UPPSC 2019 (Mains General Studies Paper-1)

Ans. Prayagraj is believed to be the most important pilgrimage centre for Hindus. Traditionally river confluences are regarded as auspicious places, but in Sangam, the significance of the confluence is most pious because here, the holy Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati meet to become one. The meeting point is known as Triveni and is especially sacred to Hindus. The earlier settlements of the Aryans were established in this city, then known as Prayag. Its sanctity is manifest by references to it in Purans, the Ramayan and the Mahabharata. It was the seat of the great sage Bhardwaj, sage Durvasa and Sage Pannas. The earliest monument of antiques Ashok Pillar with inscriptions of third century B.C. clears the inscriptions of his directions to his fellow Rajas and praise of King Samudragupta. The Chinese traveler Huan Tsang in 643 BC found Prayag inhabited by many Hindus who regarded the place very Holy.

Ans. The 6th Century B.C. was a period of great tumult in India. The kingdom of Magadha, one of the 16 great Janapadas had become paramount over other kingdoms of the Ganges Valley. Magadh had advantage in its control over iron deposits found very near south Bihar. Such access to iron made Magadhan weapons far superior and agriculture tools more productive. It was this material background which helped Magadh to become more powerful than other mahajanapadas.

The use of iron led to change in the cultural milieu and also later ushered in the phase of urbanisation in Ganga Valley. This urbanisation which is popularly known as second urbanisation was characterized by coming up of cities and development of states in the Ganga valley and neighbouring regions and gradually in the entire subcontinent.

Ans. The discovery of steam power and its practice from the year 1815 created threat to the Indian textile industry. Prior to industrial revolution, India had an internationally acclaimed cotton textile industry and exported to different parts of the world. India’s textile industry thrived because it had access to cheap labor that resulted in high quality but low priced calicoes. Also, India’s colonial masters imposed laws that dictated to the farmers which crops exactly to cultivate and how much crops to cultivate. This led to a situation where no food crops were cultivated because all the land was

dedicated to production of raw materials for the British industries. The end result was famine and poverty. Therefore, industrial revolution turned India into a source of raw materials for British industries as well as a market for its finished products.

Ans. Increase in urbanization, coupled with lack of infrastructure, has led to an increase in urban slums. In cites of India, There is around 50-60% of the population of the urban areas that lives in urban slums where basic facilities such as water, sanitation, health, electricity etc are poor. Disease morbidity and mortality is high due to poverty, poor nutrition and poor education. Traditionally, all urban planning has adopted a top-down approach, attempting to solve the problem of access to basic services by simply providing the services and the connections to them.

Census of India, 2011, shows that the top 42 cities, with a population of over one lakh, have the same population concentration as the remaining 454 cities. Such high population density would entail growth of urban slums. While Ministry of Urban Development has launched various initiatives such as JNNURM and Smart City Mission towards ensuring sustainable development, the slums have not progressed adequately.

Ans. The decadal population growth rate in Uttar Pradesh is higher than the national average. The total population growth in this decade was 20.23 percent while in previous decade it was 25.80 percent. The population of Uttar Pradesh forms 16.50 percent of India in 2011. In 2001, the figure was 16.16 percent. Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the most populous state in India with historically high levels of fertility rates than the national average. Though fertility levels in UP declined considerably in recent decades, the current level is well above the government’s target of 2.1. Women’s empowerment and women’s status in society play a key role in determining fertility levels. Raising women’s educational and employment levels helps in improving decision making on family planning and provides resources for its access and use. Gender dividend (defined as economic benefits as results of improving women’s empowerment and gender equity) contributes a major share to the demographic dividend.

Ans. Scheduled Tribes are geographically, socially isolated and economically marginalized communities. In the post-Independence period, sincere and concerted efforts were made for the development of tribals. Despite, tribal community in India has been the most vulnerable community. The

main problems of the tribals are poverty, indebtedness, illiteracy, bondage, exploitation, disease and unemployment. Tribals are backward and poor, living in naturally isolated regional inhabitant. Tribals in remote areas are still devoid of common infrastructure facilities of road and communication, health and education and safe drinking water and sanitation, which do not allow them to absorb technological and financial help provided by government. Scheduled tribes are indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness. After independence, tribal problems and tribal unrest have become politicised. An articulate and effective political elite have emerged in several tribal areas.

Ans. The Heritage Arc of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the latest endeavour of the Uttar Pradesh government to give a momentum to the tourism industry in the state. The initiative will cover connecting the historical and spiritual cities of Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi such that the tourists cover the three cities with effortless planning. This latest government initiative will not only focus on reviving the historical, cultural, architectural and spiritual heritage of these cities but also adjoining places that have not been explored so far. This new initiative targets to bring the glorious past of the three cities to the fore. The purpose of the Heritage Arc is not only to increase the tourist footfalls to catch a glimpse of the architectural finesse of the historical monuments but also let the tourists gain useful information on the history of religion, spirituality, cuisine, art and culture associated with Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi.

Ans. Refugee resettlement can be conceptualised using a model that involves six elements : country of origin, reservoir, dispersion pattern, distribution location, ecological nexus and development level.

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is not immediately associated with the Partition of 1947. Yet western districts of the state were afflicted by immigration and emigration, violence and disorder.

Recently, The refugees in Uttar Pradesh, around 50,000 in number, are basically from Pakistan and Bangladesh with maximum 38,000 living in colonies in the tarai district of Pilibhit, 260 km from state capital Lucknow, bordering Nepal.

The first list, which, has believably been sent to Centre by the state government, comprises refugees living across 19 districts including Pilibhit, Meerut, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Agra, Rae Bareli, Saharanpur, Gorakhpur, Aligarh, Rampur, Muzaffarnagar, Hapur, Mathura, Kanpur, Pratapgarh, Varanasi, Amethi, Jhansi and Lucknow.

Ans. Tropical cyclones (TCs) are massive vertically deep storms developed over the ocean, associated with compact and distinct well-organized convective cloud systems and extremely strong winds exceeding 119km/h. Tropical cyclones are like giant engines that use warm, moist air as fuel. That is why they form only over warm ocean waters near the equator. The warm, moist air over the ocean rises upward from near the surface. Because this air moves up and away from the surface, there is less air left near the surface. Another way to say the same thing is that the warm air rises, causing an area of lower air pressure below.

Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land, because they are no longer being “fed” by the energy from the warm ocean waters. However, they often move far inland, dumping many inches of rain and causing lots of wind damage before they die out completely.

Ans. According to the latest data and field survey the contribution of the Minor Irrigation Sources stands upto 77.90% of the total irrigated area of the state. This program being implemented for meeting out the requirements of private irrigation, can be understood while dividing the geographical land pattern of the state in two categories

Plain Area: The plain area of the state is Alluvial. Such Alluvial areas of plains water level is not very low. The community tube well scheme is implemented in such Alluvial areas where free of cost boring is not possible.

Plateau/Table land Area: The scheme of Blast Well, Heavy Ring Boring, Construction of Deep Tube Wells, Well boring by In-Well Ring, construction of check dam is implemented in the 7 district of Bundelkhand and cross Yamuna rocky areas of Allahabad where irrigation has become laborious and

costly job.

Ans. In the Vedic period, education had an idealistic form, in which the teachers (acharyas) laid stress upon worship of God, religiousness, spirituality, formation of character, development of personality, creation of an aptitude for the development of culture, nation and society. Silent feature of Vedic education:

(1) Source of light:- In Vedic period education Was considered as a source of light of illumination which enlightens an individual in all walks of

life. It was only education that truth could be perceived & wisdom could be attained.

(2) Knowledge the third eye:- According to Vedas, education in knowledge. It is the man’s third eye. It means that knowledge opens inner eye, flooding him with spiritual and divine life, which forms the provision for man’s journey through life.

(3) Agency of improvement:- The illumination as described will bring a complete change in the person & this change is for the better education makes us civilized, refined, polished & cultured.

(4) Not merely book learning:- Illumination is the central concept of education. It does not mean that it has always to come from books. Thus education is not merely book learning.

The main focus of the Vedic education system is to properly develop the moral, spiritual and intellectual aspects of a learner. So, basically the Vedic education gives the teaching of being a better human being which is also necessary in the modern period also.

Ans. Quit India Movement is often considered to be a turning point in India’s struggles for freedom from the British Raj. The movement saw people across India come together under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi to uproot the Britishers.

The movement marks the moment when the idea of complete freedom from the British Raj gained momentum as opposed to several discounted power structures being discussed in the past. It was after the Quit India Movement that the masses sprung into action.

The Quit India movement was the direct result of Britain’s mounting difficulties in the World War II and the failure of the Cripp’s mission to convince Indian leadership at the time to agree for a partial self-rule under which India would still remain a British dominion.

The British realized it was an alarming situation and they tried to suppress the movement. A day after the Do or Die call by Gandhi, all the national leaders of the Congress were immediately arrested on August 9. Public meetings were prohibited and over 100,000 people were arrested. Gandhi’s arrest infuriated the Indians which led to mass demonstration across the country, protests, strikes and also violence. Many people died in the violence as the British detained thousands of people.

The movement resulted in a stronger wave of support for the Congress leaders and a growing demand for independence, which made the position of the British in India untenable.

Ans. At the end of the second world war there was no guarantee that it would not be followed swiftly by a third. Six years of the most intensely murderous and geographically spread conflict in the history of the human species had left unprecedented devastation.

The United Nations was founded with a grand ideal of establishing permanent peace based on the tragic experiences of two world wars in the 20th Century. The United Nations (UN) was created at the end of World War II as an international peacekeeping organization and a forum for resolving conflicts between nations. The UN replaced the ineffective League of Nations, which had failed to prevent the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

The collective security system which the founders of the United Nations had envisaged is as follows: Member states of the United Nations pledge not to threaten or resort to the use of force. If a member state violates the pledge, other member states will jointly take non-military measures against the violator through a decision of the Security Council. The details of the collective security system are stipulated in Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, according to which all U.N. members undertake to make available to the Security Council on its call armed forces, assistance and facilities.

Ans. India is a land of “Unity in diversity”. The high mountain ranges, vast seas, large river-irrigated lands, countless rivers and streams, dark forests, sandy deserts, all these have adorned India with an exceptional diversity. Among the people there are numerous races, castes, creeds, religions and languages. In India, national integration alone can be the foundation of a strong, united and prosperous India, especially in these days of extremism and terrorism. Though, there are differences between the Hindu and the Muslim communities in regard to their customs, ideology, and rituals. But since centuries, they were born in and brought up by the same mother-land. They live together and have deep respect for each other. The Hindus send greetings to their Muslim friend on the occasion of Muslim festivals such as Eid, Muharram, etc. Similarly, the Muslims also wishes good luck on the occasion of Hindu festivals such as Diwali, Durga Puja, etc. This explains the growth unity between the Hindus and the Muslims in India. On many matter, they influence one another, and are inspired by the ideals of oriental civilization.

India is a large country. Different regions observe variations in climate. The

spoken language of one state is quite different from that of another. They wear

different types of garments. They celebrate different festivals and perform varied religious rites. Thus, we conclude that India is a land of Unity in Diversity.

Ans. The separation of religion and state is the foundation of secularism. It ensures religious groups don’t interfere in affairs of state, and the state doesn’t interfere in religious affairs. Secularism seeks to ensure and protect freedom of religious belief and practice for all citizens.

As a political idea, secularism has two interpretations in India: In the first version, the state ought to minimise the role of religion in politics. This political aspiration is understandable given the immense inter-religious violence at the country’s founding. In a deeply religious place, though, the version would over time be narrowly applied – the state thus would remain equidistant from and neutral to all religions (dharma nirapekshta). In contrast, the second version embraces the inseparability of religion and politics, and sees truth in all religions.

Secularizing a society is deeply tied to the question of the kind of society that we want. If, however, we want a secular society then that involves a change of mind-set, we would have to cease to think of ourselves as identified primarily by religion, caste, or language, and start thinking of ourselves primarily as equal citizens of one nation, both in theory and in practice. This involves mutual obligations between the state and the citizen applicable to all. The relationship of other identities such as religion, caste, language and region, will inevitably become secondary. These latter have to be adjusted so as to ensure that the rights of citizenship together with what they entail, remain primary.

Ans. Urbanization involves a complex set of economic, demographic, social, cultural, technological, and environmental processes that result in an increase in the proportion of the population of a territory that lives in towns and cities, an increased concentration of population in the larger settlements of the territory, and an increasing density of population within urban settlements.

> The problems caused by fast pace of urbanization are High population density, inadequate infrastructure, lack of affordable housing, flooding, pollution, slum creation, crime, congestion and poverty.

> The rapid population growth has led to an acute shortage of dwelling units which resulted to; overcrowding, traffic congestion, pollution, housing shortages (slum and squatter housing), high rents, poor urban living conditions, low infrastructure services, poverty, unemployment, and poor sanitation which has become pervasive and indeed high crime rate.

> One major serious aspect of the urban problem is the poor state of the infrastructures.

> Flooding is a very serious problem faced in urban areas, especially in developing countries, during the rainy seasons. The drainage is poorly constructed leading to difficulty in accessing the roads due to the flood leading to the flood disaster in some developing countries.

> The growth of slums in cities is one of the serious problems created by the rapid industrialization and urbanization.

> The increase in population leads to an increase in crime rate. Due to the high level of urban unemployment, idleness and joblessness, this has brought about a high increase in crime rates suffered by the majority of the people in Urban cities.

Ans. Rural settlements are most closely and directly related to land. dominated by primary activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing etc. The settlements size is relatively small. Types of the settlement are determined by the extent of the built-up area and inter-housedistance.

Spatial distribution of types of rural settlement in Ganga Plain Rectangular Pattern: Rectangular Pattern or Cross-shaped Pattern is the most common type of rural settlement found in the villages of Gangetic plains of India. This pattern develops at the cross roads. Its shape is rectangular. The roads or lanes meet at right angles. The houses are built along the roads. This type is common in great plains of India.

Such patterns of rural settlements are found in plain areas or wide inter montane valleys. The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles. Over 50 per cent of the world population lives in rural settlements, and most of the people inhabit the settlements of rectangular pattern. Rectangular settlements mainly develop in productive alluvial plains and wide intermontane valleys. The lanes in the rectangular settlements are almost straight, meeting each other at right angles. The rural settlements of the Sutlej-Ganga plains, especially those which developed on the cross-roads, fall in this category.

Hamleted settlement: Some settlement is fragmented into several units and

physically separated from each other is known as hamleted settlement. Examples of hamleted settlement can be seen in the middle and lower Ganga plain.

Ans. Some of the landforms formed by wind erosion are as follows:

(i) Mushroom Rocks: When rocks, consisting of alternate hard and soft layers are subjected to wind abrasion, differential erosion results. The soft layers are easily eroded but the hardlayer’s resist erosion. As a result of undercutting near the, theresulting feature resembles a rock pillar shaped like a mushroom.

(ii) Wind Eroded Basins: A land form produced by deflation is a shallow depression called a “blowout”.

Depositional work of wind results in formation of topographical featureslike sand dunes, Barchan, seif dunes and loess.

(i) Sand Dunes: Sand dunes are a special feature of the desert regions. They are of different type sand have a variety of shapes. The major factors affecting their formation are (a) amount of sand available (b) direction and force of wind, (c) an obstruction in the path of the wind e.g. a bush, a stone or a dead animal

> There are two main types of sand dunes:

(a) Barchan: One common type of sand dune is an isolated heap of free sand called a barchan, or crescentic dune.

(b) Seif Dunes: These are long, narrow ridges of sand that lie parallel to the direction of the prevailing winds.

(c) Loess: In several large areas of the world, the surface is covered by deposits of wind transported silt that has settled out from dust storms over many thousands of years. This material is known as loess.

Ans. The North Atlantic Drift bifurcates into two branches on reaching the

easternpart of the ocean. The northern branch continues as North Atlantic Drift; reaches the British Isles from where it flows along the coast of Norway as the Norwegian Current and enters the Arctic Ocean.

The southern branch flows between Spain and Azores Island as the cold Canaries Current. The Canaries Current finally joins the North Equatorial Current and completes the circuit in the North Atlantic Ocean. Within this circuit lies the Sargasso Sea which is full of large quantities of seaweeds called sargassum, brown algae. Apart from the clockwise circulation of the currents in the North Atlantic Ocean, there are also two cold currents – the East Greenland Current and the Labrador Current which flow from the Arctic Ocean into the Atlantic Ocean. The Labrador Current flows along the eastern coast of Canada and meets the warm Gulf Stream. The confluence of these two currents, one cold and the other hot, produces fog around New foundland and makes it the most important fishing ground of the world. East Greenland current flows between Iceland and Greenland and cools the North Atlantic Drift at the point of their confluence.

The northern branch joins the North Equatorial Current, whereas the southern branch turns south and flows along the eastern coast of South America as Brazil Current. Near the Cape of Good Hope, the South Atlantic Current is diverted northward as the cold Benguela Current. It finally joins the South Equatorial Currents thus completing the circuit.

Ans. Oceans cover 70 percent of the earth’s surface and represent an enormous amount of energy in the form of wave, tidal, marine current and thermal gradient. Deployment is currently limited but the sector has the potential to grow, fuelling economic growth, reduction of carbon footprint and creating jobs inland along its supply chains.

As Government of India steps up its effort to reach the objectives to contemplate its Renewable Energy and climate change objectives post 2022, it is opportune to explore all possible avenues to stimulate innovation, create economic growth and new jobs as well as to reduce our carbon footprint. India has a long coastline with the estuaries and gulfs. MNRE looks over the horizon at development of new technology and considers the various options available to support its deployment. Most types of technologies are currently at pre-R&D / demonstration stage or the initial stage of commercialization. Basic R&D is being looked after by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (example: National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai). Total identified potential of Tidal Energy is about 12455 MW, with potential locations identified at Khambat & Kutch regions, and large backwaters, where barrage technology could be used.

The total theoretical potential of wave energy in India along the country’s coast is estimated to be about 40,000 MW – these are preliminary estimates. This energy is however less intensive than what is available in more northern and southern latitudes. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) has a theoretical potential of 180,000 MW in India subject to suitable technological evolution.

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