a personal identity through skill will soon surrender to economic pressure and acceptance of vulnerable jobs as a permanent fact of life.
• This is a rather limited and myopic view.
• The history of work shows that work is more than a means of livelihood. It satisfies deeper an urge which, if ignored or denied, takes significant political and social tolls.

Conclusion

• In our society, the family provides a financial cover to the young for remarkably long periods.
• No wonder, university and college teachers routinely refer to their adult students as children. No matter how much you quarrel with this usage, its hold in academic institutions persists.
• One reason for this is that the family continues to support a student well past the official age of childhood.
• Parents go to remarkable lengths to support their progeny through expensive higher professional education for howsoever many years it takes.

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Need towards socialism (Mint)

Mains Paper 1 : Society
Prelims level : Karl Marx
Mains level : Socialism

Context

• The world celebrated the 200th birth anniversary of Karl Marx, which was on May 5, 2018, for a year.
• Marx was not like other philosophers who interpreted the world in various ways; he made it a point to change it.
• Marx and Friedrich Engels laid the formulations for the theory and practice of scientific socialism.
• They applied dialectics to the study of human society and human consciousness. They strove for the liberation of humanity from all forms of discrimination and exploitation.
• They argued that Parliament should be used as a forum to articulate the concerns of the working people. Marxism as a science, as an ideology, and as a methodology keeps demonstrating its relevance every day.

The march of capitalism

• After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, some proclaimed that there was no alternative to neoliberalism.
• Since then, the so-called triumphant march of neoliberal capitalism has seen many hurdles, such as the 2008 financial crisis.
• The worst victims of this march and its consequent crises have always been the disadvantaged sections.
• This shows the presence of class conflict in society. Needless to say, the vulnerabilities of the disadvantaged are a creation of capitalism itself.
• The French economist Thomas Piketty exposed the essence of neoliberalism, which leads to unprecedented inequalities and disparities.

Indian context

• Liberalisation of the economy was initiated on the premise that the seemingly socialist and centrally planned economy had outlived its utility and that private ownership and market forces would efficiently replace public sector undertakings and provisions.
• Such an opening up of the economy was also tried in other parts of the world with only one consequence unprecedented concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and a marked shift in the actual centres of power.
• Crony capitalism was soon making fast inroads into the policymaking coteries of India, and this new-found confidence of the private sector bore fruits. But for whom? Definitely not for the masses, as shown in a recent study which named India as the second most unequal society in the world.
• According to Credit Suisse Research Institute’s Global Wealth Report, 1% of the Indian population owns 51.5% of the wealth in the country, and the top 10% own about three-fourths of the wealth.
• On the other hand, the bottom 60%, the majority of the population, own 4.7% of the total wealth.

Capitalism affects public education and health system

• Public education and health are the worst hit by capitalism.
• Education spending by the Centre has been showing a downward trend from 6.15% in the 2014-15 Budget to 3.71% in the 2017-18 Budget.
• Instead of expanding higher education horizontally (to more far-flung areas of the country) and vertically (to the disadvantaged sections of society), the Central government is allowing the Higher Education Financing Agency to allow the private sector to dominate the education sector and make higher education a distant dream for the deprived classes.
• Similarly, in the health sector, the government has chosen private insurance companies and private healthcare lobbies as its partners, effectively taking away the attention from public healthcare infrastructure and its upgradation.
• In a country like India, which is plagued with social problems such as widespread poverty, a deepening agricultural crisis, a very high unemployment rate, and abysmal health indicators, giving away public sector assets to private players and shifting the discourse away from realising socialism could prove fatal for a vast majority of the population.

Rhetoric over real issues

• In India, in this election season, real issues of the people are considered secondary to vague appeals of nationalism and national security.
• The last five years are witness to the fact that the ruling elites of India favour improvement in ‘ Ease of Doing Business’ to improvement in the Human Development Index.
• India is doing badly on many parameters nutrition, peace, human development, and press freedom while a section of the media is celebrating improvement in the Ease of Doing Business Index.
• In other words, ensuring that people live a decent life is subordinate to ensuring that business becomes easier for crony capitalists.
• The ruling party’s appeals to nationalism and its use of the sacrifices of the Army for votes are attempts to hide its failure in giving employment to the youth, providing remunerative prices to farmers, ensuring social justice to the marginalised sections, and creating a conducive environment for the overall development of society.

Way forward

• The government has presided over the gradual undermining of constitutional institutions, the giving away of national assets to the private sector and the increase in violence against minorities.
• It brands any opposition to its policies and views as ‘anti-national’. All of these, however, are symptoms of a deeper problem.
• The tying of national interest to global capital has not only produced adverse and livelihood-threatening consequences for the masses of the country, it has also deprived India of the higher moral pedestal in foreign policy.
• Deep-rooted socialism is the only true alternative to this ‘post-truth’ world where rhetoric has dislodged real issues.
• Only by saying a big ‘no’ to brutal capitalism and by following what the Constitution envisages in its Preamble social justice can we remedy the problems that we face today.

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Casting the Net wide: on Kerala’s plan for free Internet roll-out (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3 : Economy
Prelims level : Kerala Fibre Optic Network project
Mains level : Significance and outcomes of the Kerala Fibre Optic Network project

Context

• The State Cabinet for the Kerala Fibre Optic Network project clears the path for a Kerala-wide optical fibre network by December 2020.
• At Rs.1,548 crore, it is, without doubt, an ambitious project. But what makes it commendable is its recognition that Internet access is a basic human right.
  Key highlights of this project:
• No other Indian State has recognised Internet access in this manner till now.
• This is also in sync with what the UN has been articulating in recent years, based on the Internet’s role in enabling freedom of speech and reducing inequality, among other things.
• In this plan to touch every household in Kerala is a provision to deliver free Internet access to over two million BPL families.
• The idea is to charge affordable rates for other families.
• The network, to be set up by the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd. and the Kerala State IT Infrastructure Ltd., will also connect 30,000 government offices and educational institutions.
• When complete, Kerala, a State that already tops in human development indicators in the country, will be ready for a steep digital evolution.

Significance:

• Kerala’s plan for Internet roll-out, therefore, is also worthy of emulation by other States, given that Internet have-nots still exist in the millions.
• There is no doubt that India has made huge leaps in providing Internet access to its people in recent years. To be sure, a good part of the growth till now can be attributed to cheap data plans, triggered in no small measure by the advent of Reliance Jio.
• According to a recent study by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and Nielsen, the country has 451 million active Internet users. But this number masks huge access gaps.
• Internet penetration is significantly higher in urban areas than it is in rural areas; it is also significantly higher for men than it is for women.
• The best-performing State, Delhi-NCR, has an Internet penetration of 69%. The second-best is Kerala, with just 54%.

Way forward:

• Global technology companies have in recent years eyed the huge population of Internet have-nots as an opportunity.
• Some, like Facebook, even came up with an idea of free access to a list of chosen sites, a severely skewed version of the Internet which endangered its basic values.
• While such ideas were thankfully rejected by the government, the gaps are there nonetheless.
• There is no doubt that governments need to play an interventionist role in plugging this gap. Kerala could set a healthy example.

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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 12 November 2019

::NATIONAL::

Country celebrates 550th birth anniversary of Guru nanak dev

• The 550th birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru and founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev is being celebrated as Prakash Parv on Tuesday. Guru Nanak Dev was born on the full moon day of Kartik month or Kartik Poornima in 1469. Devotees organise langar at various places on this occasion. Dev Deepawali is also celebrated on the full moon night of the month of Kartik.

• President Ram Nath Kovind took part in the festivities at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district of Punjab. Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent more than 15 years at Sultanpur Lodhi, where he attained enlightenment.

• Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar attended the function at Huzoor Sahib Sachkhand Gurudwara in Nanded.

• In Bihar, the three-day-long celebrations for Gurupurab will conclude today at Takhat Shri Harimandir Sahib Gurudwara in Patna.

• Outside India, In Sri Lanka, the Consulate General of India in Jaffna commemorated the day, with its building being decorated with colourful lights last evening. This was followed by a screening of two documentaries on the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The President, Vice President and Prime Minister have greeted people on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti.

Parliamentary Panel expresses concern over rising cancer cases

• A Parliamentary panel has expressed serious concern over the rising number of cancer patients in the country. It suggested setting up of a High-Level Steering Committee to work out modalities for rolling out of a Hub and Spoke Model in a time-bound manner.

• It urged the government to expand and upgrade cancer treatment infrastructure for affordable and quality care by enlarging the network of the Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Centre.

• The recommendation was made by the Department-related Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The report was presented to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on Monday.

• The Committee also noted with concern the very high incidence of cancer in all North Eastern States. The Committee, headed by Jairam Ramesh, expressed concern, saying that over 68 per cent of cancer patients are dying in the country.

::ECONOMY::

NBFC’s to get fund under credit guarantee scheme

• Finance secretary Rajiv Kumar on Monday said the government is in the process of approving Rs 20,000-crore of lifeline to the fund-starved NBFCs under the partial credit guarantee scheme announced in the budget.

• The budget had proposed a partial credit guarantee scheme worth Rs 1 lakh crore under which public sector banks would buy high-rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs, including housing finance companies, amounting to Rs 1 lakh crore this year under which government will provide a one-time six months partial credit guarantee to public sector banks for first loss of up to 10 percent.

• The partial guarantee would help rework the asset liability structure within three months to have positive asset liability management in each bucket for the first three months and on cumulative basis for the remaining period.

• As per the guidelines issued, the window for one-time partial credit guarantee will be for six months, or till such date by which Rs 1 lakh crore assets get purchased by banks.

• Assets originated up to March 31, 2019 will only be eligible under this scheme, it said, adding assets should be standard in the books of NBFCs/HFCs on the date of sale.

IOCL to set up 2G ethanol plant at Panipat

• Furthering government's commitment in promoting the use of environmentally friendly products, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has given environment clearance to Indian Oil Corporation Limited to set up new 2G Ethanol plant at Panipat.

• Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Prakash Javadekar announced this on Sunday. In a tweet, he said, this project not only promotes use of environmentally friendly fuel but also aids in fulfilment of government's goal of doubling farmers’ income.

• Mr Javadekar added that Ministry has revised the Environmental Standards for Tanneries, Iron & Steel Industries and Coffee industries after due stakeholder consultations and expert advice.

• The new Standards aim at commitment of government to ensure clean and green environment.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Australia declares emergency due to bushfire

• In Australia, the states of New South Wales and Queensland have declared a state of emergency, following the widespread bush fires which took at least three lives.

• Thousands have been displaced by three days of dangerous weather conditions and bring a catastrophic threat to heavily populated areas of the nation's east. More than 120 bush fires are burning across the two states.

• Officials say the worst danger will come for areas around Sydney tomorrow, the nation's largest city. The catastrophic warning is in place across the greater Sydney area and regions to the city's north and south.

• In New South Wales, the blazes have scorched 9,70,000 hectares of land and destroyed 150 houses. Nine homes have been razed in Queensland.

• New South Wales fire authorities have issued the maximum level of warning for the first time since new fire warnings were introduced a decade ago, after Australia's deadly Black Saturday disaster.

BRICS trade ministers meeting held in Brazil

• Ahead of upcoming BRICS 2019 summit, BRICS trade ministers meeting has started in Brasilia.

• Commerce minister Piyush Goyal is leading the Indian delegation. The meeting will focus on trade facilitation, investment promotion and cooperation in customs among other issues.

• Getting through comparative advantages of all the BRICS countries to develop upon shared prosperity in the present global economic situation will be the focus. MoU on trade and investment promotion between agencies of all the 5 BRICS countries will be signed after the meeting.

• Later, Power minister R K Singh will attend the meeting of BRICS power ministers where deliberations will focus on clean energy and harnessing the strengths of each other in the energy sector.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

NASA detects Xray burst at outer space

• NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) telescope detected a sudden spike of X Rays. The spike was caused by a massive thermo nuclear flash on the surface of a pulsar.

• A Pulsar is a neutron star whose compact core is left behind when a massive star runs out of fuel. It later collapses under its own weight and explodes.

• A Pulsar spins rapidly and becomes a host to several X-Ray emitting hotspot. As the object spins it produces regular pulses of high-energy radiation.

• The Explosion releases as much as energy in 20 seconds as that released by the sun in 10 days.

• The Explosion was caused as the hydrogen gas accredited and formed a disk. As the disk becomes denser, the gas ionizes. This traps more and more energy inwards causing the explosion.

• Like other astronomical bodies, the sun emits X Rays as well. Therefore, studying about these sources will help to learn about the future of the sun.

::SPORTS::

Saurabh Chaudhary wins silver at Asian shooting championship

• Saurabh Chaudhary claimed the silver medal in men's 10m air pistol event to continue India's surge at the 14th Asian Championship in Doha today.

• World Cup and Asian Games gold-medallist shot 244.5 to finish second on the podium behind North Korea's Kim Song Guk, who won the top prize with a world record 246.5. Iran's Foroughi Javed bagged the bronze.

• With 583, both Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma had qualified for the finals in seventh and sixth place. However, Verma had to be satisfied with a fifth-place finish in the eight-man final.

• The trio of Chaudhary, Verma and Sharvan Kumar bagged the team bronze with a total of 1740 in the qualifying, finishing behind China (1745) and Korea (1744). Both Chaudhary and Verma had already secured their Olympic quotas in the earlier competitions.

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Integrated Check Post at Kartarpur Corridor (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: International Relation
Prelims level: Kartarpur Corridor
Mains level: India and its neighbourhood relations

Context

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi shall inaugurate the Integrated Check Post of the Kartarpur Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur in Punjab on the 9th of November 2019.
• Prime Minister, shall, prior to this, pay obeisance at Ber Sahib Gurudwara at Sultanpur Lodhi.
• Later, Prime Minister shall participate in public programmeat Dera Baba Nanak.
• The inauguration of the ICP check post would facilitate, Indian Piligrims to visit to Gurudwara Kartapur Sahib in Pakistan.

Background

• India has signed the Agreement with Pakistan on the 24th of October 2019 on the modalities for operationalisation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Zero Point, International Boundary, Dera Baba Nanak.
• It may be recalled, the Union Cabinet passed a resolution on 22 November 2018 to celebrate the historic occasion of 550th Birth Anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Devji in a grand and befitting manner, throughout the country and across the globe.
• The Union Cabinet also approved the building and development of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to the International Boundary, to facilitate pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, round the year, in a smooth and easy manner.

Provisions made for facilitation of Pilgrims

• The 4.2 Km four lane highway connecting Dera Baba Nanak from Amritsar – Gurdaspur Highway is constructed at a cost of Rs 120 Cr.
• The state-of-the-artPassenger Terminal Building is on 15 acres land. The fully airconditioned building akin to an airport has over 50 immigration counters for facilitating about 5000 pilgrims a day.
• It has all the necessary public amenities likekiosks, washrooms, child care, first aid medical facilities, prayer room and snacks counters inside main building.
• Robust security infrastructure is put in place with CCTV surveillance and public address systems.
• A 300ft. National Monumental Flag is also being hoisted at the International Border.
• The Agreement signed with Pakistan on the 24th of October provides a formal framework for operationalisation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.

The highlights of the Agreement are:

• Indian pilgrims of all faiths and persons of Indian origin can use the corridor;
• The travel will be Visa Free;
• Pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport;
• Persons of Indian Origin need to carry OCI card along with the passport of their country;
• The Corridor is open from dawn to dusk. Pilgrims travelling in the morning will have to return on the same day;
• The Corridor will be operational throughout the year, except on notified days, to be informed in advance;
• Pilgrims will have a choice to visit as individuals or in groups, and also to travel on foot;
• India will send the list of pilgrims to Pakistan 10 days ahead of travel date. Confirmation will be sent to pilgrims 4 days before the travel date;
• The Pakistan side has assured India on sufficient provision for ‘Langar’ and distribution of ‘Prasad’;

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BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-36) for BPSC Exam

Q.1 : भारत कहॉ पर विश्व के प्रथम गणियज्ञ "आर्यभट्ट" का जन्म हुआ था ? वर्तमान में उस राज्य को किस नाम से जाना जाता है ?

(a) दिल्ली
(b) राजस्थान
(c) बिहार
(d) मध्य प्रदेश

Q.2 : बिहार में राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग संख्या-2 की लम्बाई कितनी किमी. है ?

(a) 453 किमी.
(b) 280 किमी.
(c) 392 किमी.
(d) 324 किमी.

Q.3 : बिहार में अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय कहां पर है ?

(a) पटना
(b) मुजफ्फरपुर
(c) गया
(d) कही भी नहीं है

Q.4 : बिहार में कौन-सा हवाई अड्डा मध्यम श्रेणी का है ?

(a) बिहटा
(b) गया
(c) जोगबनी
(d) भागलपुर

Q.5 : बिहार की जलवायु को किस नाम से जाना जाता है ?

(a) सवाना जलवायु
(b) उष्ण-आर्द्र जलवायु
(c) मानसूनी जलवायु
(d) भूमध्यरेखीय जलवायु

बिहार लोक सेवा आयोग प्रारम्भिक परीक्षा के लिए अध्ययन सामग्री

Study Kit for Bihar Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination

BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-35) for BPSC Exam

Q.1 : बिहार सरकार ने "मुख्यमंत्री खाद्य सुरक्षा योजना" को कब लागू किया था ?

(a) 1 जनवरी, 2008 को
(b) 2 फरवरी, 2010 को
(c) 8 मार्च, 2011 को
(d) 23 जून, 2009 को

Q.2 : बिहार का प्रथम खुला विश्व विद्यालय कौन-सा है ?

(a) नालंदा विश्व विद्यालय, बिहार शरीफ
(b) ललित नारायण मिथिला विश्व विद्यालय दरभंगा
(c) वीर कुंवर सिंह विश्व विद्यालय, आरा
(d) पटना विश्व विद्यालय, पटना

Q.3 : विश्व का सर्वप्रथम लोकतांत्रिक गणराज्य है ?

(a) दक्षिण कोशल
(b) मत्स्य जनपद
(c) वज्जि संघ (वैशाली)
(d) खण्डप्रस्थ

Q.4 : भारत का सबसे बड़ा रेलवे पुल "अब्दुल बारी पुल" बिहार में किस नदी पर है ?

(a) सोन नदी
(b) गंगा नदी
(c) गण्डक नदी
(d) कोसी नदी

Q.5 : भारत का सबसे बड़ा रेलवे पुल कौन-सा है ?

(a) हावड़ा पुल
(b) गांधी सेतु
(c) अब्दुल बारी पुल
(d) इनमें से कोई नहीं

बिहार लोक सेवा आयोग प्रारम्भिक परीक्षा के लिए अध्ययन सामग्री

Study Kit for Bihar Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) EMPOWERING WOMEN FARMERS

EMPOWERING WOMEN FARMERS

• Support for Women Food Security Groups (FSGs) Women farmer groups are recognised under ATMA Cafeteria as a compulsory activity at Rs. 0.10 lakh per group/year for attaining food security at the domestic or the household level, by setting up of kitchen garden, promoting off-farm activities with cattle (activities that otherwise evade the GDP computation).
• Procurement of Agricultural Machinery and Equipments (Subsidy Pattern) Women farmers can avail benefits in tandem with, or over and above the benefits offered to men. For purchasing an essential agricultural equipment, say, tractor (up to 20 PTO HP), women get additional benefits, subsidies and cost reduction, for instance, 35 percent of the subsidy to the total cost, as compared with 25 percent of cost for men.
• Representation of Women Farmers It is imperative for women farmers to be included in the decision making bodies - the State, District, Block Farmer Advisory Committees, ATMA governing committees etc.
• Promoting Women Groups Women's groups, Cooperatives, Self Help Groups (SHGs) to be incorporated by the States for the distribution of Certified Seeds (under the aegis of the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP)).
• Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) Women are endowed with subsidies for storage infrastructure that includes a 33.33 percent subsidy (on capital cost) for women as compared to 25 per cent for men.
• Agricultural Insurance Safeguarding coverage of women farmers along with a budget allocation and utilization in accordance with the population proportion.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) PROTECTED CULTIVATION

 [OCTOBER-2019]

PROTECTED CULTIVATION

• Protected cultivation or greenhouse cultivation is the most contemporary approach to produce, mainly, horticultural crops qualitatively and quantitatively and has spread extensively over the world in the last few decades. It is also known as Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and is highly productive, encourages water and land conservation as well as protects the environment.
• The technology involves cultivation of horticultural crops in a controlled environment wherein factors like the temperature, humidity, light, soil, water, fertilisers etc. are manipulated to attain the maximum produce as well as allow a regular supply of them even during the off-season.
• By adopting protected cultivation technology, the growers can look forward to a better and additional remuneration for quality produce. The main purpose of protected cultivation is to create a favourable environment for the sustained growth of crop, so as to realise its maximum potential even in adverse climatic conditions.
• Protected cultivation technology offers several advantages to produce vegetables, flowers, hybrid seeds of high quality with minimum risks that arise due to uncertainty of weather while at the same time ensuring efficient use of resources.
• This becomes relevant to farmers having small land holdings who would be benefitted by a technology, which helps them to produce more crops each year from their land, particularly during the off-season when the prices are higher. This kind of crop production system could be adopted as a profitable agro-enterprise, especially in peri-urban areas.
• At present, there is a large gap between the demand and production of these crops to meet both quantitative and qualitative needs of domestic and export markets which are difficult to be bridged with the traditional cultivation practices.
• Thus, protected high-value horticultural crops have great potential to enhance income especially of small farmers in India if appropriate technological interventions are made.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) INTEGRATED CROP MANAGEMENT (ICM)

 [OCTOBER-2019]

INTEGRATED CROP MANAGEMENT (ICM)

• ICM suggests the use of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) such ns Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), Integrated Weed Management (IWM), Integrated Disease Management (IDM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), etc.for raising a good crop. Thus, ICM is an alternative system of crop production, which conserves and enhances natural resources while producing quality food on an economically viable and sustainable foundation.
• It also covers integrated tillage and water management approaches in a holistic manner. It combines the best of traditional methods with appropriate modern technology for balancing the economic production of crops with positive environmental management. ICM is particularly beneficial for small and marginal farmers because it aims to minimise dependence on purchased inputs while utilizing on-farm resources.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) ORGANIC FARMING

 [OCTOBER-2019]

ORGANIC FARMING

Organic farming in India has been reinvented and getting more popular with each passing day. Farmers, entrepreneurs, researchers, administrators, policy makers and of course consumers are showing increasingly greater interest in promotion and development of organic farming in the country.

Organic food products are considered to be much safer and nutritious than the products produced by the conventional farming. Organic farming also helps to restore soil health, protect the environment, enhance biodiversity, sustain crop productivity and enhance farmers' income. Seeing the long term benefits of organic farming, the Government of India has taken many important steps for its promotion in the country. With the support of all kinds of stakeholders and the Government, the scope of organic farming movement has widened tremendously in India.

The main objectives of organic farming or paramparagat kheti are the following:

• To promote the use of natural resources based on integrated, sustainable and climate-friendly farming practices.
• Reducing the dependence of farmers on external inputs, promotion of soil fertility, natural resource protection and nutrient recycling.
• Reducing the cost of agricultural production of farmers so that per unit income can be increased.
• Protecting the environment from hazardous inorganic chemicals by adopting conventional techniques and farm-friendly technologies, which are cost effective.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) PRECISE NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT AND SOIL HEALTH CARDS

 [OCTOBER-2019]

PRECISE NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT AND SOIL HEALTH CARDS

 Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme was launched on 19th February 2015 and till 2018 nationwide a large number of SHCs were issued and accordingly nutrient management was done which resulted in record food grain production in even drought like conditions. Site-Specific Nutrient Management relies on principles of '5Rs', the right time, the right amount, the right place, the right source, and the right manner. The Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) approach emphasizes 'feeding' crop with nutrients as and when needed. SSNM strives to enable farmers to dynamically adjust fertilizer use to optimally fill the deficit between the nutrient needs of a high-yielding crop and the nutrient supply from naturally occurring indigenous sources such as soil, organic amendments, crop residues, manures, and irrigation water. The following nutrient management strategies are the most efficient methods to enhance nutrient use efficiency in the field crops.

• Use of neem coated prilled urea and zinc sulphate-coated urea is beneficial in increasing grain yield, yield attributes, agronomic efficiency and apparent nitrogen recovery of field crops.
• Production of hundred per cent neem coated urea for improvement in soil health and reduction in the attack of pests and diseases. This leads to a decrease in the use of plant protection chemicals, overall increase in crop yield and the reduction in the use of urea for non-agricultural purposes.
• Use of biofertilizers like the application Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB) and Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM) along with rock phosphate provide higher productivity of field crops. These bio-fertilisers enhance root length; root volume and root dry weight which results in robust plant growth and higher yield.
• Application of NPK fertilisers is adjusted to the location and time as per the needs of the crop based on Soil Health Card.
• Leaf Colour Chart (LCC), Chlorophyll meters and Green Seeker based nitrogen management which ensures that nitrogen is applied at the right time and in the right amount as needed by the crop, which reduces wastage of N-fertilizer.
• Integration with other Integrated Crop Management (ICM) practices such as the use of quality seeds, optimum plant population and efficient water management.
• Fertigation is the most efficient method of fertiliser application, as it ensures uniform application of the water and fertilisers directly to the plant roots as per the crop demand. Since both water and nutrients reach directly to the rooting zone, it has a tremendous effect on resource saving.
• Use of software-based skills like – Nutrient Experts, Crop Manager, Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) in monitoring and application of nutrients.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(GIST OF YOJANA) Overflowing love melts in other woes

Overflowing love melts in other woes

Gandhi’s notion of peace can be understood from his concept of life based on the fundamental principle of Truth. His peace is life centric in a concrete sense and he pursued it through the means of non-violence, which according to him, is competent to guide oneself and the rest into sustainable life experiences.

Truth

Truth, for Gandhi, is the basis of life, and it is in the practice of Truth, as he did that one unravels the peace he expounded. While elucidating Truth as (God (Gandhi explained that there is an “unalterable Law Mint governs everything and every being that exists or lives It is not a blind law; for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings (Quoting the great scientist Sir J C Bose who showed the world that even mailer has life, (Gandhi stated, “that Law which governs all life is God." And he called that Law as Truth, the sovereign and eternal principle.’ For him, Truth is God, the End and 1he very purpose of life lie understood Truth as the Sanskrit term satya connoted. It stems from the word '.sat', which means that which exists'.' All that exists is real or true, hence part of Satya.

Life

As a pragmatic idealist, (Gandhi explained life as the closest manifestation of Truth or God. Hence, the only way to find the all encompassing Truth or God is to see Him in his creation and be one with it. This can be done by service to all.

Non violence

While Truth for him was the end. (Gandhi held non violence as die undisputed means “Nonviolence is the law of our species as violence is The law of the brute. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law. As life is real or true (truth), (Gandhi proposed, anything that protects, promotes and preserves life are also attributes of Truth. He called such acts non-violence. On the contrary, anything that hampers life is considered to be anathema to Truth, and he called such act as violence.

This non-violence is not a mere individual virtue, but a method of collective living. It is an attitude of “overflowing love, and melts at another’s woes"." It means selfless devotion to a righteous cause, self- suffering and love, as Gene Sharp puts it. Sharp elaborates Gandhi’s non-violence as a socio-economic and political arrangement that ensures everyone a fair chance of living, using appropriate tools, structures, systems and orientation.

UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Peace :

An Experience of Life In this sense, for Gandhi, peace is an experience of life. In our day-to-day life, it is recognised through attributes such as satisfaction, joy, happiness, comfort, relief (attributes of impact of human action); sharing, cooperation, mutual aid (attributes of human action), love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance (attitudinal attributes), understanding, realization and consciousness (cognitive attributes); All these, together as well as independently, refer to the experience of peace.

Joy and happiness are termed as close attributes of peace. While they are true, it is also established that an asocial person too can experience a sense of joy and happiness by pursuing his life at the expense of others. It is therefore essential to have a basic, foundational reference for peace. From Gandhi’s exposition of Truth, we understand that the all-encompassing Truth or its manifest forms-'Life’ in particular, is an unqualified and comprehensive reference for peace.

Peace: A Pursuit of Life As life is the reference to peace, peace is subject to (a subjective experience of) life. There is no peace where there is no life. Peace independent of life is called ‘peace of graveyard’. When life is all good, the experience of it is termed as peaceful and when life is in trouble, the experience of it is termed as peaceless.

Crisis Management Technique

Life is realised by individual through society. Society is all about relationship. And the relationship is bound to get strained, for individuals are essentially different from one another. On such occasions, it is important that we resist the wrong and not the wrong doer.-’ The wrong impedes life (the Truth), hence it has to be resisted; while the wrongdoer is a reality (part of the Truth) hence to be endeared. This scientifically tempered surgical analysis (doctor fights against the disease to save the patient, even when both the disease and the patient have come as one package), is attuned to the larger reality of Truth. In this sense Gandhi often reiterated, “hate the sin and not the sinner."’ And he called that methodology, 'Sanagniha.'

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(GIST OF YOJANA)  Why violence as a contemporary means to settle issues should be avoided in our

Why violence as a contemporary means to settle issues should be avoided in our personal and social life?

• He observes that violence does not accept the ‘essential dignity and worth of the individual.
• The violence recognizes no boundaries and finally becomes self justificatory in itself. The reason is that violence claims to possess the truth about right and wrong and on this basis, it also decides who should be punished and who spared.

UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

• When violence becomes habitual and institutionalized, it becomes a general means/method to settle the issue of any kind of conflicts in society'. He also suggested that in the long run violence docs more harm than good as it produces a vicious and endless chain in which an individual or society get trapped.
• Thus, he prescribes non-violence as a way of our daily individual life and invites us to test it in our life world. To test one’s non-violence, he argued, one must learn to dare danger and death, mortify the flesh and acquire the capacity to endure ail manners of hardships. Thus, his non-violence is not only a matter of philosophy or intellectual inquiry but it calls for dynamic action at the individual level as well.

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BIHAR State GK Questions (Set-34) for BPSC Exam

Q.1 : बिहार में चीनी मिट्टी कहॉं पाई जाती है ?

(a) गया व भोजपुर
(b) भागलपुर व मुंगेर
(c) पटना व मोकामा
(d) उपरोक्त सभी

Q.2 : बिहार के किस जिले में "डोलामाइट" खनिज पाया जाता है ?

(a) गया
(b) भोजपुर
(c) सारण
(d) पटना

Q.3 : बिहार में "अग्निसह मिट्टी" खनिज कहां पाया जाता है ?

(a) भागलपुर में
(b) गया में
(c) मुंगेर में
(d) पटना में

Q.4 : बिहार में "अभ्रक" कहॉं पाया जाता है ?

(a) बरौनी
(b) मोकामा
(c) फुलवारी शरीफ
(d) गया

Q.5 : महात्मा गांधी ने प्रथम सत्याग्रह बिहार में किस स्थान पर किया था ?

(a) चम्पारण
(b) सोनपुर
(c) पटना
(d) चिरांद

बिहार लोक सेवा आयोग प्रारम्भिक परीक्षा के लिए अध्ययन सामग्री

Study Kit for Bihar Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEMS (IFS)

 [OCTOBER-2019]

INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEMS (IFS)

One of the best approaches for implementing best management practices in agriculture is by building farm resilience through spreading risks and creating buffers, i.e. not putting 'all fruits in one basket'.

The Integrated Farming Systems approach is considered as important and relevant, especially for the small and marginal farmers as location-specific IFS will be more resilient and adaptive to climate variability. Integration of livestock rearing with crop production gives higher economic returns as compared to crop production alone for both marginal and small farmers.

On station and on-farm research in different regions of the country has resulted in identification of many sustainable and profitable IFS models for rainfed areas. In general, in regions with rainfall of 500 to 700 mm, the farming systems should be based on livestock with promotion of low-water requiring grasses, trees and bushes to meet fodder, fuel and timber requirements of the farmers. In 700 to 1,100 mm rainfall regions, crops, horticulture and livestock-based farming systems can be adopted depending on the soil type and the marketability factors. Runoff harvesting is a major component in this region in the watershed-based farming system. In areas where the rainfall is more than 1,100 mm, IFS module integrating paddy with fisheries is ideal.

Under irrigated areas the following IFS models are most suitable to maintain soil fertility and productivity.

• Intensification and diversification of crop component of farming system.
• Diversification of other components of farming system for higher income
• IFS proves it's tremendous potential for developing farms to their optimum levels by integrating different enterprises in a farming system mode to make agriculture a profitable venture for farmers under different agro-climatic and ecological situations.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(GIST OF YOJANA) Towards an Egalitarian Society

Towards an Egalitarian Society

Mahatma Gandhi was a man of many purls He was not and never considered himself just as a political leader with a singular mission to free India from the British yoke. With a multi-dimensional mission, he wanted to touch every aspect of our individual, national and even international life. In particular, his heart and mind remained ever ignited to work for the total regeneration of the Indian society-be it political, economic, social, cultural, religious or spiritual aspects. In the political field, he applied the age-old principles of truth and non-violence and their derivative Satyagraha to build up a mass movement which ultimately resulted in the freedom of India on 15 August. 1947. In the economic field, he challenged (lie very foundational values of the western model of development viz

• it is the self-interest that moves man and Ins society and that
• it is the ever spiralling desires and aspirations of man which lead to the progress of human society.

  UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Bread Labour:

The simple meaning of the principle of bread labour is that one must work to live. In other words, what entitles a man to have his bread is the physical labour. He might be engaged in any kind of mental work, but he has to put in some amount of physical work to cam his bread. It was the Russian leader, T.M Bondarek who first propounded this principle. Later, Tolstoy popularized it. Gandhi was aware that the dignity of labour was missing from our socio-cultural value system. He wanted to establish it as one of the core social values of the Indian society. Hence, he made it apart of the Ekadash Vrata. Not only that, performance of bread labour became an integral part of Gandhi's daily routine both at Sabarmati and Sevagram ashram. Every inmate of these ashrams was to follow this routine including that of physical labour. Gandhi also associated this principle of bread labour with Jajna concept of the Bhagavad Gita.

Sparsh Bhuvana (Elimination of Untouchability):

From his early days, Gandhi was totally against the scourge of untouchability. He was fully aware that it was based on the false belief that the upper caste Hindus would get polluted by coming into any kind of physical contact with the people born in certain castes and families. Some of them were taken to be unapproachable as even their sight was considered to have a polluting effect. He considered the entire spectrum of untouchability as a blot on the lair lace of Hinduism.

Hence, we have to fraternise and mingle with them, taking them as our brethren. Four, it is nothing short of the practice of love and Ahimsa. The elimination of untouchability amounts to removal of barriers between man and man. Hence, it is a major step towards an egalitarian society. He found scavenging as the most essential act in human society. But being confined to a section of people, it has become the symbol of indignity of labour. Hence, he pleaded for self-scavenging.

These two Gandhian ideas of Sparsh Bhavana and sharirik shram appear very relevant to the present situation. India has covered a lot of ground in these areas. During our fight for independence, thousands of freedom fighters practiced these ideas both in their private and public life.

But it would not be correct to say that we have totally succeeded on these fronts. Long back untouchability was abolished by law and an attempt was also made to firmly establish a new
social value of dignity of labour. It is true that a lot has been done and achieved. But it is equally true to say that a lot remains to be done. The battle is won. but the war is still on and it must continue to usher India into a new era of equality between man and man as dreamt by Bapu and other freedom fighters.

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Post Detail :

1. Indian Military Academy, Dehradun 150^th (DE) Course commencing in January, 2021 [including 13 vacancies reserved for NCC `C’ Certificate (Army Wing) holders] -100
2. Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala—Course commencing in January, 2021 Executive (General Service) / Hydro [including 06 vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ Certificate (Naval Wing Through NCC Special entry) Holder]-45
3. Air Force Academy, Hyderabad—(Pre-Flying) Training Course commencing in February, 2021 i.e. No. 209 F(P) Course. [03 vacancies are reserved for NCC `C’
   Certificate (Air Wing) holders through NCC Spl. Entry] - 32
4. Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai (Madras)—113th SSC (Men) Course (NT) commencing in April, 2021 [(i) 170 vacs for SSC (Men) (NT) UPSC, (ii) 05 vacs for JAG (Men) (NT) April, 2021 Non UPSC and (iii) 50 vacs for NCC Special entry Non UPSC]. - 225
5. Officers Training Academy, Chennai—27^th 16 SSC Women (Non-Technical) Course commencing in April, 2021. -16

Total No of Post :-417

Educational Qualifications:

1. For I.M.A. and Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai — Degree of a recognised University or equivalent.
2. For Indian Naval Academy—Degree in Engineering from a recognised University/Institution.
3. For Air Force Academy—Degree of a recognised University (with Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level) or Bachelor of Engineering.

CENTRES OF EXAMINATION:

The Examination will be held at the following Centres : AGARTALA, AHMEDABAD, AIZAWL, BENGALURU, BAREILLY, BHOPAL, CHANDIGARH, CHENNAI, CUTTACK, DEHRADUN, DELHI, DHARWAD, DISPUR, GANGTOK, HYDERABAD, IMPHAL, ITANAGAR, JAIPUR, JAMMU, JORHAT, KOCHI, KOHIMA, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MADURAI, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PANAJI (GOA), PATNA, PORT BLAIR, PRAYAGRAJ (ALLAHABAD), RAIPUR, RANCHI, SAMBALPUR, SHILLONG, SHIMLA, SRINAGAR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, TIRUPATI, UDAIPUR AND VISAKHAPATNAM.

Applicants should note that there will be a ceiling on the number of candidates allotted to each of the centres except Chennai, Dispur, Kolkata and Nagpur. Allotment of Centres will be on the first-apply-first-allot basis and once the capacity of a particular centre is attained, the same will be frozen. Applicants, who cannot get a centre of their choice due to ceiling, will be required to choose a Centre from the remaining ones. Applicants are, thus, advised that they may apply early so that they could get a Centre of their choice.

Age Limits

1. For IMA—Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1997 and not later than 1st January, 2002 only are eligible.
2. For Indian Naval Academy—Unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1997 and not later than 1st January, 2002 only are eligible.
3. For Air Force Academy: 20 to 24 years as on 1st January, 2021 i.e. born not earlier than 2nd January, 1997 and not later than 1st January, 2001 (Upper age limit for candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) is relaxable upto 26 yrs. i.e. born not earlier than 2nd January, 1995 and not later than 1st January, 2001) only are eligible.

Note: Candidate below 25 years of age must be unmarried. Marriage is not permitted during training. Married candidates above 25 years of age are eligible to apply but during training period they will neither be provided married accommodation nor can they live with family out of the premises.

1. For Officers' Training Academy—(SSC Course for men) unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 2nd January, 1996 and not later than 1st January, 2002 only are eligible.
2. For Officers' Training Academy—(SSC Women Non-Technical Course) Unmarried women, issueless widows who have not remarried and issueless divorcees (in possession of divorce documents) who have not remarried are eligible. They should have been born not earlier than 2nd January, 1996 and not later than 1st January, 2002.

Note : Male divorcee/widower candidates cannot be treated as unmarried male for the purpose of their admission in IMA/INA/AFA/OTA, Chennai courses and accordingly they are not eligible for these courses.

Pay Scale:

HOW TO APPLY

Candidates are required to apply online by using the website http://upsconline.nic.in Brief instructions for filling up the online Application Form have been given in the Appendix-II (A). Detailed instructions are available on the above mentioned website.

The Commission has introduced the facility of withdrawal of Application for those candidates who do not want to appear for the Examination. In this regard, Instructions are mentioned in Appendix-II (B) of this Examination Notice.

Candidate should have details of one Photo ID Card viz. Aadhaar Card/Voter Card/PAN Card/Passport/Driving Licence/Any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government. The details of this Photo ID Card will have to be provided by the candidate while filling up the online application form. The candidates will have to upload a scanned copy of the Photo ID whose details have been provided in the online application by him/her. This Photo ID Card will be used for all future referencing and the candidate is advised to carry this Photo ID Card while appearing for Examination/Personality Test/SSB.

Important Dates:

Date of Notification- 31.10.2018

The Online Applications can be filled upto- 19.11.2019

Click Here To Download Official Notification

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