Detailed Weekly Plan 3 [30th June – 5th July]

Weekly Plan – 3

(30^th June, 2015 – 5^th July, 2015)

Weekly Plan Archives                 Prelims ’60+3′ Day Plan                                          Master Plan

30^th June & 1^st July 2015

SUBJECT & TOPIC :

Polity – Constitutional Amendment & Union Executive

FOCUS ON:

Amendment of the Constitution

• Procedure for amendment based on Simple and Special majority (Article 368); provisions of the Constitution which can be amended based on Simple and Special majority.
• Amendability of Fundamenta Rights
• What constitutes ‘Basic Structure’ like Supremacy of the Constitution, Judicial Review, Secular character etc.
• Important Constitutional Amendments Acts – 42nd, 44th , 61st 72nd, 73rd
• Criticism

Note: Note down the recent amendments from 91st Amendment Act, 2003 till date.

Union Government

A general understanding on the difference between Prime Ministerial and Presidential form of Government, its merits and de-merits.

Union Executive– President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Central Council of Ministers, Attorney General

FOCUS ON:

• Election procedure/Mode of Appointment
• Powers and Functions Example: Veto power, Ordinance making power, Pardoning power (article 72) of the president
• Resignation/Removal/Impeachment
• Relationship between President and Prime-Minister with regard to their roles and responsibilities

Note: Be aware of the recent issues w.r.t to Pardoning power (as was in the case of Ajmal Kasab, Afzal Guru), Impeachment, Ordinance-making Power of the President

Central Council of Ministers (COM)

• Importance of 91st Amendment Act with regard to composition of COM
• Difference between COM’s and Cabinet Ministers
• Cabinet ministers, Cabinet Committees – their role and responsibilities
• Understand the concept of collective responsibility, kitchen cabinet

Union Legislature – Parliament

Atleast 25-30% (out of total questions in Polity) of the marks come from this chapter and is the most important topic from the exam’s perspective. The entire chapter is important!

Focus:

• Working of the Parliament– Role and functions of the Parliament; Sessions, Motions, Parliamentary procedure – Summoning, Prorogation, Joint sitting
• Devices of Parliamentary proceedings like Question Hour, Zero Hour, Adjournment Motion etc.
• Similarities and Differences between Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, their composition, election, powers and functions; Special powers of Rajya Sabha
• Qualifications and Disqualification’s of members; Anti defection law
• Parliamentary Privileges
• Enactment/Procedure to make Law– Different stages in passing of a Bill; Different types of bills – Ordinary Bill, Money Bill, Finance Bill –its importance
• Budget-Enactment of Budget; What does the budget contain? Its significance. What do you understand by Charged Expenditure?
• Funds available like Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund, Public Accounts Fund- who authorizes it, what does it contain?
• Role of important institutions in the Parliament like Speaker and Chairman of RajyaSabha – their election, removal/resignation, functions
• Role of Leader of opposition (LoP)
• Importance of Parliamentary Committees –Estimates Committee, Business Advisory Committee, Committee on Government Assurance – their composition, functions, and a general idea about the less significant committees like Rules Committee etc.

SOURCES TO REFER :

• Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
• Introduction to Indian Constitution – D.D.Basu

2^nd July 2015

SUBJECT & TOPIC :

Indian Geography– Minerals, Climate

FOCUS ON:

• Major areas where they are found
• Characteristics of the minerals
• It’s Uses and Environmental impact.

Example: Coal occurs mainly in Gondwana region. It is used in power generation, but since it’s a fossil fuel it leads to release of CO2 (a major greenhouse gas)

Climate

Note: Before studying about Monsoons, go through the Climate topic under World Geography for Basic understanding on Climate and Weather.

FOCUS ON:

• Factors determining the Climate of India

• Indian Monsoon
  • It’s nature/characteristics, significance and impact

• Upper Air circulation- Jet streams, Westerlies

• Cyclones – tropical and temperate

• El-Nino, La-Nino (More Emphasis should be given)
  • How is it developed?
  • How does this effect Indian climate and vegetation
  • Related concepts like upwelling and its advantages

SOURCES TO REFER :

• NCERT – Geography – Class 9 ‘Contemporary India –I’
• NCERT – Geography – Class 10 ‘Contemporary India –II’
• NCERT – Geography – Class 11 ‘India : Physical Environment’

3^rd July 2015

SUBJECT & TOPIC :

Indian Geography  -Soil

FOCUS ON:

• Soils in India –Alluvial, Black, Red, Laterite – Its location (availability); Characteristics; Crops grown.
• Example: Laterite soil contains iron oxide which imparts red colour to the soil. Its poor in humus and nitrogen due to heavy leaching. It’s found in Western Coastal plain
• Factors which control the formation of soil
• Soil Erosion – Sheet erosion, gully erosion etc.- causes
• Impact of salinization, alka , acidification of soil
• Soil Conservation methods – crop rotation, Contour farming, Terracing, cover crops, conservation tillage and planted windbreaks

SOURCES TO REFER :

• NCERT – Geography – Class 9 ‘Contemporary India –I’
• NCERT – Geography – Class 10 ‘Contemporary India –II’
• NCERT – Geography – Class 11 ‘India : Physical Environment’

4^th July 2015

SUBJECT & TOPIC :

General Science and Technology

FOCUS ON :

The questions from this section are based on your general understanding and awareness. It will be more of application oriented and latest developments on the lines of UPSC Standards.

SOURCES TO REFER :

• NCERT– Class 6th to 10th and Biology- class 12^th
• Newspaper- The Hindu, Times of India, Down to Earth and Science Daily

5^th July 2015

SUBJECT & TOPIC :

Environment /Ecology – National and International- Biodiversity, Wildlife, Flora and Fauna, Conservation measures

FOCUS ON:

The questions from this section are based on your general understanding and awareness. It will be more of application oriented and latest developments on the lines of UPSC Standards.

SOURCES TO REFER :

• ICSE books- class 9^th and 10^th
• NCERT Class 11^th– Environmental Geography and NCERT Biology-class 12^th
• NIOS- Environment Notes
• Newspapers: Times of India, The Hindu and Down to Earth

For Comprehensive Strategy on Prelims with Previous year Paper Analysis – Click Here