GS Paper - III Model Answers (2021)- 1 | UPSC Mains Answer Writing: Practice PDF Download

Q1:  Explain the difference between computing methodology of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the year 2015. (UPSC GS3 2021)
Ans: GDP is a measure primarily used as a yardstick to gauge the growth of an economy. In 2015, a new series was announced to calculate India’s GDP by upgrading the methodology with new data sources to meet UN standards.
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Difference between old and new methodology:
Change in Base Year
Pre-2015: 2004-05
Post 2015: 2011-12
Change of base year to calculate GDP is done in line with the global exercise to capture economic information accurately.
Change in data used to measure manufacturing sector growth

• Pre-2015: The performance of the manufacturing sector was previously evaluated using data from the IIP and the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), which comprises over two lakh factories.
• Post-2015: Now, firms’ annual accounts filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA 21) are used, which includes around five lakh companies.

GDP at factor cost replaced by GDP at market price

• Pre-2015: GDP at factor cost was calculated.
• Post-2015: Adopted the international practice of GDP at market price and for sector-wise estimate, Gross Value added (GVA) at basic price.
• The new measures include not only the cost of production but also product subsidies and Taxes.

Calculation of labour income

• Pre-2015: All labour used to be equal.
• Post-2015: The new series has used a concept called “effective labor input”. Different weights are assigned on whether one was an owner, a hired professional or a helper.

Change in the way value addition in agriculture was captured

• Pre-2015: It was confined to value addition in farm produce.
• Post-2015: Value addition in agriculture is now taken beyond farm produce.
• Livestock data is now critical to the new method.

Capturing income generated by Financial Sector

• Pre-2015: Financial corporations in the private sector, other than banking and insurance, was limited to a few mutual funds (primarily UTI) and estimates for the Non-Government Non-Banking Finance Companies as compiled by RBI.
• Post-2015: The coverage of financial sector has been expanded by including stock brokers, stock exchanges, asset management companies, mutual funds and pension funds, as well as the regulatory bodies, SEBI, PFRDA and IRDA.

The new method is statistically more robust since it estimates more indicators such as consumption, employment, and the performance of enterprises, and incorporates factors that are more responsive to current changes.

Q2: Distinguish between Capital Budget and Revenue Budget. Explain the components of both these Budgets (UPSC GS3 2021)
Ans: According to Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget of a year is referred to as the Annual Financial Statement (AFS). It is a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government in a financial year (which begins on 01 April of the current year and ends on 31 March of the following year).
Objectives of Budget:

• Reallocation of resources 
• Reducing inequalities in income and wealth 
• Contributing to economic growth 
• Bringing economic stability 
• Managing public enterprises

Components of government budgets:


Q3: How did land reforms in some parts of the country help to improve the socio-economic conditions of marginal and small farmers?  (UPSC GS3 2021)
Ans: Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Under the British Raj, the farmers did not have the ownership of the lands they cultivated. In post-independent India, many initiatives were taken for bringing land reforms and improving the deplorable conditions of farmers.
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Land reforms helped to improve the socio-economic conditions of marginal and small farmers in the following ways:

• Abolition of the zamindari system: This removed the layer of intermediaries who stood between the cultivators and the state. It kept in check the debt trap and increased the share of marginal and small farmers in the production cost. 
• Tenancy reforms: The rent paid by the tenants during the pre-independence period was exorbitant. Tenancy reforms introduced to regulate rent, provide security of tenure and confer ownership to tenants. 
• Ceilings on landholdings: It was to deter the concentration of land in the hands of a few. It ensured redistribution of land from big landlords to landless labourers ensuring land ownership, access to credit, and food security. 
• Consolidation of landholdings: It prevented the subdivision and fragmentation of land holdings. It brought down the cost of cultivation and reduced litigation among farmers and generated higher incomes. 
• Cooperative farming: Under the mechanism, each member farmer remains the owner of his land but farming is done jointly. Profit is distributed among the member farmers in the ratio of land owned.

Challenges with the land reforms

• Land reforms were lengthy and cumbersome process. 
• Benami transactions became a point of concern under land ceiling act. 
• Digitisation of land records with efficiency and correct information will take time.

The pace of implementation of land reform measures has been slow but the objective of social justice has been achieved to a considerable degree. New and innovative land reform measures should be adopted with new vigour to eradicate rural poverty and improve the socio-economic conditions of marginal and small farmers

Q4: How and to what extent would micro-irrigation help in solving India’s water crisis? (GS 3 , UPSC 2021)
Ans: Water is a scarce natural resource but the major requirement in the agricultural sector. The efficient use of available water for irrigation is a major challenge. A nation with annual water availability of below 1,700 kilolitres per head is considered water deficient. India’s per capita water availability is estimated at 1,428 kilolitres per year.
Micro-irrigation is a modern method of irrigation by which water is irrigated through drippers, sprinklers, foggers and by other emitters on the surface or subsurface of the land. Sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation are the commonly used micro-irrigation methods.
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Significance of micro-irrigation

• Micro-irrigation ensures water use efficiency. It applies water directly to the root zone, the practice reduces loss of water through conveyance, run-off, deep percolation and evaporation.
• Water savings in comparison with flood irrigation are to the tune of 30-50%.
• Electricity consumption falls significantly, as being water efficient it requires less water to be pumped.
• The localised water application in micro-irrigation prevents fertilizers from washing away, and so reduces nutrient loss or leaching. The micro-irrigation system can also be effectively used to apply fertilizers (fertigation) in a targeted way so as to prevent weed growth.
• Micro-irrigation, by virtue of localised water application, avoids soil erosion. It does not require land leveling and can irrigate fields that are irregularly shaped, making it much less labor-intensive and less costly.

Nevertheless, micro-irrigation also has certain limitations

• Expense especially initial cost is high mainly for marginal and small farmers.
• Maintenance cost for the tubes, sprinklers may go out of pocket for small farmers.
• The lifetime of the tubes used in drip irrigation can be shortened by the sun causing wastage.
• It needs more awareness and a higher rate of adoption in water stressed areas.

The future revolution in agriculture will come from precision farming. Micro-irrigation can, indeed, be the stepping stone for achieving the goal of making farming sustainable, profitable and productive.

Q5: How is S-400 air defence system technically superior to any other system presently available in the world?
Ans: The S-400 (Triumf) is a mobile long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system developed by Russia. It is considered as one of the world’s most advanced air defence systems that can simultaneously track and neutralize a range of incoming aerial threats. India has engaged with Russia for the purchase of 5 S-400, missile defence system.
S-400 are superior to other missile defence system available in the world as: 

• The S-400 system comes with a multifunction radar, autonomous detection and targeting system, anti-aircraft missile systems and a command-and-control Centre. 
• It is capable of engaging any target over a long range of 400kms at 27kms altitude. It also, has the capacity to simultaneously engage 36 targets. 
• S-400 can be deployed in 5 mins, as compared to 25 minutes taken by Patriot. The highest speed of S-400 at 4.8 km/sec. surpasses Patriot’s 1.38 km/sec. 
• While, its radars are capable of detecting low-signature targets, it comes with an electronic counter-countermeasures to thwart any jamming attempts by the enemies  
• While it is a fraction of the cost of its western counterparts such as THAAD or patriot, it can protect a much larger area, as compared to Iron Dome used by Isarael.  
• It has an edge over US made THAAD, in terms of range and hitting targets beyond the horizon. 
• While, being an anti-ballistic missile defence system, S-400 is also capable of engaging other aerial targets, like UAVs etc. 

With India facing two inimical neighbors in its western and eastern borders, a possibility of two-front engagement cannot be denied. In this light even though, purchase of S-400 runs the risk of attracting US sanctions under CAATSA, it is indispensable for India’s strategic/tactical needs.

Q6: Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When this idea was first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA)?  (UPSC MAINS GS3 2021)
Ans: The Green Grid or the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative was announced at COP- 26, Glasgow by India and the UK. The initiative is aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of interconnected electricity grids across continents, countries, and communities, and improving energy access of the poorest through mini-grids and off-grid solutions. The idea for the single global solar grid was first outlined at the International Solar Alliance in 2018, by the Prime Minister of India.
The Green Grid Initiative aims

• To speed up the process of decarbonising energy production.
• To create an international network of global interconnected solar power grid to ensure 24×7 supply of green power.
• To help in increasing investment in R&D centers by pooling skill, technology and financial resources.
• Interconnected transnational grids are future.
• addressing the issue of reliability of supply from solar power plants 
• addressing the issue of high cost of energy storage ! will reduce the costs of the energy transition

As good as it sounds, the implementation of the Green Grid has to counter the following challenges:

• The creation of global transmission infrastructure involves huge financing.
• For connecting with the Green Grid, a global cooperation between the countries is needed.
• As the grid will pass through several geographical locations, it will be sensitive to the security risks emanating from terror organisations.

The Green Grid initiative is a transformational new programme, with the goal of making universal access to renewable energy a reality. It will ensure that clean power is the most affordable and reliable option for all countries to meet their energy needs efficiently by 2030.

Q7: Describe the key points of the revised Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) recently released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). How are these different from its last update in 2005? What changes in India’s National Clean Air Programme are required to achieve these revised standards?  (UPSC MAINS GS3 2018)
Ans: The WHO recently released an updated version of the Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). The guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations, by reducing levels of key air pollutants.
Key Points:

• WHO’s new guidelines recommend air quality levels for six pollutants — particulate matter (PM 2.5 & PM10), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO).
• The annual average for PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic metre of air, while the 24-hour average should not exceed 15 micrograms per cubic metre.
• The annual average for PM 10 should not exceed 15 micrograms per cubic metre of air, while the 24-hour average should not exceed 45 micrograms per cubic metre.
• The ozone levels average should not exceed 100 micrograms per cubic metre over a 24-hour period.
• The nitrogen oxide levels should not exceed 25 micrograms per cubic metre over a 24-hour period.
• The sulphur dioxide levels should not exceed 40 micrograms per cubic metre  over a 24-hour period.
• The carbon monoxide levels should not exceed 4 micrograms per cubic metre  over a 24-hour period.

Global Air Quality Guidelines 2021 vs Global Air Quality Guidelines 2021
The centre has launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to tackle air pollution in 122 cities by aiming for a 20-30 percent reduction in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by 2024, compared to 2017.
Changes required in India’s NCAP

• India’s air pollution standards are more relaxed in comparison to WHO’s prescribed guidelines. Thus, efforts are needed to make the guidelines more stringent with revised targets. 
• Under the proposed new Mission – Clean Air for All, government tends to make targets of PM2.5 & PM10 more stringent. 
• There is a need to adopt an airshed approach to take measures to deal with air pollution. Under this approach, the policymakers will have to plan actions keeping in view geographical, meteorological and other common factors which pollute air within the airshed.

Q8: Discuss about the vulnerability of India to earthquake related hazards. Give examples including the salient features of major disasters caused by earthquakes in different parts of India during the last three decades. (UPSC MAINS GS3 2021)
Ans: Earthquake is sudden shaking of earth surface, while earthquake hazard is anything associated with an earthquake that can affect people’s day-to-day life. Earthquake hazards can range across ground shaking, surface rupture, landslide, liquefaction, tectonic deformation, tsunami etc.
Vulnerability of India to Earthquake-related hazards:

• According to BIS, more than 58.6 percent of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity. The occurrence of the Killari earthquake in 1993 resulted in revision of the seismic zoning in India with the low hazard zone or Seismic Zone I being merged with Seismic Zone II. 
•  Densely populated areas, extensive unscientific constructions and unplanned urbanization have increased risks associated with earthquake hazards. 
• Andaman & Nicobar Islands frequently experience damaging earthquakes due to being situated on an inter-plate boundary. 
• Increasing use of high-technology equipment, susceptible to small vibrations, in industry and academia, or underground utilities for electricity, internet etc. have increased susceptibility to disruption from relatively moderate ground shaking. 
• Regions in Himalayan foothills are vulnerable to liquefaction and landslides due to earthquakes.

Major disasters caused by earthquakes over last three decades

• 1993, Latur: Relatively shallow depth caused large surface damage; causes remain debatable due to lack of plate boundaries in the region.
• 1999, Chamoli: Caused by the thrust fault; resulted in landslides, changes in surface water flow, surface rupture and disconnected valleys.
• 2001, Bhuj: Associated with a reactivated fault, which was previously unknown; impeccable loss of life and property.
• 2004, Indian Ocean Tsunami: Created by under-water seismic activity, created massive waves which flooded coastal areas and islands, causing long-term changes.
• 2005, Kashmir: Caused by severe upthrust of Indian plate against Eurasian plate, it created multiple after-shocks. Infrastructure and communication were disrupted.

India has come a long way on the road to earthquake safety. And yet, much remains to be done before this journey is completed. Creating a system and culture for building safe houses in 21st century India is something not only possible but an absolute necessity.

Q9: Discuss how emerging technologies and globalization contribute to money laundering. Elaborate measures to tackle the problem of money laundering both at national and international levels.
Ans: Money laundering is disguising the identity of illegally obtained money so that it would appear to have originated from legitimate sources. Money laundering is generally used by criminals to disguise their illicit funds, terrorists to dodge tracking or tax evaders.
Emerging technologies contribute to money laundering in following ways: 

• Use of cryptocurrencies and alternate finance that are unregulated by governments 
• Encrypted conversations facilitate exchange of information about money laundering  
• Large volume of digital transactions at online market places is used to disguises the structured chunks of layered money. 
• Identity theft through hacking of credit card information etc. Is used to layer illegitimate money under untraceable identities. 

Globalization contributes to money laundering in following ways: 

• Placement of money in global financial system creates problems of coordination between multiple jurisdictions. 
• Tax haven countries like Cayman Island, Panama etc. have structured their economies around assistance in tax evasion. 
• Distribution of assets across countries prevents punitive action by authorities. 
• Following national and international measures have been enacted to tackle money laundering: 
• Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 established the legal framework to prevent money laundering. It criminalizes money laundering as a cognizable, non-bailable offence. 
• The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 provides for the penalty of property derived from smuggling or illegal traffic in narcotic drugs. 
• Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) coordinates efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies against money laundering 
• RBI regulations and KYC norms issued from time to time try to keep up with evolving threats and methods of money laundering. 
• The Vienna Convention makes it obligatory for signatory states to criminalize the laundering of money from drug trafficking. 
• The financial action task force (FATF) sets standards and promotes effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures against money laundering; terror financing. 
• The OECD forum has adopted convention against money laundering. It supports appropriate safeguards, access to tax administration in suspicious transaction based on information received from FIUs. 

Money Laundering is a global menace which require global effort to curb it. Mutual cooperation among Nations, financial institutions along with use of technological counter-measures such as big data and artificial intelligence is required to curb the menace of money laundering.

Q10: Keeping in view India’s internal security, analyse the impact of cross-border cyber attacks. Also discuss defensive measures against these sophisticated attacks.  (UPSC MAINS GS3 2021)
Ans: Chinese Group named as “Red Echo”  was possibly behind a malware attack “Shadow pad”  that aimed to attack on the India’s critical information infrastructure such as Ports, power systems etc. ICT has seen a lot of dependence in the recent times. Sectors such as Banking & Finance, Transportation, Nuclear power facilities, Space sector, Power transmission etc. are dependent on ICT contributing to the rapid advancements in the field of ICT and economic growth to make our lives much more easier.  Cyber space has become highly vulnerable to cyber attacks and Crimes. Unlike the geographical boundaries such ( Land, water), Cyberspace is without geographical limitation. It is completely borderless and hence protection of Cyberspace becomes even more challenging.
The impact of the Cyber Attacks

• Financial loss: According to the Data Security Council of India, India has been the second most cyber attacks affected country where Cyber crimes in India have caused Rs 1.25 lakh crore loss in 2019.
• Affects the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of information. 
• Cyber attacks on these critical information infrastructure can bring the entire country to a grinding halt. 
• Effect the National Security and peace and stability of a country.
• As in case of the Individuals personal information and privacy faces the most dangerous situation. 
• Companies possessing crucial data and information on their systems in times of an cyber attack may lead to loss of competitive information, loss of employees/customers private data resulting into complete loss of public trust on the integrity of the organization.
• A local, state or central government maintains huge amount of confidential data related to country (geographical, military strategic assets etc.) and citizens. Unauthorized access to the data can lead to serious threats on a country.
• There are certain inherent vulnerabilities that cannot be removed.
• The effect of the attack too can outpace the defence technology, security of the country.

Defensive measures against the sophisticated attacks

• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released Global Cyber Security Index in 2017 where India was placed at 23rd rank among 165 countries. The relatively higher ranking of India shows that India has taken adequate measures for the protection of cyber space.
• Section 66F of ITA:
• National Cyber Security Policy 2013 Established National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) to improve the protection and resilience of the country’s critical infrastructure.
• CERT-IN: has an objective of securing Indian cyberspace. The purpose of CERT-In is to respond to computer security incidents, report on vulnerabilities and promote effective IT security practices throughout the country. 
• Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative: spreads awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
• The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC): It seeks to generate necessary situational awareness of existing and potential cyber security threats and enable timely information sharing for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities.
• The Information Security Education and Awareness Project (ISEA) where there is Training of personnel to raise awareness and to provide research, education and training in the field of Information Security.

The  Budapest Convention is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations. India has not joined this convention. This is because the convention allows for cross border access to data to carry out investigation and India believes that such cross border access to data can infringe on National Sovereignty.
Therefore the government is putting excessive attention to Provide tax incentives to companies to upgrade information infrastructure and go for more and more Investment in R&D to improve Cyber Security- Big data, AI.