UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative for the practice of Mains answer writing. It covers essential topics of static and dynamic parts of the UPSC Civil Services syllabus covered under various GS papers. This answer-writing practice is designed to help you as a value addition to your UPSC CSE Mains. Attempt today’s answer writing on questions related to topics of GS-1 to check your progress. 🚨 The Indian Express UPSC Essentials brings to you the June edition of its monthly magazine. Click Here to read. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨 QUESTION 1 "Welfarism is not the solution for India's job problem; skill creation is." How far do you agree with this statement in the context of India's current socio-economic landscape? QUESTION 2 How are hurricanes formed? Discuss the classification of hurricanes based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. General points on the structure of the answers Introduction — The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction. — It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts. Body — It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content. — The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points. — Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse. — Underlining keywords gives you an edge over other candidates and enhances presentation of the answer. — Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be used logically and only where it is required. Way forward/ conclusion — The ending of the answer should be on a positive note and it should have a forward-looking approach. However, if you feel that an important problem must be highlighted, you may add it in your conclusion. Try not to repeat any point from body or introduction. — You may use the findings of reports or surveys conducted at national and international levels, quotes etc. in your answers. Self Evaluation — It is the most important part of our Mains answer writing practice. UPSC Essentials will provide some guiding points or ideas as a thought process that will help you to evaluate your answers. THOUGHT PROCESS You may enrich your answers by some of the following points QUESTION 1: "Welfarism is not the solution for India's job problem; skill creation is." How far do you agree with this statement in the context of India's current socio-economic landscape? Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers. Introduction: — One of the most pressing issues to address is a lack of high-quality jobs, particularly among India's rapidly growing youth population. — It is generally known that unemployment has been a persistent issue for many decades and under many administrations. — People who believe that economic expansion will instantly address the job crisis fail to acknowledge that 50 years of national surveys on employment and unemployment have shown that job availability in India has not kept up with the country's rate of economic growth. Body: You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer: — The rural employment guarantee plans were implemented at the central level in 2005. These projects provide the very poor with laborious, often backbreaking, work beneath the sweltering sun. — The worker rarely receives unemployment benefits if the job is not delivered within 15 days, or if wage payments are delayed excessively; in most situations, work is provided for far less than the minimum 100 days per household, and so on. — The rural and urban employment guarantee initiatives are primarily concerned with providing relief or "distress" employment to the poor, if appropriate. — There is a long-term need for a variety of sustainable programmes that provide pretty excellent jobs in addition to short-term relief. — Unemployment is mostly a matter of employability given the existing level of poor skills and training. — To compensate for decades of neglect, a large-scale vocational education initiative with linkages to apprenticeship in commercial firms must be launched immediately. — For example: (i) In Germany, potential employers contribute to vocational programmes into which school-leavers enrol, saving firms money on worker screening. (ii) The California community college-cum-vocational system collaborates with local businesses. — In developing nations, there are now somewhat successful examples such as the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project, the Generation India programme, the Youth Building the Future Programme in Colombia, and the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator projects in numerous African countries, among others. — In most circumstances, corporations, local governments, business groups, and civic organisations must work together. — In India, there are numerous capital subsidies in various sectors aimed at stimulating investment, which skew investment in labour-replacing capital-intensive directions. — Capital subsidies should be substituted by salary subsidies, particularly for major enterprises in organised sectors, provided that they produce new regular jobs. — Equal attention should be provided to technical support and extension services (including management training) for non-farm home enterprises in order to help them create productive jobs. — The debate over job promotion completely misses the demand shortfall issue that our private investors face in the mass consumer market. This problem has been exacerbated by our high income and wealth inequality, in which the advantages of prosperity are concentrated at the top while people at the bottom face stagnating earnings and jobs. Conclusion: — A small basic income supplement can be supported by significantly lowering the direct and indirect subsidies that the government currently provides to the wealthy. — The government's objective is to increase employment while also boosting employability. The government has created a number of schemes to address the country's employment situation, including the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), PM-SVANidhi Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), and many others. (Source: Welfarism is not the solution for India’s job problem, skill creation is by Pranab Bardhan) Points to Ponder Efforts of the government to increase employment What is the Generation India programme? How can "Make in India" contribute to employment creation? Related Previous Year Questions “Development and welfare schemes for the vulnerable, by its nature, are discriminatory in approach.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer. (2023) Skill development programmes have succeeded in increasing human resources supply to various sectors. In the context of the statement analyse the linkages between education, skill and employment. (2023) QUESTION 2: How are hurricanes formed? Discuss the classification of hurricanes based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers. Introduction: — Hurricanes, or tropical storms, form over warm ocean waters near the equator. — When the warm, moist air from the ocean surface rises upward, a lower air pressure area is formed below. Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure rushes into this low pressure area, eventually rising, after it also becomes warm and moist. As warm, moist air rises, it cools down, and the water in the air forms clouds and thunderstorms. — This whole system of clouds and winds gains strength and momentum using the ocean’s heat, and the water that evaporates from its surface. Storm systems with wind speeds of 119 kmph and above are classified as hurricanes. Body: You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer: Classification of hurricanes based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale — Hurricanes are classified using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale into five categories (Category 1 to Category 5) based on their sustained wind speeds. Category Wind speed Description 1 119-153 km/h Very dangerous winds will produce some damage 2 154-177 km/h Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage 3 178-208 km/h Devastating damage will occur 4 209-251 km/h Catastrophic damage will occur 5 252 km/h or higher Catastrophic damage will occur (Source: www.nhc.noaa.gov) — Storms that reach Category 3 and higher are considered major hurricanes due to their potential to inflict significant damage. Conclusion: — On June 28, Beryl evolved from a tropical depression with winds of 56.3 kmph to a hurricane in less than 24 hours. Over the next 24 hours, it quickly strengthened into a Category 4 storm. — On July 1, Beryl made landfall on Grenada's Carriacou Island as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of more than 241 kmph. As it moved over the Caribbean Sea, it grew stronger, eventually becoming a Category 5 hurricane on July 2. This made it the first Category 5 hurricane seen in the Atlantic hurricane season on record. (Source: How climate change fuelled Hurricane Beryl’s record early intensification by Alind Chauhan) Points to Ponder What is the difference between hurricanes and cyclones? Location of Yucatan Peninsula Related Previous Year Questions Discuss the consequence of Climate change on the food security in tropical countries. (2023) Discuss the meaning of colour-coded weather warnings for cyclone prone areas given by India Meteorological Department. (2022) Previous Mains Answer Practice UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 57) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 58) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 58) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 59) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 59) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 58) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.
