This is question set #32 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.
Note from Clear IAS Team
It has been more than 30 days since we launched the Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing segment, and we have seen some excellent answers from many serious participants in the program. We have also noticed great improvement in the answer quality and comprehension skills in regular participants. Our vision is to cover most of the important conventional and current topics for mains, so that serious and deserving aspirants who participate in this free program are always one step ahead in the competition. Regarding evaluation, we have so far tried to give overall guidelines in writing a good, high value answer. In the coming days, we plan to award marks so that aspirants will get realistic idea about the UPSC expectations and quality they need to maintain in the answer.
Please note: Last year the toppers’ marks for General Studies varied from 300-400 out of 1000. (2013 CSE AIR 1, Gaurav Agrawal scored 338/1000 for GS). This means, 4 marks out of 10 for every answer in UPSC exam was excellent performance as far as 2013 mains GS was concerned. So our marking scheme too would be keeping those figures in mind. Please have a look at our marking scheme for coming days:
- 0.0-1.9/10 – Not satisfactory.
- 2.0-2.4/10 – Average.
- 2.5-2.9/10 – Good.
- 3.0-3.9/10 – Excellent.
- 4.0+/10 – Exceptional.
Questions for Answer Writing – Selections for today:
- Essay Paper: Scientific progress in Ancient and Medieval India. (1500 words)
- GS 1 Paper: [Indian History/Peasant Revolts] – Trace the reasons for the major peasant movements in India. What were the outcomes? (200 words)
- GS 2 Paper: [Social Justice/Transgender] Recent Supreme Court Judgement recognizing transgenders as third gender puts them in a strange situation: on the one hand, they are now legally recognised and protected under the Constitution, but on the other hand they may be breaking the law if they have consensual gay sex. Critically analyze. – (200 words)
- GS 3 Paper: [Internal Security/Military accidents] Repeated accidents in the defense sector, particularly in Indian Navy is a serious concern. Examine this crisis in India’s defense preparedness. (200 words)
- GS 4 Paper: [Ethical dilemmas] Is capital punishment an ethical action in your opinion? Analyze the ethical aspects of death penalty in detail. (200 words)
Archives of Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Test Series
You can access archives of Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Test Series from the hyperlink. Aspirants are advised to check the model answers and feedback given for previous entries to write better answers.
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Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing is a free program from ClearIAS.com. Any UPSC aspirant, interested to polish his/her writing skills or to learn the art of writing high value answers to boost the score in UPSC Civil Services Mains can participate in it. The official team from ClearIAS.com may review selected answers, and guide aspirants to improve the answer structure. Fellow aspirants, experienced candidates or toppers can also comment and suggest improvements for each of the answers. The platform is free and open to public with a view of better sharing and learning. You can read more about the Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Test Series objectives and rules in the hyperlink.
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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GS 3 Paper :
Since last August there have been almost 11 accidents claiming the lives of 21 sailors and officers. Be it INS Sindhurakshak where 18 members on board were killed,the recent tragedy of INS Sindhuratna where two sailors died or INS Kolkata where an officer was killed on inhaling carbon dioxide-all of them have one thing in common-they belong to the elite fleet of submarines of the Indian Navy.These tragedies are a grim reminder of the deteriorating conditions of the long aged set of submarines which should now be disposed off . Such cases are demotivating for the entire navy fleet who rely heavily on these to protect the thousand kilometer stretched Indian maritime boundary.
India’s long term submarine building plan of 1999 lays only in papers according to which 24 submarines had to be built in 30 years and not even one has been delivered. At the same time the first six will join only in 2015-18. The next six await government’s sanction. Moreover, a line of frigates and destroyers being constructed in Mumbai are four to five years behind schedule. These shortfalls perhaps help one understand as to why there is long delay in their scrapping. Hence,in a short term the navy can attempt to at least keep them updated with fixed regular checkups of its working. Though this is only a temporary solution. The long term goal should however be to speed up the process of inducting new vessels in a systematic and orderly manner . This then can aid in making Indian Navy improve their power and presence in the vast expanses of Indian Ocean and help it live up to its tag of the Indian Navy.
Clearias, waiting for your feedback .
Marks 2.5. Sorry for the delay in evaluation Chaudary. Suggestions: Refrain from the newspaper reporting style in the answers. You have the abilities and points, just need to change the style to suit UPSC exam requirement. Overall good.
Thank-you Clear ias that was indeed motivating. I shall try my best to transit from the newspaper style to UPSC centric answers. Hopefully in the upcoming answers you will be able to see the improvement.
Hi,
I have often wondered on this… the ideal structure for UPSC answers,
like if there is a statement and then a slightly related question, should we cover the statement?
should we add introduction and conclusions in each type of question?
what are the unique styles of answer for unique styles of questions?
Would you please guide us on this? (types of questions and answer templates)
Thanks!
GS 4 Paper: [Ethical dilemmas] Is capital punishment an ethical action in your opinion? Analyze the ethical aspects of death penalty in detail. (200 words)
Ans. In my opinion Capital Punishment (CP) is unethical.
There are various ethical issues related to the CP. Not all religions justify CP. The cost of prison is more than the cost of execution but at the same time human should not take the position of God to take away life of human. CP once given and misjudgment found later can’t be rectified so to correct oneself opportunity should be given. If it is said that Capital Punishment deters crime but there is hardly any evidence that the states where CP is given and less crime is observed. The utilitarian society says that the offender may repeat the crime and is threat to society in general but it is also responsibility of the state to correct such persons. The “eye for eye” justice logic used to give CP is also against the basic human rights and human nature. The morality of governance is not displayed by Capital Punishment but by correcting the guilty. Many Western Countries are doing away with the CP and when the the governments in developing countries becoming welfare government the CP is an issue to be handled more carefully. The foremost reason for this opinion is that “two wrongs do not make a right.”
Marks: 2.5. Probably a better style of presentation would have given better visibility to your points.
Trace the reasons for the major peasant movements in India. What were the outcomes? (200 words)
Ans
With the establishment of East India company, the agrarian society came under change-
1) New system of Zamindari, Ryotwari and Mahalwari were imposed on the farmers.
2) Estates were established and other farmers were forced to grow crops like indigo.
3) With larger taxes and monetisation, moneylenders came, who were given police protection even when the interest charges were exorbitant.
4) Tribal systems were usurped and placed under exploiting Zamindars.
Major rebellion with category and outcomes-
1) Against rising taxes-
– Tibhaga rebellion- the taxes were reduced to 1/3 as the demands were.
– Khera satyagraha- under Gandhiji, the taxation was relieved till the famine ended.
2) Against forced cultivation-
– Indigo rebellion- Farmers were granted more freedom in cultivation.
– Champaran Satyaghara- under Gandhiji , a commission was formed with Gandhiji as a member and as its suggestions farmers were granted more freedom.
3) Against moneylender and repressive landlords-
– Moplah rebellion- the rebellion was crushed brutally by british after rebellion turned communal.
– Ramosi satyagraha- the farmers burned records but was forcefully put down.
4) Tribal uprisings-
-Kols, Santhals and Mundas along with many others in North east and central India rose up against intrusion in their way of life and giving away their land to outsiders. For example, Santhals under Sidhu and Kanhu opposed British and outsiders. However most of these rebellion were crushed with force.
Marks : 3.0.
Recent Supreme Court Judgement recognizing transgenders as third gender puts them in a strange situation: on the one hand, they are now legally recognised and protected under the Constitution, but on the other hand they may be breaking the law if they have consensual gay sex. Critically analyze.
Ans,
In the recent case regarding reservation of transgender as OBC for their social and educational upliftment, the government had asked for clarification of gays, lesbians and bisexuals inclusion under transgenders. The SC clarified that transgenders included only the eunuchs and not the other categories. Hence the recognition as third sex to transgenders was given based only on anatomy.
However in the case regarding turning of article 377, relating to sexual acts, the SC clearly refused to take a stand and asked the legislature to take a stand on the issue.
The reasons for selection of anatomy over self-identification could be due to reasons as simple as ease of identification. Also, the social status of eunuchs was in need of urgent protection due to more visible distinction, widespread prejudice and unease in dealing with government organisation.
On the other side, article 377 in India is not socially pressed and people are not incarcerated due to their sexual preferences. Therefore the question isn’t as pressing form human rights point of view. So they may be breaking law but they aren’t actively persecuted for doing so.
Despite the above arguments, it must be observed that there is haziness regarding legislation and recognition of LGBT rights which needs to be cleared and their right to life with dignity ensured.
Marks : 2.5. Good observations, but needs to polish the answer. At times losing connection between the sentences.
avi…your answers r very appropriate bro.is this your 1st attempt..
Yep first attempt 😛 PS: im still working and no coaching, im learning how to write here only 😛
Repeated accidents in the defense sector, particularly in Indian Navy is a serious concern. Examine this crisis in India’s defense preparedness. (200 words)
Ans
The prolonged lack of funding during 1980s and the slow decision making afterwards has left Indian defence forces lacking in many areas-
Accidents-
– IAF suffered crash of an AN32, cheetah helecopter and a Hercules transport aircraft. It has only 34 squadrons compared to sanctioned 44.
– Navy suffered accidents in recently refurbished kilo class submarines Sindhughosh and Sindhurakshak, the former rendered unusable.
Delays in procurement or contract-
– IAF is suffering from delays in all three crucial aircraft projects; Tejas, MMRCA and FGFA.
– Naval aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) was delivered only after large delays.
Lacks in crucial weaponry-
– Army is lacking in Howitzers to replace Boforce guns. It is also in need of new rifles and automatic machine guns.
– Indian Coast guard is still incapable with lack of marine aircrafts.
Other factors-
– Loss of morale due to cases of human rights abuse and land scams.
– Severe need to fill the officer ranks.
However there have been positive developments too
– Use of IT in defence forces like implementation of EMOLS system.
– Fast growth in ship construction industry like construction of indigenous aircraft carrier and nuclear submarine. Its role in anti-piracy and relief is commendable too.
– Naval satellite G7.
In conclusion, Indian Military preparedness is growing at steady pace, however much needs to be done.
Marks : 2.5
Is capital punishment an ethical action in your opinion? Analyze the ethical aspects of death penalty in detail. (200 words)
Ans
Capital punishment is not ethical. The momentum for banning capital punishment has been increasing in recent years and both international human rights organisation and UN have spoken against the practice.
Following are the ethical aspects related to the issue-
– Sharing of responsibility; is the responsibility of deviation with the criminal only or should society also take share and not condemn them to death.
– Turning of decisions; in many cases decisions are often turned in light of new evidence. We have realised that evidence that was considered absolute earlier is not under doubt. With capital punishment there is no turning of decision.
– Right to take life; many societies believe that only god has the right to take life and for humans to take this decision is unethical.
– Failure to humanely let people die; cases of failure of various methods of capital punishment and people dying in agony.
– Chance to reform; the whole aim of criminal conviction should be for people to correct and return as functional members of society. Death penalty denies this.
Marks:2.5.
1. GS 2 Paper: [Social Justice/Transgender] Recent Supreme Court Judgement recognizing transgenders as third gender puts them in a strange situation: on the one hand, they are now legally recognised and protected under the Constitution, but on the other hand they may be breaking the law if they have consensual gay sex. Critically analyze. – (200 words)
The landmark judgment of the Supreme Court created the “third gender” status for transgenders and asked the Centre to treat transgender as socially and economically backward; allowed admission in educational institutions and given employment; devise social welfare schemes for them and run a public awareness campaign to erase social stigma. The states must construct special public toilets and departments to look into their special medical issues.
The verdict pertains only to eunuchs and not other sections of society like gay, lesbian and bisexuals.The section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalises sexual activities against the order of nature.The act, under section 377 is a non-bailable cognizable offence which means the police can break into any house and pick up a couple they suspect of being homosexuals under the claim of preventing a criminal activity and getting the person out will depend on the wish and attitude of a judge. The police has been known to harass them. The question arises why the Articles of the Constitution – right to equality, non-discrimination, speech and expression, autonomy have been not granted to them.
The way to move forward is to amend the law or file a review of this decision in the Supreme Court. A correct appreciation of the evidence would pave the way for the court to reach the conclusion that the LGBT population faces grave discrimination and abuse.
Marks 2.5. Did you notice the irony in the present situation? On one side they are recognized, but they don’t have right to consensual gay sex. That was the crux of the question.
Hey! if SC recognised eunuchs as third sex wouldn’t sex for them still be heterosexual and not homosexual?
so can we state in our mains answers that there is a consistancy in the decisions and not an irony?
GS 3 Paper: [Internal Security/Military accidents] Repeated accidents in the defense sector, particularly in Indian Navy is a serious concern. Examine this crisis in India’s defense preparedness. (200 words)
Ans. The defense preparedness of India is definitely in crisis and the same has also been clearly expressed by a serving Army Chief in the recent past. The situation can be analyzed under following categories-
Man-Power: There is an acute shortage of officers and Other Ranks i defense, specially Medical officers, pilots, navigators etc. The changing nature of warfare requires tech savvy officers and we need to pick up them aggressively. HR related issues like suicides,salary, career progression etc needs to be sorted out to enable the forces concentrate on defense issues.
Arms and Ammunition: We are still dependent on import of arms and ammunition and persistent delay in defense procurement plagued with scams in deals is affecting the preparedness hugely. Aging fighter planes’ fleet in Army, Navy and Air Force (frequent accidents resulting into loss of trained pilots) is weakening the backbone of armed forces. Navy is short of Oil Tankers, Stealth frigates (delayed delivery) and only two operational Aircraft Career. The fleet of submarines are getting depleted due to recent accidents and on the other hand the Pakistan and China are increasing their naval capacity and trying to containing India under “String of Pearls”.
Exercise and International Collaboration: Recent times have seen increased international defense exercises like TROPEX etc with Japan,USA,Australia etc. The stock of regular basic arms and ammunition in defense is also standing depleted courtesy to delayed defense production and international deals. With changing geo-political scenario and disturbances in Ukraine Russia Israel, our dependency on import of major defense equipments can be disastrous so import of technology and indigenous production be promoted for the long run and opening of FDI in defense is a good step in this regard. Huge Nuclear Warheads in Pakistan and China is tilting balance toward them. No first nuke use policy India and threat of slipping of nuke weapons to non state actors in Pakistan poses dual threat to India.
Modern Warfare: Cyber Security, Espionage are emerging issues which needs more attention. State promoted hacking from China and state sponsored terror from new routes and means have asked for new dimensions of preparedness. Anti-Satellite weapons and issues related to Coordination between ISRO and AIRFORCE over space/satellite uses must be ironed out in time.
Other issues: The defense forces are now being frequently used for Disaster Management, Riots and Law and Order purposes also, which deviates them from focusing on core defense preparedness. Therefore there is need to empower NDRF and CAPF(BSF,CRPF etc) more and rely less on Armed forces for these issues.
The faster decision making and pragmatic approach for faster technical all-round up-gradation of armed forces is most important for high level of preparedness and to secure ourselves.
Marks: 2.0. Amrit, you didn’t read the question properly. Try once again. Qn: Repeated accidents in the defense sector, particularly in Indian Navy is a serious concern. Examine “this crisis” in India’s defense preparedness.
What a blunder I did and you noticed. Thanks a lot. More than this question and answer, it is the core lesson which I must apply on all the questions.
Buddy! as a defence.pk fan id like to add a few points on this 😛
some errors in your points-
– fighter planes are not with army.
– India has clear policy of non-militarization of space for now.
– 2 is just enough number of aircraft carriers for now, consider another is in production. There are other more pressing issues with navy! infact of all 3 navy is doing best in production but worst in operation now.
– Indian navy is comparable to Chinas and far better than Paki, string of pearls is not related to naval capacity but to strategic port development activity
Also try to break down the sentences 🙂 example –
“With changing geo-political scenario and disturbances in Ukraine Russia Israel, our dependency on import of major defense equipments can be disastrous so import of technology and indigenous production be promoted for the long run and opening of FDI in defense is a good step in this regard.”
This ones needs amputation 😛
But you brought out some really good points which I totally missed (guess you too are defence.pk fan?)-
– nascent cyber wing
– shortage of medical officers
best of luck!
GS 3 Paper: [Internal Security/Military accidents] Repeated accidents in the defense sector, particularly in Indian Navy is a serious concern. Examine this crisis in India’s defense preparedness. (200 words)
Ans : defense preparedness has three vital , interrelated components i.e. plan , budget and procurement . in india , there are glaring gaps in these components .
defense planning in india is not rigorous as recommended by GOM few years back to set up CDS i.e. chief of defense staff to undergo 2 important functions
– prepare integrated plan for the three forces
– ensure holistic development of the national capabilities through inter and intra services prioritization
these recommendations were not accepted by the ministry of defense . instead there is ad hoc arrangement i.e. headquarter integrated defense staff which is toothless in planning .
approach in our defense services is budget maximization through big ticket purchases by individual services rather than focusing on critical gaps . absence of effective monitoring system to ensure whether the plan is implemented or not adds to the crisis .
absence of resource commitment and that too long term commitment ensures degree of ad hocism which is not good for our defense . in india there is annual commitment and that too depends on the economic and fiscal situation of the country . this leads to fluctuations in the growth of annual defense allocations .
the procurement process is also not without inherent faults . the allocated money is not fully spent which hinders the modernization of our defense services . qualitative requirements is the first step in procurement process which determines the most cost effective equipment . any deficiency here
leads to retraction of the bid causing delay or costly procurement . another concern is of accountability . acquisition functions are diffused between service headquarters and acquisition wing of MOD . no single player can be held responsible .
blacklisting large numbers of defense contractors is also impacting our defense procurement .
in 2013 , government came up with defense procurement procedure introducing some changes . how it gets implemented is yet to be seen . these issues need immediate address as india grows economically , its military abilities have to grow hand in hand , if only to safeguard its economic interest .
Marks: 2.0. Dhillionz, you started well, but didn’t seem read the question properly. Try once again. You missed the accidents aspect. Qn: Repeated accidents in the defense sector, particularly in Indian Navy is a serious concern. Examine “this crisis” in India’s defense preparedness.
yes sir , u rightly pointed out the error . the answer was in general to defense sector .
thanku sir for review .
GS 1 Paper: [Indian History/Peasant Revolts] – Trace the reasons for the major peasant movements in India. What were the outcomes? (200 words)
Peasants was the integral part of indian national movement. Infact, it was one of the first section which aroused their voice against British and jamindar atrocities.
1. Economic and physical exploitation
2. Victim of double curse- nature(Drought) and excessive imposition of taxes
3. They were forced to grow cash crops(indigo) instead of food crops that resulted in large number of famines and hunger
4. Oppressive policies by british- permanent settlement, ryotwari settlement, mahalwari settlement
5. Middlemen atrocities- violent means of collection
6. No security of land – their lands used to be seized when they were unable to pay the taxes rendering them landless laborers
Some of the major movements were- Indigo movement, Moplah uprising in Kerala, Champaran satyagraha by Gandhi, Tibhaga movement, Khera satyagraha.
Though they were not able to achieve full fledged freedom, or rights they deserved, but indeed they made a dent, which resulted in piece meal concessions(relax in taxes to 1/3rd of cultivation in tibhaga movement) and sometimes immediate reliefs(waivers of loans during famines). Mostly the movements were given the color of communal instead of class based. Because most of the times, oppressed community was Muslim by Hindu Jamindars, which ultimately laid the roots of communalism.
Marks 3.0. Good. You could have mentioned about peasant unions.
GS 3 Paper: [Internal Security/Military accidents] Repeated accidents in the defense sector, particularly in Indian Navy is a serious concern. Examine this crisis in India’s defense preparedness. (200 words)
There have been 11 accidents involving Indian Navy ships and submarines since last August. The accidents of INS Vikramaditya, INS Sindhuratna, INS Shivalik,INS Sindhurakshak, INS Matanga had raised serious questions about the safety of ships and submarines. Another submarine, Sindhughosh, touched bottom while leaving the dockyard in Mumbai – this has nothing to do with her age but more with faulty navigation.These incidents are alarming and the defense minister instead of ordering just enquiries and leaving the matter thereon should have seriously taken interest to get to the bottom of the matter.
Another issue is that the government has allowed the force level of submarines to fall to alarmingly low levels.The issuance of Requests for Proposals (RFP) to commence a second line of submarine construction and repair is awaited. The Navy’s dire need for submarines and multi role helicopters, where selection has been completed was not followed up by the MOD. The warships are often retained in service long after they should have been scrapped.
Our indigenous defence research, development and production were aimed at providing some degree of self-reliance to the defence needs but 63 years later they have failed the nation on this count. China is surrounding India with a ‘string of pearls’ with its attention currently centred on the eastern Pacific and its proximate waters. The Indian Navy will have to speed up warship building and streamline its weapons-development processes as well as resolve the safety issues that have reflected so negatively on an otherwise well-regarded force.
The refining of India’s procurement procedures which has been ongoing, even if slowly would ensure a steady flow of running spares which will reduce the chances of malfunction-related accidents.
Marks 3.0. Suggestions : You could have framed the quoted sentence better. “…the defense minister instead of ordering just enquiries and leaving the matter thereon should have seriously taken interest to get to the bottom of the matter.” Apart from Navy, you could have touched army and IAF in brief. IAF chief has already commented about the lack of fighter air-crafts. But overall good comprehension of the question.