🚨 This story is part of our special initiative for UPSC and other competitive exams. Look out for UPSC KEY on weekdays and UPSC Essentials everyday, Weekly news express with MCQs, Key Terms of the past week, Quizzes as well as The Indian Express 360° Upsc Debate, Society & Social Justice, UPSC Mains Practice, Art and Culture with Devdutt Pattanaik, UPSC Ethics Simplified, Experts Talk, and more. 🚨 UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative for the practice of Mains answer writing. Mains Answer Writing 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. QUESTION 1 How digital currencies or cryptocurrencies have affected the global world? Discuss with reference to India too. QUESTION 2 Discuss the causes of landslides in India's Western Ghats. Highlight the major recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil Report. 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: How digital currencies or cryptocurrencies have affected the global world? Discuss with reference to India too. Introduction: A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around a general statement about digital currencies and cryptocurrencies. — A digital currency or cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange, such as the rupee or the US dollar, but is digital in format and uses encryption techniques to both control the creation of monetary units and to verify the exchange of money. — In traditional financial deals, where two parties are using fiat money, a third-party organisation — usually a central bank — assures that the money is genuine and the transaction is recorded. — For example, Bitcoin is considered to be the world’s best-known cryptocurrency and is the largest in the world according to market capitalisation, followed by Ethereum. (Source: Explained: Digital currencies and how they work by Pranav Mukul and Anil Sasi) Body: You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer: — Allowing exchanges to operate freely and mandating banks to open accounts for crypto companies. for example, Ukraine has now legalised its crypto sector which legitimises the rise of digital or virtual currencies and raises pertinent questions surrounding their role in geopolitics. — Central banks around the globe have been studying and working on digital versions of their currencies for retail use to avoid leaving digital payments to the private sector amid an accelerating decline of cash. — According to the study conducted by BIS, most of the new Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will emerge in the retail space, where eleven central banks could join peers in the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Nigeria which already run live digital retail currencies. — The BIS also said that the share of central banks in its survey engaged in some form of CBDC had risen to 93 per cent, with 60 per cent saying the emergence of stablecoins and other crypto-assets had accelerated their work. How it will affect India? — Digital currency will further bolster the digital economy, make payment system more efficient, reduce cost involved in physical cash management and will contribute to more financial inclusion. — It is supported by the state-of-the-art payment system of India that is affordable and accessible, convenient, efficient, safe and secure to use. — The CBDC will bolster the digital economy, make the monetary and payment system more efficient and contribute to further financial inclusion. — It will help in the efficiency of the settlement system, boosting innovation in cross-border payment space. — The CBDC for retail is a general-purpose currency, targeting at individuals and freely accessible exhibiting characteristics of cash albeit in digital form, while CBDC for wholesale limits access to a predefined group of users like financial institutions and corporates. (Sources: Digital currency to further bolster digital economy, says RBI, Twenty-four central banks will have digital currencies by 2030) Conclusion: Your conclusion should be short. — According to the survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), central banks across emerging and advanced economies are expected to have digital currencies in circulation by the end of the decade. — Eighteen of the G20 countries are exploring it with seven including India already having it in the pilot stage. (Source: Digital currency to further bolster digital economy, says RBI) Points to Ponder Limitations How do cryptocurrencies work? Related Previous Year Question What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also? (2021) QUESTION 2: Discuss the causes of landslides in India's Western Ghats. Highlight the major recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil Report. Introduction: A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around a general statement about landslides in Western Ghats. — Landslides in the Western Ghats are characterised by a lateritic cap, and pose a constant threat to the Western Ghats in the South, along the steep slopes overlooking the Konkan coast besides Nilgiris, which is highly landslide prone. — Landslides are prevalent in the Western Ghats. This region is listed as one of the most landslide-prone regions by the National Disaster Management Authority of India. Causes of Landslides Landslides in these ghats are restricted to monsoon season. The main reasons behind the landslides in western ghats are: — Change in land use or land cover — Slope of land — Geomorphology — High rainfall is a crucial factor in accelerating landslides — Agricultural practice on hilly terrain. (Source: ndma.gov.in) Body: You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer: Recommendation of Madhav Gadgil Report — The Gadgil Commission was formed by the Ministry of Environment in 2010 to study the impact of population pressure, climate change and development activities on the Western Ghats. — The commission submitted its 552-page report to the Centre in August 2011. There are various recommendations submitted by the Madhav Gadgil committee: — The report recommended classifying 64 percent of the Western Ghats, spread over six states, into Ecologically Sensitive Zones called ESZ 1, ESZ 2 and ESZ 3. — It also recommended designating the entire region as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). — Almost all developmental activities like mining, construction of thermal power plants, dams were to stop along with the decommissioning of similar projects that have completed their shelf life in ESZ 1. — It said that both the Athirappilly and Gundia hydel project sites should not be accorded environmental clearance as they fall in this zone. — For Goa, WGEEP recommended an indefinite moratorium on new environmental clearances for mining in ESZs 1 and 2, a phasing out of mining in Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 by 2016, and continuation of existing mining in Ecologically Sensitive Zone 2 under strict regulation with an effective system of social audit. — In the Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra, the panel advised that in ESZs 1 and 2, no new polluting (red and orange category) industries, which would include coal-based power plants, should be permitted to be established, and the existing red and orange category industries should be asked to switch to zero pollution by 2016. Further, it found that plains and coastal tracts in these districts were under “severe environmental and social stress”. — In all the zones, genetically modified crops should not be allowed, use of plastic bags be prohibited, Special Economic Zones should not be permitted, new hill stations should not be allowed, changing the land use from farmland to non-farm land and the stoppage of diversions of rivers to protect the ecology of the region, and public lands should not be converted into private lands. — The report also suggested a bottom-to-top approach instead of a top-to-bottom approach in governance of the environment, indicating decentralization and more powers to local authorities. — Another major recommendation was a ban on growing single commercial crops like tea, coffee, cardamom, rubber, banana and pineapple, which have led to “fragmentation of forest, soil erosion, degradation of river ecosystems and toxic contamination of the environment” — It recommended the establishment of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as a professional body to manage the ecology of the region and to ensure its sustainable development. — It stated that new settlement patterns and development are resulting in hill-cutting and physical changes in slope profile due to roads, terracing and construction. (Source: Raigad landslide brings back focus on Madhav Gadgil report on Western Ghats: What it recommended by Srishti Kapoor) Conclusion: Your conclusion should be short. — Recently, a landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district claimed 27 lives, and flattened an entire village. — The Western Ghats have been accorded World Heritage status by UNESCO, these are a 1,600-km-long mountain chain running the western coast of the country covering six states — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. — These Ghats are home to high mountain forests, which moderate the tropical climate of the region and present one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet. (Source: Raigad landslide brings back focus on Madhav Gadgil report on Western Ghats: What it recommended by Srishti Kapoor) Points to Ponder Measures to improve agricultural practice and land use pattern in hilly terrain. Related Previous Year Questions Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats. (2021) Bring out the causes for more frequent occurrence of landslides in the Himalayas than in the Western Ghats. (b) There is no formation of deltas by rivers of the Western Ghats. Why? (2013) Previous Mains Answer Practice UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 11) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 10) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 11) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 12) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 11) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 12) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 4 (Week 9) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. New on the list: UPSC Essentials: Society & Social Justice | Urbanisation and associated issues (Part 3). Check out!
