17
GS1 Weekly [2 nd – 7 th Feb 2015] [The Undercover group] (Insightsonindia.com)

GS1-Weekly-2nd-7th-Feb-2015 (1)

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

jhjkh

Citation preview

  • GS1 Weekly [2nd 7th Feb 2015] [The Undercover group] (Insightsonindia.com)

  • Topic: Population and related issues;

    Q) Economic characteristics of an area exert a much more direct effect on its population

    pattern than do physical characteristics. Explain with examples. (200 Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=1-12

    Ans: Population arrangement is influenced by Socio economic ,Physical and economic

    Features . Also there is Greater role of Economic Features influencing the Population Vis a

    Vis Physical Factors

    1 Uttrakhand Deluge which was Due to High tourism and other Economic activities caused

    by Dense Population despite Difficult terrain .

    2 Dubai which is Economic and business Hub attracts Population and giants across the world

    despite Harsh Physical features Desert , etc

    3 Gulf Countries receives Migrants across the world as for Oil drilling activities which also

    serves as examples

    One May find this Feature at much lower level Viz , there will be Significant food vendors

    despite low spaces in Down town Vis a Vis there will Less food centres near area of Less

    Population or Development or Merchant activities

    However Low level of Urbanisation , economic activities In area like ganges , Bengal and

    Bihar have high level of Emigration .Such areas are very good endowed with Physical Factors

    .

    At state level , Bhopal has Comparatively greater advantage of Physical factors vis a Vis to

    Indore , But still Indore is having greater density of population Given SEz ,dry port status and

    other economic advantages

    In brief ,Since inception there has been migration primarily due to Economic actives and less

    due Physical Features, One may take Cue that Britishers Arrived in India for Economic

    Purposes and Not to Live here in Seren tropics and Sub tropics Climate

    Topic: Population and related issues;

    Q) Slums are an urban menace. Elucidate with Indian cities as examples. (200 Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=1-12

    Ans: Slum is any human settlement where following characteristics are met:

    (1) Over crowding of houses.

    (2) Very poor sanitation

    (3) Informal economic channels.

    (4) Lack of Education opportunities for children

  • (5) No Reliable Electricity connection, clean water availability, health facility, law

    enforcement etc.

    Often slums are found mushrooming adjacent to urban areas. There are valid reasons for

    this and they create problems to Urban dwelling. Some problems that Urban areas face

    because of Slums are:

    (1.) They are more vulnerable to natural and unnatural hazards which may affect urban

    areas equally. Bhopal slum alongside of Union Carbide was majorly affected by Bhopal gas

    tragedy.

    (2.) They often lives in sanitation-less, disease prone areas. Which acts as breeding ground

    for diseases. Mosquitoes, parasites and protozoan borne diseases are prevalent in Slums.

    Dharawi Slum of Mumbai has almost 90% of cases of cholera, malaria of mumbai.

    (3.) Slum led to rise in traffic, crime in urban areas, hideouts for criminal. Mumbai Shakti Mill

    gangrape rapists were all from nearby slums.

    (4.) Taking away the share of public welfare programme meant for city dweller. Delhi

    Bhalswa slum is famous for multiple ration card holding per house and leakage of PDS

    subsidy.

    (5.) They often create wrong picture of city. Many investment get diverted because of lack

    of land for them. Ahmedabad case of jewellery firm wanted land of slum from government.

    But vast scale protest from slum dwellers led to shifting of jewellery firm to other city.

    (6.) Child malnutrition, infant mortality, water borne disease, illiteracy are common in slums

    which distort the figures of city demographics.

    (7.) Voting power of slums led to distorted politics play.

    (8.) Traffic begging mafia, drugs, child trafficking, prostitution happens mostly in slums like

    in case of Sona Gachi and Basanti slums of Kolkata. It leads to urban harmony disturbance.

    (9.) In many riots, religious extremists march mostly slum dwellers take part because of free

    lunch and liquor. They are motive less often and lack rational thinking. For ex. In mumbai

    shahid smarak breaking incident. Perpetrators are found from nearby slum.

    (10.) Many juvenile crime and criminals happen from slum areas. Victims are often urban

    dwellers.

    Though it may look that slums are menace to urban area and society but it is not entirely

    true. In absence of lack of education, housing, job opportunity they resort to easy money

    making and crime. Government must take steps toward stopping unskilled labour

    immigration toward urban areas. Also strong steps toward removing slums that is in

    government lands. It will be good for everyone in long-term.

  • Topic: Population and related issues;

    Q) Discuss the spatial pattern of intra-regional migration in India and examine its

    implications in regional development. (200 Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=1-12

    http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/where-prosperity-poverty-

    coexist/article6846349.ece

    Ans: Intra regional migration refers to migration within a particular region,state or district.

    In India spatial pattern of intra regional migration is due to Push and Pull factors like:

    Marriage : Mostly dominant in Rural to Rural ,within same cities etc.Female migration is

    dominant in short distance migration .

    Employment and other facilties :Mostly dominted by male members from Rural to

    Urban,backward districts to developed districs/region where opportunities of

    employment,education,health etc are available.

    These spatial patterns of migration can be observed in:

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    In states like Jharkhand, West Bengal Maharashtra ,more and more people are migrating to

    cities like Bokaro and Jamshedpur (Jharkhand),Durgapur and Kolkata (WB) and Mumbai and

    Pune (Maharastra) from backward districts where large industries and better employment

    and other facilities are present. Same pattern is being observed within districts also where

    people are migrating from Rural areas to Towns.

    While in some states like Bihar ,UP and North Eastern states etc who are economically less

    developed more migration is in the form of Inter regional migration to developed cities in

    various parts of country while in developed states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra

    Pradesh dominant pattern of migration is intra-regional type.

    Implications on regional development

    --------------------------------------------------

    Intra regional development can have mixed results for a region.

    Pros

    ------

    1.Availability of labor for industries in destination region

    2.More and more population will be working in formal sector contributing to GDP

    3.Availability of better wages, health and educational facilities for migrants

    4. Elimination of disguised unemployment present in traditional agricultural system

    Cons

    --------

    1.Burden on infrastructure of destination region

  • 2. Due to competition for jobs, it may result into violent activities

    3.Paucity of labour in source regions

    4.Demography getting skewed in source and destination regions

    5.Rise of slums in destination regions

    Topic: population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues,

    Q) Enumerate the reasons for spatial differences in human development across the world

    and in particularly among the various regions in India. (200 Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=3-12

    Ans: Spatial differences in human development are conditions where spatial and

    geographical units inequality exist at different levels usually income.

    Main reasons for this -->

    1) Physical differences: natural resources availability like water, air, fertile soil for

    agriculture, minerals and border regions of states and countries etc

    2) institutional differences- like availability of good governance facilities, sanitation,

    drainage system etc

    3) economic differences: per capita income of a region, availability of job opportunities, help

    of industrialization resulting in good economic growth

    4) Political theory of a country and inclusive participation of people.

    All these favtors responsible for the spatial differences and inequality in a country at

    different regions

    Eg: Most industrialised regions of india like bangalore attract more people resulting in good

    growth of people also in areas surrounding it whereas people living in borders of states like

    Hyderabad- karnataka region far from bangalore

    The spatial differences regarding various reasons is inevitable. But the effective policy

    making and implementation of these policies for the welfare of the govt can help people get

    income equalities to reduce the problems of poverty. Affordable health services availabilty,

    educational facility must be provided to all despite these regional differences. RTE, setting

    up of primary health service centres, MNGREGA are all good steps in this regard

  • Topic: Population and related issues;

    Q) How far do the patterns of economic development and those of human development

    correspond with each other in the world? Illustrate your answer with examples. (200

    Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=3-12

    Ans: Economic Development and Human development are positively correlated and

    dependent on each other. While economic development is possible because of Developed:

    1. Human resources

    2. Transport system.

    3. Infrastructure to support and boost economy

    4. Pleasant climate

    5. Mineral, agriculture and strong primary sector.

    and Human Development is composite measurement of:

    1. Life Expectance

    2. Income

    3. Education

    As it is clear that Economic development strongly depends on Human Resource. For ex.

    Japan lacks in Pleasant climate and primary sector but still is economically prosperous

    nation because of huge investment in Human Resource development in last 5 decades.

    Hence, they are technology and industrial leaders in robotics and automobiles which needs

    vast R&D. Same is case of California, New York which have high Human development

    because of economic advancement and vice-versa.

    Economic Development requires a buffer time of one generation life span to develop a

    nation and uplift it from poverty. For ex after Hiroshima & Nagasaki bomb disaster. Japan

    was economically devastated. First thing it did was to invest in Human resource

    development and resulted in economic boom within 15 years and restoration of both

    metorpolitans in 10 years. Hence For a nation to realise her dream of economically strong

    first has to focus on Human development viz. education, infrastructure and Health.

  • Topic: Issues relating to poverty and hunger.

    Q) Amartya Sen argues that the expansion of freedoms is central to development and he

    mentions five distinct freedoms: political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities,

    transparency guarantees, and protective security. Critically analyse. (200 Words)

    http://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue8-focus1

    Ans: Let's analyze the above statement and see how far freedom is necessary for

    development.

    (A)Political freedom: Amartya Sen's conception of democracy is limited to pluralist or

    electoral democracy, without knowledge of critiques of the exercise of power within

    pluralism . Unlimited political freedom may lead to political instability, chaos and

    uncertainty that can hamper governance in absence of which there will be no development .

    China is a glaring example of a country that has world's second largest GDP and fastest

    growth rate

    (B)Freedom in Economic facilities:

    1.free labor not necessarily mean freedom to demand wages and work time of one's choice

    without considering viability and cost factors .

    2.Unchecked supply of labor pool may cause excess of labor availability in some sectors and

    scarcity in others.

    3.Absence of market regulations leads to uneven allocations of limited resources and

    disproportionate productions of goods.

    (C) Freedom in social opportunities: Freedom in social opportunities without restrain that

    Sen talks about may:

    1. leads to imbalance and deepening social divide where a handful of people will get more

    particularly the influential one, while majority will be left deprived.

    2. unwise distribution of limited resources available satisfying greed of few

    and not need of all.

    (D) Freedom in transparency guarantees, and protective security:Complete transparency

    without check

    1.may hampers secrecy of works thus compromising with national security .

    2.leads to unnecessary and excess scrutiny that may impede the progress and smooth

    functioning .

    3. it is likely to be misused to wilfully create political storm .

    Thus, although freedom is requirement of development and progress but it's not a

    necessity. There can be development without freedom. There should not be freedom

    without checks and limitations. A balance is required between these two.

  • Topic: population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues,

    Q) Discuss the recent trends in urbanisation in India and briefly describe the main

    characteristics and problems of the major Indian cities. (200 Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=4-12

    Ans: The variation in the share of urban to total population across the states is high. A large

    proportion is currently concentrated in six most developed states, namely Maharashtra,

    Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab and West Bengal, accounting for about half of the

    country's urban population.

    NE states have recorded rapid pace of urbanization due to the process of their becoming

    economically integrated with the national economy. The smaller towns in the backward

    states, on the other hand, have languished economically and reported low or negative

    demographic growth, many of them even failing to meet the criteria for being classified as

    urban centre.

    Characteristics of cities:

    Most Indian cities have not separated residential and other functions to the same extent as

    occidental towns.

    Large numbers of towns are primarily administrative: they may have been local commercial

    centres and market villages picked as headquarters of districts or their sub-divisions mainly

    on account of centrality.

    Problems of major cities:

    1. Urban Sprawl

    Indian cities have grown tremendouslynot only in population, but in geographic size. For

    instance, Delhis urban area has almost doubled in the last 20 years. Sprawling cities and

    reliance on automobiles have contributed to traffic congestion, air pollution, rising

    greenhouse gas emissions, and poor public health.

    2. Traffic Safety and Accessibility

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 10 percent of the worlds road fatalities

    (130,000) occur in India alone. Safety and accessibility are key components of ensuring that

    cities become secure, sustainable places to live.

    3. Future Real Estate Development

    Development of infrastructure by least pollutant methods is biggest challenge to future

    estate development.

  • Topic: Population and related issues;

    Q) Answer the following questions with in specified word limits.

    a) What are the main factors for the location of villages in desert regions? (50 words)

    b) What are census towns? What are the problems associated with them? (100 words)

    c) Under what environments does one expect the presence of dispersed rural settlements?

    (50 words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=4-12

    http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-12/news/54928900_1_towns-

    census-commissioner-dalip-singh

    Ans:

    A.

    water resources plays important role in desert settlements. Hence we can see settlements

    around oasis, lakes and rivers. The concentration of villages are more Around the rim of

    desert again . Around major transport links a few more villages are located. economic

    activity like mining has its own influence along with them.

    B.

    Census town has a legal definition. they are defined as towns those have more than 5000

    population and density of 400 persons per square km or generating more than 75% of

    employment our of non agricultural activity.

    problems with them are- our definition is having flaws in it. we have never included any

    criterion like critical infrastructure or basic standard of living in our definition. thus actually

    this definition is inflating the figures of urbanization in India.

    C.

    environment for dispersed rural settlements.

    wide forest ares. mountain areas. desert like conditions. conflict prone areas. and

    unfavorable conditions like semi arid and arid climates are commonly associated with

    dispersed rural settlements.

    Topic: Issues relating to poverty and hunger.

    Q) What are the reasons behind cities being considered as engines of economic growth?

    Should government actively promote urbanization to boost economic growth? Critically

    analyse. (200 Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=4-12

  • Ans: Cities have been a catalyst in India's economic growth and development because of viz.

    1. Better Physical infrastructure like roads, rails, airport etc.

    2. Advanced technological capacity like Telecom, broadband etc.

    3. highly developed & mature human resource pool.

    4. A service sector boom worldwide where Indian cities like Gurgaon, Noida, Bangalore have

    developed expertise.

    5. Government special focus on city development like proposal of 100 smart cities.

    6. Better education, health facilities and standards of living.

    Challenges:-

    1. Financial crunch for infrastructure development.

    2. Overcrowding of cities.

    3. Increased Slum dwellings and economic disparity between urban and rural divide.

    4. Waste management and environmental issues like air and water pollution. (Delhi most

    polluted in the world)

    5. Increased traffic congestion.

    City development is part of our overall economic growth but this should not come at the

    expense of destroying our village life and culture. If cities are centre of country's service

    sector then rural economy is centre of food security of nation. As a result a balanced

    approach is required which seeks to provide urban facilities and economic avenues to stop

    large scale migration and does not threatens agriculture security. For this, PURA, MNREGA

    etc. are welcome steps and need to be strengthened further.

    Topic: GS1: changes in critical geographical features; GS 3: Major crops cropping patterns in

    various parts of the country;

    Q) Answer the following with in specified word limits:

    (a) India is witnessing changes in land use pattern due to changing economy. Comment

    (100 words)

    (b) Why is the strategy of increasing cropping intensity important in a country like India?

    (100 words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=5-12

    Ans: http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/1701/4947/original.jpg

    Topic: GS1: changes in critical geographical features; GS 3: Major crops cropping patterns in

    various parts of the country;

    Q) Analyse critically whether the existing cropping in different parts of India would need any

    change for better agriculture performance in future. (200 Words)

  • http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=5-12

    Ans: Cropping pattern in India is related to below mentioned factors:

    a) Resource [covering irrigation, rainfall and soil fertility].

    b) Technology [covering not only seed, fertilizer, and water technologies but also those

    related to marketing, storage and processing].

    c) Household [covering food and fodder self-sufficiency requirement as well as investment

    capacity].

    d) Price [covering output and input prices as well as trade policies and other economic

    policies that affect these prices either directly or indirectly].

    e) Institutional and infrastructure [farm size and tenancy arrangements, research, extension

    and marketing systems and government regulatory policies].

    India is facing serious demand supply deficits in agriculture products. Because of this

    inflation rises, investment decreases, burden of subsidy increases and farmers commits

    suicides.

    Change needed- one example:

    Area sharing rapeseed and mustard, sunflower and soybean are increasing steadily, those of

    sesamum, linseed and nigerseed are declining gradually. The area shift has favoured only a

    sub-sector within the oilseed sector because of constant changes in the comparative

    advantage of different oilseeds and change in consumers' preferences on the relative

    demand of oilseeds.

    Thus, there is need to change some cropping patterns and bring more diversification,

    government initiated some schemes like:

    1. Technology Mission for the Integrated Development of Horticulture

    2. Implementing National Agriculture Insurance Scheme

    3. Operationalizing Technology Mission on Cotton

    4. Provision of Capital Subsidy of 25 percent

    5. Creation of Watershed Development Fund

    6. Infrastructure Support for Horticultural Development

    7. Seed Bank Scheme

    All above scheme must be implemented well, research on agriculture should be promoted

    both through public and private partnerships.

    Topic: GS1: Changes in critical geographical features; GS 3: Major crops cropping patterns in

    various parts of the country;

    Q) What are the reasons for low productivity in Indian agriculture? Give comprehensive

    innovative solution to solve the problems faced by the sector. (200 Words)

  • http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=5-12

    Ans: Agriculture accounted for about 15% of the GDP and 51% of the total workforce in

    India.

    Yet it is still the largest employment source and a significant piece of the overall socio-

    economic development of India.

    The average yield per hectare has been improved in the recent past but it is still behind its

    full potential.

    The reasons for the low productivity are :

    1. Size of holdings: on average a farmer has less than 2 hectare of land. small size of land

    gives less productivity. (can be historically related to land reform acts)

    2. Technique : still old and inefficient. only in the recent years farmers have implemented

    steel ploughs, fodder cutters, harrows, chemical fertilizers, etc. Farmers do not have enough

    funds to purchase this equipment.

    3. Irrigation: A vast area of land is rain dependent. Unreliable monsoon and lack of proper

    irrigation facility harms productivity.

    4. Soil erosion: heavy rain/wind erodes soil and the land loses its fertility.

    5. Costly fertilizers and biocides.

    6. Agriculture lacks a proper market and penetration of MSP offices. It also makes farmers

    vulnerable to middle men and private traders.

    7. Farmers prefer to grow rice and wheat because of the attractive MSP. it harms the coarse

    cereals growth.

    8. Procurement, storage and distribution problems faced by FCI.

    Solutions:

    1. Consolidation of land: institutions like farmer groups can help farmers work together on a

    larger area of land.

    2. Subsidies on chemical fertilizers and machinery.

    3. Awareness campaigns to teach farmers the use of machinery, techniques and fertilizers.

    4. Improve the irrigation system, interlinking rivers.

    5. Meteorological department should inform farmers the climate situation in advance so

    that they are not susceptible to flood and drought.

    6. Reforms in FCI and transport.

    7. Restoring the area which has suffered soil erosion so that it regains its fertility.

    8. Make farmers economically sound - PMJDY, SHGs, etc.

    9. Penetrating the MSP centers and govt's intervention in the market

    Topic: Distribution of key natural resources across the world; changes in critical geographical

    features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such

    changes;

    Q) Answer the following in 150 words.

  • (a) It is said that the water resources in India have been depleting very fast. Discuss the

    factors responsible for depletion of water resources?

    (b) The depleting water resources may lead to social conflicts and disputes. Elaborate it with

    suitable examples?

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=6-12

    Ans: Most important thing for life to sustain is Water. Water is life for a planet and land.

    Recently worldwide the ground and surface water is depleting at fast rate, but India is more

    concerned because of its population density and diversed land forms.

    Reasons for depletions of water resources:

    (1.) Indiscriminate use of water resource by factories, industries in river basin and later

    disposing the used water in nearby area only. This leads to toxic swamp and ground water

    recharging with toxic heavy metals.

    (2.) Subsidised diesel and electricity to farmers led to vast scale use of pumpset and

    tubewell pumps to irrigate land led to ground water fall. Deeper ground water contains

    heavy metal like arsenic, molybdenum, mercury etc which affects pregnant women and

    nervous system.

    (3.) Urbanisation and population rise in scattered area led to overuse of water in certain

    pocket.

    (4.) Falling greencover leading to lesser and scattered monsoon and hence less

    rechargement of river system. This is also one reason for rise in sea level as water in water

    cycle is going toward ocean.

    (5.) Urbanisation led to dumping of lake and ponds.

    (6.) Deliberate dumping in river to get extra land piece alongside bank.

    Answer(b): Water is finite resource and but with rising population and water intesive

    mechanism of agriculture, production and industrial process led to its rising demands than

    ever. Also with rise in number of states in our fedral structure, Water sharing has become a

    reason for interstate conflict and social disputes. For this Interstate water dispute Act 1956

    is also passed in Parliament. Some of the Recent disputes are:

    (1.) Kaveri water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which also includes several

    wildlife sanctuary areas water requirement as well as rice belt of Tamil Nadu for

    irrigation.(Politics between TN and Karnataka led to many riots between people.)

    (2.) Krishna Water dispute among Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh(Telengana

    and AP also led to social conflict between these two provice people.)

  • (3.) Indus Water treaty for water sharing is also becoming more important as Pakistan

    ground water system are depleting fast.

    Topic: Distribution of key natural resources across the world; changes in critical

    geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the

    effects of such changes;

    Q) What is watershed management? Do you think it can play an important role in

    sustainable development? Discuss. (200 Words)

    http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=6-12

    Ans: Watershed management basically refers to efficient management and conservation of

    surface and groundwater resources. It involves prevention of runoff and storage and

    recharge of groundwater through various methods like percolation tanks, recharge wells,

    etc. However, in broad sense watershed management includes conservation, regeneration

    and judicious use of all resources natural (like land, water, plants and animals) and human

    with in a watershed. Watershed management aims at bringing about balance between

    natural resources on the one hand and society on the other. The success of watershed

    development largely depends upon community participation.

    The Central and State Governments have initiated many watershed development and

    management programmes in the country through people's participation

    1. Haryali is a watershed development project which aims at enabling the rural population

    to conserve water for drinking, irrigation, fisheries and afforestation.

    2. Neeru-Meeru(Water and You) programme (in Andhra Pradesh) - water harvesting

    structures

    3. Arvary Pani Sansad (in Alwar, Rajasthan) - water harvesting structures

    4. Tamil Nadu has made water harvesting structures in the houses compulsory.

    Watershed development projects in some areas have been successful in rejuvenating

    environment and economy and through this integrated water resource management

    approach water availability can be ensured on sustainable basis.

    Topic: Distribution of key natural resources across the world; changes in critical geographical

    features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such

    changes;

    Q) Highlight the main features of Inter-linking of rivers (ILR) project while throwing light on

    the advantages it can incur to India. Also add a note on grounds which it is being opposed.

    (200 Words)

  • http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm?legy2=6-12

    Ans: ILR project is an idea to transfer water from surplus river basins to ease the water

    shortages in western and southern India.

    It comprises of 30 links to connect 37 himalayan and peninsular rivers.

    Main features of ILR :

    linking the river basins in 2 components

    himalyan component

    1. linking ganga-brahmaputra-mahanadi-godavri-krishna-pennar and cavery.

    2. linking eastern ganga tributaries to western ganga tributaries and sabarmati basin

    peninsunal component

    linking-mahanadi-godavri-krishna-cavery and ken-betwa

    ILR project is supposed to

    1. diminish water scarcity in western and peninsular India

    2. help in irrigation and storage as a large part of indian agriculture is rainfall dependent

    3. mitigate droughts and floods

    4. reduce diversity between the water surplus and water scarce parts of India

    5. will create employment

    6. will help in socio - economic development of people

    why is it being opposed?

    1. Huge capital requirement.

    2. project may take 50 years to complete

    3. can cause seismic hazards in himalya

    4. execution is difficult as 21/30 links are dependent on other links.

    5. displacement of tribal and poor.

    6. Inter state water disputes (political)

    7. loss of forest and biodiversity

    ILR project is itself a half century long project with a huge capital requirement. India needs

    to slowly start implementing these projects, see there are consequences and learn from the

    mistakes before starting to work on the other links.

    Topic: changes in critical geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in

    flora and fauna and the effects of such changes;

    Q) How are coral reefs formed? Assess the impact of climate change and anthropogenic

    factors on coral reefs. (200 Words)

    http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/great-barrier-reef-decides-queensland-election

    Ans: Coral reefs are reefs and the ecosystem attached to it. It is formed when a coral larvae

    come flowing from somewhere attaches to some hard surface where it can attach itself

    against sea waves. This hard surface could be submerged rocks in the shorelines or the

  • continental shelf sea bed. Once the larvae attaches itself along the edges of island,

    continent of shoreline rocky system, Slowly lots of coral starts growing in rocky surface

    forming colonies, As the coral dies their skeleton are deposited on the surface forming a

    rocky structure. It is a slow process, With time it develops into a complete ecosystem

    containing corals, exotic fishes, algae and other organism.

    Coral reefs are very useful in maintaining diversity and useful in shoreline against violent sea

    waves. But they are getting harmed by anthropogenic factors and climate change. Some

    impacts on Coral reefs are:

    (1.) Corals and polyps are very sensitive to Temperature. Human activities of shipping,

    tourism, diesel boats led to rise in temperature on shoreline. Hence, there is decrease in

    around 40% coral reefs across world.

    (2.) Corals and Polyps are sensitive toward salinity and acidity of water. With increased

    pollution, Carbon Dioxide is absorbed by Ocean leading to rise in Carbonic acid in water. As

    Coral has Calcium carbonate as main component, it reacts with Carbonic acid and slowly

    dissolves down.

    (3.) With rise Eco-tourism, snorkeling activities, cyanide fishing, oil spills and disposing of

    marine wastes in sea, the harmful effect are evident.

    (4.) Exploitation of coral reefs ecosystem for artificial aquarium, photography, deep water

    ports construction, pearl culturing, waste disposing to sea. All these leads to destruction of

    coral reefs.

    (5.) Global warming leads to rise in ocean temperature. Also it leads to lesser glacial melts

    and hence more silt deposition in shoreline which causes coral destruction.

    Coral are important part of marine ecosystem as it provides habitat to many varities of

    aquatic life. It also protects shoreline and hence its protection is sign of biodiverse health.

    Topic: Indian Society;

    Q) Recent reports indicate that communal violence has many layers of caste , community,

    administrative and patronage networks which have played a role in fostering it. Critically

    comment. (200 Words)

    http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2015_50/5/Caste_Community_and_Crime.pdf

    Ans: India since long past has co-habited by many communities, ethnicities and

    religions etc. such as Sikhs, Parsi's, Shia-Sunnis, Dravidians, Buddhists; beautifying

    our socio-cultural fabric immensely. However our long history of tolerance has

    been marred by regularly intermittent clashes often violent among such

  • communities; often different communities have slightly different opinion, outlook

    and interests; which aggravates into clashes.

    Communal clashes are fostered by:

    1.

    Caste: historically lower castes have suppressed by upper castes. After independence

    various factors have lead to rise of so-called "lower castes"; so upper castes feel threatened;

    competition for resources has made both sides assertive leading to clashes.

    2. Community: recent decades have seen an aggressive rise of "Hindutva" forces; their

    attempt to paint entire society under one "hindu brush"; their ways and means to topple

    the secular structure of Indian society are perceived as a threat by minorities; with

    majorities adopting an aggressive stance clashes are inevitable.

    3. Administration: administrative authorities adopt a lackadaisical approach towards early

    resolution of building up communal tension; as seen in Muzaffarpur riots; ultimately

    tensions bursts into violence.

    4. Patronage: often individuals particularly local politicians aspiring to make a mark in

    politics; fuel sectarian issues to gain community acceptability and eventually obtain votes in

    polls. as seen in Muzaffanagar riots.

    Thus communal violence must be tackled at each of these layers individually.