(Practice Question: Despite repeated government efforts, manual scavenging persists to be a human rights problem in India. What are the reasons? Suggest remedial measures.  - 250 words). (Why in news recently: The death of five manual scavengers in Delhi on September 10 due to asphyxiation by poisonous gases while cleaning sewers.) The practice of manually cleaning … Continue reading Manual Scavenging

As of January 2018: 1) India added 17 new billionaires last year, raising the number to 101 billionaires. 2) Indian billionaires’ wealth increased by INR 4891 billion —from INR 15,778 billion to over INR 20,676 billion. INR 4891 billion is sufficient to finance 85 per cent of the all states' budget on Health and Education. … Continue reading Data on Inequality in India

(Practice Question - The Non-Performing Asset (NPA) crisis has plagued the Indian banking system for quite a long time. How will the Public Credit Registry initiative of the RBI would assist in solving the NPA issue. - 150 words) The Reserve Bank of India has decided to set up a Public Credit Registry (PCR) “to … Continue reading Public Credit Registry

(Practice Question - The Non-Performing Asset (NPA) crisis has plagued the Indian banking system for a long time. How the 'Public Credit Registry' initiative of RBI will assist in solving the NPA issue? - 150 words) The Reserve Bank of India has decided to set up a Public Credit Registry (PCR) “to foster the level of … Continue reading Public Credit Registry

(Note: The information herein may be useful for Prelims and can also be used in the Essay paper on any theme related to great personalities or great leaders.) Kofi Annan, who passed away on August 18, 2018, at the age of 80, was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United … Continue reading Contributions of Mr. Kofi Annan

(Note: The information herein may be useful for Prelims and can also be used in the Essay paper on any theme related to great personalities or great leaders.) Kofi Annan, who passed away on August 18, 2018, at the age of 80, was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United … Continue reading Contributions of Mr. Kofi Annan

Writing a good essay can fetch you a lot of marks in the UPSC CSE. Also, writing an essay can be a tricky affair in the UPSC examination. The reason for this is the variety of topics that UPSC comes up with. Moreover so, in most cases, it is demanded that a theme be analyzed … Continue reading Practice Essay

(Practices Questions: There has been a growing trend towards data localisation in policy making and administration in India. Analyse. The Justice Srikrishna Committee has favored the localisation of data within Indian boundaries with qualifications. What issues must be kept in consideration while formulating data localisation laws?   While formulating data localisation laws, a 'one-size-fits-all' approach may not … Continue reading Data Localisation

Find the answers and detailed explanations at the end of the post: Q.1. Which of the following African countries has recently witnessed an Ebola outbreak again: a. Democratic Republic of Congo b. Guinea c. Liberia d. Sierra Leone Q.2. Which of the following organisation formally declares a situation to be a public health emergency of … Continue reading Prelims Quiz – Ebola Virus

More than half the agricultural households in the country have outstanding debt, and their average outstanding debt is almost as high as the average annual income of all agricultural households. NABARD found that 52.5% of the agricultural households had an outstanding loan on the date of the survey, and thus were considered indebted. For non-agricultural … Continue reading NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 – Highlights