IASbaba's Hot Questions, IASbaba's Think Learn and Perform 2017, UPSC Mains Answer Writing
SYNOPSIS- IASbaba’s TLP 2017 [27th Jan] – Day 10
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1. What moral lessons have you learnt from your favourite moral thinker? How do those lessons help you in daily life? Give suitable examples.
Since this question is too specific and based on your choice of moral thinker we cannot make a standard synopsis for this. Some points that you need to keep in mind:
Don’t opt for a personality just because it is famous in history or you want to stand out of the crowd. Opt for the one which you know about because a misinterpretation of a thinker’s teaching will have a very bad impression on the examiner.
Be precise and direct with your approach, many people have mentioned about the personal life of the thinker. That is not required. Write about the moral lessons.
Take examples from your life events showing how you have applied these lessons. If you have already been in a position of authority where you got a chance to apply these morals mention that because it will be closely related to what you are aspiring for.
Try not to fake a story because the examiners are too experienced to understand that.
Best Answer: NIO
2. In the age of social media, the role of family in inculcating values has become even more important. Do you agree? Discuss.
Introduction
Social and digital media have become a huge part of today’s society. The Cyber World exists parallel to our physical reality in that the Internet, television, video games, and cell phones all play a role in shaping who we are as individuals existing together outside of technology.
Body: (You can tailor the below content by using few examples to adhere to word limit)
The advent of social media has no doubt made our lives easier, however, amidst all sociological benefits, social media have regrettably contributed to moral degeneration and decadence among youths. The previous invaluable moral values and norms – such as respect or sacredness of human life, respect for elders, honesty, loyalty, equality – have regrettably been ruined, while immorality now reigns especially among the youths.
We often witness in news, some of the moral issues that have arisen from the abuse and obsession with social media: Sexual Promiscuity, Internet Crime, Indecent Dressing and Sexual Harassment, Loss of Sense of sacredness of Human Life and Neighbourliness, Impatience and Quick Syndrome, Lose of Patience among the youths, Get-Rich-Quick syndrome. People no longer care about how their interactions with others affect the outside world. Today, everything is about instant gratification and pleasure. (You can avoid these and give recent examples as well – fake accounts, trolls, social abuses)
Media plays a large part into what shapes our relations towards another, younger viewers such as teenagers and younger ones alike are more in tune with what is trendy and what is cool than actually learning anything constructive. The family values are slowly diminishing and every day more and more people are beginning to think more as an individual rather than a whole in society.
“As the family goes, so goes society. The family is the basic building block of society. As it erodes so does society.”
In this situation, the role each and every family has to play in inculcating right values has become far more important. As a child grows into an adult, he/she adapts himself into the values system he is brought up. The family is the first and the most important social sphere around a child.
Conclusion
Family should consciously contribute to the building of a morally viable Indian society by instilling strong moral values into their children right from their homes which is the microcosm of the larger society. This will curb the level of moral decadence in the country.
The youths should refrain from every act of immorality as this does not mean well for the future of the country, since it is said that youths are the leaders of tomorrow.
They should also avoid the obsession and abuse of the social media sites, but instead should moderately utilize the array of benefits which they offer.
Best answer 1: PBN
Best answer 2: Arjun
Social media has numerous benefits like access to knowledge, views, meaningful discussions about various issues directly or indirectly significant in one’s day to day life. But this does not interfere or conflict with the institution of family. however, the demerits and shortcomings of Social media does.
Demerits like terrorist propagate their ideas and often recruit through SM and fringe groups use this platform to radicalize youth. the cases of adolescents getting addicted to SM are numerous, Another aspect points out the fact that members less engage with the family because of involvement in the virtual world of SM which loosens the family ties and bonds.
Indian family system is fortunately immune to many challenges and can be seen as a effective remedy to solve most of the problems.
- Our family systems are built on values and prejudices which are essentially religious and cultural and not historical as in other societies. Thus for a child in India who is taught stories of ramayan and puranas becomes the moral base on which his thought process will be built.
- Respect for elders, compassion for siblings are core tenets of indian family system.
- Parents still hold the authority and has the power to control and monitor their children which will help them not to fall prey to the dark world of SM.
With the popularity of social media, the conduct of public discourse in matters pertaining to political, social, economical or culture changed to a considerable extent. family like many other factors plays a significant role in deciding the spheres of discussion, the boundaries of its scope, the level of acceptance and disagreement as well as the level of an individual’s or groups’ participation.
3. Administration is based on legality and legitimacy both. Substantiate by taking suitable examples.
You are all aspiring to be a civil servant where administration will be your duty. You need to understand the importance of legality and legitimacy.
Legal is something which is written in country’s law book i.e. written fixed law. The actions of state are taken according to this law of the land.
Legitimacy on the other hand is the law of the society. Social acceptability is what makes something legitimate whether it is legal or not or.
Now with such diversity in India, every society is different and so are its laws despite the fact that same legality is applicable everywhere.
So in order to administer a area it’s important for you to know the local values of that place so that you can relate to the local public and make them understand your actions for their welfare.
Some examples to differentiate between legality and legitimacy –
Child marriage in India is illegal and it has been for a long time but in Rajasthan it is legitimate and still people get their children married.
In a different scenario, Live in relationships are legal as long as both the partners are of legal age. But it is still not legitimate in society and people still frown at it.
A recent example is that of Jallikattu which many of you have mentioned. Although it has been made illegal, it is legitimate in the society. In order to keep the harmony, sometimes you need to think about the values of the people and then take an action.
Also it is to be kept in mind that whatever is legitimate in society may not be according to the constitutional values then at times an administrator has to take a strict action for example, untouchability in India was legitimate for centuries but a strong law was passed making it illegal and an unconstitutional activity, slowly the norms of society are changing and cases of untouchability are decreasing.
So for fair and proper administration, a person has to walk on a razor tin boundary between legitimacy and legality.
(Note: You can include many more examples on similar lines.)
Best Answer : Rex
Administration can be simply defined as the management of an organization. The organization could be a private business, a Government etc. “Administration is based on legality and legitimacy both.” Legalese can often be used to bypass legitimacy or to impose a false sense of legitimacy. I believe this would be better explained with the help of examples:
Example 1: The Jalikattu issue: While the Government was in the right when it enforced the ban on Jalikattu, the decision can not be termed as legitimate considering that it offended the cultural sensibilities of a people celebrating a festival from generations, and it was taken abruptly without consulting the people most involved in it.
Example 2: Lord Dalhousie’s “Doctrine of Lapse”: Brute power enabled the British to enforce this policy. On the surface, the British did everything as per the Law but the law was always moulded and twisted to suit their interests. It gave them a false sense of legitimacy, a legitimacy on paper backed by law, while not recognizing the legitimate feelings of Indians over who should govern them, how they choose to live in their land considering that they were in the majority etc. Can such decisions be termed legitimate if people do not recognize the law that backs them?
Example 3: Construction of infrastructure like roads, railways, dams, power plants etc.: While the Government is legally allowed to acquire land to construct infrastructure, the decision should be taken considering the legitimate interests of the people whose land is to be acquired — they often have a sentimental attachment, or perhaps they’ve got no other source of livelihood. Without proper rehabilitation, such decisions could be termed legal but not legitimate.
Example 4: AFSPA in disturbed areas like parts of the North East, and J & K: Considering the role of the armed forces & the Govt to maintain the peace, they have been allowed by the Law to use even the most draconian features of the AFSPA (arrest without warrants, open fire if they deem it appropriate etc.) but simply enforcing the law without listening to the legitimate demands of the people affected (perhaps the reason why the area was classified as disturbed in the first place) undermines its legitimacy.
Thus, true administration would involve *both* legality and legitimacy. There is no legitimacy without legal backing and conversely, simply a legal text does not grant automatic legitimacy to an action.
4. Examine various initiatives/ campaigns/ programmes of the Indian government which are based on ethical and moral principles.
Here provide examples of some recent government initiatives/campaigns/programmes where it lays down guidelines or gives direction to citizens to conduct themselves based on ethical and moral principles. (Hint: PM asking well off Indians to give up LPG subsidy.)
Below are some of the initiatives/campaigns/programmes which should be in your answers.
- Opting out of LPG subsidy scheme
- Income Declaration Scheme
- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana
Give a brief explanation of these schemes and also on the ethical and moral aspect of the scheme.
In conclusion you can say how far initiatives and campaigns which are based on ethical and moral principles are success.
Best answer: Rex
Designing programmes based around ethical and moral principles makes the populace an equal partner with the Government in ensuring the success of the programmes simultaneously reducing the burden of implementation and enforcement on the Govt. Such programmes appeal to the citizens’ innate sense of ethics for the greater good.
Some of the initiatives of the Indian Govt based on ethical and moral principles are:
- Swach Bharat Abhiyan: Made an appeal to Indians to make cleanliness and sanitation a part of our daily lives. This has the potential to not only make aesthetic changes but to reduce our expenditure on healthcare and ensure a productive population.
- Income Declaration Scheme: Granted tax evading citizens a way out while making an appeal for everyone to pay their rightful taxes. Adverts run by the Govt appealed to the citizens to pay their taxes to contribute to nation building.
- LPG subsidy surrender: Made an appeal to economically well off citizens to surrender their LPG subsidy. The savings were then diverted to fund PM Ujjwala Yojana.
- Good Samaritan rules: To ensure immediate help for road accident victims in the “Golden Hour”, the Govt declared that the bystanders helping the victim would not be harassed by the Police and even given a little certificate of recognition.
- Reservation of seats in educational institutions and job vacancies: Aims to right the wrongs of our previous generations by extending all the support possible for the upliftment of economically and socially backward classes.
All good programmes and laws are backed up by solid ethical/moral principles for the ultimate aim of any Government, apart from maintaining order, is not to end up with innumerable laws or initiatives but to facilitate development in the lives of its citizens.
5. Examine the merits and limitations of India’s IPR regime in the context of recent controversies.
Many of you have just listed merits and demerits points of IPR policy. Question demands you to examine – hence explain briefly analyzing it with the help of recent controversies.
Refer best answers and rewrite accordingly.
- Discuss the provisions that led US Special 301 Report criticize India’s IPR policy
- Whether the India’s IPR laws are in line with the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and WTO obligations.
- Issue surrounding debarring of ever greening patents and Section 3(d) of Indian Patent Act – provide both the merits and limitations of section 3(d) which has been used to axe many evergreening attempts, the most significant being Novartis’s anti-cancer drug, Glivec.
- Recent DU photocopy case or Rameshwari photocopy case controvery
- Granting of compulsory license
- Merits and Limitations of provision of pre-grant opposition: Indian Patent Law allows for a mechanism termed pre-grant opposition, which allows a third party to challenge the validity of a patent applications before it is granted. Such a procedure is not recognized in most countries. However, it gives a much-required opportunity to NGOs and other such public-spirited to bodies to present their case, and hence, plays a uniquely important role in India. Pre-grant opposition has led to the rejection of patents of many American companies, and hence, USA has expressed disapproval of this mechanism.
Best answer 1: Vivek
India’s present IPR regime is completely in agreement with WTO’s agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The IPR policy attempts to strike a balance between individual rights over innovation and societal good in making available the benefits of innovation to the large public.
The depth and extend India’s IPR regime could be best understood by analysing few recent controversies:
- Section 3(d), Indian Patent Act: According to this, India blocks extension patents based on any small/minute changes in structure/process and that does not enhance the efficacy significantly. In other words, evergreen patent are not permitted under Indian law.
Merits: Lifeline for generic pharmaceutical businesses in India. Cost effective availability of many life saving drugs in local market.
Limitations: Discourages innovation as well as foreign investors.
- Copyright Issue: Rameshwari Photocopy case: International publishers against a photocopy shop on Delhi University’s (DU) campus in order to determine whether or not copyrighted material was being used in the course of instruction. Delhi HC upheld the shop’s right to photocopy course material for students.
Merit: This is a landmark verdict as photocopies provides for huge part of students course demands in India due to its easy availability and affordability.
Limitations: Discourages international publishers in Indian market.
- IPR on traditional knowledge: Traditional knowledge mostly comprises of Ayurveda, Yoga etc.
Merits: Benefits of commercialization can be entitled to knowledge stakeholders. Exploitation by big enterprises can be controlled. Regulation on global businesses running on image of Indian traditional knowledge. Improves acceptability among local society.
Limitations: Hinders legal limitation of working of many small companies. Traditional livelihood of many communities may be hurt. Patent can be exploited by local firms to eliminate competition. Knowledge that doesn’t qualify as IP may get sidelined.
Experts says Indian IPR regime is innovation in itself and it is prototyped by many other developing countries. The recent issues and controversies shows India needs continuous revision and fine tuning of policies to have right balance between interests of common people and investors/technologists.
Best answer 2: PBN
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