UPSC Prelims 2017 Exam GS Paper Analysis & IAS Exam Strategy

With UPSC prelims 2017 paper, UPSC has again proved the unpredictability of the civil service prelims exam. While last two years saw the share of direct current affairs based question increase, 2017 exam year upsc question were bit tricky and not directly based on the facts as in case of 2016 paper. Many of the question required serious brainstorming and therefore for many two hours might have proved to be insufficient. This article tries to go into the depth of last year paper and see how a candidate can calibrate her/his approach for such surprises in the exam hall.

Following is the topic wise breakup of the UPSC pre paper for last 3 years:

No singular pattern about the weightage of the subject can be discerned from the above chart.

Click here to Download UPSC Pre Exam Previous Year Papers

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Point to be noted my lord!! The attitude of leaving one or two low weightage subjects based on the previous year papers is not at all fine with UPSC. It loves to surprise the candidate and therefore when you might have thought that S&T does not matter that much anymore, UPSC 2018 paper may house more than 15 questions as in case of polity this year.

You have to be battle ready for any kind of Thali that UPSC will serve to you on the D-Day!!

Should I focus on the fundamental part or the current affairs?

This is the most common doubt for every aspirant. There is no definite answer to that nor there can be unless UPSC comes out with a white paper on the subject (Which we know is never going the happen).

While UPSC 2016 paper was heavily skewed in the favor of Current Affairs, UPSC 2017 paper tilted towards the fundamental part as can be gauged from the increased share of polity.

UPSC Question Paper Analysis

What to do then?

It is clear that a candidate has to make a habit of balancing the studies between the two. A candidate must:

• Read the NCERTs thoroughly and revise them at least one. If possible underline the important concept or make note out of them. you can consider NCERT Notes for UPSC exams to cover everything easily.

• Read only one reference books for every subject and revise it again. Selected candidate have always emphasized on this aspect of the preparation and is relevant for both upsc mains and prelims equally. It is a common mistake to burden oneself with too many thick books and ending up with zero retention of what one had read in those books.

• Pick up one newspaper like The Hindu or in case it is not available them Indian express and make a habit of reading it thoroughly every day and make notes out of it. These notes come in handy in the last month before prelims where focus has to be on revision.

• Go through IAS EXAM PORTAL daily current affairs and daily quiz based on current affairs. Go through them and note the concepts that you might have not covered in your newspaper.

• If possible go through the latest economic survey and budget speech which will cover all the important relevant concepts of economy as it has been a direct source of many questions in the past like these.

• If for some reason it is not possible to go through the eco survey cover to cover then do go through at least 2 summaries of the budget and eco survey as they cover important schemes as well.

• Be selective in reading of India Year book. If you have a group of 3-4 friends them you can divide the important chapters amongst yourself and make note to share with each other

• Don’t fall into the trap of subscribing to plethora of magazines and trying to go through them

(VIDEO) Are We Drinking Plastic? - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Are We Drinking Plastic? - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Amit Khurana, Head, Food Safety and Toxins, CSE, Dr. Punit Mishra, Prof of Community Medicine, AIIMS, Tusar Trivedi, Founder, Bottled water India, Sunil Bakshi, Advisor, Regulations & Codex, FSSAI; Tracy Shilshi (Anchor)

Cyber Security : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Cyber security refers to preventing any form of unauthorized and malafide access to any of the electronic pr digital device.  With evolving technological landscape cyber security has been dominating the public discourse from quite some time. For Ex: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) stated that India recorded 9,622, 11,592 and 12,317 cases of cybercrime in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively, experts stated that this data accounted for merely 1% of the cybercrimes that actually took place in the country.

Certain features of cyberspace make it a challenge to be tackled for ex: Absence of any geographical barriers, Rapidly evolving technologies and innovations in the field, difficulty in locating the attacker because of anonymity that the cyberspace offers and there are always loopholes in the technologies to be exploited.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CYBER CRIMES

1. The crimes in which the computer is the target. Examples of such crimes are hacking, virus attacks, DOS attack etc.

2. The crime sin which the computer is used as a weapon. These types of crimes include cyber terrorism, IPR violations, credit card frauds, EFT frauds, pornography etc.

Steps taken by the government of India

1. Legislative framework: IT act 2000 provides for legal provisions for cyber security, Enacted with prime objective to create an enabling environment for commercial use of I.T.  The IT Act specifies the acts which have been made punishable.

• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 has also been amended to take into its purview cyber crimes.

2. Policy framework: National cyber security policy 2013 lays down the future path to be traced in this regard.

• Set up different bodies to tackle various levels of threats.

• Create a National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)

• Create a workforce of around 500,000 trained in cyber security

• Indigenizing technological development in this regard.

• Promoting education and awareness in this field

• The policy also aims for public-private partnership for enhancing the security of cyberspace.

• To enable effective prevention, investigation and prosecution of cybercrime and enhancement of law enforcement capabilities through appropriate legislative intervention.

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Physicist Stephen Hawking, passes away at 76 : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Stephen Hawking was a fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the US National Academy of Science and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein.

About Stephen Hawking

• Hawking contracted motor neurone disease in 1963 and was then told he had just two years.

• From 1979 to 2009 he held the post of Lucasian Professor at Cambridge, the chair held by Isaac Newton in 1663.

Awards and Honours received by Stephen Hawking

• Professor Hawking has been awarded over a dozen honorary degrees including the CBE – Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – in 1982.

• He was awarded with Adams Prize, Einstein Award, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Eddington Medal, Maxwell Medal, Heineman Prize, Hughes Medal, RAS Gold Medal, Dirac Medal, Wolf Prize, Prince of Asturias, Gemant Award, Naylor Prize and Fundamental Physics Prize.

Contributions of Stephen Hawking

• He predicted theoretically that black holes emit radiation, this is often called Hawking radiation. 

• For the first time in the world Hawking showed how quantum fluctuations (i.e. minuscule variations in the distribution of matter), might give rise to the spread of galaxies in the universe. 

•  In 1983 together with Jim Hartle at Chicago University, he proposed a "wave function of the universe" that, in theory, could be used to calculate the properties of the universe we see around us.

• Existence of millions of Mini Black Holes formed by the force of the original Big Bang explosion.

• He also answered the famous unified field theory, which was one of the Einstein’s unanswered theories.

• Hawking was also the subject of the 2014 film ‘The Theory of Everything’, which starred Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones and it was based on Prof. Hawking's ex-wife Jane Hawking's memoir 'Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen'.

• The movie depicted the story of the scientist extraordinaire whose mind maps the universe while his body remains immobile in a wheelchair.

Books authored by him

• A Brief History of Time

• The Universe in a Nutshell

• The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of

• His latest book release in 2013 was a memoir titled 'My Brief History'.

MODEL QUESTIONS

Q.Which of the following is not correct regarding motor neurone disease?

A. Motor neurone disease (MND) describes a group of diseases.

B. MND affect the nerves (motor neurones) in the brain and spinal cord that tell your muscles what to do. 

C. In MND, messages from Motor Neurones gradually stop reaching the muscles, leading them to weaken, stiffen and waste.

D. MND does not affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. 

Answer-D

Q. What are various contributions of Dr. Stephen Hawking in the field of Science and Technology?

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Initiatives in India to deal with the climate change : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

The recently concluded Paris agreements has brought the issue of climate change at the center stage of national and international politics. The effects of climate change know no boundary and therefore require a concerted efforts at the national and global level.

Though Paris deal seeks to contain the global temperature rise below 2 degree C (preferably below 1.5), various studies have pointed out that the INDCs, if factored in the current trend of emission will lead to at least an increase of 3.5 degrees.

Developing countries especially the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and small island nations are at the highest risk of damage due to the climate change (Fiji will be underwater in 50 years). These countries such as India and China who now contribute significantly to global emissions have an important role to play. However, at the same time they have to fulfill their development needs through utilization of natural resources and industrialization.

India, today faces its biggest conundrum: Environment or Development? The population in India is projected to be highest in the world by 2022. It is the third largest emitter of the GHGs in aggregate terms but still has only 1/7th of the per capita energy consumption as that of OECD nations. At the same time India has high vulnerabilities to climate change impacts due to its peculiar economy and geography. The risks that India faces are:

• Coastal areas: 7500 km long coastline is already vulnerable to various disasters like cyclone, coastal flooding, storm surges, heavy rainfall (as seen recently in Mumbai) etc. The rise in the sea temperature and level will only increase the frequency of such hazards endangering the life and livelihood of the coastal population. Also, India being close to the equator will experience much higher increase in sea level than higher latitudes

• Monsoon: Phenomenon such as El Nino will increase the variability of the monsoon worsening the agricultural crisis with more than 50% area still being rain-fed and threatening the food security. Climate change has about 4-9 per cent impact on agriculture each year. As agriculture contributes 15 per cent to India’s GDP, climate change presumably causes about 1.5 per cent loss in GDP(1).

• Disasters: More weather aberrations as recently seen in Mumbai and Chennai and increase incidence of the disasters like flood and drought will threaten both rural and urban economy

• Biodiversity: Loss of biodiversity put the livelihood of the forest dependent and hill communities at risk and disturb the biogeochemical cycles that help maintain the flow of nutrient, water and pure air. Increase in human-wildlife conflict as recently observed in State like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand is another threat.

• Health: Increased disease outbreaks especially of the tropical diseases like Malaria and Dengue, heat waves aggravating the urban heat island effect and water scarcity compelling people to consume polluted water will increase the burden of mortality and morbidity.

• Migration: Rising inequalities as poor will be most affected due to climate change will increase the burden of migration and cripple the urban economies. Illegal migration from the neighbor countries will also cause security threats.

Reasons of the climate change:

So what initiative the governments in India have taken to deal with the crisis?

The initiatives can be classified into two broad categories:

• Mitigation: Reducing the emission of the greenhouse gases causing the rise in temperature

• Adaptation: Building the capacity of the community through financial, technical and other infrastructural support to minimize the losses due to the climate change.

The major initiative are:

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(VIDEO) Return Of Trade Barriers - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Return Of Trade Barriers - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Ajay Shankar, Former Secretary, DIPP; Ajay Sahai, Director General & CEO, Federation of Indian Exports Organisation ;S.K. Sarkar, Managing Committee Member, ASSOCHAM; Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)

Indo-French harmony on President Macron's visit to India : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

France was the first country in the West with which India established a strategic partnership and the first with which India initiated a strategic dialogue after our 1998 nuclear tests when France refrained from imposing sanctions on us and at the same time leaders from no other country have been honoured as many times as chief guests at India’s Republic Day celebrations. 

Indo -French Cooperation

New vision in the Indian Ocean region

• Aimed at countering China’s growing presence in the region.

International Solar Alliance

• India and France by challenging the geopolitical power structure configured around fossil-fuel energy resources are proposing an alternative leadership model for the less developed world,.

• Mr. Modi and Mr. Macron declared they would ensure cheaper solar energy and increase avenues for financing and Mr. Macron asserted that $1 trillion is needed to reach the ISA goals by 2030: India and France have so far committed $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively.

Agreement in the field of Nuclear Energy

• Recommitment to starting the Jaitapur nuclear power plant.

Joint Venture in Climate Change Cooperation

• Joint ventures on climate change cooperation are reactions to the U.S. abdicating its role by announcing its pullout from the Paris accord.

Logistic Agreement

• The “reciprocal logistics support” agreement and this agreement has seen less opposition compared to INDO-US LEMOA, which was passed in a very compromised manner and after a much longer negotiation.

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Corruption in India - An Analysis : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

What is corruption?

Corruption refers to the act of misuse and abuse of power especially by those in the government for personal gains either pecuniary or a favor.

The menace of corruption is pervasive in India, from petty bribes demand by the policemen to multi-crore scams at the highest political level like 2G scam. It is not only limited to government authorities but can be seen within the private sector as well, for instance, the Satyam scandal. In the Corruption perception index of 2016 India stands at 79th place out of 176 countries. It not only hampers the economic growth but also undermines the rule of law in the country.

More than 50% people in India have accepted giving bribes while accessing public services. Though recently held protest under the banner of ‘India against corruption’ brought corruption at the center stage of the political discourse and led to passage of Lokpal Act, it ended up merely as a political gimmick with little progress seen in reforms on the other fronts such as electoral and administrative.

Reason for corruption in India:

1. Political:

• Use of black money in elections: According to various studies, a Lok Sabha election candidate ends up spending at least 30 Cr. as against the legal limit of only Rs. 70 lakh. In the last 10 year the declared expenditure has increased by more than 400% for the LS elections(1) while 69% of their income came from unknown sources(2). This rising expenditure is rather seen as investment by the candidates who then misuse their power to amass the illegal wealth. Assets some MPs have even seen a jump of more than 1000% between successive elections

• Criminalization of politics: More than 30% of the legislators in the country have pending criminal cases against them. When law breakers become the law makers, rule of law is the first casualty.

• Crony capitalism: With the economic reforms undertaken in the aftermath of the BoP crisis of 1991, private sector has become a prominent player in the market earlier monopolized by the state. This has led to growth of unholy nexus between Politicians and businessmen. The recent amendment in to RPA that allow the corporates to keep their donation secret further strengthen the veil of secrecy around such a nexus.

2. Economic:

• High share of informal sector: In India more than 80% of the workforce is in the informal sector and therefore do not come under the ambit of tax or labor laws. Such enterprises usually bribe the officials to keep out of the ambit of laws where the compliance is costly and complex

• Ease of doing business: The plethora of approvals required to start and run a business with no transparency and legal accountability related to matters such as time limits force the entrepreneurs to overcome the red tapism through bribery.

• High inequalities: In India 1% of the rich hold about 60% of the total wealth. At the upper income levels it leads to crony capitalism, at lower income levels it forces people to bribe the  officials even to get their basic needs fulfilled. This is so because poor lacks the purchasing power to buy the services from the market and therefore depends mostly on public provisioning of the basic services such as food from PDS shops.

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(VIDEO) Judiciary: From realism to idealism -

Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Judiciary: From realism to idealism - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Justice R.S. Sodhi, Former Delhi High Court Judge ;Soli Sorabjee, Former Attorney General of India ;Satya Prakash, Legal Editor, The Tribune; Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)

Political and Constitutional Crises in Maldives : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Why in News?

• On February 5, the Maldivian government declared a state of emergency after Supreme Court’s order to release opposition leaders from the prison. The declaration was followed by a spate of high-profile arrests.

• Even media has been receiving threats following the coverage of the February 1st Supreme Court ruling that set off the crisis. However, security is provided to government- backed media stations.

• Opposition leaders of Maldives have advocated India to intervene amid the Constitutional crisis and state of emergency.

What is the issue?

• Maldives highest Court regarding the release of political prisoners stated that “Dissidents must be released because their trials were politically inspired and flawed”.

• President Abdullah Yameen, who is considered closer to the China, had instituted an emergency in the country after the Judgement of Maldivian Supreme court to release the political prisoners.

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(VIDEO) India-France Matters - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: India-France Matters - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Sheel Kant Sharma, Former Diplomat, Prof. Sriram Sundar Chaulia, Dean, Jindal School of International Affairs, Alok Bansal, Director, India Foundation; Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)

Tribunals and tribunalisation (Polity) : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Tribunal is an administrative body established for the purpose of discharging quasi-judicial duties. Tribunals relieve the burden of judiciary and provide quick and speedy justice. It is to be noted that tribunals are not courts because courts follow the Courts are governed by strict procedure defined in CrPC, IPC and the Indian Evidence Act whereas tribunals are driven by the principles of natural justice.

Mandate (Constitutional provisions)

The provision for Tribunals was added by the 42nd Constitutional amendment act which added two new articles to the constitution.

1. Article 323-A : of the constitution which  empowers the parliament to provide for the establishment of administrative tribunals for adjudicating the disputes relating to recruitment and conditions of service of a person appointed to public service of centre, states, local bodies, public corporations and other public authority. Accordingly parliament has enacted Administrative Tribunals Act,1985 which authorizes parliament to establish Centre and state Administrative tribunals (CAT & SATs).

A. Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT):  It was set up in 1985 with the principal bench at Delhi and additional benches in other states ( It now has 17 benches, 15 operating at seats of HC’s and 2 in Lucknow and Jaipur.

• It has original jurisdiction in matters related to recruitment and service of public servants (All India services, central services etc).

• Its members have a status of High Court judges and are appointed by president.

• Appeals against the order of CAT  lie before the division of High Court after Supreme Court’s Chandra Kumar Judgement.

B. State administrative tribunals

• Central government can establish state administrative tribunals on request of the state according to Administrative tribunals act of 1985

• SAT’s enjoy original jurisdiction in relation to the matters of state government employees.

• Chairman and members are appointed by President in consultation with the governor.

2. Article 323-B  which empowers the parliament and the state legislatures to establish tribunals for adjudication of disputes related to following matters

• Taxation

• Foreign exchange, Imports and Exports

• Industry and Labour

• Land reforms

• Ceiling on Urban Property

• Elections to parliament and state legislature

• Food stuffs

• Rent and Tenancy Rights

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(Answer Key) UPSC Combined Medical Services Examination, 2017

Exam Name: Combined Medical Services Examination

Year: 2017

Subjects:

• Medical Science Paper - I
• Medical Science Paper - II

Click Here to Download Answer Key Medical Science Paper - I

Click Here to Download Answer Key Medical Science Paper - II

(Books) UPSC Combined Medical Services Examination (CMS)

(Answer Key) UPSC Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2017

Exam Name: Combined Defence Services Examination (I),

Year: 2017

Subjects:

• General Knowledge
• English
• Elementary Mathematics

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Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Healthcare Sector : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Introduction

• The highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every human being. However, healthcare delivery poses a significant challenge for policymakers in India.

• The news of overcharging by  a private hospital for dengue treatment, despite not being able to save the patient's life, was met with an outrage.

Issues in Public Healthcare

• Lack of resources such as 1:1,700, doctor:citizen ratio, well below the minimum ratio of 1:1,000 stipulated by WHO.

• Rural areas and smaller towns of India are worst sufferer, where even basic health services remain inaccessible, many cases were reported where ward boy and alone found running the primary healthcare center.

• Inadequate government spending on healthcare and lack of access to health insurance to large section of the society.

• The quality of public health services in India continue to remain below expectations which hamper economic growth of the country.

• Government's inability to build sufficient capacity and infrastructure, difficulty in reaching out to poor and vulnerable groups.

• An undersized skilled workforce and the absence of upgraded technology is a major challenge in health sector.

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Skilling India - Needs and Challenges : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Introduction

• India is passing through a phase of unprecedented demographic changes, wherein the proportion of the working age population (15-59 years) is likely to rise from around 58 per cent in 2001 to over 64 per cent by 2021, according to a Survey.

• Current predictions suggest a steady increase in the youth population to 464 million by 2021 and finally a decline to 458 million by 2026.

• In order to survive in their respective field and also to face the high level of competition in future people will have to skill multiple times and periodic upgradation of skill will be needed.

Why skilling is needed

• Diversification of economy: from being largely agro-based to a manufacturing and service-based economy. So diverse skill is needed to accomodate the workforce in new sector

• Outdated skills : our most of the  workforce is hampered with outdated skills.So Market-relevant skills are needed in today’s highly competitive job market.

• Technological advancement: due to which blue collar jobs will become increasingly scarce so high skill is needed to be relevant in the market.

• Demand of skilled worker: according to a  government’s analysis by 2022, 24 sectors will need an additional 109 million skilled workers.

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(Download) CISF AC (LDC) Exam Paper - 2018 "General Ability, Intelligence and Professional Skills"

Exam Name: CISF AC (LDC)

Year: 2018

Subject: General Ability, Intelligence and Professional Skills

E-Book: UPSC CISF (AC) Previous Years Question Papers Download

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