UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 4)

Each day, we will cover one new subject. Attempt today’s answer writing on questions related to topics of GS-1 to check your progress. Come back tomorrow to attempt questions on topics related to GS-2.

QUESTION 1

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was passed a decade ago and still India has found gaps in its implementation. Discuss.

QUESTION 2

What are the different types of industries? List out the factors responsible for the location of industries.

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 give you an edge over the other candidates and helps in the better presentation of the answer.

— Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be use 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: The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was passed a decade ago and still India has found gaps in its implementation. Discuss.

Introduction:

A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around a general statement about POSCO, its origin and the objective of the Act.

— The POSCO Act came into force on November 14, 2012, and was specifically formulated to deal with offences including child sexual abuse and child pornography. The Act through its 46 provisions increased the scope of reporting offences against children, which were not earlier covered under the Indian Penal Code.

— This included aggravated penetrative sexual assault to include punishment for abuse by a person in position of trust or authority including public servants, police, armed forces, management or staff of an educational or religious institution.

— It also defined the procedure for reporting of cases, including a provision for punishment for failure to report a case or false complaint. It provided procedures for recording of the statement of a child by the police and court, laying down that it should be done in a child-friendly manner, and by the setting up of special courts.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Amendment in the Act

— The Act was amended in 2019 to create provisions for enhanced sanctions for specific offenses to deter abusers and promote a child’s protection, security, and a decent childhood.

— The Act has enhanced punishment under various sections of the Act including punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault to be increased to include the death penalty.

— The Act has also removed the words “communal or sectarian violence”, which had punishment for a person who sexually abused a child during the course of such violence. The words have been replaced with “violence during any natural calamity or in similar situations”.

— Other sections under which the punishment has increased include the minimum punishment for penetrative sexual assault, which has been increased from seven years to 10 years — and, if the child is below 16 years of age, the minimum punishment has been increased to 20 years.

Gaps in its Implementations

— The analysis, titled ‘A Decade of POCSO’, was carried out by the Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, in collaboration with the Data Evidence for Justice Reform (DE JURE) program at the World Bank. It analysed a total of 230,730 cases from 486 districts spanning 28 states and Union Territories, from 2012 to February 2021. Case laws, policy interventions and case metadata was collected from the eCourts, the digital platform which gives information on pending cases, court orders, etc.

— The analysis has found that 43.44 per cent of trials under POCSO end in acquittals while only 14.03 per cent end in convictions. For every one conviction in a POCSO case, there are three acquittals.

— Acquittals are significantly higher than convictions for all the states studied. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, acquittals are seven times more than convictions; and in West Bengal, acquittals are five times more than convictions. In Kerala, the gap between acquittal and conviction is low with acquittals constituting 20.5 per cent of the total disposals and convictions constituting 16.49 per cent.

— As per data published by the National Crime Record Bureau in 2021, in 96 per cent of the cases filed under the POCSO Act, 2012, the accused was a person known to the child victim.

— According to the study, “support persons” are not being appointed in most POCSO cases. The Supreme Court had also noted that in 96 per cent of cases, a support person was not provided to the victim.

— A support person may be a person or organisation working in the field of child rights or child protection, an official of a children’s home or a shelter home having custody of the child, or a person employed by the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), who hand holds the victim through the entire legal process.

— The study has found on average, it takes 509.78 days for a POCSO case to be disposed of – whereas it has been stipulated under the Act that such cases need to be disposed of within a year.

— Delhi has the highest number of POCSO trials in the country with 13.54 cases per 100,000 population in 2018 – which does not necessarily mean the number of incidents of sexual offences is higher, but that there is increasing awareness and reporting of cases.

— But Delhi also had the highest average case length in the country in 2020, at 1,284.33 days. Chandigarh and West Bengal are the only states where the average time taken for convictions is within one year.

— Uttar Pradesh has the highest pendency with more than three-fourths (77.77 per cent) of the total POCSO cases filed between November 2012 and February 2021 pending. On the other hand, at 80.2 per cent, Tamil Nadu has the highest disposal percentage.

Conclusion:

Your concluding remark should be short and should encapsulate both parts of the answer.

— There was a sharp increase in the number of pending cases between 2019 and 2020, which could be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

— The report has observed that one of the primary reasons for this is the slow pace of investigation by the police and the delay in depositing samples with the Forensic Science Laboratories.

— The analysis further notes POCSO courts have not been designated in all districts. As of 2022, 408 POCSO courts have been set up in 28 States as part of the Government’s Fast Track Special Court’s Scheme. There is a lack of Special Public Prosecutors appointed specifically to handle POCSO cases, and even when they are appointed they are often employed for non-POCSO cases.

— However, India lacked any dedicated provision against child sexual abuse. Cases would be tried under different provisions of the Indian Penal Code, which was found to be ill-equipped.

(Source: How the POCSO Act has been amended? , An analysis of India’s landmark child abuse law)

QUESTION 2: What are the different types of industries? List out the factors responsible for the location of industries.

Introduction:

A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around a general statement about industries and their classification.

— Generally, industry refers to a unit or organizations involved in economic activities dealing with the production of goods, extraction of minerals or the provision of services.

Body:

The body will have two parts. You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Classification of Industries

There are various factors responsible for the location of industries such as:

Mention examples wherever needed.

Note: You may also incorporate tree diagram or a flowchart to forecast the factors affecting location of industries.

Related Previous Year Questions

Despite India being one of the countries of Gondwanaland, its mining industry contributes much less to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in percentage. Discuss. (2021)

Account for the present location of iron and steel industries away from the source of raw material, by giving examples (2020)

What is the significance of Industrial Corridors in India? Identifying industrial corridors, explain their main characteristics. (2018)

Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world. (2014)

(Source: ncert.nic.in)

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