1. Which of the following brings out the Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers?

(a) The Reserve Bank of India
(b) The Department of Economic Affairs
(c) The Labour Bureau
(d) The Department of Personnel and Training

2. Which of the following statements are correct regarding The Aadhaar Bill,2016?

1. Every citizen is entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number.
2. To verify the identity of a person receiving a subsidy or a service, the government may require them to have an Aadhaar number.
3. Biometric information will not be shared with anyone even in the interest of national security.

A. 2 only
B. 1,2
C. 2,3
D. All  

3. Which of the following statements are correct regarding World Trade organisation?

1. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
2. Afghanistan is the latest member to join WTO

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both
D. None

4. Consider the following statements and mark the correct option.

1. EPF and PPF both are instruments offered by government of India
2. In EPF employer contribute half of the contribution of employee

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both
D. None

5. Which of the following is correct regarding Ashok chakra?

1. It is India's highest wartime military award
2. It is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice.
3. It replaced the British George cross.
 

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ANS: 1(c), 2(a), 3(c), 4(c), 5(c)

1. बायो गैस से चलने वाली देश की पहली बस सेवा किस शहर में शुरू की गयी है ?

a दिल्ली
b कोलकाता 
c मुम्बई
d विशाखापत्तनम

2. खाद्य प्रसंस्करण नीति के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें-

I इस नीति के अन्तर्गत सब्सिडी, कर रियायत, सीमा शुल्क व उत्पाद शुल्क में रियायत संबंधी ख़ामियों को दूर करने का उपाय है। 
II इस नीति के अन्तर्गत किसानों को अपनी उपज को संरक्षित करने, उसका भंडारण करने एवं उच्च कीमत के साथ बेचने की सुविधा प्राप्त नहीं होती है। 
III इस नीति के अन्तर्गत भूमि अधिग्रहण की प्रकिया को आसान बनाने और श्रम क़ानूनों में सुधार करने जैसे प्रावधानों को शामिल किया गया है।

इनमें से कौन सा कथन सत्य है-

a I एवं II
b II एवं III
c I एवं III 
d I II एवं III

3 . निम्न में से कौन कमांड एरिया डिवेलपमेट को प्रोग्राम के उद्देश्य को बेहतर तरीके से परिभाषित करता है?

a बड़े व छोटे परियोजनाओं के लिए सिंचाई सुविधाओं से उपलब्ध
b बड़े माध्यम व छोटे परियोजनाओं के लिए सिंचाई सुविधाओं को उपलब्ध करवाना
c मध्यम व छोटे परियोजनाओं के लिए सिंचाई सुविधाओं को उपलब्ध करवाना
d उपर्युक्त में से कोई नहीं

4. निम्न कथनों पर विचार करें।

1. नौकरशाही का आकार कम करना 
2. सार्वजनिक उपक्रमो केके शेयरों का विनिवेश 
3. सब्सीडी में कटौती

उपर्युक्त में से कौन भारत में वित्तीय घाटे के नियंत्रित करने के लिए उपयोग किया जा सकता है?

a 2 व 3
b 1 व 3
c 1, 2, 3
d केवल 3

5. बीस सूत्राी कार्यक्रम 1975 में प्रारंभ किया गया था। निम्न में से कौन कार्यक्रम द्वारा निर्धारित किए गए अंतिम लक्ष्य को सबसे अच्छी तरह व्याख्या करता है?

a शहरी क्षेत्रों में बी.पी.एल. लोगो के लिए रोज़गार सुनिश्चित करना
b राज्यों में लंबित बड़े सिचाई परियोजनाओं में तेजी लाना
c शहरी क्षेत्रो में महिलाओं के लिए आजीविका निर्माण पर जोर देना
d लोगों के जीवन स्तर का उन्नयन

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ANS: 1(b), 2(d), 3(a), 4(c), 5(d)

A Finer Balance(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations 
Prelims level: Emerging Asia market evaluation 
Mains level: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Context:

• India is seeking strategic equilibrium with an increasingly aggressive China, as eloquentlyarticulated by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. 
• In making this move public, he is perhaps responding to several Chinese pronouncements asking for cooperation and collaboration with India, despite the ground reality of the former’s unilateral assertion. 
• The foreign minister also seems to be hoping that given its growing hiatuswith the US, China would pay attention to India’s sensitivities. 
• Jaishankar’s move is to underline what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been trying through informal summits, held at Wuhan and Mamallapuram, though without much impact.

Equilibrium with China:

• In seeking equilibrium with China, India has bravely been confronting a face-off in the Himalayas for the past several months. 
• It has been building creative, issue-based alliances with the US and Asian majors like Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia, and Australia. 
• It has taken initiatives in the direction of economic de-coupling with China in the name of “atmanirbharata”. 
• All this, however, has not taken India very far in terms of making an impact on China. It may take India at least a decade or two to reach an effective “atmanirbharata” vis-à-vis China, even if its present pace is significantly enhanced.
• China is not interested in equilibrium with any of its Asian neighbours, least of all with India. Its efforts are clearly to build a hierarchical Asian order, with itself at the top. 
• Beijing wants India to occupy a slot in such a hierarchy, commensurate only with its power status. 
• It is acutely conscious of India’s economic strength, which is far below its own in terms of GDP and growth trajectory. 
• It knows that India is also far behind on military modernisation and overall capabilities. China is ruthlessly resisting India’s access to global governance bodies, such as the UNSC and NSG. 
• To keep India tied at that level, China is objecting to India’s growing strategic proximity to the US. 
• It is encircling India strategically and economically through its strategic and economic corridors — BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar), CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) and the Trans-Himalayan Connectivity Network. 
• It is raising issues like Kashmir at the UN and establishing footprints in the Indian Ocean.

Exploring alternatives:

• Should India do to explore alternatives to equilibrium, while continuing to work on its present approach in a quiet and calibrated manner? 
• One step could be to adjust with China, at least tactically, for some time, as China had done with the US in the Seventies and Eighties. 
• Such an adjustment could be based on mutual give and take. Critical areas of priority for us could be identified to build an approach on. 
• For India, our first priority could be the resolution of the border dispute. 
• Past formulae from different package deals mutually offered and discussed may be invoked with innovative redefinitions wherever necessary and practical. 
• Secondly, since China has offered to mediate between India and Pakistan, it should be asked to prevail over Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue. 
• Here again, various approaches have been tried in the past ranging from formalising the LOC — as Nehru (then called Ceasefire line), I Gandhi (Simla Agreement) and AB Vajpayee (Lahore visit) or as worked out by Musharraf and Manmohan S during 2007-08 — to make India-Pakistan borders redundant.
• In return for these “takes”, what can India offer to China as “gives”? 
• First, it could offer access to Chinese commercial cargos to sea, through the Nathula pass (not a brand new offer), and join China’s BRI on mutually acceptable terms. 
• Under this, India may actively move on the BCIM as it had already accepted it in principle in 2013, and both Manmohan Singh and PM Modi had promised China that they would study the proposal seriously. 
• India can also link up its infrastructure projects in Nepal, as it is already working on them. 
• This may please Nepal as it has a vision of becoming a bridge between India and China. This will serve India’s long-term interests in Nepal.

Give and Take:

• India may also show its willingness, at least tactically, to join CPEC as both Pakistan and China have asked for, provided, and this is critical, that India is allowed to undertake projects in PoK and Balochistan. 
• Surely, Pakistan would resist this stoutly, but it should be China’s headache to persuade Pakistan. 
• As for China’s push into other neighbours is concerned, India still has enough economic presence, goodwill and cultural capital there to play with.
• Secondly, India should revisit its Tibet policy, which is a core irritant for China. 
• The Tibetan administration has not provided any clear support to India’s claims in the Himalayas. 
• The US folded up the Khampa rebellion in Tibet, based out of Nepal, in the wake of working out the 1974 peace with China at the latter’s behest. 
• India can politely explore the possibility of relocating the Tibetan Political Administration (in exile in Dharamshala) to a suitable location in Europe, Australia/New Zealand or the US, while continuing to host thousands of Tibetans with dignity and respect.
• It is possible that this “give” and “take” may not be acceptable to China. But what is the harm in thinking deeply on its various parameters and sounding out the Chinese? 

Conclusion:

• Even if it does not work out as planned, India would have made a bold diplomatic initiative and a huge tactical move towards thinking through out-of-the-box solutions and displaying that it can undertake risks to pursue its long-term national interests, as is being repeatedly asserted by Jaishankar and the Modi brand of foreign policy.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the National Recruitment Agency (NRA), consider the following statements:

1. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for creation of National Recruitment Agency (NRA), paving the way for a reform in the recruitment process for central government jobs.
2. It will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen/shortlist candidates for the Group A, B and C (non-technical) posts.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: A

Mains Questions:

Q.1)Highlights the significance of building creative, issue-based alliances with the US and other Asian countries and economic de-coupling with China in the name ofatmanirbharata.

Reinventing India’s Strategic Autonomy (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations 
Prelims level: Strategic autonomy
Mains level: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Context:

• Addressing a Southeast Asian forum last week, external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar outlined India’s new quest for “strategic autonomy” in its global economic engagement. 
• “Strategic autonomy” is a familiar idea for students of India’s post-Cold War diplomacy. 
• Jaishankar’s extension of it to foreign economic policy marks an important moment in the evolution of India’s international relations.

Strategic autonomy:

• To be sure, Jaishankar’s “strategic autonomy” is the natural external complement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s delineation of a new economic strategy, described as “Atmanirbharata” or “self-reliance”. 
• The PM’s articulation on self-reliance came as part of the post-COVID economic measures unveiled earlier this year.
• Since the concept carries so much ideological baggage, its resurrection by Modi inevitably raised many questions. 
• Is India turning its back on economic globalisation of the last few decades? 
• Is Delhi harking back to the much-vauntedidea of economic autarkythat peaked during the years of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi?
• Senior ministers and officials of the NDA government sought to reassure India’s partners that Delhi was not marching backwards. 
• In his address to the nation on Independence Day, the PM talked at some length on his definition of economic self-reliance. 
• Modi underlined India’s determination to seek deeper global economic engagement, if only on different terms.

Self-Reliance:

• Unlike in the past, Modi’s self-reliance today is not about retreating from the world, but of enhancing India’s economic contribution to the global economy. 
• Above all, it is about empowering India and the speedy realisation of its full national economic potential. 
• When applied to the foreign policy framework, “self-reliance” becomes “strategic autonomy”. 
• In his remarks at the ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks, Jaishankar pointed to the very different context that informs India’s strategic autonomy.
• Jaishankar referred to the risks in the global economy that have come into sharp view since the corona crisis enveloped the world earlier this year. 
• He also pointed to the growing consensus among the major economic actors for shorter and more reliable global supply chains. 
• Although Jaishankar did not mention China by name, it was at the heart of the argument. 
• “Actions of nations during times of crisis determine how the world really perceives them, and they did bring up many of the risks inherent in the current global economy,” he said. 
• De-risking supply chains has now become an explicit policy of many countries, including India.
• Even more deeply, there is a growing international concern that Beijing has taken unilateral advantage of the global trading system. 
• This in turn has led to calls for a significant rearrangement of the global economic order away from excessive dependence on China.
• Jaishankar also compared the current and earlier context of India’s “strategic autonomy”. 
• He reminded his audience that India’s past emphasis on strategic autonomy was in the context of the “unipolar moment” that emerged after the Cold War. 
• As America towered over the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, India was caught in a cleft stick.
• On the one hand, it had to actively seek the cooperation of the US and the West to make a success of its economic reform and reorientation. 
• India needed Western capital as well as technology and better access to its markets. 
• On the other hand, Delhi had to protect some of its core national interests from the threats of US intervention.

USA and INDIA:

• In the early 1990s, the Clinton Administration had the irresistible itch to resolve the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. 
• Washington also thought that South Asian nuclear weapons programmes were a big threat to international peace and security.
• To make matters even more interesting, the Clinton Administration saw the nuclear and Kashmir disputes as one and the same thing. 
• Washington concluded that “Kashmir is the world’s most dangerous nuclear flashpoint”. 
• The story of Indian diplomacy for the next two decades was about a sustained effort to change the US policy on both Kashmir and nuclear issues.
• Thanks to the fresh thinking on India under President George W Bush, the US discarded the long-standing temptation to insert itself in the Kashmir dispute. 
• The US also went out of the way to resolve the nuclear dispute with India by changing its domestic laws and international norms on nuclear proliferation. 
• The Obama and Trump Administrations have stayed the course since then.
• In its single-minded focus on resolving the American problem, Delhi paid little attention to the gathering challenges from China. 
• It is not that Beijing did not signal the looming trouble. On the atomic front, as the US sought to lift the prolonged atomic blockade against India, China sought to block the process. 
• Beijing insisted if India was to be let into the nuclear club, so must Pakistan. 
• When the US refused, China turned an obstacle to India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
• If India’s nightmare in the 1990s was about America “internationalising” the Kashmir dispute, it is China that now takes up the issue regularly in the United Nations Security Council. 
• Delhi’s prolonged refusal to see the China challenge on was finally overcome with the PLA aggression in eastern Ladakh this summer.

China’s challenge:

• In the 1990s, India’s strategic autonomy was about fending off US political threats to India. 
• Today, it is inevitably about coping with China’s challenge to India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. And then some. 
• In the 1990s, the US was seen as a valued economic partner for India. China today is viewed in Delhi as a major threat to India’s economic development.
• The problems in India’s rapidly expanding economic relationship with China came into view in the 2010s as the bilateral trade deficit steadily rose reaching nearly $55billion in 2019. 
• Even more important was the fact the cheap import of manufactured goods from China was wiping out India’s industrial base.

Economic prospects:

• Modi ended India’s inaction when he pulled India out of an Asia-wide free-trade arrangement called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership late last year. 
• Delhi had concluded that a China-led economic order in Asia will permanently doom India’s economic prospects. 
• Beijing’s Ladakh aggression forced India to go from a passive commercial withdrawal to an active economic decoupling from China.
• In the 1990s, the quest for strategic autonomy from the US drove India into a political coalition with Russia and China that sought to limit the dangers of the unipolar moment. 
• Today, the logic of strategic autonomy from China nudgesIndia to look for strong security partnerships with the US, Europe, Japan and Australia. 
• On the economic front, India is exploring various forms of collaboration with a broad group of nations that have a shared interest in developing trustworthy global supply chains that are not totally tied with China.

Conclusion:

• Threats to either territorial integrity or economic prosperity are powerful enough on their own to compel drastic changes in any nation’s policies. 
• Coming together, they promise to make strategic autonomy from an assertive China an enduring theme of India’s economic and foreign policies in the years ahead.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)Consider the following statements:

1. National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) was established by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at Delhi in 1959 and its headquarters was later moved to Bangalore in 1960.
2. National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) was established in 1953 and presently working under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: A

Mains Questions:

Q.1)Why there is a need of safeguarding territorial integrity and sovereignty from Chinese aggression? Comment. 

Magnets for manufacturing(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Governance 
Prelims level: Challenges in Indian manufacturing sector
Mains level: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Context:

• Many think that in the aftermath of the pandemic, several manufacturing companies operating from China will relocate their businesses to other destinations, including India. 
• Many American, Japanese, and South Korean companies based in China have initiated discussions with the Indian government to relocate their plants to India. 
• Companies are expected to exit China due to three primary reasons. 

Reasons behind the exit:

• The first is the realisation that relying heavily on China for building capacities and sourcing manufacturing goods is not an ideal business strategy due to supply chain disruptions in the country caused by COVID-19. 
• The second is the fear of Chinese dominance over the supply of essential industrial goods. 
• The third is the growing risk and uncertainty involved in operating from or dealing with China in the light of geopolitical and trade conflicts between China and other countries, particularly the U.S. 
• Prime Minister Modi’s emphasis on using the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to pursue the goal of a self-reliant India must be viewed against this background. 
• Can India succeed in attracting manufacturing firms and jobs from China?

India’s position:

• India lags far behind China in manufacturing prowess. China ranks first in contribution to world manufacturing output, while India ranks sixth. 
• Against India’s target of pulling up the share of manufacturing in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 25% by 2022, its share stood at 15% in 2018, only half of China’s figure. 
• Industry value added grew at an average annual rate of 10.68% since China opened up its economy in 1978. 
• In contrast, against the target of 12%, the manufacturing sector has grown at 7% after India opened up its economy. 
• Next to the European Union, China was the largest exporter of manufactured goods in 2018, with an 18% world share. 
• India is not part of the top 10 exporters who accounted for 83% of world manufacturing exports in 2018.

Constraints:

• This contrasting trend is not surprising because compared to China, India faces numerous constraintsin promoting the manufacturing sector. 
• They chiefly include infrastructure constraints, a disadvantageous tax policy environment, a non-conducive regulatory environment, high cost of industrial credit, poor quality of the workforce, rigid labour laws, restrictive trade policies, low research and development expenditure, delays and constraints in land acquisition, and the inability to attract large-scale foreign direct investment into the manufacturing sector. 
• Unless these challenges are addressed, the dream of making India a manufacturing powerhouse rivalling China would be difficult to realise.

Role of states:

• Since India follows a federal government system, a lasting solution to these constraints cannot be possible without the active participation of State governments and effective policy coordination between the Centre and the States. 
• Currently, manufacturing growth in India has been powered majorly by Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. 
• An important requirement for the development of the manufacturing sector is the availability of land area. 
• This could be one of the reasons why manufacturing activity is mainly concentrated in these five States which cover a substantial portion of India’s geographical area. 
• However, what is of concern is that some States that also have large land area contribute disproportionately little in manufacturing GSDP. 
• These include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, and West Bengal. 
• The reasons for less manufacturing activity in these States have to be carefully examined. 
• Based on the examination, State-specific industrialisation strategies need to be devised and implemented in a mission mode with active hand-holding by the Central government. 
• Strong and carefully designed policy actions on the part of individual States would improve India’s overall investment climate, thereby boosting investments, jobs, and economic growth. 
• In addition to its initiatives aimed at attracting manufacturing companies looking to relocate their plants to India from China, the Centre has urged the States to evolve their plans. 
• However, such a strategy would be more effective if the policy actions of the Centre and the States are well coordinated.

Conclusion:

• In this context, a suggestion put forth by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is worth attempting. 
• To promote electronic manufacturing, he suggested forming a Strategy Group consisting of representatives from the Central and State governments along with top industry executives. 
• The purpose is to instil teamwork and leverage ideas through sharing the best practices of the Centre and States. 
• A similar approach is needed for developing the whole manufacturing sector.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP), consider the following statements:

1. The two day Conference is being organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva and the Parliament of Austria with the support of the United Nations (UN).
2. The theme of the Conference is Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism that delivers peace and sustainable development for the people and planet.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1)Why India is considered to be the prime focus of manufacturing hub, not China aftermath of pandemic? And what India needs to do like opening state specific industrialisation strategies. Elucidate. 

Living with the earth in Kerala(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3:Environment 
Prelims level: Gadgil report
Mains level: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context:

• Natural disasters have by now come to be accepted as a feature of the annual monsoon season in Kerala. 
• In the past two years there has been flooding on an unprecedentedscale along with landslides. 
• Last year, 59 people lost their lives in a landslide at Kavalappara in Malappuram district. 
• This year we have seen one at Pettimudi in Idukki district where a hill collapsed, submerging the houses of estate workers while they slept. 
• The estimated death toll had reached 65 some days ago, with persons still missing.
• On top of the landslides, we have had to bear witness to a spectacular plane crash at Kozhikode airport, again accompanied with a loss of lives. 
• The crash serves as a reminder that further hardship awaits us if we do not jettison development model that has come to characterise the State.

It’s plunder everywhere:

• The fact that Kerala has received wide acclaim for having achieved social indicators associated with high human development has meant that a crucial underlying dynamic has been ignored. 
• This dynamic is one of an unrelentingattack on the foundation of human survival, natural capital. 
• Everywhere in Kerala the earthhas been violated. 
• The rivers are polluted when they are not dry, the valleys are filled with garbage and the hills gougedout to accommodate residences and religious houses when they have not been dynamited for quarrying. 
• It is quite extraordinary that this has all taken place in a State that has been hailed by a section of the intelligentsia as representing the gold standard of development. 
• For anyone willing to read the signs, such a decimationof natural capital, with its attendant consequences of flooding and landslides, bodes ill for the future of a whole people.
• The natural disasters recurring year after year and the recent plane crash both represent the outcome of the hubristhat we can consume as if the earth does not matter. 
• As natural capital, such as year-round water availability and the nutrient content of the soil, has diminished. 
• It has impacted sectors of the economy such as agriculture. We have also now seen that the way we treat the earth matters also for our very security.

At the core is politics:

• Kerala’s future is inextricably linked to how it conserves its natural capital. 
• With consumption defined broadly to include land use, it is apparent that the conservation of the State’s natural resources is crucially dependent upon a restrainton consumption. 
• Politics is central to this issue, not in the sense of what political parties do in the normal course but whether citizens decide to alterthe course of development by their action. 
• This response cannot end with minimising one’s own consumption but must extend to calling out instances of the depletion of natural capital by vested interests. 
• Kerala’s vested interests are not only economic, which are visible, but also cultural, which are less so. 
• It is difficult to imagine that politics as usual, as defined by the two political fronts that have ruled Kerala for decades by now, will lead the State to a place where conservation of nature will guide our actions. 
• Actually, the state of natural capital in the State reflects an absence of governance. 
• Political parties everywhere are reluctant to dampenthe aspiration for greater consumption for fear that it affects their electoral prospects.
• Though the plane crash at Kozhikode cannot so easily be construed as resulting in the destruction of natural capital, it can be seen as trying to extend the limits it imposes, with consequences for our security. 
• While tabletop runways are by no means peculiar to Kerala, airports on India’s southwest coast have to face the challenge of the monsoon which produces hazardous conditions for landing. 
• Also, Kozhikode sees much greater traffic than say Kathmandu or Shimla, thus increasing the possibility of a mishap.
• Ever since the crash of a flight in Mangaluru, an airport with similar characteristics, in 2010, it has been apparent that flights to Kozhikode are vulnerable. 
• The answer would not have been to end flights but to avoid the height of the monsoon and to take wide-bodied aircraft off the menu. 
• Experts on air safety have spoken publicly of how they had raised concerns about Kozhikode soon after Mangaluru. 
• While this appears to have been over-ruled by a political process, we the people are no less culpable by nurturing consumption aspirations unmindful of the contours of the earth.

Past and Present:

• It is useful to recall the belief that Kerala was named for its geography. For centuries, its people demonstrated a genius for conserving natural resources by restraining their consumption. 
• This was soon lost as its economy globalised and domestic consumption came to be fuelled by wealth generated offshore. 
• Building local infrastructure to support this consumption has become a threat to life. 

Conclusion:

• For the State to have a future, consumption has to be limited so that the State’s natural capital is not irretrievablylost. 
• In the 1990s, as mobile telephony was spreading, someone had triumphantly coined the slogan “Geography is history”. 
• We now see that at least some of our history will be shaped by geography.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the Guru Granth Sahib, consider the following statements:

1. The first Prakash Purab Utsav marked the installation of Guru Granth Sahib in Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden temple, in 1604.
2. The Guru Granth Sahib is written in the Devanagari script.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: A

Mains Questions:

Q.1)Why Kerala is prone to floods? What mitigation strategies Kerala need to be opted and know about various reports on the Kerala’s ecosystem conservation like Gadgil report? 

Down, but not out: On Islamic State (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Security
Prelims level: Islamic State
Mains level: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security

Context:

• The U.N. counterterrorism chief’s statement to the Security Council on the continuing presence of Islamic State (IS) terrorists in West Asia, Africa and elsewhere should be seen as a serious warning by the countries in these regions. 
• Two years after the Sunni jihadist group was declared defeated, more than 10,000 IS fighters remain active in Iraq and Syria. 
• IS-driven terror attacks are on the rise. 

Proto-state:

• A proto-state, also known as a quasi-state, is a political entity that does not represent a fully institutionalized or autonomous sovereign state. The precise definition of proto-state in political literature fluctuates depending on the context in which it is used.

Operating from remote areas:

• The IS had established a proto-state in 2014 but it was gradually destroyed by multilateral war efforts that lasted four years.
• The terror outfit has a “province” in West Africa with nearly 3,000 fighters, according to the UN. 
• In war-torn Afghanistan, it continues to stage attacks, targeting ethnic and religious minorities. 
• The IS may no longer control any big city, but its rise from a breakaway faction of al-Qaeda in Iraq to one of the world’s most potent terrorist groups should be a lesson for all stakeholders. 
• Ever since they lost territories, IS fighters withdrew from the front lines and started operating in cells in the deserts, mountains and hinterlands of conflict-ridden countries.

Resurgence:

• Iraq and Syria are particularly vulnerableto the IS’s resurgenceas these countries are yet to be fully stabilised after the wars. 
• In Syria, the Bashar al-Assad government has practically won the civil war. But Syria is now a divided country. 
• While the government controls most of the territories, a coalition of jihadists and rebels is running the Idlib province. 
• In the northeast, the Kurdish rebels have declared autonomy. 
• On the Syrian-Turkish border, Turkey, backed by pro-Turkish rebels, has carved out a buffer and has been in permanent conflict with the Kurds. 
• Though there is an uneasy quiet in Syria, the situation is inflammable.
• Iraq, after months of protests and instability, has finally got a government. But Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is torn between the U.S. and Iran. 
• Pro-Iran Shia militias continue to target U.S. troops inside Iraq, which could turn the country into a battlefield between Washington and Tehran. 
• The story is not very different in Africa. Libya has two governments, which were fighting each other till last week’s ceasefire. 
• The Libyan conflict has spilled overinto Mali and Burkina Faso, where jihadists have established a solid presence. 
• The IS has its roots in the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It started growing by exploiting the civil war in Syria. 
• The regional governments as well as their international backers (and rivals) should be mindful of this fact. 

Conclusion:

• Chaosbreeds militancy, and as the main group here is the IS, it would remain active as long as these countries remain unstable. 
• If they fail to address the regional fault-lines and continue to fight each other, the jihadists could emerge winners once again.
• Political instability in parts of West Asia and North Africa is allowing the IS space to operate.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Consider the following statements:

1. The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for leasing out three airports namely Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports of Airports Authority of India (AAI) through Public Private Partnership (PPP).
2. The PPP airports in India are consistently ranked among the top 5 in their respective categories by the Airports Council International (ACI) in terms of Airport Service Quality (ASQ).

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1) Re-emergence of Islamic State is Posing A Great Challenge. Comment. 

1. Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding CPI?

1. For presenting a more accurate and realistic price situation, the government will release next month a new series of Consumer Price Index (CPI) with 2012 as base year for computing the retail inflation rate.
2. From January, 2016, onwards, inflation rates is compiled using the actual CPI of the revised series

Which of the following statements is/are true-?

a) Only 1                   
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 & 2  
d) Neither 1 nor 2

2.  Mercosur is a custom union between countries of which of the following continents?

A. North America
B. South America
C. Africa
D. None of the above

3. Which of the following statements are correct regarding The Aadhaar Bill,2016?

1. Every citizen is entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number.
2. To verify the identity of a person receiving a subsidy or a service, the government may require them to have an Aadhaar number.
3. Biometric information will not be shared with anyone even in the interest of national security.

A. 2 only
B. 1,2
C. 2,3
D. All

4.  Which of the following countries has maximum Muslim population in the world?

A. Pakistan      
B. India
C. Indonesia    
D. Saudi Arabia

5.  Which of the following is correct regarding European Union?

1. All members of European Union use Euro as Currency
2. European Parliament is elected every five years by European council members
3. EU has developed an internal single market

A. 1,2
B. 2,3
C. 3 only
D. 1,3

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ANS: 1(c), 2(b), 3(a), 4(c), 5(c)

1. किसी भी पारिस्थितिक तंत्र में मानव और _____ सभी जानवर हैं

a ग्राहक
b उत्पादक
c विच्छिन
d द्वितीयक ग्राहक

2. एक पारिस्थितिक तंत्रा में ऊर्जा का प्राथमिक स्त्रोत है? 

a क्लोरोपिफल
b ए.टी.पी.
c सूर्य की रोशनी
d हरा पौधा

3. कौन सा देश दक्षिण एशिया उप-क्षेत्रीय आर्थिक सहयोग (SASEC) कार्यक्रम में नया सदस्य बना गया है ?

a भूटान
b म्यांमार
c पाकिस्तान
d ईरान

4. राष्ट्रीय माध्यमिक शिक्षा अभियान के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें -

I इस योजना में नौ से बारहवीं कक्षा तक सामान्य शैक्षिक विषयों साथ ही खुदरा व्यापार, ऑटोमोबाइल, कृषि, दूरसंचार, स्वास्थ्य देखभाल, आई टी, सुरक्षा और मनोरंजन जैसे क्षेत्रों के रोजगारोन्मुख व्यावसायिक विषय शुरू किये गए है। 
II बच्चों के लिए निःशुल्क एवं अनिवार्य शिक्षा अधिकार अधिनियम 2009 में शिक्षकों के वैधानिक कर्त्तव्य और उत्तरदायित्व निर्दिष्ट किए गए हैं। 
III पहली और दूसरी कक्षा में पढ़े भारत, बढ़े भारत के नाम मे उप कार्यक्रम के जरिये शुरुआत से ही पढ़ने, लिखने और समझने था शुरुआती गणित कार्यक्रमों के लिए राज्यों/ केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों की सहायता भी की जाती है।

इनमें से कौन सा कथन सत्य है-

a I एवं II
b II एवं III
c I एवं III 
d I II एवं III

5. निम्नलिखित में से कौन सा कथन सत्य है-

I एम. एस. सुब्बलक्ष्मी कर्नाटक संगीत की मशहूर संगीतकार थी। 
II इन्होंने शेम्मंगुडी श्रीनिवास अय्यर से कर्नाटक संगीत में तथा पंडित नारायण राव व्यास से हिन्दुस्तानी संगीत में उच्च शिक्षा प्राप्त की।

कूटः

a केवल I
b केवल पप
c I एवं II दोनों
d न तो I न ही II

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ANS: 1(a), 2(c), 3(c), 4(d), 5(c)

Q. Construct a sociological narrative on the increasing trend of child abuse in India. 10 Marks/2018

Q. What, according to you, are the two fundamental axes of social discrimination in Indian society? Are they changing? 20 Marks/2017

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Q. Has reduction of green cover affected ecological degradation leading to global warming? Elaborate your answer with illustration. 10 Marks/2019

Q. What is POSH Act? “Identification of tormentor by women at workplace does not come easily even today”. Examine the statement with substantive examples from India. 20 Marks/2019

Q. Discuss development induced displacement in the context of tribal uprising in India. Substantiate your answer with any one detailed illustration from India. 20 Marks/2018

Q.Indebtedness is one of the serious issue leading to farmers suicides Discuss reasons and suggest solutions.20 Marks/2017

Q. What are the reasons for the escalation of violence against women in the public domain? 10 Marks/2017

Q. Discuss some of the striking issues of development induced imbalances that need urgent attention. 20 Marks/2017

Q. Explain the issues relating to ethnicity and sub-ethnicity. 20 Marks/2017

Q. What is Cultural Revivalism? Give some examples from performing arts, language dissemination and arts and crafts in recenttimes. 20 Marks/2017

Q. Comment on the factors behind the changing status of women in urban India. 20 Marks/2016

Q. Discuss the emerging forms of ‘inequalities’ and ‘acute’ poverty as major challenges of social transformation in India. 20 Marks/2016

Q. What are the factors accounting for the resurgence of ethnic identity movements in India? 10 Marks/2016

Q. Write short note with a sociological perspective: Feminization of poverty. 10 Marks/2015

Q. Write short note with a sociological Perspective: Effect of displacement through development on the rural landless and marginal fanners. 10 Marks/2015

Q. How serious is the problem of trafficking against women and children in India? 10 Marks/2015

Q. T0 what extent the Muslim Personal Law Board is in agreement with Islamic feminist agenda? 10 Marks/2015

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Q.Illustrate the contribution of the Tebhaga Movement to the peasants struggle in India. 10 Marks/2019

Q.Do you agree that social movements are caused by opportunity structures that are generated by media? Why? 10 Marks/2019

Q.Explain the dynamics of neo-farmers movement in contemporary India.10 Marks/2018

Q.Elaborate the ‘Me Too’ Movement and its impact in India.10 Marks/2018

Q.Despite gains from the women’s gender movement and states policy of women empowerment, gender equality is far from achieved. Identify two major challenges the
prevent this goal form being reached. 20 Marks/2017

Q.Write short notes with a sociological perspective on: Different forms of Dalit assertion. 10 Marks/2017

Q.Discuss the various forms of environmental movements waged in India. 10 Marks/2016

Q.Discuss the impact of post- 1970 feminist movement on Indian middle class. 20 Marks/2015

Q.Discuss the main features of farmers’ movements in independent India.20 Marks/2015
 

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The Builder of Common Ground(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 3:Economy 
Prelims level: GST Council 
Mains level: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Context:

• This day last year, former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who heralded the Goods and Services Tax, passed away.
• The introduction of GST is a major reform that the Indian economy had waited for over a decade.
• From midnight, July 1, 2017, the unimaginable happened — all of India became one market, interstate barriers disappeared, multiple taxes were subsumed to become one, double taxation was eliminated.
• Recounting the benefits that this single tax has given us is the best tribute we can pay Jaitley today.
• With his affablenature, Jaitley built on the mutual trust, so required in the critical years, when the decades-long efforts were reaching a crescendo.

Dignity Amid Covid(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:Health 
Prelims level: Tele-health 
Mains level: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Context:

• According to data of the Centre for Disease Control in the US, nearly 25 per cent of all those who have died of COVID-19 are more than 55 years old.
• However, it is not just the direct effects of the virus thatincreases mortalityand morbidityamong the elderly.
• Measures like social distancing, self-isolation and travel restrictions have a disproportionate effect on their lives, especially in matters relating to healthcare access.

A deepening alliance(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:International Relations 
Prelims level: Sino-Pak strategic dialogue 
Mains level: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Context:

• There were no dramatic announcements from the meeting between the Pakistan Foreign Minister and his Chinese counterpart, late last week in the Chinese island province of Hainan.
• It was about the further consolidation of the all-weather partnership between Islamabad and Beijing across a broadening range of issues —from economic and commercial to the political and security.

India does need a Fiscal Council (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3:Economy 
Prelims level: 
Mains level: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Context:

• The fiscal situation in India has been under severe stress even before COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus pandemic has only worsened it.
• The fiscal deficit of the Centre in 2019-20 as estimated by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) was 4.6%, 0.8 percentage point higher than the revised estimate.
• For the current year, even without any additional fiscal stimulus, the deficit is estimated at about 7% of GDP as against 3.5% estimated in the Budget due to a sharp decline in revenues.
• The consolidated deficit of the Union and States could be as high as 12% of GDP and the overall debt could go up to 85%. When off Budget liabilities are considered, the situation looks even more alarming.
• While the prevailing exceptional circumstance warrants loosening of purse strings, it is necessary that the government must return to a credible fiscal consolidation path once the crisis gets over.

People’s parties(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Governance 
Prelims level: 
Mains level: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability

Context:

• Six mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday vowed to work together for the restoration of its special status under the Indian Constitution.
• On August 5, 2019, the Centre scrapped Article 370 and dismemberedJammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories through a dubious legislative route.

Back and forth (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:International Relations 
Prelims level: Financial Action Task Force
Mains level: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate

Context:

• Pakistan’s moves to tackle terrorism on its soil, particularly cross-border terrorism, have often been described as “one step forward and one step back”.
• Terror groups have always enjoyed the broader support within the country.

1.बायोरिमेडीएशन प्रक्रिया को वातावरण के प्रदूषण को कम करने के लिए इस्तेमाल किया जाता है। इसके संबंध में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें :

1. वायुमंडलीय प्रदूषण को कम करना
2. जीवित सूक्ष्म जीवाणु का इस्तेमाल किया जाता है।
3. इस प्रक्रिया के द्वारा प्रदूषित स्थान पुनः अपने पूर्व स्थिति में आ जाती है।
4. इस प्रक्रिया के द्वारा वातावरण में जीवन चक्र को बनाए नहीं रखा जा सकता है।

उपरोक्त में से कौन सा कथन सही है?

a केवल 1
b 1 और 2 दोनों
c 1, 2 और 3
d 1, 2, 3 और 4

2. कथन  I वातावरण अधिकतम ऊर्जा का भंडार ग्रह है।
कारण II वातावरणीय शक्ति और प्रक्रिया से नए वातावरणीय तत्व उत्पन्न होते हैं।

a । और II दोनों सही हैं।
b । और  II दोनों गनत हैं। 
c । गलत है, परन्तु II सही है।
d । सही है, परन्तु II गलत है।

3. वनों के काटने से निम्न में से कौन सी समस्या उत्पन्न होगी?

a वर्षा में बढ़ोतरी
b मृदा अपरदन और असंतुलित बाढ़
c तापमान में कमी
d उपरोक्त में से कोई नहीं

4. निम्न में से कौन सा सिस्टम प्राकृतिक कानून से संचालित नहीं होता है?

a खाद्य श्रृंखला
b मानव आधारित पारिस्थितिक तंत्रा
c ऊर्जा का बहाव
d जैविक रासायनिक चक्र

5. पारिस्थिति तंत्रा में एक सतत् जैव-समूह को कहते हैं?

a इकोटाॅन
b सनर्सेशन
c क्लामेक्श
d सिराल

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ANS: 1(c), 2(c), 3(b), 4(b), 5(a)

1. Consider the following statements about Simon Commission

1. Indian Statutory Commission known as Simon Commission
2. Commission consisted 9 members.
3. Sir John-Simon was the Chief of Simon Commission

(a) 1 & 2
(b) 1 & 3
(c) 2 & 3
(d) All of above

2. Consider the following statements

1. Indian National Congress meet in Calcutta to boycott Simon Commission
2. Muslim League supported Simon Commission

(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both1& 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

3. Consider the following statements:

1. Shah Jahan succeeded to the throne on the death of his father in 1628.
2. He appointed his son, Prince Aurangzeb, as the viceroy of the Deccan.
3. Shah Jahan had trouble with the Portuguese who had a settlement at Calicut.
4. Shah Jahan is known for the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, and. for Shahjahanabad (new city built.’ by him)

Which of the above statements about. Shah Jahan is/are correct?

(a) Only 1, 2 and 3
(b) Only 2, 3 and 4
(c) Only 1, 2 and 4
(d) All the above

4. Consider the following statements:

1. Dara Sikoh was the son of Shah Jahan and  brother of Aurangzeb.
2. His best known work was A study of Sufi and Vedanta Philosophy.
3. He also translated the Upnishads into Persian in 1657.
4. He was killed in the fight for the throne between him and his brother Aurangzeb. 

Which of the above statements about prince Dara Sikoh is/are correct?

(a) Only 1, 2 and 3
(b) Only 2, 3 and 4 
(c) Only 1, 3 and 4
(d) All the above

5. Consider the following statements:

1. During the 18th century the Sikhs formed themselves into twelve small. groups known as Misls.
2. When Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India, he completely destroyed these Misls.

Code:

(a) Only 1 is correct
(b) Only 2 is correct 
(c) Both are correct
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 

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ANS: 1(b), 2(a), 3(c), 4(d), 5(a)