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CS 2015 Essay Paper Analysis & Solution      

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UPSC continued with its pattern of 2014 in 2015 CS essay exam as well. Students were required to write on two essays in about 1000-1200 words each while selecting one from each section ‘A’ and ‘B’. The trend of asking Argumentative/Persuasive Essays that started in 2012 still continued and even took a significant turn. Rather than testing on knowledge based topics (core GS topics), the focus was more on opinion based general topics. The topics looked straightforward prima facie but could easily prove to be a perfect recipe for disaster if not handled well. The definition of an essay as a reflection of the candidate’s personality becomes even more relevant in such cases. It’ll even be difficult to classify topics in specific categories (like education, economy etc.) since they were more of opinions that required students to either substantiate them or repudiate them through proper logical coherent expression of ideas well supported by sound judgment and analysis. Out of 8 given topics, 5 were general opinion based topics. Generating content is no doubt important and is a challenge in such essays but what is even more important is its organization, logical flow of thoughts, diversity of opinion, captivating introduction and a conclusion that ensures a sense of closure. Rest 3 were question type topics which focused more on specific alternatives and seemingly required the students to answer them in that confined perspective. But even here diversity of arguments and logical flow of thoughts would be valued. Lending Hands to Someone Is Better Than Giving a Dole

From ancient kings to modern welfare states, Doles have been given by governments for various reasons and motivations. But, the practice which was once used to be highly praised has now been criticised from many perspectives. The populist measures by governments in form of illogical subsidies to disaster relief packages have led to a debate between a good and a bad dole. The process itself has been questioned for its usefulness in context of people’s welfare in long term. A logical and reasoned analysis of facts and observations shows that a more participative and humane approach which can help subjects to become self sufficient and independent is anytime better than doles which make them habitual and dependent on others. Dole in form of unemployment benefits, social security payments, financial grants, subsidies and relief packages has always been used by governments for the welfare of their subjects. Such governments are more likely to have a greater shelf life (irrespective of quality) than those who don’t care for deprived sections of society. Vedas talk about giving grants to priests and those who are unable to help themselves due to conditions like physical handicap or old age. Even Arthashastra by Kautilya talks about such welfare measures for the good of king’s subjects. However, any illogical grant which is given just to appease can harm both, the one who’s giving it and the other who is taking it. Hefty grants by kings to the priest in vedic age made the priests addicted, which eventually led to their downfall (rise of Buddhism and Jainism) as well as decline of empire due to dissonance in the mind of taxpayers. Present governments don’t seem to learn from history and continue to make the same mistake, though in different manner. The give and take relation no longer exists in democracies like India and now people demand resources in the name of redistributive justice and their rights. It is true that stimulus in form of subsidies and grants were required in India during initial years after independence, as people were distressed of years of exploitation and sufferings. They needed a trigger to get out from the trap of poverty and helplessness. 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

Initial grants helped the people but the absence of gradual change in policy has led the measure ineffective and in some cases it has also backfired. For example, reservation in government jobs has now become a problem as almost every section of society is demanding it. The approach should have been changed into lending hands in form of leadership, motivation, skills and environment in which self growth could take place. Continuous use of grants has made the process institutionalized, just like begging on streets which has a now become a profession and a lucrative field for many. The attitude towards doles has become so positive that it has led to the process of de-Sanskritization i.e. reclaiming backward status to enjoy the benefits of dole. Stagnant policies have made India a welfare dole state before its time. Nearly 3% of India’s GDP has gone towards bad subsidies i.e. dole that merely transfers income and reduces poverty only on a “maintenance” basis. In contrast only around 1% has gone towards subsidies that enhance individual productivity (through roads, education, and health). The dole comprises four broad categories of expenditure—fuel, fertiliser, food and employment. Even the governments themselves do not argue that the first two do much to help the poor. Less than 15 percent of dole regarding food and employment actually reaches the targeted poor. Yet the government wants to continue to persist with inefficient and corrupt dole policies for food (PDS) and employment (NREGA). In fact, they want to expand such leaky schemes. Another scenario in which doles become popular is during the times of disasters. It seems to be quite ironical that states prefer giving grants to flood hit states like J & K in 2014 rather than giving support during the time when disaster can be prevented through smart capacity building. The early governments in India always knew the shortcomings of their approach of dole-nomics but the reforms have been slow and tardy. This is largely due to the simplicity of giving doles and the popularity that government attains through such measures. But in long term, doles crippled people and de-motivated them to do even that work which they could have done for themselves. However, some initiatives have been taken in this regard in last 20 years. One such initiative is Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), which was introduced in 1999 after merging schemes like IRDP, TRYSEM etc.. The Government realized that the piecemeal efforts in the sphere of rural development had not achieved the targeted objectives. SGSY organise rural poor into Self Help Groups (SHGs) through the process of social mobilization and work on their training and capacity building with provision for income generating assets and technology transfer. Some recent initiatives like skill India initiative has the objective of creating training facilities and market availability for unskilled youth which presently constitutes 90% of all adults (as per NSSO survey, only 1 out of 10 youth have received any kind of training, both formal and informal ). Digital India programme also aim to harness the potential of youth through lending hands and not just transfer of funds. In times when governance also include private sector offering public services, Company act 2013 calls for corporate social responsibility which calls for companies to take responsibility of lifting the poor rather than giving it away in form of enhanced taxes. Such participative and associative approach no doubt has always been better than just transferring credit to the needy. It helps the poor to build their self-confidence through community action. Such approach provides human touch and leadership to the people who have the potential to grow by themselves. It provides vigilance in long term through both external accountability and internal responsibility. Above all, such approach maintains human dignity as it abolishes the distinction between givers and takers and lead to more inclusive growth. States particularly from third world not only give doles but also receive doles in form of soft loans and credit lines from the developed states and world institutions. Even such doles have huge impact over a

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nation’s sovereignty and self respect. Financial grants made by agencies like World Bank and IMF do come up with implicit conditions which are aimed to maintain western hegemony over the East. Nobody can forget the kind of humiliation India had to face when it imported wheat from US under PL480 programme. On other side, Green Revolution which was a huge success was largely due to multi-pronged strategy in terms of technology, supplies and infrastructure rather than just cash transfers. Climate change is another area which can’t be handled just by providing funds to the developing countries. Developed world in this case has the responsibility of not only reducing their emissions but also assist developing world through collective and participative manner. The Nordic model followed by Scandinavian countries calls for social democracy and provides doles even to those who can work but are not willing to. However, most citizens don’t take it as it is considered highly embarrassing and unethical. India has not reached this level of high values but this is what it should aim for. Working together to develop together shall be the talisman of people and government. Doles must be used as an exception rather than the principle. Quick But Steady Wins The Race The world has changed, and so does its proverbs. For many logical minds, slow and steady of one time is now seems to be replaced by quick but steady. And no one can deny it out rightly. Speed wins today. We can either make dust by running ahead of people, or eat dust by running behind them. Life has become multidimensional with increasing competition and complexity, and anything slow in this context is often discarded as an outdated credo. The problem however is the inverse relation ‘quick’ and ‘steady’ share with each other and how they can be balanced in the haste of our times. Last three decades have added lots of complexity in human life. Things are now measured in terms of speed. From broadband to bullet trains to GDP growth, speed affects everything. The world has become a global village where everyone in connected to others and such multiple relations require faster processing to be fruitful in long term. Nations, institutions and individuals, all are facing the heat and needs to be quick in their decisions and response. Life has become a race for individuals as well as organisations. Populations are rising and so does the competition for the limited resources. Speed in such context becomes an important criterion for success. Even personal relations and social acquaintances now depend upon the quick response you give as adversaries are readily available on Facebook and Twitter. Thus speed is important but problem with it is that it may cost you with the steadiness. Speed often seems to be inversely proportional to being steady. Increase in one may naturally lead to a decrease in other. This can be understood through insightful understanding of what it really means to be steady, especially in context of the fable of hare and tortoise that introduced the proverb in question. Being steady means that we should not be discouraged by the size of the task we have to do. If we do it little by little, we can achieve success. Anything done in a hurry cannot have solid, deep and firm foundations. It is the constant labour that brings results. On the contrary haste and rashness are almost always negative and destructive. They reflect an unplanned attitude. A man in haste is practically a half-blinded man, often impulsive and headstrong. Such a person is sure to lose in the marathon race of life that can be only won slowly and steadily. For as the Latin proverb says,’ if haste is at all to be made, it should be made slowly’. For example, a businessman should be patient and calm-minded. He should look in all directions before striking a bargain. If he is in a hurry, chances are that he may not consider all aspects fully and thus stand to lose. The work done coolly, calmly with a balanced mind through patient and persistent effort, often last longer and proves fruitful than that done by working against the clock. The modern life is a life of rush and


hurry, stress and strain. The world has grown so materialistic that everybody wants to make a quick buck, thus making this proverb more relevant. The recent problems in China’s economy and society showcase the ill effects of the rush this country made in becoming a super power. It’s worsening relations with its neighbours and unethical practices which it employs to achieve success often puts it in the bad light. On other hand countries like Japan and US have taken a long time to evolve and thus have strong foundations which are hard to shake. Countries like Pakistan present the case of neither quick nor steady state whereas India is the peculiar case of too slow but steady development. Indian government is often criticised for its slow growth especially in comparison to states like Brazil and South Africa. Infact, the slow and steady approach permeates much of the Indian society and government functioning and maybe even the religious doctrines which calls for norms like: “Take it slow.” “Go at your own pace.” May be even “be still and wait on the God to deliver.” But this must be the prominent way as India represents conditions like diversity, inequality, regionalism, casteism, racism, communalism and hostile neighbourhood. Yet any change of gear leading to acceleration will be a welcome step as many hurdles like corruption, poor work culture, inefficiency, lack of policy can be removed through intent and efforts. For example, India’s effort to make a stronghold in African continent has limited success largely due to slow and lopsided approach which even China has benefitted from. China started much later than India but at present has larger footprint in African nations. However, it must be noted that Chinese are often alleged to exploit African resources for their own interests. Steadiness can also be contextualize in terms of ethical balance. Results are important but as important are means i.e. one should not only do right things but also do them rightly. Mahatma Gandhi sacrificed the pace of freedom struggle for the cause of Harijans and mass struggles like Non-Cooperation movement were stopped to reject violence. But at present, the ethical balance seems to be forgotten to give pace to development. Material growth is preferred at the risk of Climate change which will affect the whole meaning of progress in long term. The contradicting views discussed so far highlights the importance of balance which needs to be maintained between being quick and steady. Yes, patience is important but it should not turn into laziness. This culture of “slow and steady” needs to remember that we live in a world that moves fast, and telling ourselves that it’s OK to “go at our own pace” might just mean we’re encouraging ourselves to stay the same, not grow, and stay in our comfort zone. One should praise those who are moving fast, forging ahead, and who do it with steady humility. We should hold up as examples those men or women who are content with their lot but never satisfied. What one needs to succeed is the ability to work hard and to do one's work with patience and perseverance. Speed must be increased but not at the cost of values and moral reasoning. It is only the fastest moving sperm among millions which brings us to life. Speed does matter, but not all movement is progressive. Yes, haste can make waste, but in the fable of Hare and Tortoise, the slowness of the Tortoise didn’t really win it for him. It was the stupidity (or arrogance) of the Hare. In life, yes, slow and steady might be great. But wouldn’t fast and steady be even better? The challenge lies in remaining quick and steady at the same time, without sacrificing one for other. Character of an Institution is Reflected in Its Leader ‘Every great institution is the legacy of a great leader, whereas failed leadership can bring down even the greatest of institutions.’ This assertion can be reasoned through many logics and examples. History provides us many instances when a single person created great marvels from the ashes through his ideas, vision, motivation and command. Leadership infuses culture which turns an organization into an institution. This


culture affects those who are part of it or those who avail from its services, thus leading to perception building. In the year of 1975, when APJ Abdul Kalam was the director of a SLV mission, the mission failed to launch the satellite and the team was afraid to attend the press conference. But Satish Dhawan being the chairman at that time called and conveyed to press "We failed! But I have a very good trust in my team that next time we will be succeeding for sure". This surprised Abdul Kalam as the blame of the failure was taken by the chairman of ISRO. The next mission was prepared and launched successfully in 1980. At this moment of success, Satish Dhawan told Abdul Kalam to attend the press meet without his presence. This small incident shows how a leader can impart character to an institution. When the team failed, the leader took the blame. But when the team succeeded, he redirected the success to his team. When institutions are nurtured by great leaders, they get matured and in turn start producing great leaders. Late Abdul APJ Abdul Kalam is a great example of it. He followed the legacy of great leaders starting from Vikram Sarabhai to Satish Dhawan. ISRO’s contribution to India and world is unquestioned, largely due to the values imbibed in this institution. Character is the sum total of characteristics of a particular entity, be it an individual or an institution, it refers to the moral qualities and ethical standards that make up its inner nature. In terms of institutions, some of the parameters that define its character are respect for law, responsiveness, trust, participation, accountability and transparency, conflict resolution, team working, respect, honesty, fairness and social responsibility. An entity is not born as an institution; it becomes one. Over the years, an organization takes on institutional characteristics. And what imparts character to it is effective leadership. Leadership helps in giving shape to the entire organization, setting goals and standards, setting values; hence the leader drives and defines an institution. Dr. Homi J. Bhabha leadership in institutionalizing nuclear programme of India can be seen as the testimony to the above statements. Leadership shape institutional strategies including their execution and effectiveness. Leaders can appear at any level of an institution and are not exclusive to management. Successful leaders do, however, have one thing in common. They influence those around them in order to reap maximum benefit from the organization’s resources, including its most vital and expensive: its people. This influence gradually helps in developing the character of the institution, because how the people involved in the organization behave and function, becomes the character of the institution. Above all, a leader infuses the code of morality in an institution which makes and leads an institution. If an institution has a corrupt leader, then the other people in the management also are encouraged to take bribes as they feel a sense of security or if a leader is autocratic in nature, then they may not be willing to make public data related to the organization making the institution opaque. Leaders are not permanent, but institutions are. Great leaders are those who influence institutions in such a way that they maintain their character even after the leader are gone. The best example for this is the Delhi Metro under E.Sreedharan. The Delhi metro has had a transformational effect on the entire city of Delhi, and the proposals of taking metro to other big cities taking the example of Delhi metro is the manifestation of its success. Further, even after Sreedharan, the metro continues to function effectively.


Further, the leader sets the goals and standards for the organization. Thus, the vision of the leader becomes important here. Visionary leaders can take organizations to greater heights. Example Dhirubhai Ambani's Reliance or Steve Jobs work at Apple, it was the vision of these leaders which led to the widespread trust that these companies have, it because of them that these companies are leaders in their fields. Jawaharlal Nehru is regarded as the great institution builder of India. The strength of determination and the capacity to take risk has always been in the character of Nehru as he initiated reforms to promote science and technology, planning and management, industrial sector and higher education in India. The establishment of IITs, AIIMS, Atomic Energy Commission of India, Planning Commission and UGC showed his commitment to create new institutions to meet the challenging demands of speedy development. In this regard Nehru’s leadership was dynamic and innovative. Most of the institutions established by him struck roots despite lack of adequate resources and lack of trained personnel. Today these institutions are not only run by great leaders but also create great leaders. The attitude of the leader is adapted by its employees. The discipline of the institute depends on the leader. Leaders are at the top of the organization; hence they act as sources of inspiration for the entire team as well as for people outside the organization. Further, the leader represents the organization; hence what the leader says is equal to what that institution says. This interaction with the people leads to development of perception about the organization or institute. Like many religious institutions in India which were once the seat of knowledge and path to salvation are now perceived as source of communalism and hatred. Changed ideology of leaders plays an important role in such transformations. Even social institutions like schools, NGO’s are recognized and praised because of their leaders The leaders decide the level of participation in decision making and how accountable and transparent the entity is to its stakeholders. They may be too dominating and against contradictory viewpoints or they may be accommodating different viewpoints. This gradually leads to changes in the way the organization functions, and determines the way people think about themselves and their relation with the organization. Like, after the Russian revolution, Lenin heard opposing viewpoints and encouraged debate, thus there were people of multiple view points in the organization. But after Stalin became the leader, he gradually purged people with opposing views, thus making the organization uniform in ideology; both the organizations changed their character completely due to difference in approach of leaders. Leaders make or break institutions. An inorganic entity is brought to life by leaders who infuse their character in it. Thus convergence of values is a matter of fact between a leader and his/her institution. The leader's role in perception building is unparalleled. After all, it is not surprising that the share price of companies like Infosys and Tata Group often fluctuate with the kind of leadership these institutions have. Education without Values, As Useful As It Is, Seems Rather To Make a Man a Clever Devil This quote by C.S. Lewis perfectly captures the most ironic aspects of modern day education. Education today caters to almost everything but seems to forget its core component- ‘values’. The idea of being educated inherently constitutes the process of transforming an infant biological entity to a socially responsible person who is imbibed in the values cherished by society. Humans are not only the product but also the producers of their society and in absence of values; society may suffer at the cost of individuals. Both Rama 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

and Ravana were highly educated but it was the values component which made one the most celebrated hero and other the most ferocious villain of all times. Education is the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another. This knowledge includes skills, values, beliefs and all the developments that have been made by the previous generations. A literate person can read and write but an educated person can also understand things from different perspectives. Many great thinkers have treated education as the premise on which a human develops. According to Aristotle, education is the creation of a sound mind in a sound body. Mahatma Gandhi equated education to an instrument that draws out the best in man- mind, spirit and body. Swami Vivekananda defined it as a manifestation of the divine perfection already existing in man. Throughout ancient India, education was always considered the route to salvation, as the right Guru only could give the right Gyan, which alone could break the eternal bonds of Sansar. Nelson Mandela has described education as the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world. Education tries to develop three aspects, physique, mentality and character. Even though physique and mentality are important, they are menaces without the third because character is the greatest of these. Swami Vivekananda has argued that character is the single most important value for a person. The important values which should be imbibed to the students are that of: tolerance, Happiness, Spirituality, Freedom, Responsibility, Integrity, Perseverance, Love, altruism, and compassion. All these values are important for developing an individual's personality, for making them better citizens. An individual thinks about himself, whereas the citizen thinks of for society. Value based education is a tool which not only provides a profession but also a purpose in life. Most of the education in ancient times was provided through families and religious institutes; the main aim of education being to make value based citizens. Gradually, the content of education has changed from religious to scientific; its objective has changed from being virtuous to being materialistic. Today, we find that families are failing, society is disinterested and a good education from the best schools and colleges may not guarantee of a good moral character. Few today attend university for the purpose of gaining wisdom or nurturing their souls. Instead, the primary emphasis is to obtain a formal degree and ensure material success. In fact, the whole emphasis of higher education today seems to be of an instrumental nature: a means to an end and not an end in itself. Valueless Education instead of instilling a sense of humility can make a person haughty and arrogant. In India this seems truer because access to good education and bright teachers is pretty hard to come by. Due to structural inadequacies, government schools keep limping and the fee structure in private schools is prohibitive. Getting educated in such an environment leads to a natural feeling of arrogance: having overcome the obstacle of getting educated rather than getting educated! Some of these arrogant educated then tend to look down upon others as inferiors. It can further degenerate into plain corruption – rent-seeking due to privileged positions of power. For example: civil servants without any moral compass, who consider being the chosen ones as a stamp of unbridled freedom for debauchery. The increase in corrupt activities is also a manifestation of lack of values on the part of both the bribe giver as well as the bribe taker. The lack of values has led to increase in negative forces like selfishness, hatred, terrorism, individualism, violence; intolerance, etc. have now become day-to-day problems in the world. The phenomena such as family breakdown, increasing of negative attitude and spread of health hazards like drugs and HIV/AIDS seem to be escalating worldwide, which have now terrified humanity. These are, of course, are very threatening challenges to the peaceful existence of mankind. Given the size of the human society, individuals without any values to cherish will always exist. These people armed with education and knowledge can inflict terror and pain on millions. We only need to see the high general IQ levels of the captured Nazi top brass to realize this fiendish reality. Other striking examples include those world leaders who interfered in other nations’ internal politics bringing strife and uncertainty for 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

decades. The brightest of Japanese minds in the Meiji Restoration ultimately created a military state, and precipitated wars and conflict. Osama Bin Laden was an engineer from European university and the most sought after terrorist till his death. The recent upsurges in communalism, or discrimination on the basis of caste, or politicization of crimes or criminalization of politics which are performed cleverly due to involvement of educated but poorly guided people shows how education without values is making a person a more clever devil. Even in the field of research, values help a researcher to decide the topic of research (which was acknowledged both by Max Weber and Marx). Without proper internalization of values, the researcher would feel lost; they could research on topics which could be detrimental to the society. Science without humanity is one of the fundamental sins of modern world. Value based education change man’s orientation to social and political problems through understanding of the issues, through imparting higher principles and ability to look social welfare before individual concerns. With such education, given the development in science and technology, far better societies can be developed. Though talking about values based education is easy, implementing is quite a daunting task, which needs the strongest determination. To implement it, we need to create a very healthy and pleasant educational environment. We need to accept and realize the importance of value based education. After this has been done, practical ways to imbibe values need to be used along with involvement of all stakeholders from parents to teachers and from friends to seniors. Value based-education is instrumental to unfold and nurture the ideals of life. Education that does not help promote human virtues will not do any good to the society; it will rather mislead the entirety of humanity. In a knowledge-dominated society of today, not many people without the best of degrees can effectively challenge the educated devils! Evil wrapped in the fluorescent packaging of cold logic can prevail for a long time, till the time-tested power of Dharma begins asserting. Thus, Knowledge without character is a sin which can only lead to a sin. Set B Technology Cannot Replace Manpower In the early 19th century, British textile artisans protested the Industrial Revolution with the antitechnology “Luddite movement.” They believed mechanized looms would replace them and make their jobs obsolete. And now, two centuries later, we are struggling with the same question- ‘Can technology really replace us (manpower)?’ In the age of artificial intelligence and robotics, the answer may be yes for many science enthusiasts but is certainly no for those who believe in irreplaceable nature of God made humans by man-made machines. Development of technology has mostly positive and some negative effects on human being. It has replaced human beings in several fields, but it has created opportunities in several other areas. It has certainly provided more options to the mankind which is an essential criterion of development. In fact the demography of developed countries which have been the source of new technology has evolved with the technology. Technology complemented their lowering populations. But the same can’t be said in context of developing countries which have high indigenous populations and imported technology knocking at their doors. Incidents of Workers protesting against infusion of technology are not rare in such countries. This mismatch has renewed the debate between man and machines. However, the debate (atleast at present) seems to be going in favor of those who believe in irreplaceable attribute of mankind. The rise of technology has led to development in all fields of human life. In its early phases, technology replaced manpower through automation and standardized production; it led to replacement of workers by machines. This also led to increase in efficiency and capacity of production, which gradually led to creation of 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

more employment opportunities (due to increased demand). Now days, technology is trying to supplement humans even in tertiary sector which is more intelligence based rather than labour based. However the success is limited largely due the absence of factors like emotions, human touch, innovation and creativity which are important for tertiary sector. The latest developments in artificial intelligence have led to development of robots. These robots are capable of doing the task assigned to them, but the task has to be assigned by humans themselves. Also, they can do repetitive work, but we cannot expect innovation and real ideas from these robots. Artificial intelligence has its own issues which are preventing it from being scaled up, as it is data specific and method specific, runs in a single software environment, and cannot deal with real world domain complexities. These reasons make it inferior to human beings. The best example of innovation is the recent growth of start-ups which aim to solve real life problems that people face through the use of innovation and technology. It’s one thing for technology to enable creative endeavors. Digital art tools like Photoshop and Illustrator have been monumentally useful for graphic artists. Camera advancements have made digital photography cheaper and more convenient than ever before. Yet, creative endeavors can never be replaced by computers. Art is an expression of human creativity, imagination, and improvisation – something that computers will never have. Art forms like dance, music, paintings, drama have required and will always require human thought and involvement. Technology definitely cannot replace the observation and perceptive skills of the mankind. Like technology can be used to make music, but it itself cannot make music. Humans make decisions based on past experiences and values. We have the ability to correct and learn from our mistakes, whereas machines, which seldom make mistakes, cannot learn from errors or we cannot inculcate values into machines which are necessary to make decisions. Other factors, like judgment, intuition, and innovation, also aren't found in machines. It is our morality and social ethics which differentiate living from the machines. Also, human decision making is influenced by several factors like emotions, past experiences, data or rational. Robots can make decisions based on data only, and decisions made solely on the basis of data might not always be right. Life is not always rational in case of humanity. Sometimes, irrational has more acceptances and this is what machines can’t do. Technological instruments can be made to deal with problems which have occurred in the past, or which can be anticipated, but many a time’s unanticipated problems or issues occur. For such emergent problems, only humans can make the right decision. For example, machines can help us to analyze and measure the problem of environmental degradation, but how to resolve it can only be done through human intellect. Nations have always tried to use technology in war so that human casualties can be minimized. But they have met with limited success. Drones have come up but have limited applicability. Recent bombing by US drones on a hospital in Afghanistan happened largely due to misinterpretation of information sent by drones. Even today, no war can be won without a strong mobile infantry. There have been wars where even the more technological advanced countries (example US lost the Vietnam War) can lose to those who have greater motivation and leadership. The reason for this is that soldiers win wars and missiles and tanks can only assist them. Technology cannot completely replace teachers even when the virtual classrooms have come up to assist teachers. Children getting same education in same environment produce different results. These individual differences can only be understood and appreciated by a human. In addition, it takes human teachers to impart soft skills such as respect, communication, socialization, interactive abilities and conflict resolution. Facial expressions of a child convey many things which are difficult to be recognized by a machine. Moving on to sports, the world is home to millions of sports fans. As a species, we love to play and we love to watch others play, and sports are the perfect expression of our tendency to play. Sports are compelling 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

because of the human narrative that lies under the surface. We aren’t so much drawn to a sport itself as we are to the players of that sport. The history, the rivalries, the athleticism, the stakes – that’s what we want to watch and computers will never be able to replicate that kind of excitement. On the one hand, the aspects of medicine that are entirely based on medical knowledge, technical expertise, and data analysis could be Essay Test Series 2016 reasonably automated without much consequence. However, there are Program Date: 2 January , 2016 elements of healthcare that computers Essay has become one of the most important and deciding just aren’t capable of handling: bedside papers of mains stage. The programme has been designed to manner, making tough decisions from facilitate the candidate in developing right writing and presentation incomplete patient data, dealing with skills. It will also help the candidates to frame the essays in the human psychology, and so on. At the structured manner. Moreover, it will be an opportunity for the test very least, there are a whole host of legal takers to avail the right guidance required in clearing the written issues that would arise from putting a examination. patient’s life in the hands of a medical robot that might malfunction and make a Programme Features: wrong decision. That threat alone would  Orientation class discussing previous year paper along with strategy for coming exam ensure that humans always have a place in healthcare. Nursing robots have come  Comprehensive discussion after every test up but their limited functionality  Detailed analysis and model answer after every test prevents them to replace humans  One to one session with the teacher for paper discussion. Technology can never overtake  Flexible Module the realm of politics and governance. It cannot deal with the complexities; multi- Marking Parameters: dimensional decision making that is  Content: Understanding Writing Situations through needed in politics. It cannot create new  Purpose of Writing laws, or make judicial decisions in  Generating Ideas/Refining Ideas context of justice and fairness. Morality  Relevance of Arguments is a human aspect and machines cannot  Perspectives with which answer has been written be expected to be ethical. Governors,  Cohesion: the interconnection of the facts and arguments will be thoroughly analyzed through lawmakers, judges and juries will always  Structural component need some sense of human discernment  Alignment component that computers will never be able to  Presentation and organisation Style offer. Populist decisions are away from  Contextual writing rationality and logic and hence outside  Aesthetic sense the realm of machines.  Specificity: Vagueness, Ambiguity and Arbitrariness will be Technology is widely considered checked the main source of economic progress,  Critical Thinking: Ideas “Out of the Box”, critically evolved or but it has also generated cultural anxiety rationally synthesized will be analyzed throughout history. From generation to generation, literature has often Keeping the above parameters in mind the script will be evaluated portrayed technology as alien, and marks will be provided thereof. incomprehensible, increasingly powerful, For Detailed Schedule Visit www.orientias.com threatening, and possibly uncontrollable. Or call +91-9643772112, 9810949873 Sigmund Freud, in his critique on technology has termed technology laden human as ‘a prosthetic god’, as the inventions of certain gadgets and 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

systems. Technology can always assist human beings as this is what it was created for, but it the uniqueness of humans which can never be replaced. How much ever technology develops, it can outperform humans only in certain activities, it can never compete with humans in totality. Crisis Faced In India – Moral or Economic. Moral foundations and economic sustainability are the two most important parameters to judge a country’s progress and well being. Deterioration in any will certainly bring a nation to the stage of crises and chaos. Since its independence, India’s performance as the largest functioning democracy as well as growth oriented developing economy has passed through many challenges. And it seems that the social crises faced by India, at any time, is more threatening than economic crises, as culture lays and sustains the foundation over which economy is built. Both economy and morals however cannot be treated in isolation because of chicken and egg kind of causation they share with each other. Critiques have warned India of an economic crisis like situation and they have facts to support their assertion. This is indeed a difficult time for Indian economy. Growth has slowed, with industry output shrinking over the last two years, wholesale price inflation is high, and the rupee has been losing value sharply. There is reason to be upset about this and to demand more from policy makers. India's exploding population is another cause of concern largely due to the lack of sufficient training, education and jobs to support its growing numbers of people. The unstable Governance so far had been one of the main reasons for poor economy, as it has failed to maintain equal distribution of resources. Large inequalities in income and standard of living have left India divided into different blocks i.e. rich and poor, high and low, rural and urban, north and south etc. Some scholars have compared the current predicament with 1991 which undisputedly was the time of economic crises; but in truth there is no basis for this. The growth now is around 6-7%, then it was around 1%; India's foreign exchange reserves are now enough for 7 months of imports, then it was enough for 13 days of imports. And, importantly, now it has a floating exchange rate in place of fixed exchange rate which was used in 1990’s. Another factor contributing to the excessive gloom in India is a failure to recognize that the entire global scenario is grim. Indeed, in relative terms, India's performance measured by GDP growth is not poor at all. Given what is happening on the trade front and the sharp slowdown in manufacturing, it is possible, even likely, that growth will slow down further during the course of next year. But that is the short run prognosis. With its very rapid growth from 2003 to 2011, averaging over 8%, the nation has enough internal resilience to get back to a rapid growth path in two years, unless there is major policy bungling. Some new policy initiatives like passing of GST bill and increased funding in rural, health and educational sector can provide quick results. Yes, the Indian economy has not done well over the last 2-3 years. But once we look beyond the proximate causes we will realize that one important factor for the economy not doing well is the corrosion of values like trust, Tolerance, compassion, equality, justice and poor governance. India is facing continuous social crises since 1960’s when political values from the top started eroding. Indeed, the economic slowdown is merely a symptom of the moral one. Indian public life today suffers from want of morals and this is not confined to any one particular class of people or section of society. From corruption scandals to telecommunications scandals to failures in addressing the Naxalite terrorist movement, the nation has been buffeted by reports of double-dealings. Moral and ethics have become epics in India. With the westernization, the present generation is flown like a dry leaf in the direction of wind. We are slowly forgetting the human values and humanity has lost its voice in front of hedonistic tendencies in form of money and sex.


The prestige of women and their dignity which used to be the pride of India, has been lost and India is emerging as one of the least safe places for women. Rape advisories have been issued by countries to their women travelling to India. 2013 Delhi gang rape case has become a dark patch on India’s image. Many such incidents are happening on daily basis, though they get unreported largely due to media’s calculations of what will sell in the consumerist market. This is breeding a corrosive cynicism, leading people to believe that maybe this is the only way to be, that petty corruption and harassment is simply the new normal, whereby we should complain when we are left out of the gravy train and merrily join in if and when we get a foothold on that train. People today are honest until they get the chance to become corrupt. Personal and party interests are kept above national interest; the good of the nation is often sacrificed to achieve personal and political ends. Ministers and government officers dispense favours and accept bribes, engineers feather their own nests and allow inferior substandard material to be used for national projects and construction works. One can find examples on daily basis in newspapers. Big businessmen corner stocks in order to sell them at fancy prices and turn a deaf ear to the groans and cries of the masses. Young men seek jobs, but are insincere and dishonest in the discharge of their duties when they are employed. Workers go on strikes for frivolous reasons and indulge in sabotage, thus showing an utter disregard for public good and social morality and discipline. Selfishness, greed, dishonesty, insincerity, favouritism, nepotism, all disfigures public life. We say one thing, but mean its exact opposite. We make confessions and promises which we have no intention of carrying out. We may talk of socialism, social quality, and simple living and thinking but all the time we pine for luxuries and comfortable living, and try to amass wealth. We profess faith in the eradication of untouchability, but practice it in our day-to-day life. We may know the right thing to do, but do not do it for personal and selfish reasons. The influential and the rich go scot-free even when they are found guilty. All these are instances of moral failure. The constant battle between good intentions and ignoble deeds is talking its toll, and India which, with its glorious spiritual heritage, should have been a beacon light to the world, is fast becoming a carbon-copy of the degenerate affluent societies of the west. There is little hope of the situation being remedied unless we realized that more than anything else, what we are suffering from is a moral crisis. The battle for economic freedom can be won only if we first wage a battle against our moral weaknesses and over-come them. Culture is a difficult thing to consciously change. But it would be wrong if for that reason we go to the other extreme and treat culture as immutable. There are recorded histories of how a nation known for its tardiness has become highly punctual over a short period of time; how a people historically known to be lazy have become models of industry. Through the use of education, role modeling and even speeches, leaders can break the equilibrium of pervasive corruption and cynicism in which the nation is currently trapped. Bureaucrats and the police do not have to behave the way traditional economics textbooks say all human beings behave, namely, making money wherever they can. Having dignity and honour in what one does can be a deterrent from taking bribes. Of course, alongside training and education, one should use intelligent law and a revision of bureaucratic and administrative procedures to improve governance. Today, India’s economy is slow but its crises is moral. If India makes the effort to break the culture of corruption, cumbersome governance and accompanying cynicism, it is possible to make a vast improvement. Given that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong, with investment and savings as high as in the East Asian economies in the heydays of their growth, a strong engineering and management sector and longstanding entrepreneurial culture, once the strong moral fabric and good socio-cultural practices are put in place, the nation can grow at outstanding rates.


Dreams Which Should Not Let India Sleep William Dement once said, “Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.” He says that sometimes this insanity can be fruitful and sometimes very infectious and sometimes very delectable and delicious. It is in many ways necessary for a country like India to be insane and dream as it is a bigger crime not to dream than to dare to dream. The freedom which Indian won in 1947 was only the means to a greater and nobler end. It threw upon many challenges and responsibilities on the people of India to make this country as per the aspirations of those who gave their life for its freedom. Since independence, the Indian economy (with few hiccups) is looking up and India is being given its due recognition now in international circles. We are now seen as an influential world power and Brand India is well on its way to become a success. However there is much that needs to be done in many sectors. There still are many paradoxes that need to be addressed both internally and externally. India has been a nation where the good and the bad, the rich and the poor, the accomplished and the wanting, have co-existed. It is no longer a matter of romantic theorizing; many critical aspects of our national life need an urgent fixing. These striking paradoxes often rattle, and make the establishment sit up and take notice, but lasting change hardly comes by. National Unity or Integrity- India till suffers from the social diseases of casteism, racism, communalism and regionalism. These are not letting India to realize and utilize its social capital. People resort to regionalism citing the difference of their cultures from others. They demand for separate states or ouster of so-called outsiders from their respective states. What a day that will be when people would start treating all religions as philosophy, spiritual experience, guide to morality and psychological solace. True independence will come when all Indians will be treated equal by all Indians. Women’s safety and empowerment – women of India looked upon independence as the deliverance from centuries of exploitation and suppression. Today, we can fire an Agni V to destroy our most capable enemies, but our women cannot travel safely in public transport. We are conceptualizing and executing the cheapest journeys to Mars, but our girls fail to successfully complete the journey from mothers’ wombs to the birth table. Women are subjected to hardships on many fronts - sexual exploitation at the workplace, domestic violence, lack of proper medical facilities, lack of education etc. The Government has enacted laws like The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013. However, the implementation leaves much to be desired. As a society, India can’t sleep until it truly liberates its women so that they can contribute to nation-building that can help us leapfrog. We have a long way to go. A harmonious society without fear- The dream of eliminating terrorism in all its forms should energise us always. India in the past has been the victim of both left wing and right wing extremism. According to analysts, 183 districts in India across 7 states in India are affected by LWE. The Government of India has made efforts to curb this menace militarily as well as economically. But LWE continues to be a source of much concern. Police atrocities and lack of reforms is another area of concern. Unless we create a harmonious solution, a significant part of our population will stay restless, harming our national goals. Cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and other parts of India is severely distorting our national agenda. The current Government has taken tough measures on cross-border terrorism and it may have started paying dividends, but one attack on a high-visibility target can effectively derail the bilateral Indo-Pak talks. All Indians must come together to act as good citizens, keeping our agencies informed of any nefarious designs, and ensuring our youth does not get radicalized by any daydreaming terrorist organization like the ISIS or AlQaeda. A terrorism free India is indeed a dream that should not let India sleep. Well being of society – As privileged Indians, each one of us should not rest until the last disadvantage Indian has not been educated, properly fed, clothed and given a shelter. Also, we can’t stop till India is cleaned up and stays that way. While the Directive Principles of State Policy intended right from 1950 to 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

ensure this, it is only in the recent past that we have enacted laws such as the Right to Education (RTE) and the Food Security Act that put bring an air of reality to the vision of Founding Fathers. The Government of India has many employment schemes for the rural and the disadvantaged people. These schemes contribute in making this dream a reality. In June 2015, the Indian Prime Minister launched three of the most ambitious schemes of all time- Smart Cities Project, AMRUT, Housing for All by 2022. The Swacch Bharat Mission aims to achieve a clean India by the year 2019. Such initiatives, if pursued diligently and implemented honestly, have the potential to change India to a sensitive nation that cares for its citizens. Inclusive Growth and high per capita income – We have had nearly 7 decades of political freedom, but remain a poor nation with barely USD 5000 of per person income. The real advantages of economic growth post liberalization have not yet reached all sections of the Indian society. In fact this is a dream which should not let the entire world sleep, for poverty and destitution are breeding grounds for terrorism. India needs very strong inclusive growth that advances Prelims -2016 Test Series Program equitable opportunities for all economic participants – urban The objective of Prelims-2016 programme is and rural, men and women, educated and less-educated. The to help aspirants understand the demand of failure of the Government to implement land reforms after UPSC exam effectively. The strategy is to Independence is a major impediment to inclusive growth in constantly innovate to keep the preparation India. This is also connected to the rise of LWE in India. process dynamic and give personalized Schemes of financial inclusion such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan attention to individual aspirants based on Dhan Yojana and the Mudra Bank initiative are important steps factors like core competence, availability of towards achieving financial inclusion for the masses. Direct time and resource and the requirement of Benifit Transfer is one more initiative in this regard. Civil Service Exam. The major challenges that India faces in achieving this dream are widespread illiteracy, lack of proper agricultural facilities like irrigation and a rigid pyramidal societal structure. Though Programme Features: the government initiatives are steps in the right direction, they  25+ tests strictly based on UPSC pattern alone will not achieve this dream. Every citizen of India should  Online/Offline believe in this dream and make his own contribution. We need  Solution key of mock tests along with to understand that a growth which is not inclusive can never be comprehensive discussion classes sustainable.  Complete preparation of current affairs Few nightmares- Apart from dreams, there are some through scientifically designed MCQs nightmares that should not let India sleep. One of the most  One to one sessions for doubt clearance important and strategic nightmare is the power struggle going and students specific problems. on in the world. Be it Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics,  Flexible Scheduling the Middle East, the African Continent or the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), it appears as if there are four to five major players rd in the world and the rest of the nations have been turned into Write a free test on 3 Jan 2016 mere pawns in the Great Game. Insecurity seems to have For Detailed Schedule Visit become the fulcrum of the foreign policy of most of the www.orientias.com countries in the world. Climate change and global warming Or call +91-9643772112, 9810949873 have become major concerns which need to be dealt diligently. We need to understand that we as citizens of the world need to live the dream of a united, sustainable and peaceful world. The dream of Nuclear weapon free world as expounded by India is yet to be realised. India’s efforts in this regard are appreciable in context of hostile world. Yet more can be done through revitalising India’s Panchsheel and nuclear doctrine along with policy of non-alignment.


Indian constitution is not only a document of law but also a document of dreams. India is fortunate to have such foresighted people in its constituent assembly, who had a clear vision of what India is and what India could be if things go as they planned. Many things have been achieved and many are yet to be accomplished. The day India achieve all these dreams, it will truly awake to the life and freedom. CAN CAPITALISM BRING INCLUSIVE GROWTH?? There are some stories which have legends; likewise, the story of economic development has also three important legends: Capitalism, Socialism and Communism. Since historic years, there have been continuous clashes between these legends and the supporters of them with each of it have been remembered by many in particular times. But ultimately after the decline of Soviet Union and increasing globalization, capitalism has proved its superiority and can be appropriately declared as the winner. Now the questioning over the success of capitalism has taken a turn from rapid economic growth to inclusive growth. There are continuous allegations on capitalism that its growth is not trickled down to everyone. Thus, it’s important to argue that whether the capitalism would result into Inclusive Growth? Before getting into the intricacies of the topic, let’s learn something basics:  Capitalism is an economic system which is based on private ownership of the means of production and the production of goods and services for profit motive.  Inclusive Growth is the concept that advances equitable opportunities for economic participants during economic growth with benefits incurred by every section of society. It is supposed to be inherently sustainable as distinct from income distribution schemes. ADAM SMITH’ S IDEA OF INVISIBLE HAND: In his book on the ‘Wealth of the Nations ’, Adam Smith propounded an idea of Invisible Hand. It is used as a metaphor to describe unintended social benefits resulting from individual actions. He argued for the individuals to work for their self-interest as every individual is a rational being and this would ultimately result into the overall societal development. Thus, he prescribes the idea of free market without any regulations i.e. the idea of Laissez Faire state. But there are certain pre-conditions for the capitalist model to achieve the desired objectives:  Man has to be rational in every decision which is not practical.  There can be many instances of ‘market failure’ such as: o Asymmetry of information among the economic agents o Presence of public goods o Externalities in production and consumption o Uncertainity In this simplified analysis, it would seem that capitalist model instead of inclusive growth would result in the deeper inequalities between the rich and poor. But let’s argue this much in detail below. CAPITALISM AND GROWTH: IS IT INCLUSIVE OR N OT?? One point that needs to mention here is: For Inclusive Growth, there has to be growth atleast. Thus, any model that promotes inclusive growth should have mainly 2 pre-requisites:  One that promotes fast growth for the country  Generates equitable opportunities for every section of society to be benefitted There is no doubt based on the experience across the countries of the world that capitalism has achieved a fast pace of economic growth. This has consequently resulted into unprecedented increases in income (although unequally distributed) which led to healthy standards of living and increased prosperity of an individual that also raises the life expectancy of an individual. Thus, there is overall remarkable progress of mankind through the increased acceptance of the free market policies in both rich and poor countries. Before 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

the industrial revolution, 80% of the world’s population lived in abject poverty. By 1980, that number has fallen to 34.8% and by 2000, less than 20% of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Although it has resulted into wide income disparities, it was assumed that this is for a short while and the benefits of economic growth would trickle down to the bottom i.e. marginalized sections of society. This came to be known as Trickle Down theory. But now it has been widely recognized that the benefits of the economic growth do no trickle down automatically. While we have seen how capitalism has guided the world economy to unprecedented prosperity, it has led to increased inequalities between the rich and the poor that extends far beyond income. It would affect the access to employment, good health and educational opportunities. Growth would be a meaningless objective if it has not been accompanied by the improvement in income and other social indicators of the majority. Marx has always argued that income inequalities are integral to capitalist development. Illustrating some facts of disparities:  The 1.2 billion poorest people on the planet account for just 1% of global consumption, while the billion richest are responsible for 72%.  85 richest people in the world have accumulated the same wealth as the bottom 3.5 billion. For the first time, the wealth of the richest 1% of the world’s population will overtake that of the remaining 99% in few years as per study.  One in eight people goes to bed hungry every night, while 1.4 billion adults are overweight. Even Jagdish Bhagwati, an eminent Indian economist who emphasized to focus only on growth highlights the importance of the state in achieving Inclusive Growth. He argues that growth may raise inequality initially but sustained growth will eventually raise enough resources for the state to redistribute and mitigate the effects of initial inequality. On the other hand, Amartya Sen argues for the investment in social infrastructure (such as health, education, sanitation etc.) which would improve the human capabilities of people, consequently their productivity and ultimately raising growth. And such growth will be much more inclusive as it now provides equitable opportunities with having around same human capabilities to reap the benefits of economic growth. But such approach demands a proactive role of the state. From the discussion of the above two economists, one thing that has been emphasized is the active role of the state in achieving Inclusive Growth. It has now been widely recognized that capitalism unchecked would only result into the exploitation of the marginalized and the increasing income inequality. Thus, today nowhere is the country where there is fully capitalist model. There has been a shift from ‘State vs Market’ to ‘State with Market’ for the economic development of any country. Let’s take all the above arguments with respect to a single country and based on my knowledge and experience, I’ve chosen India. INDIAN PERSPECTIVE : Indian economy since Independence has four major objectives i.e. Economic Growth, Self-Reliance, Modernization and Equity. To achieve all these objectives, India has adopted a Mixed Economy Model which combines the features of both capitalist market economies and socialist command economies. But the role of public and private sector has been continuously changing and the private sector started gaining prominence after the LPG reforms of 1991. Thus the Indian economy, whose growth rate was criticized as Hindu Rate of Growth and that never peaked to 5% before the reforms, started moving on a path of high growth. Today, India has been recognized as the fastest growing economy of the world. Despite the high growth over the past two decades, concerns have been raised over the growth not being equally distributed. Thus, the policy makers have argued for Inclusive Growth in 11th and 12th Five Year Plans (FYP). To achieve Inclusive Growth, many of the flagship schemes such as MGNREGA, National Health Mission, Right to Education, Janani Suraksha Yojana etc. have been launched. 57, 3rd Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, ND-60 || www.orientias.com || +91-9643772112, 9810949873.

In India, state is playing an active role along with the civil society organizations to ensure that the fruits of economic growth are reaped by all section of society. At the same time, businesses also started acting in responsible manner and contributing to the society through Corporate Social Responsibility obligations. WAY FORWARD: Capitalism is a necessary evil but such ‘evil’ has to be removed by the state and other actors in governance process and have to evolve new models of capitalism such as Conscious Capitalism, Moral Capitalism and Inclusive Capitalism. What matters in not the growth but the nature of growth and, more importantly, the beneficiaries of the growth!!! ************************************************************************
