GS Paper - I Model Answers (2021)- 2 | UPSC Mains Answer Writing: Practice PDF Download

Q11: To what extent did the role of the moderates prepare a base for the wider freedom movement? Comment.
Ans: The first phase of the existence of the Congress is known as the moderate phase (1885-1905). During this the Congress worked for limited objectives and concentrated more upon building up its organization. The national leaders like Dadabhai Nauroji, P.N. Mehta, D.E. Wacha, W.C. Banerji, S.N. Banerji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale who dominated Congress policies during this time were staunch believers in liberalism and moderate politics and came to be labelled as moderates.
The main objective of the Moderates was to achieve self-government within the British Empire. They believed in patience and reconciliation rather than in violence and confrontation, thus relying on constitutional and peaceful methods in order to achieve their aims.
Methods of political work of the moderate leaders

• They held meetings and discussions concerning social, economic and cultural matters to educate people, arouse their political consciousness and create public opinion.
• They organized annual sessions with delegates participating from all parts of the country. After the discussions, resolutions were adopted which were forwarded to the Government for its information and appropriate action.

Success/contributions of moderates

• They represented the most progressive forces of the time.
• They were able to create a wide national awakening of all Indians having common interests and the need to rally around a common programme against a common enemy, and above all, the feeling of belonging to one nation.
• They trained people in political work and popularised modern ideas.
• They exposed the basically exploitative character of colonial rule, thus undermining its moral foundations.
• Their political work was based on hard realities, and not on shallow sentiments, religion, etc.
• They were able to establish the basic political truth that India should be ruled in the interest of Indians.
• They created a solid base for a more vigorous, militant, mass-based national movement in the years that followed.
• The early nationalists did a great deal to awaken the national sentiment, even though they could not draw the masses to them and failed to widen their democratic base and the scope of their demands.
• They did not understand the true nature of British rule.
• The moderate phase of the national movement had a narrow social base and the masses played a passive role.
• This was because the early nationalists lacked political faith in the masses; they felt that there were numerous divisions and subdivisions in Indian society, and the masses were generally ignorant and had conservative ideas and thoughts.
• The Moderates felt that these heterogeneous elements had first to be welded into a nation before they entered the political sphere.
• But they failed to realise that it was only during a freedom struggle and with political participation that these diverse elements could come together.
• Because of the lack of mass participation, the Moderates could not take militant political positions against the authorities. The later nationalists differed from the Moderates precisely on this point. Still, the early nationalists represented the emerging Indian nation against colonial interests.
• Pray, petition and protest type of politics could not turn to be effective
• Bengal was divided against the will and wish of people.
• Moderates wanted to educate people in modern politics, to arouse national and political consciousness and to create a united public opinion on political questions. Their critics often accuse them for using methods of beggary through prayers and petitions.
• However, had they adopted revolutionary or violent methods, they would have been crushed right in the infancy of the Congress. They created a solid base for a more vigorous, militant, mass-based national movement in the following years. The Moderates thus were prudent in using the constitutional and peaceful methods to handle British rule.

Q12: Bring out the constructive programmes of Mahatma Gandhi during Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement.
Ans: Gandhi’s comprehensive plan of national regeneration, which he named the constructive programme, aimed at establishing social order, based on truth and non-violence.
Gandhi believed that foreign domination in India lived and prospered because of our negligence towards fundamental duties as a nation. Collective fulfilment of these duties can be combinedly referred to as the constructive programme.
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Constructive Programme During Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement:

• Communal Unity: According to Gandhi, communal unity does not merely mean political unity but should be an unbreakable unity of hearts. This was achieved during the Lucknow Pact 1916, whereby both the Indian National Congress and Muslim League joined hands against British rule. The Lucknow Pact laid the foundation of the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement. 
• Removal of Untouchability: Gandhi held that untouchability was a blot and curse upon Indian society. Gandhi endeavoured to abolish this evil. He founded ‘Harijan Sevak Sangh’ for the abolition of untouchability in 1932 after his Poona Pact. 
• Khadi Making: Gandhi presented Khadi as a symbol of nationalism, economic freedom, equality and self-reliance. It was his belief that reconstruction of the society and effective Satyagraha against the foreign rule can be possible only through Khadi. Khadi takes the Central place in the upliftment of the village economy, which eventually lead to the attainment of Gram Swaraj. 
• New or Basic Education: Gandhi’s concept of new education implies that nature, society and crafts are huge mediums of education. According to him, true education is that which draws out and stimulates the spiritual, intellectual and physical faculties of the children. This education ought to be for them, a kind of insurance against unemployment. 
• Upliftment of Women: In his mission of Swaraj, Gandhi needed the cooperation of women, kisans, labgbourers and students. So, he had planned to work amongst them through a constructive programme. The movement of 1930-32 generated unprecedented awareness in women. It was only due to Gandhi’s efforts that women came out of their houses for the first time in history and participated in the Indian political struggle.

Conclusion
Integration of Indian society was perhaps more difficult than the achievement of freedom because, in this process, there existed a possibility of conflict between groups and classes of our own people. In this scenario, the Gandhian constructive role played a key role in Nation Building.

Q13: ”There arose a serious challenge to the Democratic State System between the two World Wars.” Evaluate the statement. (UPSC GS1 2021)
Ans: The leading democratic great powers had emerged the victors in WWI. In the political reconstruction of Europe, republics had replaced many monarchies. Yet the sad truth was that by the outbreak of World War II, the majority democratic states of central and Eastern Europe were annexed by stronger neighbors.
Serious challenge to the Democratic State System between the two World Wars:

• suspension of parliamentary sovereignty
• militarization of society
• regulation and control the economy
• breaches of international agreements
• prewar authoritarian nationalists

Rise of the Democratic State System between the two World Wars:

• All the main alternatives to democracy suffered political, economic, diplomatic and military failures.
• New national states began with a democratic constitution.
• Newly formed national states took the place of the previous empires in post WW-I period.

Q14: Briefly mention the alignment of major mountain ranges of the world and explain their impact on local weather conditions, with examples. (UPSC GS1 2021)
Ans: A mountain range is a sequential chain of mountains or hills with similarity in alignment. The major mountain ranges of the World include, the Himalayas, The Alps mountain range, The Atlas mountain range, the Andes mountain range and the Rocky mountain ranges.
The alignment of these ranges and their impact on local weather condition can be seen as:
1. The Himalayas:

• Himalayas extend for a 2500 km from west to east, in an arc shaped manner.   
• They protect the Indian subcontinent from the frigid, dry winds blowing from the Tibetan plateau.  
• It acts as barrier for monsoon winds, causing rainfall in India, it also is responsible for the for the Taklamakan and Gobi Desert as they fall in the rain shadow area. 

2. The Alps:

• It is the highest mountain range system of Europe, stretching for 1200 km, west to east, across 8 alpine countries, such as: France, Switzerland, Italy etc.  
• It influences precipitation patterns, in South Europe and Eurasia.  
• Alps influence presence and direction of local winds like, Foehn, Mistral etc.

3. The Atlas:

• The Atlas Mountain range stretches through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in a South West to North East direction.  
• It separates the Mediterranean region from the Sahara Desert.  
• It causes high rainfall in the region between them and the Mediterranean Sea by capturing the moisture laden winds  
• They also act as a rain shadow, preventing the rainfall in the desert region of Sahara. 

4. The Andes:

• They are the longest continental mountain ranges in the world.   
• They extend from  North to South through seven South American countries.  
• The north, east and the South West part of the Andes is rainy and moist.  
• Andes acts as the rain shadow for the Atacama Desert.

5. The Rockies:

• Rockies extend from the northernmost part of British Columbia to New Mexico in Southwestern United States.  
• The size and locale play important part in formation of warm snow-eater Chinhook winds.  
• Rockies capture the moisture laden winds from the Pacific and cause ample rainfall in its windward side, while giving a rain-shadow effect to the deserts in Southwest North America. 

Mountain ranges play an important role in influencing the local weather patterns and lifestyles of the people. For this reason, they are important for not only the geography but also the various cultural and economic factors.

Q15: How do the melting of the Arctic ice and glaciers of the Antarctic differently affect the weather patterns and human activities on the Earth? Explain. (UPSC GS1 2021)
Ans: Arctic is an ocean covered by thin layers of perennial sea ice and surrounded by land while Antarctica is a continent covered by very thick ice cap. The melting of ice and glaciers in the two affects the weather pattern and human activities differently as seen below:

The melting of ice and glaciers in Arctic and Antarctic will have irreversible consequences for the humans as well as the global weather patterns. The need of the hour is to adopt sustainable approach to minimise the effects of global warming.

Q16: Discuss the multi-dimensional implications of uneven distribution of mineral oil in the world. (UPSC GS1 2021)
Ans: Mineral oil is unevenly distributed across the world. The immense strategic importance of mineral oil and its lop-sided distribution across the globe have many multi-dimensional implications such as:

• Economic implications: Uneven distribution of the mineral oil across the world, leads to economic consequences like inflation, for the importing country. For example, India is susceptible to global shocks in oil prices.  
• Regional conflict: As the mineral oil resource is strategic in nature, its uneven distribution leads to great power conflict over the control of the region. For example, disputes in oil rich regions of middle East.  
• Energy Security:  The un-even distribution of the mineral energy resource has led to high degree of energy insecurity in the oil deficient countries. It also, directly affects their strategic autonomy.   
• Diplomatic leverage : The lop- sided distribution of the vital mineral oil resource is a vital factor in leveraging its availability for diplomatic gains. For example, India’s major dependence on Middle East for oil, provides it with a diplomatic bargain over India.  
• Balance of Trade: The un-even distribution of the mineral oil resources affects the balance of trade between the importing and the exporting countries. This in turn affects the Foreign-exchange reserves of the country.  
• Growth: Un-even distribution of mineral oil also has led to un-even growth across the globe. Rise in import prices directly hamper the capabilities of the government to spend on welfare objectives.   
• Vested interest in oil economy has potential to delay transition to clean energy and decarbonizing the world industry.

Thus, the un-even distribution of the mineral oil resources leads to various implications ranging from economic to energy security and adoption of renewable energy sources. This highlights the need for India to diversify its energy basket both in terms of content and geography.

Q17: What are the main socio-economic implications arising out of the development of IT industries in major cities of India? (UPSC GS1 2021)
Ans: The IT industries in India are concentrated in the major metropolitan cities of India such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai etc. This isolated concentration of the IT industries in these cities have several socio-economic implications such as:

• Economic empowerment: Development of IT industries in major cities, have led to the economic empowerment, rise of new middle class through higher employment opportunities and development of ancillary businesses.  
• Gender parity: As the labour force participation of women in quality jobs is comparatively more in major cities, due to development of IT industries, it has led to their financial independence and empowerment.  
• Cultural changes: The concentration of IT industries in major cities have also seen cultural changes. A marked shift towards accepting western language, rise in nuclear families, shift in food choices and modes of recreation could be seen. For example, café culture of Bengluru.  
• Social infrastructure: Development of IT industries have given boost to the social infrastructure. This could be seen in high availability of schools, hospitals etc.  
• Migration: As these cities have become the centre of knowledge economy, there is a marked preference in youths to migrate into these cities for better career opportunities leaving senior citizens behind in tier 2-3 cities. 
• Un-balanced development: Concentration of IT industry in a handful of cities, have led to the neglect of many tier 2, tier 3 towns. This has created an un-healthy development divide in the country. There is also a huge wage gap between IT workers and other workers.  
• Security challenges: The late-night work culture, rise in affluency have parallelly enhanced the security challenges for the citizens and administration alike with incidents of thefts, eve-teasing etc. on a rise.  

The development of IT industries has come as a boon for the country. Its development should be decentralized into tier2 and tier3 cities also, so as to ensure an inclusive development in the growing knowledge economy.

Q18: Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail.  (UPSC GS1 2021)
Ans: Population Education is an educational programme which provides for a study of the population situation of the family, the community, nation and world. The purpose of population education is to develop rational and responsible attitudes/ behaviour in the students towards population/demographic situations.
Objectives of Population Education are:

• It helps to understand how family size can be controlled as population limitation can facilitate the development of a higher quality of life in the nation.  
• To develop an understanding of the influence of population trends on the various aspects of human life – social, cultural, political and economic;  
• It helps to understand that a small family size can contribute materially to the quality of living for the individual family.  
• To develop an understanding of scientific and medical advancement enabling to get an increasing control over famines, diseases and ultimately death and the imbalance thus created between death rate and birth rate .

Measures to achieve the objectives:
India was the first country to explicitly announce its Population policy in 1952. The aim of the programme was to reduce birth rates “to stabilize the population at a level consistent with the requirements of the national economy”.

• The government launched the National Family planning program with the aim of controlling population growth in a socially desirable direction by reducing Total fertility rate to 2.1 (replacement rate).  
• The government has taken concerted steps to encourage use of contraception devices.  
• The government has launched the National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the eventualities of deaths, complications and failures following sterilization.  
• Accreditation of NGO facilities to increase the provider base for family planning services.  
• The government is also utilizing ASHA workers to provide delivery of contraceptives and educate people in rural and urban areas about family planning.  
• School curriculum has been designed to educate children regarding advantages of small family, reproductive biology, etc. to make positive change in attitude of children.

India is projected to become the most populous nation by 2027 overtaking China. This huge population can become a bane if not engaged properly. So, it is imperative for the policy makers to adopt population education initiatives to devise policies and educate people about them to ensure that this huge population remains as an asset.

Q19: What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also? (UPSC GS1 2021)
Ans: A cryptocurrency or crypto is a virtual currency secured by cryptography. It is designed to work as a medium of exchange, where individual ownership records are stored in a computerised database. The cryptocurrency works on blockchain technology and is free from control of government agencies. Cryptocurrency is a new emerging technology which is revolutionizing the way people make monetary transactions.
Crypto has affected global society in both positive and negative way as discussed below:

• Increasing usage of Cryptocurrency is economically integrating the global society. Currently, the world is divided in terms of different currencies. Crypto bypasses this division and is increasingly becoming a sought-after way of transacting.  
• Cryptocurrencies take away the sovereign power of issuing currency. Thus, making economic policy ineffective and diluting the bond between citizen and government.   
• The transactions in crypto are cheap and faster. Thus, it makes capital more mobile/volatile posing risk to macroeconomic stability and consequent social consequences.  
• Cryptocurrency has emerged as a new asset class (alternative of gold). However, fluctuation in the value of cryptocurrency has made both kings and beggars.   
• Crypto is used by terrorist organization, drug cartels to smuggle contrabands which negatively impacts society at large. Anonymity in cryptocurrency has potential to increase crime in society.  
• With increasing acceptance of crypto, people who are digitally illiterate are being left behind. Thus, it can lead to a disproportionate rise in inequality.  

Effect of Crypto on Indian Society
Crypto is still in a nascent phase in India, with a huge uncertainty about its future. As RBI initially banned crypto trading in 2018, which was reversed by the Supreme court later. The following are the effect of crypto on Indian society

• With the rise of cryptocurrency, a new crypto community has emerged – that includes amateur investors, professionals and jobs have come up in the society. Example: Multiple crypto-exchanges have come up.   
• India is the largest receiver of remittances. However, the people lose money on conversion, processing charges, and switching to crypto will help people to get rid of these expenses.  
• As an asset, cryptocurrency has offered huge returns in the past, so it has become a fad among Indian youth to invest in these volatile assets, overlooking the risk associated with it.   
• India became victim to ransomware attacks like Wannacry etc. and the ransom was collected in crypto-> may promote culture of digital extortion.

To make use of the revolutionary potential of underlying technology behind the cryptocurrency, while avoiding its negative consequences, a proper regulatory framework is required.

Q20: How does Indian society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate the changes taking place in it.
Ans: Certain social values like tolerance, collectivism, spiritualism, non-violence etc have been part of our traditional value system since time immemorial. Indian society has maintained continuity in traditional social values through:

• Institution of family has ensured that traditional values pass-on from one generation to next through socialization.   
• Collective celebration of festivals reinforces values like brotherhood, fraternity, purity, triumph of good over evil etc.  
• Social gatherings from functions to bhajan-kirtan etc. provide avenue for sharing ideas and values.  
• Marriages, sometimes inter-caste, has helped in preserving community values.  

India has been able to maintain continuity in traditional social values because of following reasons:

• Flexibility: Indian culture has been flexible in accommodating different and even diverging viewpoints.   
• Evolution: Indian value system has evolved with time adopting progressive elements and abandoning regressive practices. For example: Socio-religious reform movements of India.  
• Assimilation of different values and culture: Foreigners got Indianized when they came to India. For example: Scythian and Mughals.   
• In different eras, saints like Buddha, Mahavira, Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Guru Nanak, etc. always emphasized spirituality over materialism, peaceful coexistence over aggressive dominance.  

However, social values are changing under the influence of technological, political and economic forces. Following changes are taking place:

• Decline of tolerance: Incidents like the issue of Namaz in Gurugram and Haridwar Dharma Sansad show a trend of rising intolerance.  
• Rise of individualism and decline in collective values. Materialism and excessive competition have led to an increase in selfish pursuit of personal goals while the collective need of society is often ignored.     
• Nuclearization of family and decline of joint family as an institution.    
• Modern education has made progressive values like gender equality, non-discrimination on caste lines etc. a part of the value system.  
• Information technology has facilitated quick transfer of information and changed the traditional way of socialization obsolete. Now social media is influencing our social values both in a good and bad way. For example, the MeToo campaign or the recent Bulli Bai case. 

Although, the forces of modernization have altered the balance of Indian traditional social values. However, the interaction between the two is dynamic. The traditional Indian values like ‘Vasudev Kutmbakam’ continue to assert their significance and their role in maintaining harmony in the world.