This is question set #38 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
We have been noticing great improvement in the answer quality and comprehension skills in regular participants in Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Program. 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. We have already seen many excellent answers from serious participants. Regarding evaluation, in the first 30 days, Clear IAS Team had been giving overall guidelines to write a good, high value answer, but in the coming days, we plan to award marks, so that aspirants will get a 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: 100 years of Indian Cinema. (1500 words)
- GS 1 Paper: [Indian society/Mcdonaldisation] – What is Mcdonalization? Find out examples of Mcdonaldization from contemporary Indian society. (200 words)
- GS 2 Paper: [Governance/BAS] What is the significance of Biometric Attendance System (BAS) in good governance? Examine the criticisms of the same. – (200 words)
- GS 3 Paper: [Science and Technology/Space Research] Starting from the very first home built Aryabhata satellite, launched from Russia in April 1975, Indians have come a long way in space research. List out major achievements of India in space research. (200 words)
- GS 4 Paper: [Public Administration/NPM] Distinguish between Public Administration and Public Mangement. What are the criticisms about New Public Management? (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.
Rules and Regulations: Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing
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.
GS 2 Paper: [Governance/BAS] What is the significance of Biometric Attendance System (BAS) in good governance? Examine the criticisms of the same. – (200 words)
Ans. The biometric attendance systems verifies presence of employees thought unique individual marks like iris, finger print etc. In good governance, this system will play significant role in many ways-
1. Ensure timely presence of officials in office
2. Easy to have macro view by HQ about field offices
3. Reduce absenteeism and thereby increase faster delivery of public services
4. The 2nd ARC has also emphasized larger role of such system to usher in good governance.
5. Extremely helpful in crisis management as real time data for presence of officials available.
6. A System linked Attendance Management System (AMS) also provides real time info about work flow and point of pending along with time duration.
7. The recently introduced Attendance Management System by GoI enable linkage of attendance with Aadhar and thereby further helps in tracking movement of officials on duty.
8. Helps in HR Management as reports of attendance by AMS helps in HR related decision making in big way by providing absent and presence data.
9. Ensures government servants accountability towards public and seniors in larger way.
10. With Digital India Mission and ICT intervention in PRI to GoI institutions, the Aadhar linked AMS is path breaking step in ensuring good governance.
11. For regular and contractual employees, this biometric attendance may be linked with payroll system also.
12. It is also helpful in information security as well because access to office and system can be tracked.
The biometric attendance is criticized for being too expensive but the return on investment is higher. Although the extracted data from biometric for the same person is not 100 % same every time but when they are viewed along with other information, authentication can be assessed. The fear that biometric attendance systems are harmful for eyes or for body is hardly substantiated and is merely mindset to maintain status quo. The criticism that huge data will be generated and will be difficult to maintain, secure and use them can be mitigated with Big Data Concept and other improved legally approved IT Security measures.
Marks 3.0
GS 1 Paper: [Indian society/Mcdonaldisation] – What is Mcdonalization? Find out examples of Mcdonaldization from contemporary Indian society. (200 words)
Ans. Mcdonaldisation is a process of mixing of diverse culture where one culture is definitely western culture and others may be Asian,Indian African or others. The key characteristic of this process is transformation of traditional eating pattern into fast-foods. Other than the fast food the general characteristics of Mcdonaldisation are Efficiency,Calculability, Predictability, Control and culture. Mcdonaldisation although started much earlier but the fast urbanization of society, globalization of world economy, increased international migration and migration towards urban centres, growth of service sector, nuclear family and increased working married couples, rich midle class, are responsible for fast Mcdonaldisation of Indian society. Huge youth population, IT boom promotes the fastfood culture mote than anybody else.
The examples of Mcdonalidsation in Indian society are-
1. Mushrooming of Chinese fast food stalls and presence chains of McDonald,PizzaHut, Dominnos are easily visible across cities and they are now even seen in small towns.
2. Road Side dhabas and hotels on highway are now being replaced by fastfood chains like McDonald etc.
3. The linking of students for Pizzas and noodles in tiffin and short brakes is evident.
Positive impact- In fast-paced life,mcdonaldisation provides time advantage and are not so costly so middle class cna afofrd the same. Long working hours in Private Sectors does support fast foods than regular meals as it is hassle-free.
Negative Impact- Mcdonaldisation reduces people to people interact and intra family communications get affected. The traditional foods are becoming les popular although Bikanerwala/Haldirams etc have come up with similar chains of traditional foods. The adverse health effect like obesity,early age cardiac problems are common in newer generation due to high contain of Sodium calorie etc.
Dear ClearIAs,
Its a wild attempt as heard this term first time and wrote as per genuine understanding. 🙂
GS 1 Paper[Indian society/Mcdonaldisation] – What is Mcdonalization? Find out examples of Mcdonaldization from contemporary Indian society. (200 words)
McDonaldisation refers to the process of growing influence of MNCs in modern day economies and societies. Mushrooming “McDonald” like MNCs in every part of the world is symbol of growing process of Globalisation and Information Revolution transcending national boundaries and developing global culture of the global village. Today we celebrate the goods and services of same quality, same variety and same name or brand in most of our urban cities. It is more an urban phenomenon with limited reach in villages as of now but the strong invisible hand of market, with most of the World economies moving towards free markets, Mc Donaldisation is sure to become a pervasive phenomenon.
The great shift of 1991 transformed the direction of economy from self-reliance to export promotion, made India open to McDonaldisation and infact our own Private Sector pursued expansion to make “McDonalds” like MNCs of their own. Increasing FDI limits year after year imply growing number of MNCs in Indian market. Majority of our population is brand conscious youth who are eating burgers at McDonald, sipping coffee at starbucks and wearing clothes from Levis. The brand consciousness has been reflected in birth of major e-Commerce sites like flipkart and amazon providing easy access to brands merchandise. Modern day advertisement, seen today on Indian Televisions, is a multi- billion dollar industry that testifies the growing McDoanaldisation in Indian Society.
Though it may be detrimental to local producers and domestic retailers, it cannot be denied that McDonaldisation has been in favour of consumers with lot many choices available he can go for maximum utility satisfaction which is natural outcome of irreversible shift towards liberalisation.
1. GS 4 Paper: [Public Administration/NPM] Distinguish between Public Administration and Public Management. What are the criticisms about New Public Management? (200 words)
The difference between Public Administration and Public Management are:
Public Administration
– Determine policy, goals, objectives
– Top-level authority
– Mostly connected with government offices and organizations
– Decisions are based on govt. policies and politics
– Deals with overall business of organization
Public management
– Implementation of policies and procedures to achieve goals
– Middle – level authority
– Connected with business enterprises in private sector
– Decisions made keeping in view profit, manager’s opinion
– More concentrated on relationships among employees
NPM is a set of policies to make the public sector efficient. It emphasizes on managerial improvement and restructuring; markets and competition. The criticisms of NPM are:
– Not a definitive set of measures
– More authority to public managers to manage programs promoting centralization
– Risk associated with adapting some practices of private sector
– Public sector has more complexities and intricate accountabilities
– NPM model originated in few rich countries could not be directly transferred to poor countries
– Lack of expertise and unreliable information systems in developing countries
– Lack of basic infrastructure in developing countries to support market oriented reforms
– Necessary enforcement laws not established
– Difference in public expectations
(Words: 199)
GS 1 Paper: [Indian society/Mcdonaldisation] – What is Mcdonalization? Find out examples of Mcdonaldization from contemporary Indian society. (200 words)
Mcdonalization term is coined by George Ritzer and is based on Max Weber’s concept of rationalization. It is the process of replacing traditional and emotional thoughts with logically consistent rules. Ritzer identified four main principles of Mcdonaldization: predictability, calculability, efficiency, and control. The task is broken down into smaller tasks and then rationalized to find single efficient method for their completion. It describes the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society. The shift from quality to quantity, the forced compliance of consumers, omission of learning experiences are some of the negative impacts.
Examples of Mcdonaldization from contemporary Indian society
– Proliferation of fast food chain – McDonalds, Dominos, Pizza Hut, KFC
– Use of internet for research and assignments; the libraries have become obsolete
– Use of ATMs for cash transfer & withdrawal, paying utility bills, opening FDs
– Online shopping is one step forward than visiting shopping malls
– Vending machines – just put money and get the product
– Education – admissions on calculated scores; rules and guidelines to follow; teachers teach what is in the lesson plan and nothing extra promoting efficiency
– Matrimonial sites – reducing time to look for a partner
– Recreation – tours and travels taking care of lodging, transportation, dining etc.
(Words: 216)
Marks 3.0. Alpa, you are trying to stick to the word limit, which is really good. So make sure the points you add within this word limit are 1) 100% relevant 2) conveys the idea completely. We feel that you can omit certain points but you need to elaborate some of your points for better clarity.
GS 3 Paper: [Science and Technology/Space Research] Starting from the very first home built Aryabhata satellite, launched from Russia in April 1975, Indians have come a long way in space research. List out major achievements of India in space research. (200 words)
Space research in India seems to have started from the ancient period with eminent scientist contributing their knowledge towards astronomy. However organized space research was started with the Indian space research agency – ISRO which is displaying the talents of India to the whole world with its indigenous and cost effective technologies.
Satellites such as the INSAT series, and Indian Remote sensing series are far greater than other country’s satellites for their quality and robustness. Followed by IRNSS series for accurate navigation and GAGAN for civil aviation are also some of the notable development. Building of indigenous rocket technology such as the PSLV(polar orbit), GSLV(geo synchronous orbit ) and GSLV MkIII (for heavy lifting) has also travelled a long way in the evolution of Indian space research.
Extraterrestrial exploration:-
Chandrayaan -1 India’s first lunar mission which also became the first in the world to discover water in moon.
Mangalyaan- Mars’s orbiter Mission has placed several milestones in global space research.
The achievements of Indian space research have contributed to various fields ranging from telecommunication, military, academic, biodiversity and medicine with the future plans including the 2nd mission to moon – Chandrayaan2, Mission to Venus, Sun Exploration project and development of crew vehicle.
(~200 words)
Marks 3.0
What is Mcdonalization? Find out examples of Mcdonaldization from contemporary Indian society. (200 words)
Mcdonalization has taken its roots from globalization.globalization leads to domination of culture of powerful economies on less powerful economies resulting world start look more like the dominate powers wishes it to be.this often called as mcdonalization.
Mcdonalization has both positive and negative impact on culture ,political and economic environment.
It leads to westernization of culture often called as cultural homogenization which create suspicion among countries that it endanger their rich heritage.
Mcdonalization impacts food habits of people now they prefer more junk foods which leads to obesity,change in life style more preference to western cloth instead traditional attires,children s are prefer to take pizza,sandwich in lunchbox and mushrooming fast food restaurants.
despite the adverse impact on culture it has some positive impacts also as culture is not a static element it is dynamic it has modify culture without overwhelming the traditional like burger is no substitute for dosa it simply increase consumers choice,now women work in MNC’s lead to their empowerment, so does not pose real challenge.
Clear IAS Kindly review .donot know what else can add
Clearias kindly review.
4.GS 3 Paper: [Science and Technology/Space Research] Starting from the very first home built Aryabhata satellite, launched from Russia in April 1975, Indians have come a long way in space research. List out major achievements of India in space research. (200 words)
India’s advancement in space research has send a strong message that India is not just a land of snacks and charmers. Some of the major achievement of India in Space technology are:
1. Indian’s Mission to Moon: : Chandrayaan 1 was launched in 2008 to detect the presence of water molecules on lunar surface.
2. PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle): A workhorse Launch Vehicle which proved India’s crucial autonomy in ‘access to space’.
3. Indian Cryogenic engine GSLV-D5: Recently it has been successfully tested and more trials are to be conducted. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch vehicle (GSLV) will enable ISRO to place 2 tonn satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
4. INSAT satellites: It played a vital role in commercialising the communication system providing services like Tele-medicine, education, DTH etc.
5. Satellite Navigation: India is pursuing satellite navigation programme to provide position and navigation information through Indian Regional Navigation Satellite system (IRNSS). Out of the seven satellite constellation, one was launched in 2013 and rest are under construction.
6. Remote sensing satellites like RISAT-1 was launched in 2012 and INSAT-3D was launched in 2013.
7. Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM): Mangalyaan was successfully launched in November, 2013 and has been successfully placed in Mars orbit recently in September, 2014.
(207 words)
Marks 4.0
Marks 3.0
Marks 2.0.
Marks 2.0
Marks 2.0