UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice Test 10 GS 1 & 2

11. Are we losing our local identity for the global identity? Discuss. (15 Marks)

12. What are the major provisions and powers of the National Commission for Backward Classes? How far a constitutional body can ensure the rights of the individual? Substantiate quoting the past experiences of India. (15 Marks)

13. Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India remain mere show pieces until and unless they are backed by political will’. Discuss with reference to the performance of the major poverty alleviation programmes in India. (15 Marks

14. “Self Help Groups (SHG) have succeeded in delivering financial inclusion, but for them to evolve as business enterprise requires a different approach.” In light of this statement, examine their role in rural development and the measures taken by the Government of India to promote them. (15 Marks)

15. The education system has a direct bearing on the quality of our human resources. In light of the statement analyse how the newly proposed National Policy on Education try to solve the issue of quality in the education system of India? (15 Marks)

Answers

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1. Name any two legal initiatives taken for the protection of girl children. Analyze how far they have succeeded in their stated objectives. (10 Marks)

Answer: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs data shows that India is one of only two countries along with China where female infant mortality is higher than male infant mortality. The extent of deprivation girl child faces in her life is clearly visible from this.

The legal initiatives taken for the protection of girl children in India are:
●Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act: It attempts to effectively address the heinous crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children through less ambiguous and more stringent legal provisions.
● It incorporates child friendly procedures for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and trial of offences.
● The Act recognizes that the intent to commit an offence needs to be penalized.

● Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986: It designates a child as a person who has not completed their 14th year of age.
● It aims to regulate the hours and the working conditions of child workers and to prohibit child workers from being employed in hazardous industries.

Other major legal initiatives include the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 which was enacted to stop female feticides and arrest the declining sex ratio in India.

Analysis of the legal initiatives:

●Government has set up Special Courts under Section 28 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for each district for the timely disposal of the cases.National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights has been mandated for better monitoring of the implementation of POCSO Act
●But the closure rate of POCSO cases was just 31% across States and Union Territories.
●With the enactment of the Child Labour Act,1986 the number of child workers between the ages of five and 14 in India reduced drastically in India. The number came down from 12 million to about 4.3 million by 2011 Census.
●The amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 however slashed the list of hazardous occupations for children from 83 to include just mining, explosives, and occupations mentioned in the Factory Act.
●In effect it legalised the child labour in so many industries which can be detrimental.
Suitable amendments are required to reduce the deprivations faced by girl children in India. Laws have to consider the gender inequality, patriarchal mindset of the society and a biased favour to the male child etc. in the society to address the grievances of girl children.

2.Examine how Indian secularism is distinctive from the western model of secularism? Discuss. (10 Marks)

Answer: A secular nation,means there is no discrimination between various religious denominations and state does not endorse any. For example Pakistan has Islam as it’s official religion,while Indian constitution declares itself to be a secular nation.

Characteristics of secularism

●State should be non-theocratic:- A state must not be run by the heads of any particular religion. A state governed directly by a priestly order is called theocratic. For example- Papal States of Europe in Medieval period
●States should have no formal, legal alliance with any religion:- Many non-theocratic states have close alliance with a particular religion.
●A secular state must be committed to principles and goals which are at least partly derived from non- religious sources

Indian model of secularism:

●Treats all religions equally by the state. Incorporates the idea of sarvadharmasamabhava
●State interfere with religious to bring positive reforms.eg: banning untouchability under Article 17.
●All religion can be pursued equally by its citizen under articles 25 to 28.
●Minority section of the society are being considered while adopting Indian form of secularism. The multi religious societal characteristics of India are taken into consideration while supporting all the religions equally.

Western model of secularism:

● State and religion has a separate sphere of its own, with independent jurisdiction i.e. Mutual exclusion of state and religion, principled distance of state from religion and no illegitimate intrusion of religion in the state.
●The state cannot aid any religious institutions.
●State cannot hinder the activities of religious communities as long as they are within the broad limits setup by the law of the land.
●For example – if religious women forbids a woman from becoming a priest, then the states cannot do anything.
●Western model of secularism has its flaws like the majoritarian community shows discriminatory policies towards minority. And also the state imposes discriminatory policies such as imposing burkha on muslims in France.

3. Discuss the impact of globalisation in the life of older people and in geriatric care of India. (10 Marks)

Answer: Globalisation is the process of interaction and integration of an individual, nation among people, companies, and governments worldwide making the globe a whole village. Globalization along with industrialisation, urbanization and technological changes has affected all segments of population including aged persons everywhere

Positive Impacts:
●Healthcare: The technological advancements have given shape to many devices which can help the aged people who are little aware gauge their own body condition. Average life expectancy and health has increased because of improvements in technology, medical facilities, living standards.
●Communication: Old age is reduced to a mere number if one is surrounded by loved ones and is financially independent. The rapid growth in communication technologies has made the world a small place. Aged people who could not be lucky to live with their children due to job pressures of the young, can now easily interact with them at a click of a button.
● Technology: It is now possible for young residing in foreign lands to send money back home to their old parents in fraction of seconds.
● Food: The opening of shop by many international supermarkets and brands in India has also introduced amazing and highly beneficial food and medicines for the geriatric population.
● Economy On the positive note, the people now have become more economically prosperous because of better employment opportunities across the world; and due to this they are able to save more for their old age.

Negative Impacts:
● Fallouts of disintegration of joint families The cumulative implications of globalization, industrialization and urbanization have imparted irreversible change into the structure of families in India. With more and more nuclear families, young people leave their aged parents in far away places in search of jobs
● Fallouts of unclear roles Ageing marks change transition of role of the person from one to another. With improved education, rapid technological changes and modernization have rendered their knowledge obsolete. With this, once they are at the verge of retirement, they are unable to find clear role and this realization leads to loss of status, loneliness and worthlessness.

Geriatric care is a specialty that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. Globalisation helped to improve the geriatric care through facilities like palliative care units, advanced and modern intensive care units with sophisticated and modern technologies. It also helped to improve the institutional mechanisms like old age homes for their care. The average life expectancy of the older people improved as a result. The mental illness, depressions faced by the old age persons are taken care of by the advanced medical health authorities too.

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4. Though the caste system in India has undergone considerable changes over the years, it still persists in its worst form. Identify how the caste system is still playing a major role in determining social functions? (10 Marks)

Answer: Caste system in India was evolving and accepting different forms since its inception in ancient society. For eg: it was emerged from the occupation based division to a social division during the medieval and modern India. In the modern times it has evolved into an invisible caste based associations, caste based vote banks which influence politics in India etc. Therefore, a complete removal of the caste system is difficult from our society and it persists in its worst form.

Worst forms of Caste system in India:

●Manual Scavenging in the urban and rural regions.
●Presence of Ghettos based on the caste divisions in various parts of the state Within caste marriage are present in the society and honour killing
●Access to various institutions is denied due to the caste difference. Eg: Killing of the Rohit Vemula and Death of Dr Payal Thadvi
●Caste system in determining the social functions
●Caste is considered to be one of the criteria to provide job opportunities. Eg: Presence of Manual Scavenging.
●Learning opportunity: Even after the adoption of innovative measures like RTE in 2006 India is having issues in ensuring the basic education to the downtrodden.
●Livelihood Opportunities: often India is witnessing the caste based boycotts especially in the street vending.
●Social Placement: Caste is still one of the primary factors determining the quality of life in India. Ie Caste is placing people in higher or lower social classes

Hence, caste still plays a major role in determining the social functions in India. It shall be eradicated by strict adherence to the value based education models, removal of caste based politics from society etc.

5.”Me too” movement though reflective of new-age women movement standing up for themselves, is non-inclusive and has only limited reach. Critically analyze. (10 Marks)

Answer: Me Too movement is an online women movement which enabled them to disclose the harassment and abuse they have faced in their own lives from private and public spheres. It emerged as a mere hashtag movement in social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook to world wide publicity.

Me too movement is reflective about the new age women standing up for themselves because:
●Women are self empowered to demand for their rights in India rather than wait for the society to reform themselves.
●Women are actively demanding justice and equality in both the public and private spheres, rather than allowing the men to passively subjugate and dominate them.

●New age women has better social indicators including better education, awareness about their rights etc. which enable them to protest against any social injustice.
●Gender hierarchy and inequality is rapidly getting narrowed down which enables women to name and shame the men in public spheres.

The movement highlights the power of social media in mobilizing people and generating social change. Until this movement, the women were legally and socially required to prove that they are not guilty. The Me Too movement helped to get them justice which was overdue and thus broke the barrier.

However, the movement is non inclusive in nature because:
●It has virtually bypassed the disability community who are one of the most vulnerable to sexual harrasment.
●Women in the rural areas and lower strata of society are not aware of their legal rights and their rights are getting violated without getting reported.
●Me too movement does not address the cases of safety against sexual harassment. Although there is a deterrence effect, there is no significant reduction in the reported sexual harassment cases.
●Me Too movement covers only certain aspects like sexual harassment, however it does not cover the issues faced comprehensively by women. Eg: Racial prejudice on North East Indian women by others.
●There have been no stories from people in the unorganised sector, the largest population of labour, in the MeToo movement either.

MeToo movement has brought the pervasiveness of the issue of sexual harassment into the mainstream. It needs to be complemented by including all the stakeholders among different strata of women.

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