(articles) rauÆs ias study circle, v. p. gupta

8/8/2019 (ARTICLES) Raus IAS Study Circle, V. P. Gupta

1/47

General fundasDirector Rau's IAS Study Circle, V. P. Gupta, speaks to

Education Times on the strategy required to prepare forGeneral Studies in the next few months

Times of India Education Times 1.8.2005

Paper-I

History of Modern India and Indian Culture

The subject is like a story and therecould be linkages between two questions.Students thus need to ensure that the entiresyllabus is covered in detail while revisinghistory. They can, however, do withoutpreparing portions which appeared last yearin the main stage of the examination. The

general trend is that there are no repetitionsfrom last year's papers, but once in a while

students could be in for a surprise. The partrelating to Indian culture will cover all aspectsfrom ancient to modern times.Geography of India

Students should concentrate on humanand economic geography. Human sectionincludes issues related to population. Therewill be questions based on the HumanDevelopment Report prepared by United

Nations Development Programme. The WorldDevelopment Report of World Bank deals indifferent aspects of economic geography likesafe drinking water. Students shouldemphasise less on classical geography liketypes of soil and rocks. The stress should beon preparing cultural and economic geographyand issues related to it.Indian Polity

Different aspects of the Constitution likeSupreme Court judgment during the past oneyear are important. At macro level, students

need to know in detail issues like imposition ofPresident's Rule in Bihar, why it was imposedand under what circumstances, significance

of Bommai Judgment while implementing thesame are important.Current National issues and topics of

social relevance

Students should go through majorhappenings at the national level during the lastone calendar year. National newspapers,news magazines, journals and periodicals are

good source of information to prepare topicsrelated to national issues. Issues of socialrelevance which affect the lives of peopleshould always be dealt in detail.Paper-II

India and the World

India's relations with major world powerslike US, China, Russia, France, UK andEuropean Union should be covered in detail.The recent positive developments in Indo-USrelations particularly in areas like civiliannuclear energy deal, space cooperation andeducation will be importantin this year's examination.

I m m e d i a t eneighbours like Nepal,

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,Pakistan, Myanmar tooplay an important role inIndia's foreign policy.Disputes with Pakistanand China on the onehand and Bangladesh andNepal on the other havecome to play an important

role in India's tryst to createa space in world politics.There should be focus on India's role in herneighbour's internal politics like maoistinsurgency and return of democracy in Nepal.Issues related to illegal immigrants fromBangladesh too are important in this year'spaper.Indian Economy

The change of guard at the Centre hasbrought an ideological shift in how we manageour economy and issues related to taxation

and spending pattern. There is more emphasison the social sector, winding up of Ministry ofDisinvestment, issues related to privatisation

or profit earning and loss-making PSU entities.Queries related to disinvestment of governmententities in a transparent manner too have cometo play an important role during the past oneyear.

The role of government in our public lifelike running utility services too has become amatter of debate during the last few years.

Areas like atomic energy, manufacturing ofmilitary goods should continue to remain in thepublic sector but the government should notown enterprises. The role of the governmentshould be limited to budgetary support and

providing direction on different policy matterslike social work.International Affairs and Institutions

Reforms in United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC) and formation of G-4 to bid forpermanent seats in the Security Council andUS role during the entire process will beimportant this year.

Developments in the fields of S&T,communications and space Scientificdevelopment during the last one year, focuson development of AIDS vaccine, stem cellresearch, focus on non-renewable sources ofenergy and manned space are must during

the revision. Geological disasters like

earthquakes are still not being predicted inspiteof technological advancements. Is it thenjustified to spend heavily on space research?Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrames

This section tests the candidates abilityto draw conclusions from information presentedin statistical, graphical or diagrammatical formand to point out deficiencies therein.

Writing the paperStudents should be focussed in terms

of language, and they should ensure that theanswers are as close as possible. Theexaminer is usually in a hurry and if providedwith facts and coherent replies his job becomeseasier.The answers should not be lengthy and writtenin a precise manner. Word limit should beadhered to, wherever mentioned. Studentsshould focus on providing their side of

justification in a jiffy. Repetitive and elaboratereplies should be strictly avoided


2/47

Taming of the prelimsV P GUPTA OFFERS THE LAST MINUTE DO AND I DON'T

FOR THE FORTHCOMING CIVIL SERVICES PRELIMS


Here are a few last-minute tips for the

students appearing at the Civil Services

Prelim Exam on May 15, 2005.

Remember to retain your cool and go in

with the attitude of a winner.

Looking at the pattern in which

questions have been framed in General

Studies (GS) from 1985 onwards, one is

tempted to say that possibly the principledesign of the examiners is to eliminate

candidates rather than test their mental

calibre. Moreover, examiners have not

correctly followed in all the years the

pattern of allotting specific number of

marks specified for each syllabus expect

for the area on Mental Ability.

Such being the current trend of

setting the GS paper in the Preliminary

Exam, candidates have no option but tobank upon chosen optional subjects

while making reasonable amount of

preparation for all areas of GS. Besides,

it is wise to prepare these areas from the

view-point of the Main Examination. The

areas to be taken care of are Modern

India, Polity, Indian Economy,

Geography, Current Events and

General Science.

Considering the general

nature of the examination the

tactics must be to focus on

greater rather than intensive

coverage. One is expected to

know history, science, polity,

geography, economy and other

such disciplines, all at the same

time. However, only basics of

each of the disciplines is

needed. Hence one must

concentrate on basics and

acquire as much facts about

basics as possible but avoiding

the element of over-kill in

preparations.

While preparation for the Prelims

large coverage is the key word. By going

through large source of information it is

expected that an image is built in the

mind which will reflect the details. Do

remember that human memory skills

work better when there are less emotion-

al in-puts or anxiety about inability to recallon account of exam-related stress.

Here is a brief do and don'ts:

Final preparation must start by testing

self with the revision-type Model Test'

Papers.

Do not get discouraged by initial low

score.

Emphasis on your weak-spots.

Keep testing yourself at a regular

interval. Make a mental note of areas you have

covered and what remains to be

covered.

Be analytical in response.

Do not overstretch yourself on area of

coverage-wise.

Revise your stuff a number of times. IA

calm mental state is most important.

Since there is no negative marking in

the exam, it is suggested not to leaveany questions unanswered.

An intelligent guess can be made

wherever necessary.

Do not get stuck at any question. Move

on from question to question and

attempt the difficult ones at the end.

In the first round, attempt only the

answers which you are sure, of.

In the next round, try to eliminate as

many options as you can and darkenthe ovals which are the only one left

out after elimination.

If you are confused between just two

options, it is advisable to make an

intelligent guess.

If you are left with about five to 10

minutes, select one option out of A,B,C

or and go on dealing with the left out

questions.

After a two weeks break get down

for the Main preparation with confidence.

Chase the success in the exam with the

single mindedness of a cricketer who

wants to win at least the 'Man of the Match'

award if not the 'Man of Series'.


3/47

Dynamics of SubsidiesV P Gupta Simplifies the Matrix of Subsidy


The current national affairs are an

important segment of General Studies

Paper I. While preparing for this paper,

one must go/look for important

developments affecting the nation as a

whole or a large section of people. One

has to keep track of the important policy

announcements of theGovernment besides

judgements of the

Supreme Court. In this

and subsequent

articles we shall discuss

some of the relevant

issues in brief.

One such current affairs issue is

subsidies. India, being a welfare state,

has been providing assistance to various

sections of the society in the form of

subsidies. The main beneficiaries have

been the farmers, needy people and

those using various forms of public

services. Over the years these subsidies

have come under scrutiny and there have

been demand to phase out thesesubsidies as they are considered as a

burden on the state exchequer.

Consequently, the ratio of all direct

subsidies paid by the Central

Government to GDP has actually fallen

from around 1.85 percent in 1990-91 to

1.6 percent in 2003-04. It seems that the

main concern has been the indirect

subsidies which remain quite high.Indirect subsidies are subsidies

administered through inputs like fertiliser,

electricity, diesel and irrigation, among

others.

The report of Central Government

about Subsidies in India: A Report, 2004

by the Ministry of Finance, prepared with

assistance from the National Institute of

Public Finance and Policy, calls for

reducing Minimum Support Prices for

farmers, suggesting

the removal of the

present two-tier

system of prices in the

Public Distribution

System (PDS) along

with a system of food

coupons for below

poverty line (BPL) population. Fertiliser

prices should be raised. LPG andkerosene subsidies, presumably

affecting large middle class and poor

households, require further reduction. In

fact, their prices have been already

raised recently since the UPA

government came in power.

Those who support the continuing

of subsidies for the time being argue that

the focus on reducing subsidies onlycomes about because of the

Government's failure to raise tax

revenues. For them the subsidies are

essentially negative taxes. Such negative

taxes would mean that instead of being

raised from the people they are given

back to certain target groups among the

population of the country.

One has to take note that subsidiesare a global phenomena and developed

countries of the West give direct

subsidies in the form of unemployment

benefits and social security. Health and

other social facilities are state funded and

there are direct export subsides to the

exporters who export agricultural

products, often termed as farm subsidies.

India has been a vocal critic of farm

subsidies that lead to anomalies in world

trade. The subsidies cheapen their farm

products in the international market. In

fact the total farm subsidies given by the

US and European Union account to

almost two third of India's total GDP. The

difference of opinion on these subsidiesbetween the developed and developing

countries even resulted in the failure of

Cancun Summit of WTO. While

countries like India were ready to reduce

the tariff barriers on imports, the

developed countries remained non

committal about phasing out the

subsidies given to the exporters of farm

products. Some developed countrieseven wanted that developing countries

should have more transparency in their

procurement policies.

Reverting back to subsidies in

India, it seems that some of the essential

subsidies will continue while others

could be phased out, particularly those

on petroleum products like diesel

keeping in view India's huge oil pooldeficit. The subsidies on food and other

basic amenities like health and

education should continue, but the

government must ensure the proper

identification of the beneficiaries. The

sharp targeting of subsidies is indeed the

most important as well as the most

difficult aspect to achieve in a large

country like India, since even the

advanced economies like USA and EU

are not able to do this successfully.


4/47

NGOs, an important fact of public lifeV P GUPTA CHECKS AND BALANCES THE ROLE OF NGOs,

FOR THE ESSAY PAPER


An important theme which is essential

for the students to know for the Essay

Paper in Civil Services Main Exam is the

Role of NGOs in a democratic society

like ours.

The existence of NV P GUPTA CHECKS

AND BALANCES THE ROLE OF NGOs,FOR THE ESSAY

PAPER GOs is a

global phenomenon.

Growing resentment

or dissatisfaction with

the performance of

governments all over

the world is a

causative factor in the growth of the

NGOs in public domain. Thus as a

corrective step to this universal weak-

ness in governance provided by

politicians, the Non-Government

Organisations or NGOs have become an

important fact of our public life today.

The factors that have fuelled the

growth of NGOs are plenty. NGOs today

speak to and speak for the poor, the

disenfranchised, the minorities and other

marginalised groups in society to make

sure that the needs and desires of these

people are heard and responded to by

the Government agencies.

The idea of good governance

requires that the distribution of power and

resources be held open to account. Civil

Society globally and NGOs in particular

are increasingly seen as part of an

apparatus of checks and balances in

respect of the operations of any

democratic system of governance. The

NGOs are able to recognise and manage

any tensions that arise in society in a

professional, sensitive and mature

manner. In reality NGOs act as support

system to the

governments to ensure

good governance and

secure the highest

common good for the

people.

While on one hand, the

NGOs supplement government action on

the other hand they may have to publicly

criticise governments should their

standards of operation or the integrity of

public servants decline. The reverse is

true as well. Governments too may feel

justified in criticising NGOs for their short-

comings or excessive bickering. So, can

a partnership between the NGOs andgovernments sustain this tension? The

simple answer is that it has to. There are

challenges on this road ahead. The

Governments and NGOs must learn to

meet them together in the spirit of true

partnership and trust.

A very important aspect which

needs special mention about the role ofNGOs is disaster management.

Governments cannot deal with crisis

situations alone. When disaster strikes,

governments need assistance from the

public and private sectors. Often

international disasters involve complex

emergencies such as wars or other

conflicts. NGOs have the best knowledge

of local communities and their needs,

but lack the material resources to

transport relief supplies that the

governments provide. Thus, there is

always a need for a sort of strategic

partnership between governments andNGOs.

The NGOs can innovate faster

than governments and maintain the vital

energy in the service of people because

of their abiding faith in service.

They have helped to focus

attention on the social and

environmental implications of bigbusinesses and their activities.

Multinational companies have been

acutely susceptible to pressure from

NGOs, eager to challenge their labour,

environmental or human rights record.

Even those businesses that do not

specialise in highly visible branded

goods feel the pressure, as NGOs

develop techniques to target their

downstream customers and

shareholders. The big businesses have,

therefore, been made to realise their

social responsibilities towards the

communities on whose shoulder they

stand. However, the success or failure of

NGOs would ultimately depend on their

innate sense of justice and the goodnessof each individual who works for them.


5/47

Everyone wants to win but few have the

will to give all that it takes to win. We all

seek success in life. But have not realized

what success is made of. Well, in simple

language success happens when

preparation meets performance. We

spend more time in planning ordinary day

to day things than planning our lives. The

road-map for success can be briefly putlike this: Plan, Prepare, Practice, Perform

and Win. In short, success takes more

than just slogging. Now I propose to .take

you on a conducted tour of how to

prepare for "the career", i. e. a career in

Civil Services or simply put, IAS.

The Nature of the Examination

The Civil Services Exam offers

widest range of jobs in our country and is

conducted by the Union Public ServiceCommission (UPSC). Some of the top

services offered by this examination are:

Indian Administrative Service, Indian

Police Service, Indian Foreign Service,

Indian Revenue Service and Indian

Customs and Central Excise Services

etc. There are in all about twenty-six

services offered through this single

examination. A three-level exam is

conducted to achieve this purpose.

The Structure of the Examination

The candidates are put through

three kinds of testing to ensure that the

persons selected have: (a) wide range

of general awareness, (b) analytical ability

and content retention capacity, (c) a

cheerful mental disposition even under

stressful conditions and some other

officers' like qualities. Each one of these

requirements is tested respectively

through Preliminary Exam (objective type

questions), Main Exam (descriptive type

questions) and Interview test.

The Preliminary Examination is

conducted in the month of May every

year and it comprises of two papers, one

for optional subject which is selected by

the students and one for General Studies

which is a compulsory paper for all. Here,

candidates are given multiple choice

type questions. There is no negative

marking; hence students are advised to

attempt all the questions. The questionsare of graduation level. There are in all

about 120 questions asked and they

carry 300 marks.

The second paper in the

Preliminary Examination is General

Studies comprising six segments in all.

These include: General Science,

Current Events of National and

International Importance, History of India

and Indian National Movement, India andWorld Geography, Indian Polity and

Economy and General Mental Ability.

There are usually 150 questions asked

which carry a total of 150 marks.

Now coming to the major

segments of General Studies paper,

questions on general science include

the basics and scientific awareness of

related areas. It comprises themes such

as: Physics, Astrophysics, Chemistry,

Botany, Zoology, Agriculture, Medicine

& Life Sciences etc. Though, each one

of these is a fully developed discipline;

but the questions asked here are the

ones that can be' expected from a well-

educated person without any special

knowledge of these disciplines. Current

event of national and international

importance questions generally revolve

around such happenings that may have

taken place during the previous 12

months. History of India and the Indian

National Movement questions include

social, economic and political aspects

of ancient, medieval and modern Indian

history. Special emphasis should be

given to 19th century resurgence and the

attainment of the Indian independence.

Geography questions usually coverIndian geography, with regards to

physical, social and economic aspects.

Indian polity and economy together make

a very large chunk of the questions. An

analysis of the previous year's questions

suggest that majority of the questions

cover the themes related to the Indian

Constitution and the existing political

system. Recent developments in the field

of economic priorities are also a favouritearea for questioning. The candidates are

thus tested apart from their basic

knowledge of economy, polity, science

and history, but for their general mental

ability also. Some questions on

reasoning, analytical ability, logical

conclusion and pictorial interpretation

are asked here.

Considering the organisation and

nature of the Preliminary Examinationone can see the relative importance of

optional subject paper which carries 300

marks, is far more greater than the

importance of the General Studies paper

carrying 150 marks. However, students

are cautioned that it does not mean one

can overlook the significance of General

Studies paper and it too needs to be

approached seriously through a

systematic orientation accompanied by

an appropriate mindset.

The Main Examination comprises

of two types of papers; non-ranking and

the ranking ones. There are two papers

(of the total nine) that are non-ranking in

nature which include one paper of the

Indian language to be selected by the

candidate as per his mother tongue and

the second paper is of English. Both

these paper are of very simple nature and

in a way mentally prepare the candidatefor writing the subsequent examination.

Among scoring or ranking papers there

are three groups of papers, which are:


A Road-Map to Civil

ServicesV P GUPTA


6/47

two optional subjects - 4 papers in all

(comprising of a total of 1200 marks),

Essay - one paper (200 marks) and the

General Studies - two papers (total 600

marks).

For the optional papers UPSC has

a list of about twenty six subjects out of

which two subjects have to be selected

by every candidate. However, a fewcombinations belonging to disciplines

having substantial overlaps in content are

not allowed.

Main Examination also includes

two papers of General Studies. Both of

these papers are further subdivided in

nine segments, four segments in paper

one and five in paper two. The four

segment of Paper-I include History of

Modem India and Indian Culture,Geography of India, Indian Polity and

Current National Issues and Topics of

Social Relevance. The five segments of

Paper-II include the topics on India and

the World, Indian Economy, International

Affairs and Institutions, Developments in

the field of Science and Technology,

Communications & Space and

Statistical Analysis of Graphs and

Diagrams.

The Main Examination, apart from

optional subjects and General Studies

papers also includes an Essay paper. It

carries 200 marks. The candidates are

advised to prepare for this paper keeping

some major themes in mind. Apart from

the preparation for the content, students

are also advised to polish their basic

skills for essay-writing.

The Strategy for Preparation

The strategy for General Studies

preparation is a bit different from the

optional subjects as the word "General"

is very difficult to define. But if one

proceeds with right approach and

strategy it becomes fairly organised.

Then the next question is "what is the

right approach and strategy"? Well, for

that one needs to keep in mind the basic

fact that if the goal is to reach the highest

level of achievement, then one must have

not only ample patience for details but

should be able to keep the big pictureregarding any theme in his mind at the

time of study. Thus the preparation

strategy is to follow a mix of both micro

and macro level approaches.

The first step in this direction is the

understanding of the syllabus. One must

look at the Syllabus closely and in detail.

After that one should analyse the past

year's question papers that indicate the

important areas as well as the real scopeof the syllabus. Then comes the next step

of apportioning of time depending on the

importance and length of each area.

The next step would cover the

selection of right books and an efficient

method to study them. The basic

guideline at the start of the preparations

for both P.T. and Main Exam is to read

N.C.E.R.T. books on related subjects.

There is no substitute for it. One should

refrain in the beginning from reading

guidebooks as they load you with

information but very little concept.

Interview test is the final 'lap of the A Road-

Map to Civi l Services Civil Services

selection process. Though it carries only

300 marks, one can not afford to take it

lightly because a candidate's selection

or ranking is likely to be affected by the

marks that he/she gets in it. This test is

not a cross examination, but something

which appears between the twilight of a

question and answer session and a

purposive conversation.

Well, let me tell you that the most

important part of the Interview is "you".

Everything else that goes on in an

interview is peripheral or secondary.Talking about oneself is not easy for

anyone in such a situation. Yet that is

what precisely you are required to do in

an interview. Your achievements,

interests and vision is what you must be

ready to talk about in a clear headed

manner. An interview is a celebration of

"you" from start to finish.

The interviewers usually have two

major enquiries in their mind: (a) thepersonality issues and (b) the knowledge

base of a candidate. Now, in case of Civil

Services Exam the knowledge aspect is

taken care of by an elaborate written

exam which is already over by the time

you go for the interview. What remains to

be evaluated is the personality aspects

of a candidate. And it is for this reason

the interview has been at times also call

the personality test.

The personality of a person has

been variously defined to include a vast

number of qualities of head and heart.

The personality of any person is the sum

total of what one has experienced, seen,

heard, read or felt from the very moment

one starts being award of himself in the

society. In short what UPSC is looking for

in a candidate is a man of substance who

has the intelligence and courage to take

on any job and give his best to it withoutfear or favour. Briefly, they are looking for

a person who will hold his ground and

stand by his colleagues in the difficult

situations with complete sincerity and

commitment.

Finally remember, winning is an

event, but being a winner is a spirit. To

win you will have to understand this spirit

of deserving something; before getting it.

The mantra for success in an exam likeCivil Services is to cultivate the real joy of

learning as a precondition for any

learning to start impacting your mind.


A Road-Map to Civil

ServicesV P GUPTA


7/47

Aspiring for the Top slotCivil Services Examination does not merely test the

knowledge and aptitude of a candidate but, his attitudeand strength of character as well through an extensive

three-tier system, says V P Gupta


We all seek success in life but do not

realize what success is made of. Well, in

simple language, success happens

when preparation meets performance.

We spend more time in planning ordinary

things than planning our lives. The road-

map for success can be briefly put like

this: Plan, Prepare, Practice, Perform and

Win. In short, success takes more than

just slogging. And it definitely takes much

more if you are aspiring for a career in

the most coveted services in the country,

the civil services.

Nature of the examination

The civil services examination

offering widest range of jobs in our

country, is conducted by the Union Public

Service Commission (UPSC). Some of

the services offered by this examination

are: Indian Administrative Service, Indian

Police Service, Indian Foreign Services,

Indian Revenue Service and Indian

Customs and Central Excise Service, to

name the prominent ones. There are in

all about 26 services offered through this

single examination. Considering the

importance and nature of these jobs,

UPSC takes utmost care in selecting the

right people. A three-level exam in

conducted to achieve this purpose.

Structure of the exam

The candidates are put through

three kinds of testing to ensure that the

persons selected have (a) wide range of

general awareness, (b) analytical abilityand content retention capacity, and (c) a

cheerful mental disposition even under

stressful conditions and some other

officers' like qualities. Each one of these

requirements is tested respectively

through preliminary exam, which

includes objective-type questions, main

exam that comprises descriptive-type

questions and personal interview.

Conducted in the month of May

every year, the preliminary examination

comprises two papers, one on an

optional subject which is selected by a

candidate and another one on general

studies which is a compulsory paper for

all. The examination encompasses

multiple-choice questions and since

there is no negative marking, students

are advised to attempt all the questions.

The questions asked are of graduation

level. There are in all about 120

questions asked in this section, which

are of 300 marks in total.

The second paper of the

preliminary examination is on general

studies comprising six segments in all,

including: General science, current

events of national and internationalimportance, history of India and Indian

national movement, Indian and world

geography, Indian polity and economy,

and general mental ability. These

segments need to be carefully

understood by the candidates in the

backdrop of the previous years questions.


8/47

Dealing with GeographyAPART FROM KNOWING ABOUT THE CLASSICAL FORM OF

GEOGRAPHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR AN ASPIRANT TO BEABREAST WITH THE CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS IN

THE DISCIPLINE, SAYS V P GUPTA


Geography is an important component

of the 'general studies' segment in the

Civil Services main examination.

Geography as a discipline is

continuously evolving. The present form

of geography is fairly contemporary in

nature dealing with the diverse range ofphenomena that touches upon various

aspects of life. One can see that

geography has unfolded in the

dimensions of the environmental

geography, political geography, social

geography, urban geography and many

- more facets beyond its classical form,

which you might have studied in school.

Geography for the main

examination is important as questionsworth 30 marks are usually being asked.

While the focus in this segment is

primarily on geography of India, it does

not restrict the examiner from asking

questions beyond classical parameters

such as physiography of India, climate of

India, soils and drainage pattern of India.

Geography has a set of basic concepts

which are of common interest and

candidates are expected to be aware ofthem. Plate tectonism, mountain

building, sea floor spreading, isostasy

and related concepts are touched upon

in the examination directly or indirectly.

Candidates while preparing for this

segment should try and keep in mind the

orientation of Indian scene.

Resources play a vital role in the

economic prosperity of a country. There

are various kinds of resources such ashuman resources as well as natural

resources. One may expect questions on

various kinds of resources, their potential

and the

problems in

their utilis-

ation. The

forests resou-

rces, their

depletion, soil resources, their potentialand problems, water resources in terms

of their chemistry and their ever depleting

levels are some of the major concerns of

the present time. Questions relating to

the planning aspects of geography

themes have become fairly popular off

late. Questions dealing with

programmes like command area

development programme, watershed

development programme, integratedrural development programme, drought

prone area programme and desert

development programme, among

others, are often asked.

Economic development has much

to do with the resources and

geographical parameters. It is moreover,

a significant area for questions, India

being primarily an agricultural economy,

all those parameters that affectagriculture attract the attention of

examiner on a regular basis. Monsoon

and its variability, dependability, genesis,

distribution and off late forecasting

techniques have been common as

questions. India with its geographical

diversity has been bestowed with a

diverse range of hazards as well. Hazards

not merely affect the economic

component but the social anddemographic parameters as well.

Various kinds of hazards such as flood,

drought and cyclones form questions on

a regular basis, Here the candidates

must take into account causative

dimension of hazards, prognostic

dimensions of hazards and hazard

mitigation techniques, for instance, One

must be prepared about the regional

distribution of hazards as well.

Some of the recent technological

advancement in geography have

attracted the attention of the examiner.

The candidate should prepare itself with

the remote sensing techniques, major

achievement in these directions and

some of the basic usages they can beput to. The GIS techniques have been in

news in the recent time and they as

remote sensing not merely help in

keeping eye on the resources of the

country but moreover, continuously

accessing their potential by periodic

reconnaissance of a given region. Space

technology is a major forte of Indian

scientists and every educated person is

expected to be aware about the basicadvancements in these areas. The

candidates however, while preparing

must not loose touch with the Atlas,

probably the first technological aid of

geographical enquiry. Geopolitical

concerns have always been important

but they have been acquiring new

dimensions with the passage of time.

The relationship of India with its

neighbouring countries, particularly withregard to the border areas is of major

concern. Geopolitics of the Indian ocean

has always been important and new

dimensions need to be looked upon by

the candidates while preparing for the

examination. Reorganisation of the

states, while on the surface appears to

be a typical political event, actually has a

deep geographical context. The demand

for new states and their geographicalcontext are indeed topics of interest for

the students of geography.


9/47

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an

important source to supplement

domestic investment for achieving a

higher level of economic development

in India. FDI directly impacts on output

growth by augmenting the available

capital for investment. For instance, FDI

typically serves to increase competitionin markets, bring new technology into

India, foster skill acquisition amongst

domestic labour and moreover, pave the

way for strong exports growth.

FDI provides for investment in Indian

companies or setting up wholly-owned

subsidiaries in the areas which are

otherwise not under the prohibitive

categories such as telecommunications,civil aviation, banking, insurance, real

estate, agriculture and plantations, to

name the prominent ones. FDI in India is

invited through two channels - the

automatic approval route under which

foreign investment in areas identified and

up to the limits of foreign equity

prescribed, companies can issue shares

and receive inward remittances with thereporting requirement to Reserve Bank

of India within a period of 30 days. In all

other cases, proposals are considered

by the Foreign Investment and Promotion

Board (FIPB) serviced by the Department

of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

The share of FDI inflows in total foreign

investment rose sharply from about 56

per cent in 2000-01 to almost 80 per centin 2002-03. This indicates that longer-

term FDI inflows have been the main

contributors to foreign investment in

recent years. FDI inflows for the full year

of 2003-04 have been estimated at US$

4.5 billion, which are slightly lower than

US$ 4.7 billion recorded during 2002-03

However, during the first three quarters

of 2003-04, FDI inflows accounted for

less than 25 per cent of total foreign

investment, while portfolio flows

constituted 75 per cent of total foreign

investment. The total portfolio investment

inflows during the year 2003-04

amounted to US$ 11.4 billion, which far

higher than US$ 1 billion recorded during

2002-03 The rapid rise in portfolio inflows

has much to do with the buoyant state of

domestic capital markets. The main

difference between FDI and portfolio

investment is in the lasting interest

expressed by a non-resident direct

investor in a resident enterprise of the

domestic economy.

The FDI Attractiveness Index, a

summary measure of India's

attractiveness as a FDI destination,

which has registered a gain of just 8 per

cent that is from 3.6 in 2002-03 to 3.9 in

2003-04. The paltry upward movement

in the index implies that the perception

of foreign investors about India as an

investment destination has not improved

significantly. In fact, security andterrorism concerns weigh heavily on the

minds of foreign investors. Factors like

exchange rate volatility, hardening

commodity prices and higher interest

rates in home country can in addition,

play spoilsport. Global and regional trade

initiatives would, on the other hand, give

a boost to FDI inflows into India. The top

motivating factors for the entry of foreigninvestors into India are market size and

highly skilled manpower.

When a foreign investor considers

any new investment, it goes through four

stages in the decision making process

and action cycle, namely, (a) screening,

(b) planning, (c) implementing and (d)

operating and expanding. Our

promotional effort is quite often of ageneral nature and not corporate

specific. On the other hand, China is

viewed as 'more business oriented'. Its

decision making is faster and it has more

FDI friendly policies.

India has the potential to attract

much larger FDI, provided that it ensures

fast approvals of FDI at entry level and

initiates reforms in the direction of investorfriendly labour laws, efficient

infrastructure, which includes electricity

and transport, and fiscal incentives.

Strengthening EconomyV. P. Gupta Elaborates on the Role and Significance

of Foreign Direct Investment in theEconomic Development of India



10/47

FINAL CALL FOR CIVIL

SERVICESby V P Gupta


A serious worry in the minds of the civil

services examinee, as the exam day

draws closer, is how to, write a good

answer or simply put - how to please the

examiner. The examiner is a man in a

hurry. So, if you make his life easy, he will

make your life easy. A few last-minute

suggestions to strike such a trade off are

given below.

Trust your preparation, memory

and your ability to recall what you have

read. In total, trust yourself.

Now coming to the exam, my first

suggestion to students is to read each

question two or three times with a cool

head and then decide what are the

requirements of the question by giving a

fair interpretation to each word used in

the question.

Next you should decide the points

that you are going to mention in youranswer. These points should be

classified as major and minor points with

major points coming in the beginning of

an answer and minor points being used

to finally supplement the thrust of the main

argument.

Your answers should be crisp. You

should not use any quotations as far as

possible. Do not quote names of authors,

books and articles, among others, with

the intention to impress the examiner.

Do not use any type of high-lighting

techniques or methods like use of

underlining, inverted commas, capital

letters, different colours of ink, when notrequired by the situation. Finally, the

secret of writing a good answer is to strip

every sentence to its cleanest

components. Every word, adjective or

adverb that serves no function should be

removed or better still not used in the first

place.


11/47

Safeguarding InterestsIndia's foreign policy in the post cold war era has been

dominated by the need to develop better relations witheconomic powers, says V P Gupta


The end of Cold War and beginning of

economic liberalisation and

globalisation has forced India to reframe

on its foreign policy. The 90s witnessed

an end of the single-party rule and

beginning of coalition politics in India.

Faced with conflicting and divergentideological impulses, foreign policy

making became more of a balancing act

and gradually lost individualistic

influences evident in an

earlier era.

A greater thrust on

economic diplomacy

called for closer ties withthe US and the

European nations. The

realisation perhaps sank among policy

makers that the world was fast moving

towards unipolarity and that there was

no Soviet Union to fall upon. Moreover,

mutual economic interests or a common

cause against international terrorism led

India and the US into discovering natural

allies in each other. At the same time,

Russia has proved to be India's time-

tested friend. Other countries of Central

Asia who have broken out of the Soviet

Union are rich in natural resources and

are strategically placed. They share

close and old links with India dating back

to the Soviet era.

There has been a marked change

in India's West Asian policy. In 1993, India

opened up its ties with Israel. The two

countries have some common security

concerns, as both have been victims of

terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism.

Israel has moreover, emerged as India's

major defence partner. At the same time,India has not abandoned its stand on

Palestinian cause. The friendly ties with

Iran and other Arab states have been a

major achievement as

it has successfully

countered Pakistan's

anti-India agenda in the

Islamic countries and

rest of the world.

In the east, India is

seeking to develop closer economic and

political ties with countries of South-East

Asia. With its own SAARC proving be a

non-starter, India has been looking

towards other regional economic

groups. The success of Association of

South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and

geographic factors has prompted India

to vigorously follow the policy famously

known as look east-policy. Though

started during the period of P V Narsimha

Rao, it has received greater thrust in early

years of new century.

Coming back to South Asia, India

has had rather troubled ties with

neighbouring countries. After the bitter

experiences of past involvement in Sri

Lankan ethnic crisis, India has

maintained a position of neutrality while

supporting Norwegian efforts to broker

peace there. Nepal has been facing a

political crisis emanating from rise of the

Maoists violence. India has no otherchoice but to seen an early end to this

conflict in the Himalayan state as the

rebel group has a definite anti-India

stand. Border skirmishes and the

unresolved issue of 'Chakma' refugees

have led to some undesired troubles with

Bangladesh. Though some serious

efforts have been made recent past to

sort out the border disputes with China.

On the other hand, the ties with

Pakistan reached on an all time low in

recent past due to a series of terrorist

violence targeting innocent civilians to

parliamentarians. Kashmir remains the

main bone of contention. After 9/11 India

has made some serious efforts to

include terrorism in Kashmir within the

ambit of international terrorism. Though

India failed to get desired results, but

there has been greater realisation

among the world community that India

has been at the receiving end and it

could spark off a military conflict between

the two nuclear powers of South Asia,

resulting in unaccountable and

unimaginable human sufferings.


12/47

Crack EconomicsWhile Studying Indian Economy for Main Examination,

It is important to make a study of all sectors of theeconomy, says V P Gupta


The Indian economic regime under

which development was sought to be

promoted in the post independence

period has recorded significant

transformation in the recent times. The

euphoria generated about the economic

recovery since 1993-94 period has

brought economic issues once again in

the limelight.The students preparing for the

main examination 2004 are in particular

advised to take note of the economic

issues which have had strong political

interfaces that have undergone

transformation. Socio-economic

developmental plans have a new

beginning with the onset of the National

Common Minimum Programme

(NCMP). The issues of 7 to 8 per cent ofgrowth universal access to quality basic

education and health, generating gainful

employment in agriculture,

manufacturing and services and

promoting investment have come to

acquire center stage of our economic

endeavours. Generating 100 days

employment for the breadwinner of each

family at minimum wages, agricultural

infrastructure and efficient fiscaldevolution are some of the issues which

the present government aims to focus

with priority.

Social infrastructure in particular

education related efforts are given top

priority and exclusive corpus of 4,000 to

5,000 crores is being generated for

meeting the constitutional obligations of

fundamental rights with regards to

education. Agriculture despite the fact has

progressively been loosing its

participation in the GDP yet it continues

to be the most significant activity

engaging about 3/4th of the countries

population. For the productive

engagement of the farmers of the country

national agriculture policy has called for

increasing investment in agriculture

because continuously increasing load of

subsidy can be ill afforded by the

government and at the same time any

shortfall in production is beyond the

comprehension of any planner. Toattend to such scenarios agricultural

credit has been given due priority.

Institutions like NABARD, Co-operative

banks and Regional rural banks play

crucial role and they have been duly

acknowledged as part of the agricultural

restructuring. Rural housing has also

been singled out for the purpose of

meeting the basic requirement of the

people. Foreign investment plays a

crucial role in infrastructure promotion

and economic transformation per se.

New institutions are being conceived in

addition to the existing ones so that

different kinds of foreign investment - like

FDI and FII have easy and intensified

presence in the Indian economy.

Industrial restructuring is another

crucial issue that need to be accorded

significance while preparing for the

Indian economy. While the big industries

are being restructured the economicsignificance of small and medium scale

industries cannot be forgotten.

The banking sector and the

problems faced by them in the form of

NPA cannot be ignored and RBI has

done quite a lot in this direction. The

capital market reorganization and the

privatization of insurance are some of the

other issues of the Indian economy that

should be given importance. While thedebate on the change of the FDI limit in

insurance has still not settled the

transaction tax in the capital market

operations have kept the whole issue in

the center stage of discussions on capital

market reforms leading to greater

transparency in capital markets.

The year 2005 is going to be a

watershed year in the tax administration

of the country because of the deadline ofVAT is coming due. There are lots of

discussions going on around this and

one must be prepared to write on them.

The simplification of taxation, widening

of the tax base, the service tax and

reduction of the peak duty of the customs

are the other component of economic

scenario.

Candidates are advised that they

should try and make sense of the new

economic order both in terms of their

coping mechanism as well as their

underlying rationale.


13/47

Get your facts rightV P Gupta tells students what and how to prepare for

science and technology segment for the coveted exam


Science & technology is an importantsegment of General Studies (Main)Paper II. Science & technology havealways been part of the developmentprocess that is inherent in acivilisation. Economicdevelopment is closely relatedto and dependent on thescientific and technological

research and progress madeby a nation.

The 10th Plan(2002-2007) hasobserved that in thecontext of the globaleconomic order, thefocus of the planshould be on thescience & technologysector, so as to

s t r e n g t h e napplication-oriented R& D for technologyg e n e r a t i o n ;encourage researchin and application ofscience & technologyfor forecasting,prevention andmitigation of natural hazards; assimilationof the developments in science &

technology with all spheres of nationalactivities; and harnessing science &technology to improve livelihood;environment protection and ecologicalsecurity.

This segment can be divided intoa number of themes. The first suchtheme is environment. Technologicaladvance- ment has accelerated theprocess of exploitation of the naturalresources. Interestingly, now one has todepend on technological means topreserve the environment. This leads toemphasis on sustainable development.Sustainable development is a processthat combines maintaining ecological

balance and continuing evolutionaryprocess referred to as bio-diversity.

India has been designated as oneof the 12 mega diversity states in the

world. At the sametime, there are majorconcerns regardingreversing the processof environ-mental

degradation in the formof soil, air, noiseand waterpollution, whichharmfully affectshuman life andother species.

H e a l t haccording toWHO is not merelyabsence of

diseases, but it isa state of physical,mental and socialwell-being. AfterIndependence, anumber of nation-al healthprogrammes havebeen launched for

the eradication of major communicablediseases like malaria, tuberculosis,

cancer, iodine deficiency disorders,leprosy and polio, among others. Inrecent times, major thrust has been ongenerating awareness about preventionand control of AIDS.

Energy is another important themeof this segment. Coal, petroleum andnatural gas are non-renewableresources. The renew-able resourcesare sunlight, wind, water, bio-mass andgeothermal heat. But the technologyrequired to extract energy from them iscostly and not yet available for consumeruse. We need to encourage theseresources as conventional resources arefast depleting.

Nuclear science has been a themethat gets constant attention in thequestion papers. The atomic energy isof use not only in agriculture & industry,but even in medicine. India's aim asdefined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1948is to develop nuclear research forpeaceful purposes. At the same time, onemust address the apprehensions raisedabout nuclear safety and related issueslike radiation hazard, waste disposal anddisastrous accidents.

Information technology is thebuzzword in modern times. It facilitates.politico-economic process calledglobalisation. Computers and IT related

terms are often asked in this segment.Various usages of Internet along with theissues of viruses, spam and internetsecurity provided through cyber lawsrequire special emphasis.

Defence research anddevelopment (R & D) includes India'sIntegrated Missile DevelopmentProgramme and other indigenousprojects like Brahmos - in collaborationwith Russia, Pinaka, Arjun MBT, Radar

Systems, LCA Project.Lakshya, to name a few. Space

has caught the imagination of mankindfrom the times of 'Aryabhatta' Afterindependence, the primary objective ofour space programme has been toachieve self-reliance in various fields likesatellite based resources survey andenvironmental monitoring, satellitecommunications, meteorologicalapplications; development of indigenous

satellite launch vehicle, among others.Biotechnology is the industrial use ofmicro-organisms and living plant andanimal cells to produce substances orchanges in the body cells that arebeneficial to humans. It includes themanufacture of i antibiotics, vitamins andvaccines. Biotechnology has its usagesin DNA fingerprinting, genetic mapping,cloning, medicine, stem-cell research,agriculture, environment, animalhusbandry and health.


14/47

India and the worldForeign Policy is one of the vital components of study for

the civil services' main examination, says V P Gupta

Times of India Education Times

Paper two of General Studies in the Main

Examination starts with the segment -

India and the world. It accounts for

around 50 marks out of 300 in this paper.

Earlier this was part of a wider segment

called issues of national and

international importance. But in recent

years, realising the significance of India's

foreign policy, it has been segmented asa separate area' and with focus on India's

interaction with rest of the world.

Pandit Nehru, the first Prime

Minister of India is regarded as the

architect of our foreign policy. He used

foreign policy as an instrument to defend

and strengthen India's newly-won

independence, territorial integrity and

sovereignty. His principles of

'Panchsheel' and non-alignment

remained the guiding principles forsuccessive prime ministers. During the

time of Indira Gandhi, a growing

assertiveness was quite evident in the

Indian Foreign Policy, be it victory in the

Bangladesh war of 1971 or merger of

Sikkim in 1975 inspite of the Chinese

protest. Her son Rajiv Gandhi believed

in 'travel diplomacy'. As he had no

ideological baggage to carry when he

entered politics, he could interact with

both superpowers - USA and USSR, with

equal ease during the Cold war.

The end of Cold War heralded a

new era for India too. With the beginning

of economic reform, India started giving

emphasis to 'economic diplomacy'.

Consequently, India's relationship with

major economies of the world like USA,

E U, ASEAN improved considerably.

India and Pakistan continue to

have a relationship that can be summedup as that of 'blow hot - blow cold'.

Kashmir remains the most contentious

issue, but the two countries finally seem

to agree on a 'composite dialogue' within

the sphere of bilateral ties. India's

relationship with other smaller

neighbouring countries of South Asia

improved considerably in the mid 1990s

largely because of the 'Gujral Doctrine'.

This doctrine, which became as famous

as its propounder enjoined upon India to

give unilateral concessions to the smallerneighbouring countries like Nepal,

Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and

Bangladesh without expecting any gains

in reciprocity. A significant change seen

in the recent times is the thrust given

to normalising the relationship with

China. Though we have outstanding

border disputes but they have been kept

on the back burner for the time being. At

the same time, there has been more

emphasis on enhancing the bilateraleconomic ties.

Our relationship with the USA is

the hallmark of Indian foreign policy after

the Cold War. The two countries have

found 'natural allies' in each other mainly

because of their common economic

interests, common threats from

international terrorism and common

views on international security. On the

other hand, India continues to have

cordial ties with her time-tested friend

Russia. It remains our biggest defence

partner followed by Israel. Post-Cold War

period has witnessed a change in India's

foreign policy on West Asia. In 1993, India

established diplomatic ties with the state

of Israel keeping in view our security

concerns. At the same time India has not

abandoned the cause of Palestinian

Arabs. Finally, India's nuclear policy is

an integrated part of our foreign policy.For India, its nuclear weapons are more

as a deterrent or an insurance against

extreme threats than weapons usable

during war.

The General Studies (Main) Paper

II includes international organisations

too. The United Nations is the world's

largest and most-vital organisation. It is

formed of six main organs, which are the

General Assembly, Security Council,

Economic and Social Council

(ELDSOC); Trusteeship Council,International Court of Justice (ICJ) and

Secretariat, alongwith specialised

agencies like WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO,

UNHRC and others. Then, there are

various other international organisations

like G-B or a group of world's most

industrialised nations, G-77 or a group

of world's developing countries and G-

15 or a more compact version of G-77.

There are organisations too which focus

on certain other subjects like OPEC, OIC,NATO, NAM, among others. One must

know the outcome of their latest summits

or meets, among others.

SAARC is an exclusive

organisation of seven South Asia

Countries. One can see that it has

become a victim of political rivalry

between India and- Pakistan, its two

biggest members. Still efforts are being

made to save it and the latest 'Islamabad

Summit' has ignited that process. The

European Union is perhaps the world's

most successful regional bloc along with

ASEAN and NAFTA. Finally, one can

expect questions on leading

international non-governmental

agencies like Amnesty International, Red

Cross, World Wide Fund for Nature and

Greenpeace. Needless to say, India's

involvement in these organisations

should be emphasised while preparingthis segment for General Studies Paper

II of Main Exam.


15/47

Modern Indian history requires a

chronological study. To put it straight

and simple, it will be advisable to

prepare for the revised themes unit-

wise.

British conquests and Indian

reactions

The syllabus mentions

Mysore, Punjab, the Marathasand their resistance against

the colonial power. You

should study the political,

social and economic

circumstances leading to the

1857 revolt and other

uprisings, such as tribal, civil

and peasants.

British economic policy

An important aspect of Britishcolonisation was economic

exploitation of India and its ruinous

impact on Indian society. In this regard

pro-nationalistic and Leftist ideological

viewpoints must be taken into account.

Socio-cultural aspects

It can include sub-topics like Indian

Renaissance, Christian missionary

activities, evolution of educational and

social policies and its role in rise of

nationalism in India. Other sub-topics,

such as on literary personalities like

Tagore, Premchand, S Bharati and

others; film and theatre are important

as well. It reflects a shift towards cultural

evolution of modern India.

Freedom struggle

A thorough and in-depth study of history

of Indian nationalism from 1885-foundation of Congress to 1947 -

partition and freedom is a must. This

section accounts for 90-100 marks in

Main General Studies paper too. Sub-

divide the particular unit into following

section: 1885 to 1916, which includes

early 'Indian nationalism upto 'Home

Rule' movement; 1916 to 1945, which is

the 'Gandhian era: You can start form

'Champaran experiment' to 'Quit India

movement'. The Gandhian thought and

methods of mass mobilisation should be

given special emphasis; 1945 to 1947 -

a chronological study of this portion will

be the right approach. Analyse how and

why Indian nationalism, at the end

yielded a paradoxical result, which is

partition and freedom together; other

strands of nation-al movement, which ran

parallel to the Congress movement; rise

and growth of the revolutionary terrorism;

Swarajist movement; social and

communist movements; Indian National

Army -role of Subhash Chandra Bose and

rise and growth of communalism.

Independence to 1964

This unit includes the Nehruvian era and

development of an independent Indian

polity, Constitution, planned economy

and foreign policy.

World historyThere has been a shift towards

conceptualisation and generalisation of

events than factual study of individual

events them-selves. You can start with

Renaissance, enlightenment and

socialist ideas. Similarly under-take a

study of all the major revolutions that

shaped the modern world history.

Moreover, the two World Wars have to

be studied as total wars. Going through

the new syllabus, one can safely

conclude that mastering theEuropean history can fetch

more marks now. The second

half of this section makes world

history more contemporary and

relevant. This section now

covers important portions of

General Studies' paper too.

A good book on international

politics or contemporary history

will suffice for this portion. Youare now expected to have detailed and

in-depth under-standing of the post-

World War II developments, such as the

'Cold War' and division of world into two

mili-tary blocs, NATO and Warsaw pact;

emergence of the 'Third World' and their

decision to remain non-aligned; United

Nations; decolonisation and factors

constraining development of the newly-

independent Latin American and African

countries.

At the same time you should study the

circumstances leading to the end of the

'Cold War' and the US ascendancy in

the world, as well as the disintegration of

Soviet Union, fall of Berlin wall and the

US and the UN victory in the Golf war.

Another important strand of

contemporary history is process of

integration deciding fate of nations

across the globe, which is 'Globalisation'.Continent-wise, Europe has already

achieved a major success in this regard

in the form of the European Union.

Modern historyA STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH IS NECESSARY TO CRACK

THE CIVIL SERVICES' MAIN EXAM, SAYS V P GUPTA



16/47

Study a Bygone EraBe Diligent in your Approach to Studying History for civil

services main exam, says V. P. Gupta

History, undoubtedly, remains one of the

'most popular' option-al subjects among

those who take the Civil Services Main

Examination. If you are not intimidated

by a big syllabus, this subject has a

number of advantages: it is easier to

grasp, there is no dearth of study materialand it covers an important segment of

General Studies paper on account of

overlapping themes.

A judicious mix of 'hard work' and

'right strategy' can see one through. I shall

concentrate here on second aspect, the

'right strategy'. In contrast to the Prelim

Exam which seeks to stress more on facts

and extensive coverage of themes, the

Main Exam stress on conceptualisation

behind the facts of historical happenings.

Ancient Indian history

In the new syllabus, there is greater

emphasis on sources of early Indian

history. The archaeological study of

ancient India, from the prehistoric times

to the Iron Age has gained currency now.

In archaeology, one has to keep oneself

abreast with the latest findings. The

politico-administrative history from pre-

Mauryan period - rise of Mahajanapadas,

to post-Gupta period-beginning offeudalism and centrifugal trends has

been given more significance in the

revised syllabus. You should start from

Indus civilisation and trace the evolution

upto the post-Gupta period; Major

Philosophical thinkers and schools,

wherein you should take into account

Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jain

philosophical schools. In science and

mathematics, you can start from the

contribution of the Harappans to

Aryabhatta.

Medieval Indian History

To make things simpler in this section,

you should categorise it into five

subsections: This part of the syllabus

gives greater emphasis on contemporary

historians and sources of the medieval

Indian history. Prepare them for short

questions; whereas study the Delhi

sultanate in totality. Likewise treat the

Mughals holistically, giving specialemphasis on the age of Akbar; in this unit,

include all the provincial dynasties while

the Cholas, the Vijayanagar and the

Marathas should be prepared for a major

question and for the last which is perhaps

the most important unit from the

examination point of view, you must have

a comparative and evolutionary

approach. Important topics of this unit

are: Society during medieval times;

Bhakti movement: Sankaracharya,

Ramanuja, Chaitanya, Kabir, Bhakti

movement in South India, Lingayats,

Maharashtra Dharma; Sufi-movement;

architecture from early Sultanate

architecture to the Lodis, to name a few.



17/47

A case for politicsThe Constitution is a document that the

people of India have given themselves toempower themselves, says V P Gupta


An important aspect of preparation forGeneral Studies' Papers for CivilServices Main Exam is a properappreciation on the part of students ofthe dynamics of Indian polity of which theIndian Constitution is the central theme.Hence this article is devoted to the studyof this all important document.

The framers of Indian Constitutionfaced a colossal task of coming up with

a document which could satisfy theneeds of riot just a large population but acivilisation comprising hundreds ofsocial, religious and linguistic groupsliving in a highly complicated horizontaland vertical societal matrix. Yes, it was tobe a key document giving doctrines andprinciples, which could satisfy the hopesand aspirations of one sixth of humanity.

The Constituent Assembly thatproduced the Constitution of India during

1946-49 was a reasonably representativebody with an impressive mix of talent inthe form of people like B R Ambedkar,Jawarharlal Nehru, Vallabhai Patel,Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, B N Rau andRajendra Prasad. The makers of ourConstitution defined India as a sovereigndemocratic republic in the Preamble. Byan amendment in 1976 the words'socialist' and 'secular' were added to thedefinition of Indian State. IndianConstitution is one of the lengthiestConstitution in the world, comprising aPreamble, 395 articles, divided in 22parts and 12 schedules.

The objectives before theConstituent Assembly were notonly to constitute India into asovereign democratic republicbut to secure for the citizens thebasic freedoms, justice, liberty,equality and fraternity. Theultimate idea of any constitutionis to project the aims and

aspirations of the people whoconstitute a nation. The IndianConstitution met this aim in full measure.By incorporating the words, 'give toourselves this Constitution' in thePreamble, the Constitution made it clearthat sovereignty is rested with the peopleof India whose will is supreme. Thus it isa document given by the people of Indiato themselves.

The principle of democratic

governance is embodied in aparliamentary system, along the samelines as the British Westminster model,at both the centre level, and at the level ofthe states and union territories. Anindirectly elected President is the headof the State at the Centre and the centrally-nominated governors and lieutenantgovernors are the heads of State of theconstituentStates and Union Territories

The principles of individual freedoms andcollective human rights, civil liberties andsocial justice are declared in thePreamble, enumerated in the chapter onfundamental rights, set up as goals in thechapter on directive principles andreflected in many special provisions forthe Scheduled Castes, ScheduledTribes, other backward classes andothers.

The principle' of a centralisedfederation is evident from the distributionof powers and responsibilities betweenthe' Union and constituent states. Certainoverriding powers were assigned to theUnion, while other crucial powers have

been delegated to the states and UnionTerritories. The principle of judicialcustodianship allows the powerful judiciary to oversee the working of theConstitution and to ensure its workingaccording to the rule of law.

The principle of change andtransformation permits the Constitutionto be amended from time to time, not onlyto resolve temporary problems but toallow updating of its provisions, to meetthe needs of a dynamic society and thusto ensure that the overall objectives ofthe Constitution are being pursued andachieved, without any disruption in thetask of building a strong nation and a

caring society through changing times.The form of government

Our Constitution sets up parliamentarygovernment both at the Centre and thestates. Parliamentary governmentembodies the following essentials: Theprovision of a nominal executive head ofthe State who acts exclusively with the'aid and advice' of a Council of Ministersor Cabinet.

The Cabinet, which is the real

executive, consists of leaders of a party,or of a coalition of parties, who havesupport of the majority in the lower oflegislature.

The Prime Minister occupies adominant position in the Cabinet. Heappoints ministers and assigns to themtheir offices.

The responsibility of the 4 Cabinetis collective. The Cabinet acts as a body.Ministers stand and fall together. From

this it follows that the Cabinet must, in allcircumstances agree. If there is adisagreement among the ministers,either the Cabinet as a whole or thedissenting minister or ministers mustresign.

Parliamentary government, as it isunderstood works by the interaction offour essential factors: the principle ofmajority rule; the willingness of theminority for the time being to accept thedecisions of this majority rather than bysectional interest and finally the l.existence of an articulate and clear bodyof political opinion in the society.


18/47

The right choice of a proper optional

subject for Civil Services' Preliminary

Examination is very crucial for success.

In this context, sociology has become

quite popular In Civil Services

Examination due to its interesting

subject-matter, scoring nature and the

content of the syllabus prescribed by theUPSC. No formal degree is required for

opting sociology as an optional paper for

the Preliminary and Main Examination.

The subject matter of Sociology is the

study of society itself in which we live.

The field of Sociology covers interesting

range of themes that touch every aspect

of man's life in society.

Sociology in the youngest of therecognised social sciences. Auguste

Comte in France Coined the word

'Sociology' in his 'Positive Philosophy'

published in 1838. The word 'Sociology'

is derived from the Latin root 'socious'

meaning 'society and Greek root 'Logos'

meaning 'study or science'. The

etymological meaning of Sociology' is

thus the 'science of society'. Thesuccessful emergence of sociology as a

separate discipline was due to the failure

of other social sciences to adequately

give a complete picture of society. Thus,

sociology appeared when it was felt that

the other fields of human knowledge do

not fully explain man's social behaviour.

Sociology is often defined as the

scientific study of man's social life.Human beings behave differently when

compared .to other animals. They have

unique forms of group life, they pursue

customs, develop institutions, and create

values. Sociology applies scientific

methods to the study of these

phenomena. It also analyses the

influence of economic, political,

technological, cultural and other forces

and factors on man and society. It throws

light on various social problems likebeggary, overpopulation, crime, suicide,

among others.

Sociology has developed as a

value neutral discipline. It is concerned

with what is and not with what ought to

be. The values which a society upholds

and which influence the social behaviour

of man are accepted by sociologist as

'facts' and these are analysed objectively.

Several perspectives are used in

sociology. Each views society from a

different view point. The 'evolutionary

perspective' concentrates upon the

sequences through which changing

societies pass, the 'interactionist

perspective' focuses on actual day to day

inter-actions and behaviour of persons

and groups, the 'functionalist perspective'sees society as an inter-related system

in which each group plays a part and

each practice helps the system to

operate, the 'conflict perspective' sees

continuous tensions and group struggles

as the normal condition of society, with

stability and value consensus being

carefully contrived to create illusions

which protect privileged groups. Eachperspective is used, to some degree, by

most sociologists and is needed for a full

under-standing of the society.

The syllabus of sociology for

prelims is divided into 10 units which are:

Basic concepts pertaining to society,

community, social groups, status & role,

among others; marriage family and

kinship; social stratification; types or

society; economy and. society; industrial

and urban society; social demography;political process; weaker section and

minorities and social change. Broadly,

the whole syllabus can be divided into

three main parts, namely concepts,

institutions and theories.

The general strategy for the

preparation of sociology especially for the

Prelims' Exams includes: The first and

the foremost task should be to preparethe specific concepts, theories and

institutions mentioned in the syllabus;

refer to some good sociology dictionaries

whenever you find a concept difficult to

understand; at the same time, one must

keep in mind the model and format of

the previous years' question papers; one

should solve Model Test Papers and

evaluate himself; one must pay attentionto the time management aspect and

there should be an overall time limit for

attempting the model tests; it is essential

to complete study of the entire syllabus

in a balanced manner without neglecting

any section.

Familiarity with the thinkers like

August Comte, Karl Marx, Herbert

Spencer, Emile Durkhiem and MaxWeber who made notable contribution

to establishing Sociology as an

independent discipline is essential.

INTERESTING READINGSOCIOLOGY IS ONE OF THE POPULAR SUBJECTS OF

STUDY IN THE CIVIL SERVICES' EXAMINATION,SAYS V P GUPTA



19/47

Mission-IAS 2005A Comprehensive presentation on the Nature of

Preparation Required for Civil Services' Exam, held on May26, 2004 at the India Habitat Centre Provided an insight into

the coveted test, says Pallavee Dhaundiyal-Panthry

Nothing can be more charming and

reverential than a career in Civil Services

(CS). That is why lakhs of aspirants

appear for the Civil Services Examination

(CSE) each year and strive for a few

hundred seats. Conducted by the Union

Public Service Commission (UPSC), theCSE is considered as the

toughest exam in the country.

In an endeavour to

provide an insight into the

examination as well as the

services, Education Times in

association with the Rau's IAS

Study Circle organised a

seminar titled 'Mission - IAS

2005', at the India Habitat

Centre on May 26. Addressed

by V P Gupta, director, Rau's

Study Circle; A R Khan,

consultant at the institute; and Neeraj

Sinha, faculty member, the four-hour

seminar witnessed the presence of over

500 students and their parents.

Providing an overview on the

examination, Khan said: "The CSEthrows a lot of opportunities to the

aspirants while offering a diverse range

of jobs. There are in all 24 services

including Indian Administrative Service,

Indian Police Service, Indian Foreign

Service, Indian Revenue Service and

Indian, Customs and Central Excise

Service, to name some, offered through

this single examination."

Cracking the UPSE. is not a pieceof cake. Since the introduction of Indian

Civil Services examination in 1855,

things have changed beyond imagination

and the selection procedure to the CS

has 'become much more rigorous.

Today, the UPSC conducts three stages

of tests - preliminary exam, main exam

and finally a personal interview. Khan

made presentations on compulsory and

optional papers. Speaking on the

marking scheme, he remarked, "The

preliminary exam consists of two

objective type papers and carries a

maximum of 450 marks where as, the

General Studies (GS) is for 150 marks

and anyone of the optional subjectscomprises 300 marks. Here, to get a

score of 325 in total is considered good

enough."

According to Khan, the actual

exam starts at the mains level, for it

consists of nine papers including an

Indian languages (300 marks), English

language (300 marks), Essay (200

marks), two. papers on General Studies

(300 marks each), two papers of chosen

first subject (300 marks each) and two

papers of second optional subject (300

marks each). The four optional subjects

are to be selected from the list of 26

optional subjects.

The total marks for the written papers of

the main exam, for ranking purpose, is

2000; without counting the marks of two

language papers, which are merely

qualifying in nature. The other papers of

only those candidates are evaluated who

have obtained minimum qualifying

marks, as fixed by the commission, in

the papers on Indian language and

English.As far as eligibility to appear for

the preliminary exam is

concerned, a candidate must

hold a degree of any university

incorporated by an Act of the

Central or State legislature in

India or recognised by the

University Grant Commission.

He or she must have moreover,

attained the age of 21 years andmust not have attained the age

of 30 year on August 1 of the year

of the examination. The upper

age limit is relaxable up to five years in

case of SC/ST; three years for OBCs; and

10 years for physically challenged

persons.

Speaking about the examination

preparation, Gupta explained, "Anybody

who works systematically and seriously,

will get through the exam in his first or

second attempt at the maximum. One of

the basic problems confronted by the

aspirants of the CSE is regarding the

selection of optional subject. One should

normally select at least one subject,

which one has studied during graduation

or postgraduation or the one which

interests you. While preparing,

candidates must follow the pattern of

previous years' question papers."



20/47


The preparation for the CSE

should commence at least one year prior

to the preliminary test and must devote

equal time to all subjects and general

studies. Gupta said: "You have to have a

flexible as well as achievable timetable,

not a rigid one, Things should definitelybe planned, but at the same time, your

timetable must allow some time for

unplanned things."

Gupta said: "Students must

understand that output of each person

differs from the other. So, to give an exact

time slot for a day is not possible. But on

an average seven to eight hours of study

per day is considered good enough for a

student provided he enjoys the act of

accumulating knowledge."

Besides, Gupta stressed on some

techniques for effective learning and note

making. "A deep insight into a subject is

vital. Notes are a must to prepare for the

exam, but they should not be copied

down from books. Point-wise strategic

notes with key words are enough to

memorise chapters. Notes shou

(articles) rauÆs ias study circle, v. p. gupta

Documents