UPSC declares official cutoffs for 2013: Even Prelims had minimum passing marks in each paper! Cutoffs increased sharply for each category

UPSC has declared the official cutoff marks for Civil service exam 2013 (Prelims, mains and interview stage)
Original source: http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/cut-off%20marks/2013/cs/Cut%20off%20cs.pdf
You wont find above link on the FrontPage of UPSC website but if you click on “Examination” section & then scroll down to “cutoff marks”, you’ll see it.

Official cutoffs for CS

Exam	CS (Prelim)*	CS (Main)#	CS(Final)
General	241	564	775
OBC	222	534	742
SC	207	518	719
ST	200	510	707
PH-1 Ortho	199	510	725
PH-2 Visual	184	502	718
PH-3 Hearing	163	410	613
Total	400	1750	2025

• *Subject to minimum of 30 marks in Paper-I and 70 marks in Paper-II.
• #Subject to 10% marks in each of the seven competitive papers i.e. Essay, GS-I, GS-II, GS‑III, GS-IV, Optional –I and Optional-II.

Minimum passing marks: Prelims

• From the above * and # , now we know UPSC’s official system of “minimum passing marks” (this was never disclosed in RTIs so far).
• it implies that if you failed to reach minimum passing marks in any one paper then they won’t select you for next stage, even if you get best marks in other papers.
• BUT overall merit list prepared by combing scores of both GS + Aptitue paper.

	MAX marks	Minimum passing marks	Must get atleast __ MCQs correct*
CSAT (GS)	100 Q x 2 = 200	30	15
CSAT (Aptitude)	80 Q x 2.5= 200	70	28
total	400

*assume no MCQs is wrongly attempted.
PS: unlike Bank exams there is no sectional cutoffs within an individual paper. (This is confirmed via RTI many times)

Prelim Cutoffs: Comparing last 3 years

Cutoffs increased significantly between 2012 vs 2013!

out of 400	2011	2012	2013
GEN	198	209	241
OBC	175	190	222
SC	165	185	207
ST	161	181	200
PH1- Ortho	135	160	199
PH2-Visual	124	164	184
PH3-Hearing	96	111	163

Minimum Passing Marks Mains

Subject	Max. Marks	MINIMUM PASSING MARKS
Compulsory English	300	75*
Compulsory Indian Language	300	90*
Essay	250	25
GS1	250	25
GS2	250	25
GS3	250	25
GS4	250	25
OPT.PAPER1	250	25
OPT.PAPER2	250	25
TOTAL (ignoring Compulsory papers, they’re not counted in merit)	1750

*UPSC officially mentioned these minimum passing marks of language papers, in the Notification of CSE-2014.
PS: In 2011 and 2012, UPSC did not have two options and two GS papers, so comparative table of 2011 vs 12 vs 13 is meaningless. Because entire mains system is changed.

Tandava and Lasya Dance

TANDAVA:

The Tandava dance form was originated by Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva has been credited with
many dance forms; of these foremost is Tandava dance. According to 'Shivopasnadak', Shiva after killing the demon 'Tripurasur' went into rapture (ullas) and danced. This dance form was re-enacted by his disciple,'Tandu' Muni who popularized it. This dance form, practised by Tandu Muni, came to be known as'Tandava'. This dance form involves expressions reflecting Courage (Veerta), Extreme anger (Roudra), Hatred (Vibhatsa), Enjoyment (Anand) and Anger born out of grief and sympathy (Karuna Janit Krodh). To express these rasas, tne dancer twists his limbs aggressively, which is not considered appropriate for the women. In the course of this dance, the fire of anger seems to peak, the earth seems to tremble as if the whole world is going through a process of destruction.

'Tandava' dance form has seven sub-classifications :
1. 'Tripur Tandava': The dance performed by Lord Shiva after killing the demon
Tripurasur reflected Courage (Veerta) and Extreme anger (Roudra) and is known as
'Tripur Tandava'.The 'Bols' of this dance form are mostly in 'Adi Laya'.
2. 'Anand Tandava' : After Shiva had slayed 'Tripurasur', Goddess Uma performed
'Lasya' dance which is an embodiment of Pleasure (Ullas) and Excitement (Umang)
which pleased the angry Shiva. This dance is known as 'Anand Tandava'.
3. 'Gauri Tandava': In this dance form, Shiva and Parvati dance together in 'Shringar
Rasa'.
4. 'Kalika Tandava': In order to destroy evil and wicked, Shiva dances expressing his
Bhairav form, which is known as 'Kalika Tandava'.
5. 'Sandhya Tandava': After the death of his wife 'Sati', Shiva carried her dead body on
his shoulders and danced while in mourning. This dance starts with Karuna Rasa and ends
with expressing Roudra (Extreme anger) and Bhayanak Rasa (Terrible). This dance form
is known as'SandhyaTandava'.
 6.'Uma Tandava' : This dance form stresses the conjugal affection, love and attraction in
its purest and simple form.
 7.'Samhar Tandava' : The destruction of entire universe is reflected in 'Samhar Tandava'

The instruments played in Tandava are 'Nada Pradhan' (Percussion instruments) with echo
effect,as if surrounding and enveloping entire environment; e.g. Ghariyal, Jhanjh, Dumroo,
Mrudang,Chang, Dhausa, Naubat etc.
The appropriate costume for Tandava performance is usually 'Male' dress i.e. the dancer ties
his hairs like a Jata (Bun) showing half moon and river Ganga and wears an 'Angvastram'
akin to the lion skin worn by Lord Shiva. The dancer applies 'Tripunda' (a Shaiva sign) on
his forehead, takes Trident in one hand and Dumroo in the other. He also applies Bhasmi
(Ashes) on his body.

LASYA :

After the demon 'Tripurasur' was killed by Lord Shiva, he danced in rage i.e. Tandava. Then to pacify and please him, Goddess Uma performed a soft and Shringarik dance, which is called 'Lasya' . Goddess Uma taught this dance to Usha, the daughter of Daitya Banasur. She popularized this dance form in Vrindavan.The dance is extremely soft in movements and shringarik in expressions and this is performed more effectively by female dancers. The Raas Nritya of Mathura, Halisak of South India, Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Manipuri, Oddissi, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi etc, which are performed today in various regions owe their origin to 'Lasya'.

Three types of Lasya Nritya are practised today :
1.'Vikat Lasya': The dance form in which Laya, Taal,
Bhavas are exhibited while performing, is called 'Vikat Lasya'.
2.'Visham Lasya' : By using 'Bhramari' through horizontal, circular and slanted movements, special footwork in Laya based dance, 'Visham Lasya' is performed.
3.'Laghu Lasya': By producing sound on earth through anklets and through Anchit
Kunchit Padvinyas, 'Laghu Lasya' is performed.

 In this dance, instruments with soft sound, high bass are used such as 'Manjira', 'Flute',
'Ghunghroo' (anklets), 'Madal, 'Khol, 'Tabla', 'Tumburu' etc.
The costumes used are extremely shringarik and attractive. The female dancers use
Chunnatdar Dhoti, broad Waist Bandh and Patka. They also wear garlands of flowers in
their hairs and Chunnis of bright and dark colours. The hands and neck are adorned with
pearls and flowers.

Terms in economy

Adam Smith (1723 – 1790) Regarded as the father of modern Economics. Author of Wealth of Nations.

Aggregate monetary resources Broad money without time deposits of post office savings organisation (M3).

Automatic stabilisers Under certain spending and tax rules, expenditures that automatically increase or taxes that automatically decrease when economic conditions worsen, therefore, stabilizing the economy automatically.

Autonomous change A change in the values of variables in a macroeconomic model caused by a factor exogenous to the model.

Autonomous expenditure multiplier The ratio of increase (or decrease) in aggregate output or income to an increase (or decrease) in autonomous spending.

Balance of payments A set of accounts that summarise a country’s transactions with the rest of the world.

Balanced budget A budget in which taxes are equal to government spending.

Balanced budget multiplier The change in equilibrium output that results from a unit increase or decrease in both taxes and government spending.

Bank rate The rate of interest payable by commercial banks to RBI if they borrow money from the latter in case of a shortage of reserves.

Barter exchange Exchange of commodities without the mediation of money.

Base year The year whose prices are used to calculate the real GDP.

Bonds A paper bearing the promise of a stream of future monetary returns over a specified period of time. Issued by firms or governments for borrowing money from the public.

Broad money Narrow money + time deposits held by commercial banks and post office savings organisation.

Capital Factor of production which has itself been produced and which is not generally entirely consumed in the production process.

Capital gain/loss Increase or decrease in the value of wealth of a bondholder due to an appreciation or reduction in the price of her bonds in the bond market.

Capital goods Goods which are bought not for meeting immediate need of the consumer but for producing other goods.

Capitalist country or economy A country in which most of the production is carried out by capitalist firms.

Capitalist firms These are firms with the following features (a) private ownership of means of production (b) production for the market (c) sale and purchase of labour at a price which is called the wage rate (d) continuous accumulation of capital.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) The fraction of their deposits which the commercial banks are required to keep with RBI.

Circular flow of income The concept that the aggregate value of goods and services produced in an economy is going around in a circular way. Either as factor payments, or as expenditures on goods and services, or as the value of aggregate
production.

Consumer durables Consumption goods which do not get exhausted immediately but last over a period of time are consumer durables.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) Percentage change in the weighted average price level. We take the prices of a given basket of consumption goods.

Consumption goods Goods which are consumed by the ultimate consumers or meet the immediate need of the consumer are called consumption goods. It may include services as well.

Corporate tax Taxes imposed on the income made by the corporations (or private sector firms).

Currency deposit ratio The ratio of money held by the public in currency to that held as deposits in commercial banks.

Deficit financing through central bank borrowing Financing of budget deficit by the government through borrowing money from the central bank. Leads to increase in money supply in an economy and may result in inflation.

Depreciation A decrease in the price of the domestic currency in terms of the foreign currency under floating exchange rates. It corresponds to an increase in the exchange rate.

Depreciation Wear and tear or depletion which capital stock undergoes over a period of time.

Devaluation The decrease in the price of domestic currency under pegged exchange rates through official action.

Double coincidence of wants A situation where two economic agents have complementary demand for each others’ surplus production.

Economic agents or units Economic units or economic agents are those individuals or institutions which take economic decisions.

Effective demand principle If the supply of final goods is assumed to be infinitely elastic at constant price over a short period of time, aggregate output is determined solely by the value of aggregate demand. This is called effective demand principle.

Entrepreneurship The task of organising, coordinating and risk-taking during production.

Ex ante consumption The value of planned consumption.

Ex ante investment The value of planned investment.

Ex ante The planned value of a variable as opposed to its actual value.

Ex post The actual or realised value of a variable as opposed to its planned value.

Expenditure method of calculating national income Method of calculating the national income by measuring the aggregate value of final expenditure for the goods and services produced in an economy over a period of time.

Exports Sale of goods and services by the domestic country to the rest of the world.

External sector It refers to the economic transaction of the domestic country with the rest of the world.

Externalities Those benefits or harms accruing to another person, firm or any other entity which occur because some person, firm or any other entity may be involved in an economic activity. If someone is causing benefits or good externality to another, the latter does not pay the former. If someone is inflicting harm or bad externality to another, the former does not compensate the latter.

Fiat money Money with no intrinsic value.

Final goods Those goods which do not undergo any further transformation in the production process.

Firms Economic units which carry out production of goods and services and employ factors of production.

Fiscal policy The policy of the government regarding the level of government spending and transfers and the tax structure.

Fixed exchange rate An exchange rate between the currencies of two or more countries that is fixed at some level and adjusted only infrequently.

Flexible/floating exchange rate An exchange rate determined by the forces of demand and supply in the foreign exchange market without central bank intervention.

Flows Variables which are defined over a period of time.

Foreign exchange Foreign currency, all currencies other than the domestic currency of a given country.

Foreign exchange reserves Foreign assets held by the central bank of the country.

Four factors of production Land, Labour, Capital and Entrepreneurship. Together these help in the production of goods and services.

GDP Deflator Ratio of nominal to real GDP.

Government expenditure multiplier The numerical coefficient showing the size of the increase in output resulting from each unit increase in government spending.

Government The state, which maintains law and order in the country, imposes taxes and fines, makes laws and promotes the economic wellbeing of the citizens.

Great Depression The time period of 1930s (started with the stock market crash in New York in 1929) which saw the output in the developed countries fall and unemployment rise by huge amounts.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Aggregate value of goods and services produced within the domestic territory of a country. It includes the replacement investment of the depreciation of capital stock.

Gross fiscal deficit The excess of total government expenditure over revenue receipts and capital receipts that do not create debt.

Gross investment Addition to capital stock which also includes replacement for the wear and tear which the capital stock undergoes.

Gross National Product (GNP) GDP + Net Factor Income from Abroad. In other words GNP includes the aggregate income made by all citizens of the country, whereas GDP includes incomes by foreigners within the domestic economy and excludes incomes earned by the citizens in a foreign economy.

Gross primary deficit The fiscal deficit minus interest payments.

High powered money Money injected by the monetary authority in the economy. Consists mainly of currency.

Households The families or individuals who supply factors of production to the firms and which buy the goods and services from the firms.

Imports Purchase of goods and services by the domestic country to the rest of the world.

Income method of calculating national income Method of calculating national income by measuring the aggregate value of final factor payments made (= income) in an economy over a period of time.

Interest Payment for services which are provided by capital.

Intermediate goods Goods which are used up during the process of production of other goods.

Inventories The unsold goods, unused raw materials or semi-finished goods which a firm carries from a year to the next.

John Maynard Keynes (1883 – 1946) Arguably the founder of Macroeconomics as a separate discipline.

Labour Human physical effort used in production.

Land Natural resources used in production – either fixed or consumed.

Legal tender Money issued by the monetary authority or the government which cannot be refused by anyone.

Lender of last resort The function of the monetary authority of a country in which it provides guarantee of solvency to commercial banks in a situation of liquidity crisis or bank runs.

Liquidity trap A situation of very low rate of interest in the economy where every economic agent expects the interest rate to rise in future and consequently bond prices to fall, causing capital loss. Everybody holds her wealth in money and
speculative demand for money is infinite.

Macroeconomic model Presenting the simplified version of the functioning of a macroeconomy through either analytical reasoning or mathematical, graphical representation.

Managed floating A system in which the central bank allows the exchange rate to be determined by market forces but intervene at times to influence the rate.

Marginal propensity to consume The ratio of additional consumption to additional income.

Medium of exchange The principal function of money for facilitating commodity exchanges.

Money multiplier The ratio of total money supply to the stock of high powered money in an economy.

Narrow money Currency notes, coins and demand deposits held by the public in commercial banks.

National disposable income Net National Product at market prices + Other Current Transfers from the rest of the World.

Net Domestic Product (NDP) Aggregate value of goods and services produced within the domestic territory of a country which does not include the depreciation of capital stock.

Net interest payments made by households Interest payment made by the households to the firms – interest payments received by the households.

Net investment Addition to capital stock; unlike gross investment, it does not include the replacement for the depletion of capital stock.

Net National Product (NNP) (at market price) GNP – depreciation.

NNP (at factor cost) or National Income (NI) NNP at market price – (Indirect taxes – Subsidies).

Nominal exchange rate The number of units of domestic currency one must give up to get an unit of foreign currency; the price of foreign currency in terms of domestic currency.

Nominal (GDP) GDP evaluated at current market prices.

Non-tax payments Payments made by households to the firms or the government as non-tax obligations such as fines.

Open market operation Purchase or sales of government securities by the central bank from the general public in the bond market in a bid to increase or decrease the money supply in the economy.

Paradox of thrift As people become more thrifty they end up saving less or same as before in aggregate.

Parametric shift Shift of a graph due to a change in the value of a parameter.

Personal Disposable Income (PDI) PI – Personal tax payments – Non-tax payments.

Personal Income (PI) NI – Undistributed profits – Net interest payments made by households – Corporate tax + Transfer payments to the households from the government and firms.

Personal tax payments Taxes which are imposed on individuals, such as income tax.

Planned change in inventories Change in the stock of inventories which has occurred in a planned way.

Present value (of a bond) That amount of money which, if kept today in an interest earning project, would generate the same income as the sum promised by a bond over its lifetime.

Private income Factor income from net domestic product accruing to the private sector + National debt interest + Net factor income from abroad + Current transfers from government + Other net transfers from the rest of the world.

Product method of calculating national income Method of calculating the national income by measuring the aggregate value of production taking place in an economy over a period of time.

Profit Payment for the services which are provided by entrepreneurship.

Public good Goods or services that are collectively consumed; it is not possible to exclude anyone from enjoying their benefits and one person’s consumption does not reduce that available to others.

Purchasing power parity A theory of international exchange which holds that the price of similar goods in different countries is the same.

Real exchange rate The relative price of foreign goods in terms of domestic goods.

Real GDP GDP evaluated at a set of constant prices.

Rent Payment for services which are provided by land (natural resources).

Reserve deposit ratio The fraction of their total deposits which commercial banks keep as reserves.

Revaluation A decrease in the exchange rate in a pegged exchange rate system which makes the foreign currency cheaper in terms of the domestic currency.

Revenue deficit The excess of revenue expenditure over revenue receipts.

Ricardian equivalence The theory that consumers are forward looking and anticipate that government borrowing today will mean a tax increase in the future to repay the debt, and will adjust consumption accordingly so that it will have the
same effect on the economy as a tax increase today.

Speculative demand Demand for money as a store of wealth.

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) The fraction of their total demand and time deposits which the commercial banks are required by RBI to invest in specified liquid assets.

Sterilisation Intervention by the monetary authority of a country in the money market to keep the money supply stable against exogenous or sometimes external shocks such as an increase in foreign exchange inflow.

Stocks Those variables which are defined at a point of time.

Store of value Wealth can be stored in the form of money for future use. This function of money is referred to as store of value.

Transaction demand Demand for money for carrying out transactions.

Transfer payments to households from the government and firms Transfer payments are payments which are made without any counterpart of services received by the payer. For examples, gifts, scholarships, pensions.

Undistributed profits That part of profits earned by the private and government owned firms which are not distributed among the factors of production.

Unemployment rate This may be defined as the number of people who were unable to find a job (though they were looking for jobs), as a ratio of total number of people who were looking for jobs.

Unit of account The role of money as a yardstick for measuring and comparing values of different commodities.

Unplanned change in inventories Change in the stock of inventories which has occurred in an unexpected way.

Value added Net contribution made by a firm in the process of production. It is defined as, Value of production – Value of intermediate goods used.

Wage Payment for the services which are rendered by labour.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) Percentage change in the weighted average price level. We take the prices of a given basket of goods which is traded in bulk.

An overhaul required to make Aadhaar citizen-centric

Since its establishment in 2009, there has been much aura and fanfare about the Office of Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI). 

Headed by IT Czar Nandan Nilekani and popularly known as Aadhaar, citizens are told that there is something in it for everyone. Hence, they must wholeheartedly endorse, support and become stakeholders in the project.

Even before its birth, Aadhaar was touted as a panacea to many of the ills plaguing our country. To the poor and downtrodden, it was a proof of identity. To the well off, it was like the social security number in the United States. To anti-corruption crusaders, it was projected as the best tool to fight corruption. To fiscal conservatives, it claimed to help target subsidies better and save government money. To anti-poverty advocates, it was meant to ensure that benefits reach the poor without leakages. To politicians, it is the ‘magic wand’ that will make growth more inclusive and bring every Indian into the banking system.

Over the last four years, more than fifty five crore Aadhaar cards have been issued and pilot programs have begun to test its ostensible capabilities. But a critical question needs to be asked and answered before further expansion - Is Aadhaar citizen centric? More importantly, is it poor people centric? The resounding answer today is no! 

The current design of Unique Identity project is government centric and a bureaucratic nightmare for citizens. Inept service pervades most government departments and procuring benefits through Aadhaar no exception. In its current structure, anyone applying for an Aadhaar card needs to provide an address proof along with a completed form. 

Citizens are considered ready for direct cash transfer of government benefits once they have their Aadhaar number linked to either a pre-existing or a newly opened bank account. If a poor man or woman is eligible for five or six different government schemes, he or she has to individually register with each of these schemes or departments with their Aadhaar card to ensure that benefits are transferred to their bank account.

This is akin to entrepreneurs and businessmen running around various government departments to secure approvals to start or expand their business. They are constantly hassled at every step of the way and bribes are demanded by bureaucrats at each level. An Aadhaar card does not assure the poor and downtrodden of this country that they will not be subjected to a similar kind of harassment. 

To overcome bureaucratic hurdles, governments implemented a single window clearance process which was an amazing success. A similar approach is needed to disburse entitlements to citizens. Like businessmen, Aam Aadmi expects efficient and effective service delivery from the government and wants to avoid persecution from middlemen and bureaucrats. 

Bureaucratic mess

The recent stark failure of LPG subsidy transfer is a glaring example of this bureaucratic mess. UIDAI, Banks and LPG dealers were busy blaming each other while the beneficiaries were left to suffer without any recourse. Mere tinkering with implementation is insufficient and bound to fail. An overhaul is required to make Aadhaar citizen centric and more importantly poor people centric.

For Aadhaar to be successful, office of UIDAI must be converted into a single widow for all welfare benefits. It must create a single form that lists all central, state and local government schemes. Once a form is submitted along with relevant documents, the onus must be on UIDAI office to generate a Unique Identity number, link it to a bank account and procure benefits to citizens.

Such a revamp of the Aadhaar program will provide much needed relief to the aam aadmi from running pillar to post while avoiding harassment and graft. It will also serve as the biggest incentive for citizens to willingly participate allowing the project to surmount major legal hurdles brought on by social activists who have gone to courts opposing its implementation on flimsy grounds. 

And by taking a holistic approach, UIDAI can overcome current public resentment, weed out inefficiencies and become an integrated welfare disbursement gateway. Moreover, it will be a boon in the long run when transition of benefits must move to a means tested process to control runaway government expenditure.

An added advantage will be speeding up the process of reforming entitlements. In most states, there are several overlapping central, state and municipal schemes that affect eligibility criteria and befuddle service providers who are increasingly NGO’s and private sector. Guesstimates suggest that there are more than 200 schemes and programs at various levels of government in each state. Listing them in a single form will certainly invite taxpayer backlash which in turn can force government and social activists to rethink and consolidate benefits. 

Aadhaar touted as a “Game Changer for the Aam Aadmi” shouldn’t end up as a boondoggle. Its design should be radically altered so that responsibility for all entitlements rests with the UIDAI office. 

In a modern technology savvy 21st century India, seamless transfer of 
welfare benefits to targeted individuals with minimal bureaucratic involvement is well within the realm of possibilities. Government must make it a reality to 
accomplish the goals of Unique Identity project.

WHY INDIA GOVERNMENT’S ANTI-NAXAL RESPONSE IS A FAILURE – ANALYSIS

There have been two attacks by the Communist Party of India-Maoist within a fortnight in Chhattisgarh, the worst left-wing extremism affected state in India. While five security force personnel were killed in the February 28 attack in Dantewada district, 16 people including 11 belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force, four belonging to the state police and a civilian were killed on March 11 in Sukma district.

With the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) elections beginning in less than a month, these attacks would be linked to extremist intent to escalate violence and demonstrate an ideological opposition to the political process in the country. The fact remains, however, that success of the extremists to carry out such attacks and failure of the state to prevent them underline a much deeper malaise.

Available reports indicate that a large number of Maoists (estimates ranging from 100 to 300) attacked the security force personnel, part of a 45-member security team deployed to provide security to the road construction work on National Highway 30 that connects the state capital Raipur to Sukma. Naxals surrounded the team from both sides and fired indiscriminately. Within 15 minutes, the team had been overpowered and the Naxals managed to carry away weapons and ammunition from the dead and the injured.

Coming 10 months after the May 2013 attack in Darbha in which 27 people including Congress party leaders and workers were killed, this constitutes a major achievement for the extremists.

Like any counter-insurgency operations, success in anti-Naxal operations need to fulfil certain policy, strategic and tactical requirements. The strategies must be formulated by the security experts and not by the political class and the detached bureaucracy. The operations must remain a small commander’s war, an effort in which the state police establishment takes the lead and the central police forces pitch in to provide necessary support.

The personnel involved in the sustained operations need to be led intelligently and must have access to ground level intelligence, quality arms and other logistics. The political class must limit itself to provide broad policy directions and demonstrate a steadfast intent to solve the problem and keep it undiluted from partisan considerations.

It would appear that in spite of a decade-long history of counter-Naxal operations in the country (taking the 2004 formation of the CPI-Maoist as a cut off year), none of these basic requirements have been fulfilled in any of the conflict theatres. Under the circumstances, while a dip in violence may be achieved as a result of a tactical favour granted by the extremists, a victory is unimaginable.

Calling the Chhattisgarh police a completely divided force may be a little too sweeping. However, the fact remains that the recent times have witnessed rivalry and unhealthy competition affecting group solidarity, a key component in counter-insurgency theatres. Senior IPS officers in the state have squabbled bitterly laying claims to the post of director general of police in the past months, after the incumbent DGP retired in January 2014.

Intelligence gathering capacities of the police have been questioned by the senior police officers. A senior police official has accused an ADG and DIG in charge of the state’s intelligence branch of turning it into a personal fiefdom and thereby seriously affecting its operations.

Such divisions merely accentuates to the existing capacity crunch. Data reveals that Chhattisgarh has a police density of 31.8 policemen per 100 square kilometres, amounting to roughly a lone policeman managing three square kilometre area. In the inaccessible and remote Bastar division, police presence is expected to be even poorer. In comparison, in terms of sheer numerical strength, other Naxal-affected states like Bihar have a density of 70.8 and Jharkhand 71.5.

Chhattisgarh has managed to improve its total police strength from 23,350 in 2005 to 42,975 in 2012. However, even this near doubling up is clearly not enough. Bihar and Jharkhand with much less geographical area have much larger police force.

In addition, in Chhattisgarh over 26 percent vacancy exists in the SSP/SP/deputy SP level and another 21 percent in the inspector/sub-inspector level demonstrating an acute shortage of officers both at the leadership as well as operational level. To expect such a weak, depleted and demoralised police force to lead the anti-Naxal operations and emerge victorious is inconceivable.

Not surprisingly a Chhattisgarh senior police officer summed up, “We have effectively outsourced the counter-Naxal operations to the central forces.” With the central forces, duty bound to play the role of a supporter or force enabler and certainly not that of a lead force, the fight against the Naxals is marked by enormous confusion and operational frailty.

The recent attacks are as much a failure of the state government as that of New Delhi. In spite of the chronic problem, responses to Naxal attacks are yet to emerge from the realm of politics, with New Delhi blaming Raipur and the latter returning the favour. Following the May 2013 attacks in Darbha, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh blamed “raajnaitik matbhed” (political differences) pointing at a deliberate decision on part of Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Raipur not to provide security to his party leaders.

While Singh issued a customary statement underlining his resolve to bring the culprits to book, his Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde chose to continue with his holidays in the United States and not return to the country till a week after the incident. The country’s response to Naxalism remains dishonest, to say the least. It is astonishing that in spite of his repeated pronouncements regarding the severity of the problem over the past decade, Dr Singh has failed to give any direction to the much touted anti-Naxal endeavours.

All Naxal-affected states demonstrate similar police as well as governance incapacities. Odd occasions of success and temporary dip in Naxal violence notwithstanding, the states have utterly failed to dominate and make their presence felt over areas under the extremist domination.

Similar to the November 2013 assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, deployment of a large number of security forces may be able to minimise extremist violence during the upcoming elections. However, securing a victory against the Naxals, unless the current force and governance dispositions are drastically altered by the new government in New Delhi, would remain a far-fetched dream.

BELIEVE YOU CAN AND YOU'RE HALFWAY THERE

4 MONTHS TO GO.........

Hello Aspirants and my dear Friends after a long time am posting something dt is gng through my mind from few days.
As we have only 4 months left for our preparation,the thought gng on everyone's mind is  can I do it?
Do remember you can do it and alwys keep saying dt yes I can do it for sure, you r gonna be d winner.

I also felt afraid can I do it or not,I got a long fight with my mind..:)

Do Remember some points:

1.Don't waste ur precious time.

2.Study at least for 10hrs daily.

3.Don't Panic.

4.Always Inspire Urself.

There is grt sayng dt -Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!

• Its your Dream
• Its ur Goal
• Its ur Desire
• Its ur Ambition

So go Fight for it, Struggle for it ,your dream is waiting for u................

Al d best to each and everyone............

SEE THE INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

India’s obsession with university rankings

In India it has become fashionable to bemoan the poor global rankings of higher education institutes. In the three widely regarded global university rankings of 2013, the Shanghai Ranking, QS World University Ranking and Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking, India has no institute in the top 200. Only one Indian institute figured in the Shanghai Ranking’s top 500, while five made the top 400 in both the QS and THE rankings.

The academic community of India ought to be bemused by the shrill pitch of this discussion, because they know first-hand how deep the policy rot in Indian higher education is. And for the same reason, academia in India will be hoping against hope that this time meaningful actions, beyond rhetoric, are initiated.

Unfortunately, going by past trends, one cannot be hopeful. Various internal and external studies have repeatedly pointed out that India’s quality of education, fromprimary to higher education, is on a downward spiral.

The need for quality education in India has never been greater. India is home to the highest number of young-age population in the world today. In absolute numbers, India’s under 15-years age-group population, at 410 million, is 3 per cent less thanthat of the entire developed world (199 million) and China (230 million) put together. Since the beginning of this century, it has seen a massive expansion in higher education providers, and an expansion in primary education over the last couple of decades. These expansions stressed quantity, however. While primary education reached near universal enrollment, it was simultaneously near the bottom of global standards. In higher education, at around 20 per cent enrollment, it still remains much lower than the global average.

India’s poor performance in the age of global rankings should have come as no surprise. The alarm bells have been ringing for decades, as educationalist Altbach noted on university reform in India back in 1972. The warnings, however, have failed to elicit the necessary regulatory clarity and forward-looking policy reform encompassing all higher educational institutes. Attempts to improve the higher education sector have also been characterised by over-regulation, which have proved counter-productive, particularly to the serious and innovation-oriented institutes in the private domain.

Notably, India’s top-heavy system has fewer universities and many more university-affiliated colleges, compared to the United States or China. Around 70 per cent of these higher educational institutes (catering for about 60 per cent of the enrolled students in India) operate in the private domain. Privatisation of primary schools has now also started to spread widely, despite the country’s low income levels.

At affiliated colleges it is common to see curriculum, courses and tests developed at the university level. Affiliated college faculty members merely deliver the course, across the hundreds of affiliated colleges that the university may have. These different groups of faculty members seldom coordinate among themselves — something that in any top-ranking university is unthinkable. A similar lack of basic rigor is also seen in the case of research scholars, pursuing PhDs in distance modes, with outsourced academic supervisors.

Moreover, higher education institutes in India, including the famed Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have primarily been teaching centres. Only recently has the trend in a few IITs been changing to focus more on research; but the volume target of PhDs is stretching the system beyond limits (the 2020 target is to achieve  10 times the present number of PhD students).

The minimum hours of teaching most faculty members need to perform, as per the University Grants Commission, a statutory organisation for university education,varies from 14 to 16 hours a week. Compared to global standards, this places a considerable strain on academic staff, keeping in mind the litany of other teaching-related work that adds to this number too. Most institutes in India do not have the separate categories of teaching and research staff. The vast majority of India’s academic community also do not enjoy the luxury of engaging the assistance of research associates/scholars.

The quality of secondary education in India has also been declining. In the 2009 PISA test, India secured the 73rd position out of 74 nations; and surprisingly, India didn’t even participate in the next PISA tests in 2012 (although global participation in 2012 was higher). The quality of primary and secondary education is a fundamental educational concern for any nation, because it affects the largest number of future citizens. Concern over basic quality for the 180 million enrolled in the primary, and more in secondary level, rather than the few odd-thousands of students with ranked universities among overall 26 million enrolled in higher education, should be the bigger issue in India.

An incoherent signal is thus being sent by the nation. An obsession with higher education ranking has dominated discourse, even leading to discussions with THE for the inclusion of India-specific parameters. But in foundation stages from primary to secondary education, the nation ignores various internal and external quality measures, and the sector is languishing.

Traditionally, India has often misplaced its priorities, trying to have a Wall Street before building main streets. Over the 1950s–80s, when South Korea and China focused heavily on primary education, India tried to balance both primary and higher education. Not surprisingly, India failed to achieve universal enrollment by the 1980s at the primary level, and its higher education standards did not improve significantly. A positive feedback loop, from primary to higher education, further enhances both, as now seen in South Korea and China.

Results suggest that the Indian model simply is not sustainable. Autonomy and appropriate-governance have been key success factors of higher education globally. The IITs, who prominently feature among Indian institutes finding a place in the global league, traditionally have enjoyed more autonomy than any other Indian universities. Had IITs enjoyed autonomy closer to the level that leading global universities do, their performance could have been much better. The autonomy for affiliated private colleges, however, is practically nil.

Joseph de Maistre observed that every nation gets the government that it deserves. It might be said too that every nation gets the education system that it deserves. Unless India adopts structural reforms in the education sector, by focusing more on primary and secondary education, and by allowing quality private participation at higher education, with autonomy and uniform rules for all higher education players, the state of education in India will continue to languish; and present opportunities to bring prosperity through education will pass.