© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
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-2 to check your progress.
🚨 Click Here to read the Union Budget Special issue of the UPSC Essentials magazine for February 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨
🚨Your Feedback Matters: Click here to share your views on our UPSC Essentials Quiz. 🚨
Discuss India’s contributions to UN peacekeeping operations since the 1950s, highlighting the significance of its initiatives in enhancing the role of women peacekeepers.
Analyse the significance of the evolving India-European Union partnership in the context of global geopolitical shifts. How can the proposed free trade agreement enhance bilateral relations?
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.
QUESTION 1: Discuss India’s contributions to UN peacekeeping operations since the 1950s, highlighting the significance of its initiatives in enhancing the role of women peacekeepers.
Introduction:
— The concept of UN peacekeeping originates from the UN’s lack of armed forces. As a result, Member States freely provide military and police personnel as needed for each peacekeeping mission from their own national forces.
— Peacekeepers often wear their own countries’ uniforms and are recognisable as UN peacekeepers simply by a UN blue helmet or beret and insignia. They are tasked with protecting people, actively preventing conflict, decreasing violence, increasing security, and equipping national institutions to carry out these functions.
— They are permitted to use force tactically, with the approval of the Security Council, if acting in self-defence and protection of the mission. In general, a UN peacekeeping operation should employ force as a last resort.
Body:
— Since the 1950s, India has provided over 290,000 peacekeepers to more than 50 UN peacekeeping operations. Today, almost 5,000 Indian peacekeepers are stationed in nine of the eleven active peacekeeping missions.
— During the Conference for Women Peacekeepers from the Global South, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasised India’s commitment to assisting Global South nations in developing their peacekeeping capacities.
— As we did with ASEAN countries in 2023, India will continue to provide training and capacity-building programs, including courses specifically intended for women peacekeepers, through initiatives coordinated by the Centre for UN Peacekeeping. India strongly feels that peacekeeping is an effective tool for maintaining world peace and security.
— The UN Security Council makes decisions about starting, maintaining, or expanding peacekeeping operations, while all UN Member States are responsible for financing them. Under Article 17 of the UN Charter, each member is legally bound to pay their appropriate contribution. The United States (26.95%) and China (18.69%) pay the most, in part because they are members of the United Nations Security Council. India’s stake is roughly 0.2088%.
— Sustained participation in a significant UN initiative is expected to boost India’s reputation in the international community. It may also boost its case for a permanent place on the UN Security Council.
Conclusion:
— There is also debate among countries regarding the provision of troops, with the majority coming from poor countries. Troops and police personnel records from October 2024 show that the US offered 26 workers while the UK provided 275. Nepal was the largest contributor, with 6,114, while India came in fourth with 5,466.
— The distribution of soldiers is based on the interests of individual countries rather than a real concern in conflict resolution. This might mean foreign cash for poor African and Asian countries, as well as strategic interest — for example, China seeking commercial benefit in Africa or India attempting to strengthen its claim to a permanent Security Council seat.
(Source: Jaishankar reiterates Indian commitments to UN Peacekeeping: What this means)
Points to Ponder
When was the first UN peacekeeping mission established?
Who provides the salary to Peacekeeping soldiers?
Related Previous Year Questions
What are the main functions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)? Explain different functional commissions attached to it. (2017)
‘Terrorism has become a significant threat to global peace and security.’ Evaluate the effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and its associated bodies in addressing and mitigating this threat at the international level. (2024)
QUESTION 2: Analyse the significance of the evolving India-European Union partnership in the context of global geopolitical shifts. How can the proposed free trade agreement enhance bilateral relations?
Introduction:
— India established diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community — the first pillar of the future European Union — back in 1962. The Joint Political Statement signed in 1993 and the Cooperation Agreement of 1994 paved the way for the strengthening of ties between India and Europe.
— A strong group from the European Commission College of Commissioners is in New Delhi for a two-day visit. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (EC), leads a delegation of 22 out of 27 Commissioners. This is the College’s first travel outside of Europe since taking office in December, as well as the Commissioners’ first visit to India as a group.
Body:
— The visit of the College of Commissioners represents a watershed moment in bilateral relations, as India and the EU enter the third decade of their Strategic Partnership.
— Meetings of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), bilaterals between Indian Ministers and EU Commissioners, and the leaders’ summit will broaden interaction and encourage trade and investment in a variety of fields, according to officials.
— These include AI and semiconductors, as well as green hydrogen, sustainable urbanisation, water management, resilient supply chains, defence, and space.
— The multi-tier institutional architecture of cooperation has been presided over by India-EU Summits, 15 of which have been held thus far. The first Summit took place in Lisbon in June 2000, and the bilateral relationship was promoted to Strategic Partnership at the fifth Summit in The Hague in 2004.
— The India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025 was adopted at the most recent India-EU Summit in July 2020.
— During their 2022 meeting, Modi and von der Leyen announced the formation of an India-EU TTC as a strategic coordination structure to address issues at the intersection of trade, trusted technology, and security.
— The TTC, a new frontier similar to the US’s Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies and the UK’s Technology Security Initiative, represents three major pillars of India-EU cooperation: digital and strategic technologies, clean and green technologies, and trade, investments, and resilient supply chains.
— India and the EU have been negotiating a free trade agreement for the past decade and a half. The economic case for a deal is compelling: the EU is India’s largest trading partner in goods, and bilateral commerce has expanded by 90% over the last decade.
— In fiscal year 2023-24, bilateral trade in goods totalled $135 billion, with India exporting $76 billion to the EU and importing $59 billion. Bilateral trade in services in 2023 was $53 billion, with Indian exports of $30 billion and imports of $23 billion.
Conclusion:
— The technical collaboration between India and the EU has grown in importance and urgency as China advances in this field.
— Under the India-EU Green Hydrogen Cooperation project, India was the sole partner country during the European Hydrogen Week in Brussels in November 2024.
— One of the pillars of the India-EU relationship is its strong and expanding people-to-people ties. The rising Indian diaspora in the EU includes a substantial number of students, researchers, and skilled professionals. Indian professionals received the majority of EU Blue Cards issued in 2023-24, accounting for more than 20%.
Points to Ponder
Technology cooperation between India and EU
Trade between India and EU
Related Previous Year Questions
‘Indian diaspora has a decisive role to play in the politics and economy of America and European Countries’. Comment with examples. (2020)
‘The West is fostering India as an alternative to reduce dependence on China’s supply chain and strategically to counter China’s political and economic dominance.’ Explain this statement with examples. (2024)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 92)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 91)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 90)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 91)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 91)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 89 and 90)
Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.
Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
