Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing: Test Series -12

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This is question set #12 of ‘Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Test Series’. Mains High Value Answer Writing is a UPSC mains oriented program from ClearIAS.com that consists of 5 questions in each post, published around 8 pm every day. Each of the 5 questions are selected from 5 papers mentioned in UPSC Mains syllabus namely Essay, GS1, GS2, GS3 and GS4 (ethics). Selected questions of high probability to be asked UPSC mains are included in each of these mini tests. Aspirants can choose any question they wish to answer in the comment space provided below, specifying the question number and question topic.

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Questions for Answer Writing – Selections for today:

Essay Paper: Is cricket the hindering the growth of other Indian sports and games? (1500 words)
GS 1 Paper: [World History] – The modern power balances as we see today is the result of second world war. Critically analyze this statement. (200 words)
GS 2 Paper: [International Relations/NAM] – Analyze the significance of NAM in the globalized world. (200 words)
GS 3 Paper: [Indian Economy] – What do you mean by Technology missions? Discuss the technology missions initiated by Indian government? T(200 words)
GS 4 Paper: [Administrators/Leaders]– Analyze the position of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan among modern Indian Philosophers. Discuss his contributions in the field of philosophy and ethics. (200 words)

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Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Test Series -1

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PS: Aspirants can select any question they wish to answer in the comment space provided below specifying the question. Answering 3-4 questions, does not take much of your time. But for those who engage regularly in answer writing, the resultant score improvement in actual UPSC exam would be exponential.

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21 Responses to "Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing: Test Series -12"

TALEB'SECONOMIST says:

September 14, 2014 at 10:04 pm

[World History] – The modern power balances as we see today is the result of second world war. Critically analyze this statement.

Answers:
The 2nd world war ended with the centre of power shifting from europe to the USA and Russia. The present geo-political situation owes much of its existence to the power plays just after the 2nd world war.
Position of USA- with the end of the war, a bipolar world was created. The tensions between USA and USSR led to the cold war. Finally with the dissolution of the soviet russia, the cold war ended along with formation of newly independent CIS countries. This resulted in a unipolar world with the USA as its centre. With the rise of countries like china due to rapid economic growth and manufacturing and its supplies to USA alongwith its reserves of dollar, the position of USA seems to be challenged. This has led to the re-orientation of US’s policy towards asia in creation of the ‘pivot to asia’.
Europe- the erstwhile colonial powers weakened after the world war 2. These countries were assisted by the USA through financial aid programs, thus the USA could leverage its position in europe
NATO- was created to challenge the USSR in east europe. In response, russia created the warsaw pact. However even after the end of the soviet era and disbanding of warsaw pact, the NATO continues its existence and continues to play a significant role in the current conflict in the ukraine.
Israel-palestine issue- this controversial conflict was a result of creation of the state of israel in 1948.
India- with the demographic dividend and economic growth, is seen as the emerging power. The erstwhile colony was made independent by the british after the effects of the world war 2. It has come to play a significant role in the sub-continent as a leader amongst the SAARC countries as well as in the rise of asia.
Power balances reflected at international fora-
The dominant role in organisations such as the IMF, World bank, WTO is played by the developed countries.The UNO was created after the war with the objective to establish world peace. However many of the UN resolutions such as those on syria, sri lanka, ukraine were guided by the USA. However with rise in blocs such as the BRICS, BASIC, the cooperation amongst these countries is intensifying.

Thus modern power balance though was resulted from the second world war, geo-political scene remains as dynamic as ever with the position of USA being challenged after the financial crisis and downturn.

Reply
1. ClearIAS.com says:
  
  September 15, 2014 at 8:11 am
  
  Though you started well, at times you seem to deviate from the question. A closer look at the question will help in better critical analysis.
  
  Reply
Alpa says:

September 15, 2014 at 10:20 am

GS 2 Paper: [International Relations/NAM] – Analyze the significance of NAM in the globalized world. (200 words)
NAM is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.Some appraise while some criticize the significance of NAM today.
NAM relevant and valid:
1. Reforming and strengthening the United Nations.
2. Encouraging south-south co-operation
3. Consolidating the movement through necessary reforms
4. Many countries acquiring its membership
5. Existence of multipolar world
6. Framing a concrete economic agenda for a just and fair international economic order.
7. Spectrum could be further enlarged with the increasing concern worldwide over environmental issues, health concerns, drug trafficking, poverty and unemployment mostly within the NAM members and LDC countries
NAM irrelavant and invalid:
1. Cold war has ended
2. Non-existence of bipolar world
3. Trends towards disarmament gaining momentum
4. Collapse of communist blocs and de-idealization of world politics
5. Unclear vision
6. Not taking firm stand on world issues
7. Other groups such as G-7, ASEAN, BRICS being more effective

The current politics makes NAM equally relevant today. The NAM has to redefine its role in the changed international situations and to articulate and implement appropriate strategies and approaches.

Reply
1. ClearIAS.com says:
  
  September 15, 2014 at 10:45 am
  
  Lot many quality points. Good. One suggestion : You could have started from the origin of NAM (just 1 line, about the origin and main objective).
  
  Reply
SAURAV says:

September 15, 2014 at 11:22 am

IS CRICKET HINDERING THE GROWTH OF OTHER INDIAN SPORTS AND GAMES..?

India exhibits it’s unique feature ie “Unity in Diversity” in almost all spheres of life ie caste,religion,class,language and even sports. Eventhough Hockey is the national game of India, other games like Cricket,Football,Tennis,Boxing,Shooting etc have aficionados in India.
In order to understand the reasons for the wide acceptance of cricket in India,the nature of both the game and that of Indian society need to be studied in detail.Even though the game ‘Cricket’ as such is not hindering the growth of other Indian sports and games,there are many odds which prevent those games from getting public support in India.
The first definite reference to cricket being played anywhere in the sub-continent is a report of English sailors of the East India Company written in 1737. It refers to cricket being played at Cambay, near Baroda in 1721. The first Indian ventures into international cricket were by the Parsees cricket team which toured England twice in the 1880s.
The very nature of the game is the reason for both the wide acceptance of the game and the widespread commercialisation of the game. Cricket includes eleven players in team and hence is a team game which attracts children and youth. The game also includes lots of free slots between overs which became the slots for advertisements and hence commercialisation. This also helped to increase the appeal of the game.Moreover it being a lengthy game keep the youth engaged and entertained for a pretty good time.
Cricket can be played in any field or open ground.It is an outdoor game which is very cost effective in the sense that it can be played with locally available materials as bat and ball.The very same reason hinders youth from costly games such as Badminton and Tennis , where the requirement of an indoor stadium, a well marked court, costly rackets etc becomes a burden. The requirement for frequent replacement of the damaged shuttle corks is a problem which makes the game of Badminton costly.
The public interest in the game of cricket was even boosted by the performance of the Indian cricket team in various international tournamants.The game got much government and public support after the 1983 world cup victory.Whereas due to lack of proper training and government support the quality of national hockey and football teams are very dismal that they do not even qualify to play many international tournaments.
The game of cricket has helped immensely in integrating the hopes and aspirations of Indian youth in various parts of the country.It has aslo helped India to improve the diplomatic relations with many of it’s neighbours like Pakistan and Bangladesh through various friendly matches and tournaments.Legends in Indian cricket like Kapil Dev,Sunil Gavaskar,Sachin Tendulkar etc have helped to raise the ‘Brand India’ tag and has become Indian cultural relations across the globe.
But after the 1991 economic liberalisation,the game of cricket got a lot more commercialised. The Indian Premier League(IPL) AND Twenty-Twenty culture, eventhough increased the popularity of the game,has made it more commercialised and profit oriented. IPL also became the reason for the promotion of regionalism to some extent.The spot fixing and match fixing scandals has revealed the various dimensions through which a game can be misused to promote vested interests.The governing body BCCI is widely criticized for it’s lack of transparency and accountability. The matter has worsened to such an extent that Bcci do not even bother to send the Indian team to various championships like Asian games.
Moreover the government attitude to reward and promote the game of cricket alone also has deteriorated the condition of other games in India.Highest civilian awards like Bharat ratna even came under criticism for it’s alleged biasing towars cricket players.Other games like Boxing,Badminton,Tennis etc suffer from lack of adequate number of acaemies for training and from lack of foriegn trained coaches.
Achievements of players like Saina Nehwal, P V Sindhu in Badminton,Sania Mirza in Tennis, Deepika Pallikkal in Squash,Mary Kom in Boxing,Abhinav Bindra in shooting,Tintu Luka in athletics etc have helped the Indian flag to fly high in various national and international championships including olympics.India satiates it’s hopes and aspirations in olympics with the victory of players other than that of cricket as cricket is not even a competing sport in olympics since it does not have an international presence.

Even though the basic purpose is for commercialisation ,the recent initiatives like Indian Badminton League(IBL),Pro kabbaddi etc have helped to increase the popularity of these games.India being the host of various prestigious tournaments for various games will help to increase the awareness about those games. This trend was evident from the chess tournament held between Vishwanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen at Chennai which helped to enormously increase the awareness about chess in India,
So it has been proved many times that these games and sportspersons have the potential to raise the prestige of India in international events.So the government need to come up with a holistic sports policy which aims for the development of all games and sports,their infrastructural development and training.
So it is not the cricket that is hindering the growth of other games and sports in India .Instead cricket can definitely help to unite the diversity of India and can help to promote a sports culture in India.So it is the mentality of India that need to be changed from the “Culture for Cricket” to a “Culture for Sports”.

Reply
1. Amrit says:
  
  September 15, 2014 at 12:27 pm
  
  Good One Surav. As very few essays are being written here, you seems to be an inspiration for others and me. Keep inspiring us. 🙂
  
  Reply
2. SAURAV says:
  
  September 15, 2014 at 12:58 pm
  
  clearias plz review my essay
  
  Reply
  1. ClearIAS.com says:
    
    September 16, 2014 at 9:50 am
    
    Dear Saurav, appreciate the effort. Essay writing demands much more time than other questions in this test series, but the effort spend will fetch you bigger results. And about your essay : we rate it as an average essay and there are many areas to improve. But being your first one, there is nothing to worry. A few tips:
    1. Give a better introduction and conclusion.
    2. You are often deviating from the essay topic; stick to the question.
    3. The nature of the game, time slots etc. are good points. Think in that direction.
    4. Examine why other sports are not getting the same popularity of cricket.
    5. You need to have an opinion, and try to explain/prove that opinion with examples.
    6. Keep writing. Read good essays. That’s the best way to improve essay writing.
    
    Reply
    1. JUMBOS says:
      
      September 24, 2014 at 3:16 pm
      
      IS CRICKET HINDERING THE GROWTH OF OTHER INDIAN SPORTS AND GAMES?(1500 WORDS)
      INTRODUCTION
      Sports is always looked as an area which gives humans the much needed energy, concentration and enthusiasm. The origin of sports in India can be traced long back right from the prehistoric times where we engaged in indoor games as well as outdoor games. The era of colonization has exposed Indians to various arenas of sports like basketball, cricket, chess, tennis etc. Among these the national sport of British gave an illusion of omnipotent sports so that our Indians got attracted to it largely. But at the same time other branches of sports too started taking its root in Indian soil. The attractiveness of cricket is still in its youthful stage while other areas of sports started witnessing mature stages .This could be attributed to the fact that world of cricket has its own effective parameters which helped it to carve its own space while comparing to other sports in India. In this essay we are trying to analyze the parameters such as gully cricket, brigade of moral and role of media etc which helped to have an edge over other sports and as a result hindered the growth of other sports
      ORIGIN AND FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN INDIA
      The origin of this game can be traced back to a place named Weald, near London. Initially played by the children of the farmers of the region, today it is the most popular sport after Soccer. The entire history of cricket in India and the sub-continent as a whole is based on the existence and development of the British Raj via the East India Company. Cricket club of Mumbai marked the beginning of interest of Indian people in cricket India became a member of the “elite club” joining England, South Africa,New Zealand and the West Indies in June 1932. India’s first match in Lords against England attracted a massive crowd. India was lead by CK Nayudu at that time. India was sixth team then to play the test cricket. India was considered a weak team in the Cricketing Circuit for long time and people used to have match for practice. But the story changed in 1983 by carrying the title of world champions. Now Cricket is considered to be a religion in India.
      FREEDOM STRUGGLE AND CRICKET IN INDIA
      Cricket played a significant role in the formation of national character in colonial India; paradoxically it was as a member of the England side. K.S.Ranjitsinghji an Indian member played for British in a test at Manchester scored 62 and 154, which helped the Britain to lift the cup and stimulated Indian nationalism. In ‘Indian Spectator’ news paper published in London by Sir William Hunter wrote ‘Prince Ranjit Singji’s performances amount to a new discovery of India. For the first time British accepted India.
      INNINGS AFTER THE INDEPENDENCE BY BEATING ALL OTHER EVENTS
      First Indianwin in foreign land came in England under Ajit Wadekar in 1971 and then in West Indies courtesy double century by Sunil Gavaskar the common folks turned hysteric. Back home the team scripted many historic thanks to fabled spin quartet of Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna and Venkatragavan. As dedicated fan bases solidity of Gavaskar was created and slowly cricket creep into the minds of Indians.All these changed post 1983. Led by India’s finest all rounder Kapil Dev the team pulled off a seemingly impossible win to clinch the World Cup. The mass euphoria that followed was heightened by the happy accident that TV sets were starting to enter homes of Indian middle class. Thus with live telecast of matches even in smaller centres cricket became the default option for kids. An entire generation of cricketers emerged taking the game to new heights.
      Hockey, our national sports unfortunately followed a reverse trend. India 8 times Olympic Gold Medalist fell off the international radar roughly around the 80’s. Failing to adopt to the artificial turf and to the new rules which made the game far more physical, Indian hockey floundered and that resulted in a dip in its popularity. Playing hockey was no longer “cool” even in traditional centers. After Dhyan Chand and Dhanraj pillai Indian hockey failed to boost an iconic player which is essential to attract the crowds. On the contrary cricket was blessed with lots of iconic players like Sunil Gavasker ,Kapil Dev , and its still passing through Dhoni and Kholi. Fan followers even considering Sachin Tendulkar as a god of cricket that itself show the depth of cricket in Indian minds.
      Gully cricket
      The possibility of this form of cricket known as gully cricket made cricket to reach the lowest levels of society. gully cricket is a kind of cricket in which there are no strict rules and it could be played anywhere with any number of people. In almost every street or pathways, one could see a group of youngsters involved in gully cricket. Presence of kids and interestingly girl children is one among the scintillating features of gully cricket.
      We know India is endowed with a large number of slums and hardly any slum with children doesn’t have possibility of gully cricket .just like streets of brazil and Africa where the common folk play football, in India the poor forget their hunger via gully cricket.
      The emerging flat culture and corresponding lack of space also promotes gully cricket even among elite class of society. The fact that gully cricket doesn’t need a large amount of space is the single biggest attraction. Here the boundaries are shorter , rules are amusing and entertainment would be in its peak.
      The possibility of playing hockey, kabbadi, basketball, shooting etc in streets are limited .Even if football could be played, cricket far outweighs football in mind of Indian youth who has deep rooted following of cricket.
      UNCHALLENGED DEMEANOUR
      Cricketing diplomacy has always helped to ease tension and normalize our relations with other countries. The past matches of India Pakistan and India SriLanka stands testimony to this. The limited coverage of cricketing nations with other sporting giants like USA and china’s Exclusion has earned India a much needed space to win laurels . Such advantage is not available to other games .In chess despite powerful Anand we have a Magnus Carlsen from Norway to defeat him. In Olympics we have Chinese dragon which quickly swallows all golden medals before our Indian elephant have a look it. In tennis even though Sania Mirza ,Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes have shined they could not match the standards of Serena Williams ,Federer etc. Indian athlets would have to wait for decades to match with the lightening speed of Usain Bolt. But the rosy picture of cricketing arena provides certain good examples which Indians could be proud of. Even though the limited coverage provided Indians the cushion Our Indian team has conquered almost all the titles at international arena. Such glory has made cricket to raise up the ladder of popularity while compared to others sports
      ORGANISATIONAL SET UP
      Board of control for cricket in India is the main organizing body of cricket which has done commendable jobs in organizing world cup and various other International events. Its strong commitment has earned India to have a great voice in International Cricket Council and several Indians has served and serving its top posts. No state is without cricketing boards which we witness rarely in other sporting events. These cricketing Boards used to compete themselves at state level like Ranji trophies thus integrating state wise relationship. On the other hand India is still recovering from the shambles of Sochi Olympic Where Indians could not compete under Indian national flag due its inability to follow the election standards of International Olympic committee. Also the past records of these in conducting Common wealth Games paints a sorrow picture. World sporting event was plagued by corruption scandals and poor infrastructure facilities. Such events has disappointed Indians to larger extent . Even though BCCI too plugged in controversies of IPL its ability rectify its mistakes and conduct events has instilled its confidence in people. This could be witnessed by the strength of recently concluded IPL.But on other side Hockey , football ,volleyball has not seen such facilities. The infrastructural facilities are in dismal state and these players could not practice efficiently .At such Scenario they were forced to the situation to avail foreign Infrastructure which they could not avail because they are very costly. The cricketing scenario witnessed 180 reversal to this situation. We have wonderful cricketing academies at Bangalore, Chennai Where players from other countries used to train. Such rosy picture could be attributed to BCCI ability to garner crores of money and spending them to develop such facilities. Such an powerful presence of organization has provided a thrust in its development which others could not do it .
      ROLE OF MEDIA-SPONSORS-AND MONEY!!!!!
      The single biggest reason for the fact that cricket made itself as ‘THE MOST VIEWED SPORTING EVENT’ in India is undoubtedly due to hype and publicity it got via media. with the newspaper in early 1900,later through magazines, radio, television and now via internet – cricket has become synonymous with media culture in this country of 1.21+ billion. With such a huge population hardly any one doesn’t know about KAPILDEV,SACHIN TENDULKAR ,or MS DHONI
      Entertainment is what any sport offers. Cricket despite of being lesser nail biting compared to football, was taken to every nook and corner of this country via media. The divine status accorded to cricket player has a greater share of media along with their talent. The no of MP’s and MLA’S from cricket proves the argument.
      Advertising agencies understood this possibility early and a series of ads were made with cricket celebrities while legends from other sports were brutually ignored. One cannot imagine a PT Usha, Karnam Malleswari OR Dhyan chand in place of Tendulkar saying” BOOST IS SECRET OF MY ENERGY”.
      Along wih advertisers came sponsors and money was pumped into this sport. With advent of twenty-twenty and IPL more than cricket its the glamour quotient that is being highlighted. It is Quite crazy an analysis to know that it needed a Sania mirza, Saina Nehwal or Deepika pallickal etc for other sports to have commercial value purely because these women were good looking while men like Gopichand or Dhanraj Pillai were frequently ignored. Yes cricket stars have been blocking the cover page of magazines and one couldn’t find a channel like Star cricket (exclusively dedicated for cricket ) among other sports.
      Conclusion
      By analyzing various social economic and political dimensions like gully cricket, sponsorship, presence of MP respectively it is clear that cricket holds an upper hand over other sports in India. That cannot be considered as the end of other games. Cricket itself is spreading ray of hopes for other games. After 2011 the light shown by IPL has some glorious effects on other sporting events. This can be clearly understood through the emergence of Indian hockey league, Pro kabbadi league, and Indian football league in the pipeline. The iconic players of cricket are acting as brand ambassadors, also owning the franchise as well as cheering the team. Once NASA was believed to be hindering the growth of ISRO since it is the popular space organization. By taking lessons from NASA, ISRO succeeded MARS mission in highly efficient manner than its counterpart.
      
      THE END
      
      Reply
      1. JUMBOS says:
        
        September 24, 2014 at 3:18 pm
        
        RESPECTED CLEAR IAS
        I have come across site yesterday and this is my first essay.Kindly spare your valuable time to have glance on this
      2. A.R. NARAYAN says:
        
        September 25, 2014 at 8:13 am
        
        NICE WORK
Amrit says:

September 15, 2014 at 11:26 am

GS 2 Paper: [International Relations/NAM] – Analyze the significance of NAM in the globalized world. (200 words)
Ans. The NAM, born in two polar world has entered in present multi polar world and therefore its significance is bound to be questioned. However, it is evident from the recent global developments that the international relations are still evolving as hang over of WW II only, whether it is Russian interventions in southern Europe, French approach towards Syrian Crisis, Israel-Palestine issue is concerned. With emergence of China and new nuke-capable countries like India, Pakistan, North Korea the balance of power has dispersed but consolidation of nations around USA, Russia, China is still relevant. Most of African nations are members of NAM and recent Arab spring has thrown a challenge in these countries to maintain their democratic system and sovereignty and for that NAM is relevant. International scenario is so grave that tensions is prevailing in different regions (Scotland& Ireland issue, Middle East, West Asia, Southern Europe, South China Sea, South Asia) and neutrality NAM countries ,the second largest international block after UN, is relevant more than ever. The globalization, WTO and IMF growing influence have also made NAM more significant. The forthcoming NAM summit of 2015 will further strengthen its significance. However, the neutrality of NAM should not result into inactivity, rather it should be more proactive in resolving issues both military and humanitarian issues like Tamil issues of Sri Lanka, containing of Ebola in Africa, TFA of WTO and ISIS neutralization etc.

Reply
1. SAURAV says:
  
  September 15, 2014 at 12:57 pm
  
  good one .but divide into paragraphs
  
  Reply
Amrit says:

September 15, 2014 at 12:07 pm

GS 1 Paper: [World History] – The modern power balances as we see today is the result of second world war. Critically analyze this statement. (200 words)
Ans. The second world war resulted into complete end of colonialism and many Asian African and Latin American nations became independent. It also led to creation of new free states in Europe and creation of NATO. It gave rise to cold war and led to dissolution of USSR in the long run. The world today has become globalized and many new multi nation blocks like, SAARC,CSO,APEC,BRICS,BIMSTEC, etc have come up. These blocks are power in themselves controlling major population and economy of the world. The proximity between Russia and China and Russia and Japan is reverse of outcome of WWII. However the Japan and China relationship is still dictated by WWI outcome. The domination of NATO nations in UNSC is still there however China and Russia have been the neutralizing factor. All European countries are still influencing their colonies in Africa and are sympathetic towards them. Emergence of strong and aggressive Russia under Putin and “Containing Russia” policy of NATO has strengthened rivalry between USA and Russia. The globalized economy, WTO and climate change challenges has brought the developed world together and developing world together. Different trade blocks have broken the psychological affiliation which was existing after and prior to WWII. Emergence of new Nuke-capable nations has diversified the power of the globe. Summarily, some parts of the world are still in the hangover mode of WWII and some parts have come out of it and have been tilting the power balance in their favor like China, India Japan that’s why the 21st century is going to be Asia century where as the WW II saw Europe and America’s century.

Reply
Avi says:

September 15, 2014 at 3:37 pm

1. GS 1 Paper: [World History] – The modern power balances as we see today is the result of second world war. Critically analyze this statement. (200 words)
Ans.
The modern world was a result of actions after WW2. These can be compared to WW1 to envision the emergence of current world system.
1) Colonies weren’t made independent, infact German colonies were re-distributed amongst winners. After WW2 a wave of decolonisation occurred creating the countries of today.
2) After WW1 Germany was penalised by victors, leading to resentment and rise of Hitler. After WW2, Germany and Japan were helped rebuild without any force of guilt.
3) After the WW1 Leage of nations didn’t see enthusiasm and soon nations reached agreements outside the LON. After WW2 however, UN emerged as a powerful organisation which has been used by nations to avoid confrontations for long.
4) The end of WW1 saw the rise of Facism and ethnic hatred was on rise. However after WW2 there were two ideologies, capitalism and communism both of which were against ethnic segregation.

There were also some trends that had begun in early 20th century reached their perfection after WW2-
1) The end of kingdoms. After WW2 there was a thrust on democracy and many nations including India get rid of Kingdoms.
2) Religion lost its prominence, as secular governments rose in all parts of the world. Also, with the fall of Caliphate, modern states rose in the erstwhile territories.
3) Middle east, South east Asia and Africa were divided by the victors to create the modern divisions. While they are based on ethnic lines in South east and southern Asia, they are often random in middle east and Africa.
4) With rise in monetisation, new organisations like IMF, WTO and WB came up to regulate trade and finances.

Reply
Alpa says:

September 15, 2014 at 3:56 pm

GS 3 Paper: [Indian Economy] – What do you mean by Technology missions? Discuss the technology missions initiated by Indian government? (200 words)

The “Technology Mission” was the brain child of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. The mission was started as an offshoot of the Seventh Plan in the fields of literacy, immunization, oilseeds, drinking water, dairy products and telecommunication.Technology Missions focused on the key human needs.

The technology missions initiated by Indian government are:

1. Technology Mission: “Winning, Augmentation and Renovation for Water” – to undertake research-led technological solutions on war footing for different water challenges being faced
2. Technology Mission on Immunization – protect people from vaccine preventable diseases
3. Technology Mission on Oilseeds, Pulses and Maize – to increase the production of oilseeds to reduce import and achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils
4. Technology Mission on Literacy – imparting functional literacy to the population
5. Technology Mission on Telecommunication – improve service, dependability, and accessibility of telecommunications across the country, including rural areas
6. Technology Mission on Dairy Development – to accelerate the growth of rural incomes and employment through dairy development
7. Technology Mission on Cotton – To improve the yield and quality of cotton, to increase the income of the cotton growers
8. Technology Mission on Horticulture – address entire spectrum of horticulture from production to consumption through backward and forward linkages.
9. Technology Mission on Coconut – make coconut farming competitive and ensure reasonable returns

The advantage of working through the missions is that, they break up the process of change and delivery into manageable tasks in the form of a package program with the aim of country.

Reply
1. Avi says:
  
  September 15, 2014 at 9:17 pm
  
  Did you use a specific source for this answer? I didnt fine much!! itll be really helpful if you can share.
  
  Reply
  1. Alpa says:
    
    September 15, 2014 at 10:01 pm
    
    @ Avi
    
    the sources are :
    http://www.sampitroda.com/technology-missions/
    Rest like missions on horti,coconut I found it by google
    
    Reply
Avi says:

September 15, 2014 at 4:33 pm

1. GS 2 Paper: [International Relations/NAM] – Analyze the significance of NAM in the globalized world. (200 words)
Ans.
Non Aligned movement came into existence in 1961 as a counter to the USA and USSR led blocks that the world was getting divided into. Today 120 countries are its members which cover 55% of the world’s population. However most of the nations member of the organisation are from the third world with often high poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition levels. This gives it a mixed position in world.
Importance-
1) It has been able to keep peace in the world by creating the buffer between NATO and Russian/Chinese spheres of influence. Though declining after the fall of USSR, it is again important due to resurgent Russia and China.
2) It has enabled member states to trade and interact freely with opposing world powers. A good example of this is the difference between treatment vetted to Ukraine and India.
3) Create a platform for unification and pressing of needs of third world nations in international organisations like WTO and UNO.
Non- Significance-
1) With the fall of communist ideology, most of the nations have accepted capitalistic ideas to different degrees and are positive towards USA.
2) With rise in regional organisations like ASEAN, OECD, SAARC, OPEC, EU etc. there is a trend for regionalisation over international co-operation.
3) More countries have expressed desire to join organisations like NATO recently.
4) The world is no more bipolar, but multi-polar often with overlapping interests.
5) NAM nations have failed to put up a united front in many international organisations.

Reply
Avi says:

September 15, 2014 at 5:17 pm

1. GS 3 Paper: [Indian Economy] – What do you mean by Technology missions? Discuss the technology missions initiated by Indian government? T(200 words)
Ans
Technology mission were undertaken to improve performance in India to reduce dependence on imports and achieve self-sufficiency. For oilseeds it was launched in 1986, pulses in 1991, oilpalm 1992 in and maize in 1996. Later the schemes were merged into Integrated Program for oilseeds, pulses, oilpalm and maize (IPOPOM).
After the success of the program, it was extended to other produces too.
1) Technology mission for technical textile: aimed at improving testing facilities, standardisation, and creation of resource centres and excellence center in phase 1 and promotion of import and export and promotion of entrepreneurs in phase 2.
2) Jute technology mission: to improve the quality and quantity of jute production; provide better quality seeds; improve skills of workers; improve infrastructure and strengthen raw material storage.
3) Technology mission for Horticulture: improve production for horticultural crops by testing, training and providing good quality plants.
4) Sugar technology mission: aimed at improving the technology of existing factories to increase efficiency and eco-friendliness.

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Random says:

September 17, 2014 at 7:31 am

The concept of NAM(Non aligned movement) given by Jawahar Lal Nehru came in the wake post world war when the international politics was divided between two blocs- one led by US and other led by USSR. The aim was not to align with any of these blocs and maintain the independence in international matters.
Though it doesn’t mean the neutrality from outside world but having the freedom to decide each issue on its merits, to weigh
what was right or wrong and then take a stand in favour of right. At that time it advanced the process of demoratization of internationa relations by having saying of these countries in UN. The concept hold relevance today also but in a restricted manner. Due to increasing interdependence among countries, the interest has to be kept all above. Moreover, at that time priorities were different immedatelty after independence, that is, more focus development rather than aligning to certain military pact. In todays world, it has become impossible to stay aloof from international activities and getting involved with some biasness is inevitable. Though the essence remains almost same for India which is not to align blindly, and weighing pros and cons of a situation and taking action accordingly. Our varying stands in UNSC resolutions is a testimony to this.

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